THE KING’S BUSINESS
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Apollos, after he came to know not only she baptism of John, but also the baptism of the Holy Spirit (cf. v. 25 with ch. 11:16) “powerfully, confuted the Jews / . . . . , showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.” Saturday, March 10 . , Acts 19 : 1 - 7 . This is one of the most important and most suggestive passages in the whole Book of Acts. It should be read carefully in the Revised as well as the Authorized Version. Paul’s question to the little group of dis ciples in Ephesus, “Did ye receive the Holy Ghost when ye believed?” (or “since ye believed,” literally, “having believed”) might well be asked of all professed Christians today. This question plainly implies four things: (1) That receiving the Holy Spirit is a definite experience of which one may know and should know whether it has come to him or not. There is much indefi niteness and vagueness in modern speech and modern prayer about receiving the Holy Spirit, or being baptized with the Holy Spirit. (A comparison of passages in which the two expressions receiving the Holy Spirit, or being baptized with the Holy Spirit are used, shows that in many respects they are practically synonymous.) There was none of that vagueness about Paul’s manner of speech on this vital sub ject. He demanded a positive “yes” or a p o sitiv e“no” to his searching question, “Did ye receive the Holy Spirit?” The disciples in replying to him, did not say ‘what our Authorized Version makes them say, “We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Spirit.” It may be that there are some twentieth cen tury Christians who are as ignorant as that. What they did say was, “We did not so much as hear whether the Holy Spirit was given,” that is, they knew that there was a Holy Spirit, they knew moreover that John had promised that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11), but they did not know that that promise had been realized, they had not heard “whether the Holy Spirit was given.” (2)
a baptism that was merely an expression of repentance and led to remission of sins. Christian baptism, i.e., a baptism that sets forth identification with Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection (Rom. 6:3, 4; Gal. 3 :27) he did not yet understand. Of course he did not know the baptism with the Holy Spirit as an actual personal experience. He was very much in _the position of many professed Christians today, knowing the truth about the Deity of Jesus Christy His atoning death, and the fact of His resurrection, but not knowing the fullness of- our privilege in Him. But Apollos was faithful, living up to the light he had. Priscilla and Aquila upon hearing him saw at once that there was much for him to learn, but instead of going around criticising his preaching, they took him home with them and “expounded unto him the way of God more carefully (or, more exactly).” Happy the minister who has a Priscilla and an Aquila in his flock. Happy, too, the minister who has the humility to take what his Priscillas and Aquilas teach him as modestly as Apollos did. It is note worthy that Priscilla is put before Aquila in the inspired description of this incident. The wife was evidently the more fully taught of the two, or else had a greater gift of imparting to others what she knew. That is not at all rare in our days. Yet Priscilla, for all her unusual gift, did not take the place of teacher in an assembly, nor of an -evangelist. She exercised her gift in a womanly way. Apollos, whom Priscilla had so greatly helped, became in turn a helper of many others. Probably Priscilla accomplished much more for the Master by this quiet ministry at home than if she had launched out as an evangelist herself! Priscilla was indeed a wonderful woman, not only in spiritual enlightenment, but in what is more rare, level-headedness and humility as well. There was now power in the preaching of Apollos from this time on. Just as Paul, after he had received, the Holy Spirit, “increased in Strength” and “confounded the Jews,” proving that Jesus was the Christ (ch. 9:17, 22), so now
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