The Strand Study Bible

ACTS

ACTS

1820

– vs 2), and yet they are rebaptized here by Paul. The King James Study Bible notes:

They, like John the Baptist, had received Christ and were baptized. But they knew nothing of the church age or the coming of the Holy Spirit, even though theses had happened 20 years earlier. Paul deems it necessary to rebaptize them. The evidence that they had already been saved is substantial. 1

19:2b Are you kidding me? How can these believers not know about the SPIRIT OF GOD ? The first Person of the Triune Godhead ever mentioned in Scripture is the HOLY SPIRIT . Who HE is and the role HE plays within the Triune Godhead is referred to thirteen times (Gen 1:2 & 6:3/ II Thess 2: 3- 6-7 & 41:38, Exo 28:3 & 31:3 & 35:31 and Num 11:17,25,25,26,29 & 24:2 & 27:18) and 2,500 years before mankind would ever learn of another Person of the Triune Godhead’s role ( Deut 1:31 ). There is little doubt but that these converts had little if no prior knowledge of the Scriptures before their conversion; and because Paul knew that nothing gets done for good and for God without the aid of the HOLY SPIRIT , he realized that it was time for them to “catch up.” Question: How important is the role of the HOLY SPIRIT (the Third Person of the Triune Godhead) and what is His primary role? According to Genesis 1:1-2 & 6:3/ II Thess 2:6-7 & 41:29-38, Exo 28:1-3 & 31:1-3 & 35:30-31 and Num 11:10-17,25,25,26, 29 & 24:1-2 & 27:18, His primary role is to take chaos and make order out of it; to make sense of things. That’s His number one job; to bless your life by taking the chaos in your life and making order out of it. So if your life is disorderly and full of chaos, then the SPIRIT OF GOD is clearly absent from your life. NOTE – Like Apollos, these disciples of John the Baptist needed “ the way of God ” expounded unto them more perfectly (Acts 18:26). What these disciples did not understand, when they were first baptized, was that being baptized meant more than just picturing the death, burial, and resurrection of CHRIST . It meant recognizing the HOLY SPIRIT’S presence in one’s life ( We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost ) in order to tap into His power for the sake of witnessing (vs. 6). Until Paul explained to them the THIRD PERSON of the Triune Godhead’s presence inside of them (Jn 7:37-39 & 20:21-22 and I Cor 6:19), they had little understanding about the Trinity, even though it was discussed by John the Baptist back in Matthew 3:11 a . Question: Can a person really be saved and yet not understand the Triune Godhead completely? The answer is yes. An understanding and acceptance of the doctrine of salvation is all that is needed to be saved ( I Cor 15:1 ). Just because a believer doesn’t fully understand the doctrine of creation or the doctrine of sanctification or the actual death, burial and resurrection of CHRIST ( Mt 16: 21- 22 ) doesn’t mean he/she cannot be saved. You can be “ignorant” of the fact that there are three Persons within the Triune Godhead, but you cannot “deny” its doctrine and be saved once you are informed of its facts. Paul’s question was therefore a valid one, “ Unto what then were ye baptized ?” In other words, “Did you not understand the work of the HOLY SPIRIT (His power for witnessing - Acts 1:4-8) in your life the day you were baptized?” Their answer, of course, was, “Not until you explained it to us Paul.” According to the Bible, there are five biblical reasons why every born-again believer ought to be baptized after he is saved ( Acts 2:41 ). 19:5 These disciples of John were baptized once by John when they were first saved. However, because they did not fully understand the SPIRIT or His work, now that they did, they asked to be baptized again ( When they heard this, they were baptized again ). According to the Bible, there are five reasons why a person needs to be baptized after they are saved ( Acts 2:41 ). Those who come to realize all five reasons are usually baptized again. 19:6 According to the context, the HOLY SPIRIT came upon these believers, immediately after Paul laid his hands upon them (symbolizing the transference of power – Heb 6:2 b ). They were then heard to “speak with tongues.” Curtis Hutson in Bread for Believers notes: The reason for the power of the HOLY SPIRIT is for “boldness in witnessing” ( prophesying - Acts 1:4-8, Num 11:26, I Sam 10:6,10 & 19:20-23, Ezk 11:4-5 & 37:1-4, Mic 3:8, Lk 1:41,67 and Acts 19:6), not speaking in tongues ( I Cor 12:30 & 14:21 a,b ). According to the Bible, there are seven visible evidences of the Spirit’s fullness ( Acts 4:13 ), speaking in tongues not being one of them. Prophesying (proclaiming the Word of God with boldness –and in this case, proclaiming the Gospel) is but one of the seven visible evidences ( Acts 2:17-18 ). NOTE – It is to be noted that some of the finest Christians I know and am associated with believe in speaking in tongues, and although I do not agree with them concerning some of their charismatic doctrine, many of them love the Lord Jesus with all their heart ( Acts 10:44 and Mt 22:34-38). 19:13 Not everybody who claims to know Jesus “knows ” Jesus (Mt 7:21-23). 19:17 At first glance this statement appears to be a contradiction in terms. To “magnify” is to enlarge. How can anyone enlarge the Lord Jesus? He is the Creator of heaven and earth (Heb 1:2,10), who upholds all things by the word of His power (Colo1:16- 17). His natural magnitude is such that He fills the universe and there is nothing that man can do to enhance His nature or increase His stature. Yet, we find ourselves attempting to magnify Him (Psa 34:1-3 & 40:16 & 70:4 and Lk 1:46-47). In the pursuit of scientific knowledge, scientists use in the field and the laboratory an ocular instrument called a microscope. We seldom stop to think, however, that by magnifying something, we have not changed its size one iota. The object under observation remains its original self, as the microscope leaves the object unchanged and unaffected in every sense. Our conclusion: magnifying does not affect what is being observed; it affects only the observer, giving him a wider, broader and deeper vision of the object he is magnifying. So it is with Christ. We certainly cannot enlarge Him. In fact, Solomon said in preparation of the building of the Here again the Bible does not say they spoke with heavenly languages or in some ecstatic utterance, but that they spoke with tongues, or languages. Ephesus, a great cosmopolitan city, was made up of people from different parts of the Roman world. The Bible does not indicate what languages were spoken. But it clearly indicates that more than one language was used: they spake with tongues (plural). And verse 7 states, And all the men were about twelve . It is possible that a dozen different languages were spoken, as these new Christians, filled with joy, prophesied. 2