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November 28th

The Bible reading today is in the last half of Acts 18 and all of 19.

Paul was still in his second missionary journey and he spent a little over a year in Corinth of Achaia. There he partnered with Aquilla and his wife Pricilla. Tradition says that this couple was a part of the 70 disciples mentioned in Luke 10 that Jesus sent to the towns and cities that he would be visiting...they would prepare the way for Christ’s ministry.

Apparently, Aquilla and Priscilla became Christ’s missionaries to Achaia...in particular, Corinth...a tough place to evangelize, even as Paul would find out. There was a measure of spiritual fruitfulness. And that led to the establishment of the Church at Corinth.

From there, Paul traveled 350 miles to Ephesus...a seaport city on the Aegean Sea of modern-day Turkey.

There he found some disciples...“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.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭19:1-2‬

So Paul talked to some disciples in Ephesus. He asked them what I considered a strange question.

“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

At first, I thought they must not have been converts of Paul or of Apollos...both of whom had ministered the word in Ephesus before.

Surely the apostle Paul would have told those who got saved during his first three months there that in Christ they were the house of the Holy Spirit...that the Spirit indwelled them to conform them into the image of Christ.

So why would Paul ask them if they had the Holy Spirit?

Let’s think about this...It had been at least 14 years since the death and resurrection of Christ. Jesus had ascended to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to his followers, just like he promised. The gospel and the church had spread rapidly in the Roman Empire...especially during this season of Roman persecution.

In my simple thinking, perhaps Paul asked that question about having the Holy Spirit because to him something was missing in their so-called faith in Jesus.

Paul taught that if anyone was in Christ he or she was a new creature, old things passed away, all things became new. Maybe Paul didn't see the change in living that the presence of the Holy Spirit brings. Or maybe the Spirit gave Paul discernment that these twelve people knew that they needed to get right with God (like John the Baptist’s baptism called people to)...but they had not yet been born again by the Holy Spirit.

So Paul prayed for them. He even laid his hands upon them. They showed their faith in Christ in their believer’s baptism...and the presence and power of the Holy Spirit was revealed and demonstrated in and through them with gifts of tongues and prophesy.

One Sunday morning he asked his congregation if they thought they would know it if they were struck by lightning. They answered in unison.” Yes”.

Spurgeon paused and said, “And so would one know it measurably more when the Spirit of Christ takes up residence in his heart.

And I say...”Amen and amen!

Have a great day