An Outline Of Acts 19:1-7

Introduction: Paul arrived in Ephesus and trouble soon followed him. He discovered a group of twelve disciples of John the Baptist, first, and re-baptized them. Then Paul was able to explain additional truth to these disciples. Some good things followed after that!

Text: Acts 19:1-7, KJV: 1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, 2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. 4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should 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 his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. 7 And all the men were about twelve.

Thoughts:

--Paul came to Ephesus after staying 18 months or more in Corinth (Acts 18) and returning to Antioch. After that, he went through Asia Minor (Galatia and Phrygia, Acts 18:23) strengthening the new believers.

--One of the first encounters Paul had was with a group of twelve disciples. These men, though, were a much different group than the original Twelve Disciples of our Lord!

--Something was wrong because Paul had to ask them if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed (literal translation per https://biblehub.com/text/acts/19-2.htm). Note: the terms “Holy Spirit” and “Holy Ghost” are identical Greek words, “Pneuma Hagion”, as above. I know of one dear preacher who was convinced there was a difference between the “Holy Spirit” and the “Holy Ghost”, but the original words prove these are One and the same.

--Another thing was wrong: these twelve said, “We never heard anything about the Holy Ghost/Holy Spirit”. One of John the Baptist’s messages was that he baptized in water but One (the Messiah) was coming and He would baptize people with the Holy Ghost (Mark 1:8).

--Paul then asked them “unto what were you baptized?” One question is, how did the topic of baptism even come up? Had the twelve brought up the subject? Were they still preaching a variation of John’s message/s? Some think these men were like Apollos, who only knew about the baptism of John (Acts 18:24-28).

--The twelve replied “unto John’s baptism”, which was described in each of the four Gospels. This was a baptism of repentance, looking forward to the coming Kingdom. Jesus Himself was baptized by John (Matthew 3, Luke 3). That Kingdom, though promised and offered, was rejected and the King, crucified!

--Some believe these John-followers received a second, literal, baptism; others do not. The important thing is that they responded to Paul’s message in a positive manner, realizing something was wrong and then doing something about it.

--Finally, for these men, they received the Holy Spirit (“Holy Ghost”, KJV) when (after) Paul had laid his hands on them. As an apostle, he had this authority and privilege to do this. The men spoke in other tongues or languages, much the same as at Pentecost (Acts 2) and when Cornelius and at least some of his household believed the Gospel (Acts 10:44-48).

--There is no direct application for us today. This was a one-time or singular event meant for only a few of perhaps misinformed believers who received the Holy Spirit (of Whom they had heard nothing!) and proved it. This is one of the last times speaking in other tongues is mentioned in the Book of Acts.

--An indirect application could be for those of us who hear something that doesn’t sound quite right to inquire, investigate, and explain the truth to those who aren’t preaching the truth. Apollos was an eloquent speaker, but he had only limited knowledge of the Truth until Aquila and Priscilla explained the Truth more completely. The same happened here.

--May the Lord give us opportunities to share our faith in any way He permits!

Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV).