Impartation 

In this article we will discuss the Biblical foundation for impartation, along with examples of my personal experiences receiving impartation. We will also examine misconceptions, abuses, mistakes, and improper focus on impartation. 

Biblical Foundation 

Impartation is a truth in the scripture. Impartation means: “to give, bestow, and to grant a part or share of.” The following scripture gives us an example of the imparting of authority for leadership:

“The LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before the whole congregation, and give him a commission in their sight. You shall put some of your authority and honor on him, so that all the congregation of the Israelites will obey him.” (Numbers 27:18-20 AMP.)

Joshua was also filled with the spirit of wisdom from the impartation as well (Deuteronomy 34:9). The Lord could have chosen to directly impart this grace to Joshua as He did with Moses, however He chose to do it through the laying on of Moses’ hands. Here are some examples of the gifts of the Spirit being imparted in the New Testament church age:

For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established— (Romans 1:11 NKJV)

Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. (II Timothy 1:6 NKJV)

Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. (1 Timothy 4:14 KJV)

Personal Testimony of Impartations

The first time I received an impartation through the laying on of hands was in February of 2009. I was at a small ministry in Kalispell, Montana, and Leif Hetland was ministering. During prayer, Leif laid hands on me and it felt like a fire was burning through my body. All I could do was cry out as many others did. A holy fire from the Lord was being released, and it hurt (but in a good way). After that time the Lord moved on me in holiness. Worldly things did not have the same appeal that they once did. The fire from the Lord purified me of worldly desires. The best definition I can give for what I experienced is, the baptism of fire.

During those same meetings, Todd Bevan (one of Leif Hetland’s spiritual sons) prayed for me as well. I remember laying on the floor at the alter for around twenty minutes. All I could do was groan as Todd was laying his hands on me. The Holy Spirit was moving on me in such power. Todd told me that the Lord was releasing to me the apostolic anointing that would progress over time. Those first impartations changed and shaped my journey with the Lord, and set me on a course to seek Him with all of my heart. Every impartation is an invitation to seek the Lord in a greater way. If we do not use the impartation to propel us deeper into seeking the Lord, then the main purpose of the impartation has been wasted. 

The first series of impartations left me hungry for more. Now I had hunger mixed with faith which is a deadly combination (so to speak). I knew that when someone laid their hands on me I would receive what I was asking for. It is good to desire spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 14:1), but we must remember that it is the Holy Spirit who distributes the gifts as He wills (1 Corinthians 12:11). Many times He puts a desire in your heart for certain gifts, and will release that gift to you in His timing as you seek Him. Sometimes it is simply our self-will and desire for a gift, and it is not His will for us to have it. Ultimately He is in charge and we must conform to His will. Not everyone is going to have all the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:28-30). 

In April of 2009 I received another impartation at a ministry in Kalispell, Montana. Ian Andrews was ministering and teaching on healing. After the meeting I went up to Ian and asked him if he would impart the gift of healing to me. I told him that I knew I would receive it if he would pray. I was incredibly immature in the Lord, but my spiritual hunger and faith were extremely high. Ian took both of my hands and prayed. Fire went through my body. I started to crumple to the floor, but I had ahold of Ian’s hands so tight that I started to take him with me. He said, “My hands, my hands,” and I let go and curled into a ball on the floor as the fire of God burned in me. I got the impartation. 

In June of 2009 (three weeks after my wife and I were married), the Lord used His servant James Goll to issue us a call to the ministry during a camp meeting in Hungry Horse, Montana. James Goll laid hands on my wife and I and prophesied. Fire burned into my head, and I could barely stand. The video we have of the impartation shows my entire head becoming a dark red. The experience was impacting and drove me further into seeking the Lord, and His presence.

In August of 2009 I received an impartation for the gift of discerning of spirits. I was at a Matt Sorger meeting in Aberdeen, South Dakota. I asked him to pray for me after a meeting, in which he had preached on the gift of discerning of spirits. He put his hand on my stomach and prayed. Fire burned into my stomach as the Lord released the impartation. The fire was so great that it bent me over, with my hands on my knees. 

In July of 2010 my wife and I were at a series of meetings in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. A man named Charlie Robinson was ministering. The presence of God was thick and he was walking around ministering prophetically. All of a sudden he called out, “Who wants a revival anointing?” I was instantly charged with hunger and faith. I didn’t say anything, but my eyes showed my desperate hunger for the anointing of God. Charlie’s eye met with mine. Suddenly he got excited and started pointing at me and yelled, “You, come here!” I quickly moved to the end of the row and reached out for his hand. As I grabbed his hand the anointing burned in me powerfully. I collapsed to the floor yelling. All I could do was yell from the intense power. It probably lasted about 10 seconds. I could hardly function for the next 30 minutes, because of the intense weight of the Holy Spirit upon me.

The final impartation I will mention in this article occurred in September of 2010 at a Randy Clark meeting in Kalispell, MT. Randy gave an alter call for those who were called to ministry. He asked people to come forward and receive an impartation to help empower them for the call. I went full of faith. When Randy laid hands on me it felt like a bolt of lightning mixed with a mighty rushing wind entered through my mouth from above me. My whole body shook violently as I fell backwards and was caught by someone. I went down to the floor and continued to shake with violence for about 15 seconds. It was a powerful experience that cannot be put into words. The only way to truly explain impartation is to experience it. 

Mistakes and Lessons Learned 

One mistake I made in my early years as a believer was that I focused too much on ministers of God and their ministries. A certain amount of this is tolerated by the Lord when we are immature, but He expects us to grow up. The Lord does not want us to move into idolatry which is exactly where we will go it we focus on leaders and ministries. Our focus should be on the Lord. I can remember waiting in line to receive impartation and focusing on the minister. This was wrong, and my focus should have been directed towards the Lord in receiving the impartation from the Holy Spirit. Ministers should do everything possible to keep the attention of people on the Lord. 

The greatest mistake I made in regards to impartation, was thinking the Lord would do things with me as He did with others. As a young believer I heard stories of how impartation could empower you for ministry. The story taught in the Charismatic church went something like this: “Randy Clark received a powerful impartation from Rodney Howard Browne, and then the Lord used him to spark the Toronto Blessing. John and Carol Arnott, Roland and Hedi Baker, Bill and Beni Johnson, Leif Hetland and Ché Ahn all received powerful impartations at the Toronto Blessing. Then the Lord empowered their ministries and miracles began occurring frequently. Revival broke out.” 

While there may be truth to the above account, there is much more to these stories. These men and women of God already had a long history of walking with God. They had been on a journey with Him for some time, and had experienced the opposite of success. They had been experiencing brokenness that comes from the cross of Christ. The Lord had been spending years preparing their character to receive and handle the anointing. Then in the Lords timing and in His way, He suddenly empowered them with the anointing for fruitful ministries.

No one in the church ever taught about the cross, the wilderness, or the process that the Lord uses to ready a person for the anointing. So I erroneously thought that if I could get a powerful impartation then the Lord would just start using me in great power. In my immaturity, I didn’t know any better. However this way of thinking set me up for deep disappointment and discouragement that I was hardly able to recover from. That is the reason I am writing this article, and why the Lord is restoring the true apostolic in the church. The focus must return to the Lamb of God, and doctrines such as impartation must be explained fully and presented in a proper context. If these doctrines are not presented well, they can damage believers. 

Just because the Lord gave Randy Clark a powerful impartation from Rodney Howard Browne which sparked a revival, does not mean He will do it that way with you or me. The Lord can and oftentimes does do things differently with different people. Moses never received an impartation for ministry from a man. The Lord simply visited him as He did with Elijah and Paul. The Lord Himself empowered these men when they were ready. Jesus does as He pleases and in His timing.

Another of the greatest mistakes I’ve made is trying to get the Lord to commission me in my timing and my way through impartation. When things did not happen in my way and in my timing, it nearly ship wrecked my faith. False expectations that masquerade as faith can lead to a spiritual shipwreck. I did not understand that the Lord has to prepare the character of a person first. A person must experience the cross-life and go through the wilderness before they can handle the anointing. This often takes many years or even decades. Also a person has to have a specific call for the Lord to release a high level of the anointing. Failure to understand these truths can send believers spiraling into a black hole from which they will have great difficulty recovering from. 

Time Release of the Gifts

The Lord often releases impartations for spiritual gifts, but does not activate them immediately. Many times the gifts imparted to us are time delayed by the Lord. Once we are spiritually mature (having continued following Him as disciples), He activates those gifts imparted to us. Some gifts may take years or decades before they are released. Oftentimes believers receive an impartation, and because the gift does not operate immediately; they become discouraged. Their faith and relationship with the Lord is damaged. As mentioned before, I only know this from personal experience.

Are we going to follow the Lord because of who He is, or because of what He gives us? Do we have the discipline to wait for His perfect timing for the gifts that were imparted to us to be released? He knows what we can handle and when we are ready. Focus on intimacy with Him and His Cross (the life of a disciple). The Lord will do it in His timing and in His way. 

Maturity

As we journey with the Lord, we learn to progress from outward forms of receiving, to inward ways of receiving. Instead of receiving an impartation through the laying on of hands, we can receive directly from the Lord Himself. As we grow in Him, we will learn how to access grace from Him within our own hearts. When Jesus is ready for us to be used in a particular way, we can access the grace of God from Him who lives inside of us. The mature learn to go inward, where Christ dwells, and receive from the eternal King.

The Greatest Impartation

The greatest impartation of all is a release of hunger and passion for Jesus. It is a burning fire to seek and know Him. This has been the greatest gift the Lord has ever given me. I focused too much on power gifts, and not enough on the greatest gift I could ever have (to have a heart after God). One of my greatest desires is to be able to release this impartation as the Lord wills. My hearts’ desire is to see people burning with passion for the Lord, and walking in an intimate relationship with Him. Impartation is a very powerful spiritual truth. It must be properly taught, and the focus must remain on the Lord Jesus.

- Ty Unruh (2020)