PT-1 "Old Testament Saints in Transition" (Acts 19:1-7)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/7/2018 9:51 AM

My Worship Time                                            Focus:  PT-2 “Old Testament Saints in Transition”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 19:1-7

            Message of the verses:  “1 It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. 2 He said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said to him, "No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." 3 And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" And they said, "Into John’s baptism." 4 Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in 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 Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. 7 There were in all about twelve men.”

            We have been discussing as to whether or not these twelve men were believers or not, and have come to the conclusion that even though that they had heard John preach and were even baptized by him that because they have not heard that Jesus died for them that they were not believers.  When Paul asked them, in verse two if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed their answer was that they did not know that there was a Holy Spirit.  This probably is what confirmed in Paul’s heart that they were not yet believers in Jesus Christ for their salvation.  Paul then does some more investigation asking “Into what then were you baptized?”  Their answer was John the Baptist’s baptism.  According to J. B. Lightfoot this was not unusual to find people who had been baptized by John the Baptist even though this was 25 years after the death of Christ, and goes on to state that there were some found even as far into the second century.

            Paul explains why John came, as he was the forerunner of the One who would come to die on the cross for them, that of course being Jesus Christ.  This offers further proof that these were not believers for they had not even heard of Jesus Christ whom John said that He would come after him.  John explains to them about what Christ did and not about what the Holy Spirit does, at least not at this moment.  I am sure that after they became believers that Paul would explain this to them, that is the word of the Spirit.

            John MacArthur writes “The light of the truth dawned in their hearts ‘when they heard’ Paul’s teaching, and ‘they were baptized’ in water ‘in the name of the Lord Jesus,’ signifying their spiritual union with Him by faith.  Immediately, in a gesture of apostolic affirmation, ‘Paul laid his nands upon them.’  Some of the apostles had been present at each new phase of the church (Acts 2, 8, 10) so that they would be authoritative witnesses to the reality that all who believed in Jesus Christ were on in Him.  I. Howard Marshall notes that

‘laying on of hands should be understood as a special act of fellowship, incorporating the people concerned into the fellowship of the church.  This was necessary in the case of the Samaritan converts in chapter 8 to make it quite clear that they were accepted fully into the Jewish church centered on Jerusalem; and it was necessary in the present instance to make it clear to these members of a semi-Christian group that they were now become part of the universal church.  (The Acts of the Apostles [Grand Rapids:  Eerdmans, 1992], 308)

            Paul’s concluding remarks verify that they were now true believers as he states “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.”  As mentioned this was the same thing that happened after each phase of the church that is seen in the book of Acts.  Now we have Jewish believers, Samaritan believers, Gentile believers, and now those who had heard John the Baptist, and yet had not heard of Jesus who became believers.

            This section concludes our outline from John MacArthur’s commentary entitled “Breaking with the Past,” and so I want to quote his concluding remarks on this chapter.  

“So all the groups were gathered in.  And in each case apostles were present to verify that all received the same Holy Spirit in the same way.  That having been completed, Paul could write to the Ephesians ‘There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism’ (Eph. 4:4-5).  From then on, the Holy Spirit would come to every heart at salvation, as the epistles teach.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Like devouring fire” (Exodus 24:17).

Today’s Bible question:  “What four things do not count without love?”

Answer in our next SD.

6/7/2018 10:23 AM