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Acts 19:1–7
“It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ And they said, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit’” (vv. 1–2).
On his second missionary journey, Paul spent only a short time in Ephesus, where he preached to some Jews. Taking his leave, Paul told them that he would return “if God wills” and made his way back to Syrian Antioch (Acts 18:21). The Lord, in fact, did will for the Apostle to visit Ephesus again, and today’s passage begins Luke’s account of Paul’s second stay in that city.
Paul, having traveled inland through the province of Asia, arrived in the city of Ephesus after Apollos had left there to go to Corinth. Back in Ephesus, the Apostle “found some disciples” (19:1). Although Paul does not specify that these were disciples of Jesus, Luke’s use of the term without any additional descriptor indicates that these individuals were followers of Christ. These disciples were not well educated in the faith, however, and it is unclear from whom they had first learned it. Paul asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit, and they replied that they had not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit (v. 2). Plainly, their knowledge of Jesus did not come from an Apostle or anyone with a close association with an Apostle, for the Apostolic preaching included teaching on the Spirit (see 2:38). These Ephesian disciples had received only the baptism of John (19:3).
Paul knew that this situation had to be rectified, for Jesus commands His disciples to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:18–20). So Paul baptized them properly. Then Paul laid his hands on them, and “the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.” At last, those twelve Ephesian disciples had the fullness of salvation (Acts 19:4–7).
Christians in the Pentecostal theological tradition look at episodes such as this one as proof of their doctrine that God gives the Holy Spirit as a second work after conversion and water baptism, but that is an improper reading of the text. First, note that the book of Acts describes a transitional period from the Apostolic ministry to the settled life of the new covenant church until Jesus returns. Not everything about the Apostolic era is repeated once the Apostles finish laying the foundation of the church and pass from the scene (Eph. 2:19–20). Second, Ephesus represents “the end of the earth,” the fourth area that Jesus said His Apostles would reach with the gospel (Acts 1:8). A special coming of the Holy Spirit occurred at Ephesus to confirm that God really was planting His church in every place and that He desires all the peoples of the earth to serve Him.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
When we are studying Scripture, we must be careful not to take everything mentioned in the biblical narratives as normative for all time. Some of what is described narratively sets forth duties for the church until Jesus returns, but other things do not. We need to read narratives in light of direct teaching in places such as the New Testament Epistles to discern what is normative from the narrative and what is not.
For further study
- Psalm 119:148
- Acts 8:14–17
- Romans 15:4
- 2 Timothy 2:15
The bible in a year
- Psalms 113–115
- 1 Corinthians 2