The Bible clearly shows us that a man needs to be baptized. The Bible also clearly shows us that a man needs to receive the laying on of hands. We can see this in two instances in Acts—in Samaria and in Ephesus. In both cases baptism was followed by the laying on of hands. This was clearly the apostles’ practice in their days. Today, if God’s children are only baptized without experiencing the laying on of hands, their experience is not complete. The Bible clearly contains both the teaching and the pattern for this matter.
Hebrews 6:1 tells us that we should leave the word of the beginning of Christ and be brought on to maturity. There are several truths in the Christian life which should never be compromised. They are the foundation. A believer does not need to lay this foundation again and again. However, it does need to be laid. What is the word of the beginning of Christ? It is repentance, faith, baptism, the laying on of hands, resurrection, and judgment. The Bible shows us clearly that the foundation of the word of Christ includes baptism and the laying on of hands. If we have received baptism without receiving the laying on of hands, we are short of this foundation in our pursuit of the Lord.
The error of the church today is altogether different from the error the Hebrew believers fell into at that time. The Hebrew believers already had laid the foundation, yet they wanted to lay the same foundation again and again, thus going about in circles. What about the church today? It has made some progress, but its foundation is not well laid. The apostle told the Hebrew believers to leave the word of the beginning of Christ and strive to be brought on to maturity. In the case of Christians today, they move forward too fast without laying this foundation at all. This is too hasty. You have to see that the laying on of hands is part of the foundation of the word of Christ. Those who have laid this foundation need to move forward, whereas those who have not must do so. Our teaching today is different from the apostle’s teaching. He admonished people to leave something behind, whereas we exhort people to turn back to pick up these things.
If you have to build a house with six rocks as the foundation, you cannot afford to miss one. If one is missing, a problem will occur someday. Anything that serves as a foundation is indispensable. If baptism, as one part of the foundation, is missing, trouble will arise in the future. If the laying on of hands, as another part of the foundation, is missing, trouble will also arise down the road. One cannot be careless about the foundation. One cannot build a house upon a poorly laid foundation. If part of the foundation is missing, it must be completed before he can proceed with the rest of the building.
We have covered baptism and what it does for us. Baptism delivers us out of the world. Through baptism a man is saved and delivered out of the world. At the same time, baptism puts one into Christ and entitles him to a share in His resurrection. But what does the laying on of hands do for us? What does the laying on of hands mean?
The answers to these questions can be found in Leviticus 1, 3, and 4. These passages most frequently refer to the matter of the laying on of hands in the Old Testament. What is the meaning of a person laying his hands on the head of an animal in the Old Testament? There are two meanings.