Acts 19:1-10

And 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.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about twelve men in all.

And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. 10 This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

(ESV)

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While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul headed inland to Ephesus. On his way in, he found twelve disciples and something in their interaction prompted him to ask if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed. They responded that they had not even heard that the Holy Spirit had been given. These twelve were referred to as disciples and Paul spoke of “when they believed” therefore they must have been believers and yet not received the Holy Spirit. Paul asked them what they were baptised into and, like Apollos, they only knew of John’s baptism. Paul explained that John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance for the nation of Israel to prepare for the coming Messiah that was fulfilled in Jesus. With a fuller understanding, they were baptised into the name of the Lord Jesus. After their baptism, Paul laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit and began speaking in tongues and prophesying. The Holy Spirit came upon new believers in different ways throughout the book of Acts and didn’t follow a set pattern. At some key junctures in the establishment of the church, He came upon believers very visibly. At other times believers received the Holy Spirit with no fanfare (most of Paul’s missionary journeys). Paul affirmed in Romans 8:9 that all believers have the Holy Spirit, for whoever does not have the Holy Spirit is not a Christian.

In Ephesus, Paul taught boldly in the synagogue for three months. Once again he spent his time reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. Paul expected people to believe based on sound reasoning, not fanciful faith. While he enjoyed an extended time without opposition, eventually opposition arose from some who were stubborn and continued in unbelief. When they started badmouthing the Way (Christianity), Paul left the synagogue along with those who had believed and began to meet in the hall of Tyrannus. He continued to teach in that hall for another two years and all who lived in Asia heard the gospel of salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus. The province of Asia was the area on the west coast of modern-day Turkey. During this time the churches of Colosse, Laodicea, and Hierapolis were founded (Col 4:13) and some believe all seven of the churches of Revelation 2-3 were also founded but this cannot be confirmed.

Today some don’t put a lot of weight on baptism and yet it was clearly an important part of identifying as a believer in Jesus throughout the book of Acts. Have you been baptised? If not, why not?


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