In our last Podcast, we met Apollos, an amazing preacher of Christ who had not quite obeyed the Gospel until Priscilla and Aquila were able to identify a doctrinal error which they heard when Apollos preached in the Synagogue at Ephesus. Paul was not with Priscilla and Aquila when this happened. But eventually, he arrives back at Ephesus and apparently, soon after his arrival, we are graced with another fascinating conversion story. It’s in Acts 19.
Acts 19:1-7
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”
“John’s baptism,” they replied.
Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.
So, Paul meets some “disciples.” At first, we might assume these are disciples of Christ but as we read further, we come to understand that, like Apollos, these are actually disciples of John the Baptist, who knew only the baptism of John. They state that explicitly.
What Baptism Did You Receive?
Now, this whole event begs the question, “Why does Paul make this radical jump in the discussion from “What Spirit did you receive?” to, “Then what baptism did you receive?” And, why did he ask this initial question to begin with; it feels a little out of the blue! Let’s think this through. How can we reconcile these two questions? What in the world was Paul thinking?
First, it would be super weird if Paul met these men and just blurts out, “Did you hear about the Holy Spirit?” There obviously had to have been some other conversations; you know, things like “Hello, how are you?” “Have you heard about Jesus?” “Oh, you’re disciples. How’s the church at Ephesus doing, I am on my way there now?” “What, you don’t know about the church?” …things like that.
Naturally, as Paul got to know these disciples, he concludes he is not speaking to people who know the completed doctrines of Christ. Something is missing which is what eventually provokes him to ask the first question, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” He is not asking this question for no good reason. And what is the good reason? Paul is trying to determine if these people are true Christians.
What is the point?
At this point in our story, Paul connects the reception of the Holy Spirit with belief. He does not ask them if they received the Holy Spirit when they were baptized. Many anti-baptism proponents consider this a very important issue. They point to Paul’s question as proof that receiving the Holy Spirit is only associated with belief, not baptism. Unfortunately, they stop reading right there. Paul has a follow-up question which is inextricably linked to the first.
When Paul hears their initial response, “We don’t know about a Holy Spirit,” a flag goes up! If they do not know there is a Holy Spirit, then they can’t possibly have the Holy Spirit. This means they are not saved and their sins have never been forgiven by God. But Paul does not immediately act on this hunch. He needs more concrete evidence. Beginning with the word “then,” he connects his second question to the first, thus connecting baptism with receiving the Holy Spirit.
“Then what baptism did you receive?”
“John’s baptism.” They replied.
The Full Gospel Includes Water Baptism
Now, Paul understands clearly, “These are disciples of John who have never heard the full Gospel,” and he goes on to complete it for them. He presents the rest of the story and they respond appropriately by being baptized.
If we removed the filler details from the narrative, the full question Paul asked is, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed, if not, then what baptism did you receive?” So, why does Paul initially say receiving the Holy Spirit has to do with belief? Because “belief” is a summation of the full Gospel. Paul, or God, does not need to present every single step in the Biblical Plan of Salvation every time they talk about conversion or receiving the Holy Spirit. They just sum it up as “belief.” Remember our example of brushing our teeth? If I told you, “I brushed my teeth.” You automatically know that I used a tooth brush, toothpaste, a little water and effort. I do not need to tell you everything that was involved because it is common knowledge. I sum it up as, “I brushed my teeth.”
Just as Priscilla and Aquila filled in the blanks for Apollos, Paul fills in the blanks for these incomplete Christians. He explains the purpose of John’s baptism and reminds these disciples that John actually pointed them to someone who was coming after him… to Jesus. Suddenly, they begin to protest loudly and accuse Paul of judging them and questioning their commitments, right?
No, not at all. They are humble, willing to learn and eager to obey. Paul presents the full Gospel to them, tells them the truth and offers them an opportunity to obey the remaining things which were incomplete in their understandings since John. Without delay, “upon hearing this,” the Bible says, they were baptized into Christ.
Weak Arguments
At this point, an anti-baptism proponent often raises another objection. “This is a spiritual baptism not a water baptism!” Is that true? Did they accept Paul’s message and were suddenly overwhelmed or overshadowed and filled with the Holy Spirit? No. This is not a spiritual baptism. It is in water. How do we know this?
Well… first, this baptism is being compared to John’s baptism. When these 12 men were asked, “What baptism did you receive?” They responded with the common understanding of the word “baptism.” Baptism is something which is done in water. John’s baptism was in water. When these men hear the Gospel, they choose to obey it and are immediately baptized by Paul. This would have been the same kind of baptism they were just talking about. The Bible doesn’t switch the meaning of the word “baptize” in the next sentence. Once baptized, as promised, they would have received the indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit, the forgiveness of sins and the free gift of eternal life upon obedience to the Gospel. These people are no different from the believers on the day of Pentecost, they are just a little delayed in their discovery.
Second, we know for certain that this is a water baptism because of what happens next. Paul lays his hands on them and the Holy Spirit “comes on” them. This is the external manifestation of the Holy Spirit designed to confirm the words spoken by an Apostle. True to form, they begin to speak in tongues or languages they have never spoken, presumably proclaiming the glory and power of God. Once again, notice that the pouring out of the Holy Spirit uses that unique and distinctive phrase, “come upon,” which delineates this event from the “indwelling” gift of the Spirit. Also note, it is an Apostle who has the ability to lay hands on a person causing the Holy Spirit to “come upon” them.
If we think these men “received” the Holy Spirit because they experienced spiritual baptism upon accepting Paul’s message about Jesus, why would they receive the Spirit again when Paul lays his hands on them? That would make no sense. What does make sense is… this passage further clarifies the notion that there are two workings of the Holy Spirit. One working of the Spirit occurs during water baptism and brings the internal and life changing, “Born Again” experience and one brings the visual confirmation that the preacher has authority.
This story concludes with, “There were about 12 men in all.” That’s a pretty good number of people impacted by their encounter with Paul. What do you think might have happened to them? I think they would probably have become part of the church at Ephesus. They would not continue meeting separately as their own band of brothers… you know, form their own denomination! When we look at the church of the first century, we see amazing unity and a “one city, one church” sort of program. We sure don’t see this in our modern era, do we?
One more thing…
Now, there’s one last thing about this passage which I think is pretty cool. Paul knows nothing about Apollos! He was not in Ephesus when Apollos was corrected by Priscilla and Aquila. Yet these two very similar conversion stories happen in our Bible, one right after the other. I think that’s curious.
Maybe this is for our benefit! God has allowed these two stories to be plopped down in this order to delight us and educate us. In effect, God walks us through the entire process of conversion, for a person who is religious but has an incomplete understanding of Christian doctrine. This is the lesson of Apollos. Then, right after Apollos, we get the lesson all over again, just in case we didn’t get the point the first time. And what is the point? It is completely possible to be doing some really amazing things for God and still be lost! We must not only have the right lifestyle, we must also have the right doctrine.
Paul was not concerned about baptism?
Some people claim Paul was not concerned about water baptism. This passage tells us just the opposite. Paul is very concerned about baptism and connects it with receiving the indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit. In fact, water baptism, for Paul, became a litmus test to confirm a salvation status. He skillfully worked to determine whether or not these twelve men had a Faith that Obeys.
Enjoy!
Dana Haynes