This study investigates the procedural techniques, significance, and the tangible effects of the laying on of hands in the New Testament. The author investigates the background of the New Testament practice by conducting investigation in the Old Testament and contemporary Judaism and the Graeco-Roman and Near-Eastern literature. The main chapters are exegetical, each discussing a particular use of the laying on of hands in the New Testament: for blessing, healing, reception of the Spirit and ordination. A special attention is given to the inner process of transfer of power through physical contact. It is the author's conclusion that in the New Testament the gesture always signifies transfer of some positive materia: blessing, 'life-force', the Spirit and charismata. In the final section, an attempt is made to gauge the possibility of any uniformity in the significance of the various New Testament uses of the laying on of hands.

Product Description: The essays in this volume on the one hand together form an exploration of the Spirit in the New Testament, and on the other hand a demonstration of the spirit of the NT. The focus is largely on the Johannine literature, but there are also exegetical studies in Matthew and Luke...read more

Product Description: Written from a distinctively Pentecostal perspective and In keeping with the ethos and spirituality of the Pentecostal tradition, to which at least 400 million Christians belong, the writers explore how their scholarship might be contextualized within their own local church body and strengthened by the dynamic interaction between the Holy Spirit, the body of Christ, and the Word of God...read more

Product Description: In this published form of the 1997 Staley Lectures delivered at Southeastern College in Lakeland Florida, John Christopher Thomas explores the Farewell Materials in the Gospel according to John. Following a brief discussion devoted to the nature of biblical narrative, the concentric structure of this text is explored...read more