The Apostle Paul is in full evangelistic mode, traveling from city to city preaching to the Jews in the synagogues every Sabbath (Gentiles were not allowed inside synagogues).
Verses one through seventeen: Paul has arrived in Corinth where he has found a married couple named Aquilla and Priscilla who have been expelled from Italy because they are Jews. The couple persuaded Paul to stay with them because he, like they, were tentmakers. While in Corinth Paul “reasoned in the synagogue every (Lord’s) Sabbath, persuading both Jews and Greeks (Helenized Jews). Because many of the city’s Jews came against him, Paul left the synagogue and began teaching in the home of a man named Justus who was a worshiper of God. Many Corinthians, including the ruler of the synagogue and his family, believed Paul’s preaching. So persecuted was Paul that the Lord spoke to him in a night vision, telling him to take courage, that He would not allow anyone to harm him. Following this the Jews tried to persuade the Roman officials to prosecute Paul. Their efforts to have Paul jailed or killed failed.
Verses eighteen through twenty-three: Paul was once again on the move, accompanied by Aquilla and Priscilla. After stopping in Ephesus for a few sermons in the local synagogue, he departed, leaving behind his two companions. Over the following days he traveled through Galatia and Phrygia where he encouraged the disciples in those areas.
Verses twenty-four through chapter nineteen verse seven: While in Ephesus Aquilla and Priscilla heard a man named Apollos preach in the synagogue. He was, “an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures” who had been “instructed in the way of the Lord.” Being “fervent in the spirit, he spoke and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.” Upon hearing him speak, Aquilla and Priscilla took him aside and “expounded to him the way of God more perfectly.” Knowing only John’s baptism, Apollos spoke of the baptism of repentance for past sins. Aquilla and Priscilla told him about the arrival of the Messiah and the Holy Spirit baptism which empowered true believers to rid their lives of sin by overcoming Satan and living the life that Jesus required for salvation. See The Message of the Cross. Apollos believed them and was soon “mightily convincing the Jews, showing them by the Scriptures that Jesus was Christ.”
In the meantime Paul had returned to Ephesus where he encountered a group of men who had become disciples of Christ. Being a stickler for correctness in all things spiritual, he asked if they had received the Holy Spirit since they believed. They replied that they had never heard of the Holy Spirit, that they had received only John’s baptism. Paul then baptized them in the name of Jesus. Then Paul laid his hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. On this occasion the recipients of the Holy Spirit spoke in tongues and prophesied. Speaking in tongues does not always take place when people receive the Spirit. There are those who believe that unless one speaks in tongues one has not received the Holy Spirit. There is no Scriptural confirmation for this belief. L.J.
Leave a Reply