for the reception of the Holy Ghost. This is a principle, to a great
extent, ignored by the Christian world, yet plainly taught in the
scriptures.
Peter, and his brethren of the twelve, had doubtless all been baptized,
and endeavored to lead holy lives during their association with Jesus;
yet we find Him, just previous to His ascension on high, telling them:
"Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the
city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. And He
led them out as far as to Bethany, and He _lifted up His hands_ and
blessed them." (_Luke xxiv_. 49, 50).
We find a still further explanation of the manner of obtaining this
gift and blessing, in the Acts of the Apostles, where He "commanded
them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the
promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of me. For John
truly baptized with water, but ye shall be _baptized with the Holy
Ghost_ not many days hence" (_Acts i_. 4, 5).
Turning to the account of the ministry of Philip, in Samaria, we find
that after the Samaritans had exercised FAITH sufficient to cause them
to repent, they had been BAPTIZED under the hands of Philip. "Now when
the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received
the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: who, when they
were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost
(for as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in
the name of the Lord Jesus). Then _laid they their hands on them, and
they received the Holy Ghost"_ (_Acts viii_. 14-17).
Paul, writing to Timothy, charged him thus: "Neglect not the gift that
is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy with the laying on of the
hands of the presbytery" (_I. Tim. iv_. 14); and again, "Wherefore I
put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in
thee by the putting on of my hands" (_II. Tim. i_. 6).
We also call the attention of the reader to the account of {315} Paul's
visit to the baptized Saints of Ephesus, and his inquiry of them: "Have
ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him,
We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. * * *
Then they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul
had _laid his hands_ upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them: and they
spake with tongues and prophesied" (_Acts xix_. 2-5).
Sufficient has doubtless been said to clearly establish the fact that
the gift of the Holy Ghost was formerly obtained by the laying on of
the hands of those who held the authority to do so. Nowhere do we find
that the order here laid down has been supplanted or annulled. On
the contrary, the apostles spoke in the strongest terms against any
innovation upon the established forms that Jesus taught them.
Paul, writing to the Galatians, speaks of those who were "perverting"
the gospel; doubtless teaching that the laying on of hands was not
necessary, or else that it was done away with, and says, "But though
we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that
which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (_Gal. i_. 8).
The reader has now examined the fourth step for man's advancement
in the probation in which he is now living: and in the words of our
Savior, "He that entereth not by the _door_ into the sheepfold, but
climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber" (_John
x_. 1).
We have traced man from a pre-existent state, before the world began,
when he dwelt in the presence of the Father and of our elder Brother
Jesus, and mingled with the spirits who have or shall come into this
sphere of action.
As it is beautifully expressed in one of the songs of Zion:
"Oh, my Father, Thou that dwellest
In the high and glorious place!
When shall I regain Thy presence,
And again behold Thy face?
In Thy holy habitation,
Did my spirit once reside?
In my first, primeval childhood,
Was I nurtured near Thy side?
"For a wise and glorious purpose
Thou hast placed me here on earth,
And withheld the recollection,
Of my former friends and birth;
Yet ofttimes a secret something
Whisper'd, 'You're a stranger here;'
And I felt that I had wandered
From a more exalted sphere."
{316} This is certainly a grander and nobler conception of man's origin
than that of some of the would-be philosophers of today, who advocate
the idea of evolution from a lower scale.
Having described the nature of the duties (to have faith in God and His
promises, to repent of his sins, to be baptized for their remission,
and to receive the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost)
that he must perform in this life to lay a foundation for future
exaltation, we now turn to the consideration of man's