The Holy Spirit is a Person

Acts 19:1–10
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When we rely on organization we get what organization can do. When we rely upon education, we get what education can do. When we rely on eloquence, we get what eloquence can do. But when we rely on the Holy Spirit, we get what God can do. (George Sweeting, Who Said That, p. 236). … More

Holy Spirit

Paul arrived in Ephesus, one of the greatest commercial centers of that time, as it was located on the main trade route between Rome and the east. It was also the center of Satan worship, and the place where the temple of Diana stood. This temple has been described as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. When Paul arrived in Ephesus, he started a conversation with a dozen men to find out just where they stood in relation to the Gospel. These men were evidently Jews who lived in Ephesus and had gone to Jerusalem for the feast days many years before. They had met John the Baptist and had been baptized by him, but from all indications the news had never reached them that Jesus the Messiah had come, had lived, and died, and risen again. Paul asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed. They replied: “We have never heard of the Holy Spirit“ (v. 2). Paul knew that it is impossible to be a believer in Jesus Christ without having received the baptism of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). He explained to them how John’s baptism had been for repentance and had been meant to point people to Jesus, the one who was coming after him (v. 4). After hearing this, they agreed to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (v. 5).

There is a popular, but false, teaching today, that believers must ask God to give them the Holy Spirit. However, the gift of the Spirit is one of the benefits of becoming a believer that happens at the moment of conversion (Rom. 8:9). We shouldn’t ask God for something we already have, and we shouldn’t ask God for more of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a Person, and we cannot receive Him by installments. Tongues speaking was a gift of God, that enabled the participants to speak in a known language which they did not know, not some gibberish or unknown language (v. 6).

For three months Paul had an open door to preach in the Ephesian synagogue (v. 8). The Gospel has both a saving and a hardening effect. As happened in Corinth, Paul eventually had to move out of the synagogue, relocating to the lecture hall of Tyrannus (v. 9). Paul continued in this arrangement for two years (v. 10).

Application

I wonder how many times I have been hampered in my spiritual life by inadequate teaching? The only sure way to know that I am being taught correctly is to search the Scriptures myself.

Acts 19:1-10 (English Standard Version)

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