1 And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples 2 he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7 Now the men were about twelve in all. 8 And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. 9 But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10 And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
Commentary
Vs. 1-2 1 And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples 2 he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”
And so it was while the Apostle Paul was going through the upper regions; that is revisiting Galatia and Phrygia, (and Apollos was at Corinth); that he came back overland through the mountainous pass to Ephesus, which was located on the western coast of Asia minor. Now when he arrived there Paul found some disciples, however he soon realized that these were not born-again, and so he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” Vs. 2 These disciples then had not yet heard the fullness of the Gospel, and so the Apostle Paul when he heard them say that he began to explain to them the difference between John’s Baptism and Christ’s (vs. 3-7).
Vs. 3-4 3 And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”
The Apostle Paul then upon hearing they had only been baptized into John’s Baptism; that is they only heard that they were to repent and be baptized in preparation for the Lord Jesus Christ’s coming; now goes onto tell them that John himself pointed all people to believe on Christ Jesus and that He has now come and has been Crucified for all our sins and transgressions, and that God has raised Him from the dead on the third day, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (vs. 3-4).
Vs. 5-6 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7 Now the men were about twelve in all.
Having then heard the fullness of the Gospel they were all baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ (vs. 5). Now not until the Apostle Paul laid his hands on them did they all speak with tongues and prophesy, and there were twelve in all. And so once again we have a very unique situation in the development of the early church, that God Himself did, so as to establish His Work and Presence to those who believed there through His Apostle Paul. For it was not until the Apostle Paul laid his hands on them, that the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. Which must now be construed as the norm, since the Holy Spirit now comes into everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ the moment they believe in Him (Eph. 1:13-14). And so, this occurrence like the other unique occurrences in the Book of Acts, was done so that there would be a visible manifestation of God’s Spirit to those present and involved so that they would know that this had taken place. Because up until those times the early believers and church were still learning about these things, and the Will of God was being revealed to them through His doing these things. Like in Acts 8:14-18 when the Samaritans believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, but they did not immediately receive the Holy Spirit, because they had not been baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Indicating the importance of preaching the fullness of God in ones Gospel presentations, But more to the point of the delay then, was the Apostles themselves needed to know that God had received the Samaritans as equals with the Jews in the Gospel, and thus He revealed this to them by delaying giving them the Holy Spirit just as He gave it to them at Pentecost until the Apostle Peter came there laid his hands on them, and then they received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues languages so that both they and he were established in each other’s minds. Similarly, in Acts 10 which once again was God revealing to His Apostles, specifically the Apostle Peter, that He was receiving all Gentiles who believe in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. For until that time they were only preaching the Gospel to Jews and Samaritans. And so when God gave Peter His vision of doing so and later brought him and the Gentile Cornelius together, so that Peter could preach the Gospel to him and his household, when they believed in the Lord Jesus Christ through his preaching Christ to them, they too spoke in tongues; like the Apostle did at Pentecost; as a visible conformation to both Peter and the Jews with him, that God had now also sanctified the Gentiles (Acts 10:44-48). For not everyone is given the gift of tongues or prophecies (1 Cor. 12:4-11). And so here in Acts 19 we have the last Scriptural occurrence of such unique things, and this time it was so that the Apostle Paul could be established as an Apostle in the minds of the Jews at Ephesus, and even at Jerusalem. Therefore, with the full revelation of God now given us all in the N.T. Scriptures, no believer should now anticipate or expect such things to occur to them, or anyone else, “since we now walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Cor. 5:7
Vs. 8 “And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God.”
After the Apostle Paul helped bring some disciples of John into the fullness of the faith in Christ, and he himself experienced God using him to bring His Holy Spirit to them through the laying on of his hands when they believed. The Apostle went into the synagogue at Ephesus and for three months he spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading the people there concerning the things of the Kingdom of God.
Vs. 9-10 “But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10 And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.”
However once again there were Jews there who were hardened, who did not believe and so these spoke evil of the Way (i.e., the Way of salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone), before the multitude, i.e., the Gentiles who were believing. And so, the Apostle Paul departed from them taking the disciples with him, (just as we should depart from everyone who hardens themselves, and begins to speak evil of the way of salvation through Christ’s Person alone), and he went to the school of Tyrannus (likely a Greek school of philosophy) were he reasoned with those attending there for two full years, teaching and preaching the Gospel, “so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.” Thus, when those of the synagogue would no longer permit his preaching the Gospel the Apostle Paul went to the Greeks, to their school, and the effect of this was that the Gospel spread far and wide. This principal then should also be followed by us when any individual, church congregation, or denomination turns from the Way, one should depart from them, and take the Word and the Way to those who will receive it, believe it, keep it and obey it. Because to try to change those who are already hardened is only to miss out on God’s Work and harvest.
Scripture Quotations
New King James (1982):Thomas Nelson.
No comments:
Post a Comment