The Acts of the Apostles 72
Pastor Marty Saturday, July 27, 2024 at 8:55PM Subtitle: Did You Receive the Holy Spirit?
Acts 19:1-10. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on July 14, 2024.
There is much controversy in the Church over the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, also called being filled with the Spirit.
I do believe that Pentecostals need to refrain from labeling ourselves as having the Spirit, and non-Pentecostals as not having the Spirit. As we will see in our story today, even being filled with the Holy Spirit is a work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who believe His testimony.
Think of it this way. In the days of John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit was leading people to believe his message, repent of their sins, and prepare for Messiah. However, that same Holy Spirit would lead them to embrace Jesus once John identified the Messiah for them. Yet, those who embraced Jesus as Messiah before the cross, would need to listen to the Holy Spirit’s testimony to embrace the message of the cross and a crucified Lord. They would then believe Christ and wait in the upper room until the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them.
All of this shows that the Holy Spirit was in their lives and working with them long before they were ever baptized in the Holy Spirit. This is the same dynamic with the men in our story today.
Let’s look at our passage.
Paul comes back to Ephesus (1-10)
It may be as much as a year since Paul had left Ephesus, promising that he would come to them again, God willing. He had spent only a number of days with them that first time. However, now he will spend over two years with them.
Let’s back up a bit and recognize that Paul had followed the original land route of the 2nd missionary journey, and even ended up at the same place where he could go into Asia, or go northwest towards Troas and Greece. The first time, we are told that the Holy Spirit forbade him from going into the province of Asia. This led to him going to Greece. Yet, this time, the Holy Spirit does not forbid him to do so. Paul drops down into Asia and ends up on the coast in Ephesus.
Now, Ephesus was no small town. It is estimated to have had a population of 150,000 to 250,000. It was a bustling city with people coming and going, whether by land routes or by the harbor.
Luke also gives us a side note. Paul ends up in Ephesus while Apollos was in Corinth. This gives us some background to the first letter to the Corinthians, in which, Paul speaks about the ministry of Apollos there. The letter of 1st Corinthians essentially lets us know that Paul was in Ephesus when he wrote it (see 1 Cor. 16:8).
As Paul comes into the city, we are told that he finds “some disciples.” The word “some” here emphasizes this particular group of around twelve disciples. They may or may not have been Ephesians, or have been in the city for very long. Yet, Paul just happened to run into them, probably while he was speaking to people in the marketplace.
In verse two, Paul also speaks of them believing. From this, it is questioned whether or not they are truly Christians. The word disciple as a qualifier is always used of Christians when it is alone. The same is true of believing. Yet, some look at verse 4 and give some kick-back to this. Why would Paul explain to them that John expected his disciples to believe on Jesus if they already did so?
I don’t think we really need to solve the mystery of whether they were only disciples of John, or that they had accepted Jesus as Messiah. Similar to Apollos from the last chapter, they believed John and perhaps knew Jesus as Messiah, but they were lacking the further work of Christ in his Apostles through the Holy Spirit.
We at least know that they are being led by the Holy Spirit, and now, He has intersected their path with a man who can give them further knowledge in Christ. They are disciples who are simply deficient in knowledge. Of course, we can all identify with that. They are in step with the Holy Spirit, and that led them to one of the Apostles so that they could be helped. This is the wonderful work of our heavenly Father through Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
We are not told what leads to Paul’s question, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” Does he suspect that they are not filled with the Holy Spirit? Or, is this a question that he used to quickly discover exactly what they know? We will not know until we ask him in the Kingdom of God.
I mentioned last week that there are some important distinctions between those who were simply disciples of John, and those who had become disciples of Jesus. Both understood that repentance was in order. Yet, once Jesus was revealed as Messiah, the disciples of John were intended to follow Him. By doing so, they would discover the further truths of the cross, resurrection, Spirit Baptism, and the bringing in of the Gentiles.
This brings us to the odd response of these disciples. The New King James Version translates it this way. “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” It sounds like they are saying that they weren’t even aware of the existence of the Holy Spirit, which is highly unlikely.
The original Greek is typical of conversations. We often say things while leaving out words because they are understood in the context. The Greek literally says, “We haven’t even heard that the Holy Spirit is…” Yes, His existence could be in view, but the context is speaking of the receiving of the Holy Spirit, not His existence. They are most likely saying that they hadn’t even heard that the Holy Spirit is to be received. Thus, they were unaware of the Day of Pentecost and the establishment of the Church.
Paul then begins to explain what they are lacking in verse four. John intended them to believe on Jesus as Messiah and be baptized in his name. This leads to them being water baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Their faith is no longer generally in a coming Messiah, but is specifically placed upon Jesus as the fulfillment of that promise.
Paul will, no doubt, connect them to other Christians within the city. It is clear that they hadn’t ran into Aquila or Priscilla. Otherwise, they would have instructed them in these things. These disciples would now be more useful to the Lord.
It appears that Paul lays his hands on them and prays for them after they were water baptized. When he did this, the Holy Spirit came upon them. This is a synonymous term with being “baptized with the Spirit,” or being “filled with the Spirit.” Here, we see that baptism in the Holy Spirit can happen at the same time as a person becoming a Christian. Sometimes it occurs days or months later, but this isn’t necessary. These disciples believe in Jesus, are water baptized, and then baptized in the Spirit within the same event. I would say that Spirit baptism is subsequent to their salvation, but not delayed at all.
Luke doesn’t always do this, but he lists some signs that were evidence that they had received the Holy Spirit. Of course, a person can know for themselves by the witness of the Holy Spirit within them. Yet, the Bible does speak of external signs that let others know that Spirit Baptism has happened. Peter witnessed Cornelius and the other Gentiles filled with the Spirit because something visible happened.
In this case, we are told that they spoke in tongues, and they prophesied. Most likely they were not saying what would happen in the future. Many people think of prophesy as always about future events. In Acts 2:11, those speaking in tongues were understood by the crowd that was from all around that part of the world. “We hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” This apparently doesn’t happen here, but the prophesying (in the common language of that area) most likely is speaking about the works of God.
Christians should understand that God is doing a prophetic work through us, even when we aren’t a prophet within our church. When you share the Gospel with the lost, you are speaking on behalf of God an authoritative message from Him.
Now, there are some in the Church today who say that these signs and spiritual gifts are no longer in operation. They will say that they were only for the first century in order to lay a foundation for the Church. They then say that these things disappeared and that the Holy Spirit no longer does them. Of course, there is no Scripture that says this, though some may try to make one particular passage do so. Until Jesus comes back, we will be in this age where the gifts of the Spirit are necessary for God’s people. It reminds me of Paul’s argument in the book of Galatians. Having begun in the Spirit (with Spiritual gifts) will we now be perfected in the flesh (without them)?
I think that these are generally rejected out of fear. Fear that they seem strange, and also fear that they may lead to false prophecy and kooks. However, the answer to false prophecy is not to shut down all prophecy so that we can be safe. Think about it. You would be squelching the Holy Spirit so that you can be safe. That is not the way of Jesus, nor his apostles. The apostles taught people to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that they could know the spirit of those who came into their midst. They found out and called out any false prophets who ventured into their midst. The flock was safe because they had shepherds who were filled with the Holy Spirit and had spiritual gifts. They didn’t build a protective box around their lives and expect God to only work inside of it. They followed the Holy Spirit outside of the boxes of their traditions, and ideas of men. They didn’t perish in the wilderness of those who refuse to believe, but entered the promised land by faith and inherited. May God help us to grow up in Jesus, learn of him, and grow in the Spirit.
Paul then preaches in the synagogue over the course of three months. During this time, some grew hard to the Gospel while others embraced it by faith. We must always recognize this reality. When God is moving and filling people with the Holy Spirit, there are others who are being hardened by the truth. This is the sad truth of the Gospel. It is wonderful news to some, but to resist it is more damaging spiritually than if you had never heard it in the first place. Behold the severity and the goodness of God.
These disciples didn’t have to know everything because they believed in the God who supplies everything. In due time, the Father who knew their needs even before they did was bringing the solution to them.
Our world and our Republic have become very hard to the Gospel. However, even now, God is still working by His Holy Spirit to draw people to repentance and faith in Jesus. They may be hard, but hard people can go through hard things and be broken before God. He is still showing people the way of the cross. He is still filling people with the Holy Spirit and enabling them to say no to sin. He is still equipping people with spiritual gifts, including tongues and prophecy. He is still leading us to demonstrate the righteousness of Jesus to a world that is full of self-righteousness.
In the end, we will not do anything for Christ without the help of the Holy Spirit. May God help us to be led by the Holy Spirit in this day when people do what is right in their own eyes at best, and follow the deceiving spirits of this age at worst.