Finally, we should look at the two cases in Samaria and Ephesus. As a result of Philip’s evangelistic visit to Samaria, a group of people believed and were baptized. But they did not receive the Holy Spirit. The apostles in Jerusalem heard of this and sent Peter and John to Samaria to pray for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. While they prayed, they laid hands on them. As a result, the Holy Spirit came upon and anointed them.
Baptism is a declaration that we have forsaken the world, whereas the laying on of hands is a declaration that we have entered the Body. These are two sides of one thing. On the one hand, we are baptized and have forsaken the world, which is on the negative side. On the other hand, we entered into the Body the very moment someone laid his hands upon us. Since we are in the Body, we need to be identified with all the children of God and need to submit to the authority of the Head. If we put our entire being under the authority of the Head, we will experience the flowing of the anointing within. Once our position is right, the anointing will flow to us. If our position is wrong, the anointing will not flow to us. The Samaritans believed in the Lord and were saved. But they were in a peculiar predicament—the Holy Spirit had not come upon them. The apostles came and laid their hands on their heads, thus placing them under the authority of the Head, uniting and joining them to the entire Body. At that very moment a marvelous thing happened: The Holy Spirit descended upon them and the anointing flowed to them.
Let us now look at the case in Ephesus. During one of his evangelistic journeys, Paul arrived in Ephesus, where he met twelve disciples who had received only the baptism of John. Paul asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They replied, “On the contrary, we did not even hear whether there is a Holy Spirit.” Paul then asked, “Into what then were you baptized?” (Acts 19:2-3). Paul saw the problem; they did not have the proper foundation.
How could a person not have the Holy Spirit if he had already believed in Jesus? There was definitely something wrong with their foundation. Into what were they baptized? The answer could be easily found. They had received only the baptism of John and had not been put into Christ. Therefore, Paul said that they needed to be baptized again, this time into the name of Christ. Then Paul laid hands on them. The laying on of hands follows baptism. One needs to get into the Body and submit to the authority of the Head. This is the meaning of the laying on of hands.
If a man is not baptized, he cannot receive the laying on of hands. A person must first be baptized, forsake the world, and enter into Christ, having died and resurrected. Then he must see that he should live by the Body and be under the authority of the Head. Then when he receives the laying on of hands, the Holy Spirit will descend upon him. The outward manifestation of the Spirit is not the primary focus of what is received. Rather, I must emphasize the inward flowing of the anointing.
Psalm 133 shows us that the Head has been anointed. The anointing of the Head equals the anointing of the Body, which equals the anointing of every member. Thank and praise God that when the anointing oil flowed down from the Head, we received it because we are in the Body. When we have the anointing, it is a small matter whether or not the Lord gives us outward signs. Please note that the outward signs at Pentecost are too external; they are not that crucial. We believe that the Holy Spirit still comes upon man today. Outward signs are merely one manifestation of the anointing. As long as there is the anointing, it matters little whether or not there are any outward signs. What is important is the source of the anointing. The anointing comes when the anointing of the Head becomes the anointing of the members. For this reason, prayers that are accompanied by the laying on of hands bear tremendous significance.