The Beliefs of John Robert Stevens

The patriarchs of the Old Testament imparted to their children by the laying on of hands. The Old Testament prophets and priests did likewise. Paul talked about the spiritual gifts that he imparted to Timothy by the laying on of hands (II Timothy 1:6). These are all examples of impartation.

Stevens used the term impartation to describe the act of transferring a spiritual reality from one person to another:

It goes back to the scriptural truth that when a man laid his hands on a little lamb, and believed to do it, he imparted his guilt to that lamb. Likewise, God laid upon Jesus, the Lamb of God, the iniquity of us all.¹

Salvation takes place in our lives because of this process of impartation. We simply believe the Lord, open our hearts to receive Him, and salvation is imparted to us. Further examples of impartation are seen in the Christian ordinances of baptism, communion, anointing the sick with oil, and foot-washing.

Stevens taught that God can impart not only His attributes, but His very nature through impartation. He believed that human beings are not able to perfect themselves; they require an impartation of the Lord’s nature in order to be perfected. Just as a Christian simply believes with faith and receives God’s grace, so also can God’s nature be imparted to those who believe.

You cannot follow legalism; the striving of the flesh will lead you nowhere. Instead, open your heart to God’s impartation. Everything you receive comes from God, on the basis of faith, by His grace. Believe that He wants to give the fruit of the Spirit to you as much as He does to anyone else. His intention is that everything He is be imparted to every believer.²

The term impartation appears 997 times in Stevens’ written materials.