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THE BOOK OF ACTS

CHAPTER 19

THE CHALLENGE OF CHAPTER NINETEEN

Paul never preaches against the worship of the goddess Diana. Instead, he preaches the Word
of God, and the Word prevails. So many lives are transformed, businesses which previously had
been very prosperous begin to suffer. As long as we are in the world, there will always be
opposition to the effects of the gospel. In spite of the opposition, Paul never backs down from
the purity and power of the gospel message.

Once again, Paul serves as an example to us. We never need to water down the message of
God’s Word simply because the world is demanding a different, “more acceptable” message.
We must continue to speak the truth by the direction of the Holy Spirit because only the truth
sets people free.
THE INFILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN EPHESUS (1-7)

When Paul arrives in Ephesus, he finds disciples who have not yet heard of the Holy Spirit but
have been baptized through the ministry of John the Baptist. Paul instructs them and then
baptizes them in the name of Jesus Christ, and all are filled with the Holy Spirit and began to
speak in tongues when Paul lays hands on them. After this, Paul enters the synagogue and
boldly shares the gospel for three months. When Paul’s listeners become hardened against the
gospel message, Paul departs and spends two years teaching in the school of Tyrannus.

PAUL FINDS DISCIPLES IGNORANT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Act 19:1 And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the
upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples

The disciples Paul meets will play a major role in the revival in Ephesus. Paul has been gone for
a number of months and is now refreshed in his soul and body. He is now ready to give himself
completely to the revival that will occur in this key city of Asia Minor. The men he meets are
disciples who are born again and will become filled with the Holy Spirit. This revival will be one
of the supernatural. Great signs and wonders will accompany the teaching of the Word of God.

Act 19:2 he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to
him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."

The Holy Spirit can be received at the point of the new birth. Paul asks the believers he met if
this has happened to them. Paul must have recognized a deficiency in their Christian lives
much the same way Aquila and Priscilla recognized a spiritual deficiency in the life of Apollos.
These twelve men had been born again only and not instructed in the infilling of the Holy Spirit.