Impartation: Why It Is Necessary for the Work of God
- Apostle Chad Collins
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
Spiritual matters matter. I have found that many believers have been taught the message of the gospel, but they have not been taught the spiritual reality of the gospel. They may know Bible verses. They may know theology. They may even believe God heals, delivers, speaks, and performs miracles.
But there is a difference between having information about God and receiving what God gives by His Spirit.
The gospel is not merely a message to study. It is not simply a moral code, a theological framework, or a religious tradition. The gospel is a revelation of Jesus Christ, and it also carries impartation. If we are going to fulfill what God has called us to do, we must understand both.
The gospel is revelation and impartation.
Key Takeaways
The gospel brings revelation of Christ and impartation of new life through the Holy Spirit.
Impartation is a divine spiritual transfer that equips believers for their God-given assignments.
Apostolic ministry helps establish believers through spiritual gifts, authority, instruction, and discipleship.
Impartation must be stewarded with humility, character, submission, and faithful spiritual training.
Table of Contents
Revelation Shows Us Christ, Impartation Gives Us New Life
Revelation is what God unveils to the heart. The cross reveals Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It reveals His death, His resurrection, His victory, and His soon coming. The truth of the gospel is not discovered merely through human intelligence. It is revealed by the Spirit of God.
Paul taught that the mystery of Christ had been hidden and was later made known by God. If the rulers of darkness had understood what God was accomplishing through the cross, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. The cross carried a revelation that the enemy did not fully understand.
Yet the gospel does not stop with revelation. When I receive Christ, I receive new life through the Holy Spirit. That new life is not something I can earn, read into existence, or figure out through natural ability. It is imparted by faith.
There is an important distinction here:
- Righteousness is imputed.
By faith, Christ's righteousness is credited to me. I did not earn it.
- New life is imparted.
The Holy Spirit gives me the life of the new creation.
God does not simply tell me to live differently. He imparts the spiritual life and power necessary to become what He has called me to be. That is why a person can know a great deal about Scripture and still lack spiritual effectiveness. Knowledge alone is not impartation.
Jesus breathed on His disciples and told them to receive the Holy Spirit. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fell upon believers, and they were filled and spoke with other tongues. Those were not just educational moments. They were divine impartations. The Spirit gave what human learning never could.
For helpful context, the accounts of Jesus breathing on the disciples and the outpouring at Pentecost can be read in John 20:22 and Acts 2:1-4.
What Is Spiritual Impartation?
Impartation is a spiritual transfer or sharing of a divine gift, blessing, grace, or authority. God is always the true source. No person replaces God. But throughout Scripture, God uses human vessels as points of contact to equip, strengthen, and empower others for faith, service, and ministry.
Impartation is the work of the Spirit. It is God adding something to a person that helps them carry out their calling.
I believe this is one reason spiritual things are often mocked or dismissed. Some people do not understand prophecy, healing, miracles, being overcome by the power of God, or other demonstrations of the Holy Spirit. In many cases, they have not received revelation concerning these things. And even where there is revelation, impartation may still be missing.
I have seen people study the lives of healing evangelists and ministers who walked in extraordinary power. There is nothing wrong with learning from those lives. But reading about an anointing is not the same as receiving an impartation for the work God has called me to do.
An encounter with God's power is real. A touch from God is real. But an encounter is not automatically an impartation. Impartation is specific. It is a grace, gift, or spiritual enablement that God entrusts to a person for His purpose.
Why Apostolic Ministry Matters in Impartation
One of the major functions of apostolic ministry is impartation. When I speak about apostolic, I am not speaking about a denomination. I am speaking about the ministry office described in the New Testament.
An apostolic ministry carries authority and has a unique assignment in establishing, equipping, and strengthening the work of God. Apostles may pastor, but not every pastor is called to the apostolic office. Every ministry gift has its own function, whether pastor, teacher, evangelist, prophet, or apostle.
Paul gave a powerful example in Romans 1:11. He wrote to the church in Rome, a church he did not establish, and expressed his desire to visit so that he could impart a spiritual gift to them for their strengthening and establishment.
That is significant. Paul understood that revelation alone would not fully establish the work. There was a spiritual supply God intended to release through apostolic ministry.
God can impart directly, and He can use any believer as He wills. But Scripture repeatedly shows God using leaders, prophets, and apostles as points of contact. The Bible often says that great signs and wonders occurred through the hands of the apostles. That does not mean their hands had power apart from God. It means God used them as vessels through which His power was released.
I have seen this firsthand. People can receive ministry, encounter the power of God, begin having prophetic dreams, receive healing, or experience fresh boldness. The Lord is the One doing it. Yet He often uses the authority and grace of a ministry as the point of contact.
Impartation Has Evidence
When God imparts something, there is often evidence. The evidence is not always immediate, and it does not always look identical from person to person. But a genuine impartation produces fruit over time.
My first personal experience of human impartation came after I was saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. My father, who functioned as a prophet, spoke over my life. That prophetic impartation was followed by an activation in the dream realm. I began having prophetic dreams, and that grace continued to develop.
The gift became evidence of the impartation.
In my own life, I have had many impartations directly from the Lord in dreams. Solomon received wisdom in a dream after asking God for it. The account in 1 Kings 3:5-12 shows that God is able to impart what He desires in ways that go beyond natural instruction.
I have had dreams in which the Lord spoke to me concerning wisdom, prophecy, healing, and miracles. In one dream, an angelic figure declared that prophecy, healing, and miracles would become prevalent in my ministry. That was not simply a dream to admire. It was an impartation connected to an assignment.
God may impart through:
The laying on of hands
A spoken prophetic word joined with faith
A divine encounter or dream
Directly through the work of the Holy Spirit
The method may differ, but the source is always God.
Scriptural Patterns of Impartation
The Old Testament gives us clear patterns. Joshua was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses laid his hands on him. That did not mean Joshua became Moses. It meant God transferred a measure of grace needed for Joshua's assignment. Israel recognized the evidence and began to follow Joshua's leadership.
You can read that account in Deuteronomy 34:9.
Elijah and Elisha also reveal the pattern. Elisha served Elijah faithfully. He did not merely seek an anointing while rejecting the relationship, training, and discipline that came with it. He followed, served, learned, and remained faithful. Then, by God's sovereignty, he received a double portion of the spirit that rested upon Elijah.
There is a reason Elisha was able to continue in powerful ministry. He did not treat impartation as a shortcut. He understood spiritual order, service, and spiritual fathering.
Paul told Timothy to stir up the gift of God that was in him through the laying on of Paul's hands. Timothy received impartation, but Paul also gave Timothy instruction. That is the pattern. Impartation and instruction belong together.
An impartation without discipleship and instruction can become dangerous.
Do Not Receive the Gift and Reject the Discipline
This is where many people miss it. They want power, anointing, spiritual gifts, prophecy, healing, and miracles. But they do not want correction, discipleship, submission, or the process of learning the ways of the Lord.
Joshua served Moses. Timothy served under Paul. Elisha served Elijah. Jesus Himself spent three and a half years training His disciples. If Jesus took that kind of time to train those He imparted to, nobody should think they can receive one touch, attend a few services, and suddenly be ready to operate independently.
I have seen people receive a measure of grace, then separate themselves from the instruction that would help them steward it. That leads to confusion. It can lead to spiritual pride. It can lead to destructive behavior.
We must remain humble enough for God to add to us. Pride limits impartation. Resistance limits impartation. Disobedience limits impartation. I have had to empty myself in certain seasons in order to receive what God wanted to add. There are areas of boldness and authority I walk in now that I did not walk in years ago.
God had to bring me forward, and I had to embrace what He was giving.
The Warning in the Life of Gehazi
The life of Elisha carries a sobering lesson. Elisha received impartation from Elijah and performed twice as many recorded miracles. Yet when Elisha died, the anointing remained associated with his bones. A dead man was later placed in his tomb, touched Elisha's bones, and came back to life.
That shows how powerful the anointing on Elisha was. But it also raises a serious question: who was prepared to receive and carry that impartation forward?
Gehazi, Elisha's servant, should have understood the value of what he was around. Instead, he allowed greed and corruption to enter his heart when Naaman was healed. He pursued money behind Elisha's back and was struck with leprosy.
Gehazi is more than a historical figure. He is a warning. A generation may desire the benefits of anointing while lacking the character to carry it. People can seek gifts without seeking the God who gives the gifts. They can seek recognition without receiving instruction.
God does not impart spiritual authority merely to satisfy ambition. He imparts for service, holiness, faithfulness, and the advancement of His kingdom.
Revelation Must Be Followed by Impartation
God reveals, and then He imparts what is necessary to fulfill the revelation.
He revealed His Son, and He gave the Holy Spirit. He reveals a calling, and He provides the grace required to walk in it. He reveals revival, healing, prophetic ministry, or a kingdom assignment, and then He releases impartation to move that work forward.
It is one thing to recognize what God is doing. It is another thing to carry the impartation to help advance it.
That is why I believe we must not casually dismiss apostolic ministry, spiritual authority, or the gifts of the Spirit. God is a God of order. All believers are equal at the cross, but God still establishes order, grace, responsibility, and spiritual assignments in His kingdom.
If God has revealed something to you, seek Him for the impartation needed to fulfill it. Stay humble. Stay teachable. Remain faithful in the place of discipleship. Do not settle for a religious understanding of spiritual things when God desires to give you living evidence of His Spirit.
The gospel is revelation, and the gospel is impartation. God reveals His purpose, then He gives grace by His Spirit to bring that purpose to life.
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