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MONDAY, October 3. Acts 19:1-7. The Ephesian Pentecost. P aul on arriving in Ephesus finds certain disciples there. In some way he discovered something lacking in th e ir faith and testimony. He asks if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed. They had been baptiz ed by John and stood where Apollos did when he arrived in Ephesus. P aul instructed them and re-baptized them and they received th e Holy Spirit. This is th e la st tim e th a t baptism is men tioned in th e book of Acts and also th e last mention of the laying on of hands. This shows th a t Jo h n ’s m inistry could no t give full knowledge of th e tru th nor th e Holy Spirit. The number of th e disciples is given for th e same rea son th a t Apollos’ eloquence and culture are spoken of in ch. 18:24. W hat his learning did not give to him , th eir num bers did no t gain for them . Each one of th e twelve was deficient in spite of his earnestness and devoutness. TUESDAY, October 4. Acts 8:12-17. The S am aritan Pentecost. There are five successive instances re corded in th e book of Acts of the bestowments of the Holy Spirit, each one teaching a d istinct lesson in show ing who . could be adm itted to the church. The Jew ish Pentecost, Acts 2, showed th a t those who had rejected the earth ly m inistry of Christ could come in. The S am aritan Pentecost, Acts 8, ta u g h t th a t those having a religion half tru e "and h alf heathen may repen t and be adm itted. In Saul’s personal P ente cost, Acts 9:17, we see th a t one who had resisted th e Holy Spirit and perse cuted th e church could receive th e Holy Spirit and become a member. In the case of Cornelius, Acts 10, th e Gentiles have th e ir Pentecost and finally the twelve men a t Ephesus who had been negligent in obeying John ’s teaching to believe in Christ, Acts 19:4, are ad m itted to th e sp iritual body.. This list shows th a t up to th is tim e all classes of men had been reached by th e Gospel. WEDNESDAY, October 5. Acts 19:8- 2 0 / P a u l a t Ephesus. P au l stayed a t Ephesus about th ree years, ch. 20:31, bu t very little is said
SATURDAY, October 1. I Cor. 1:1-10. P a u l's Appeal to Corinth. Corinth was th e richest city of Greece, having more magnificent merchant princes th an Tyre ever saw, and older th a n Sparta and Athens. Nevertheless th e only one of her citizens whose name is fam iliar to us is th a t of the penniless philosopher who had riot where to- lay his head and when the conqueror of th e world said to him, “W hat can I do for you?” replied, “You can get ou t of my sunlight.” The word “ to Corinthianize” in P au l’s time m eant in all languages th a t used th e word “ to go to th e devil.” G reat Rome destroyed Corinth easily by a single blow bu t caught from h er victim th e disease which killed her. The seeds of the plague were brought home by h er victorious soldiers and scattered over th e whole of Italy. The tem pta tions of Corinth were those which as sail w ith special force commercial peo ples. All her wealth came from com merce. H er sovereigns as in America were business men. The Corinthian converts are addressed as sanctified and th e ir calling to sainthood is k ep t ever before them , v. 2. SUNDAY, October 2. I Cor. 2:1-10. P au l’s D eterm ination in Corinth. While P aul was a t Corinth he seems almost to have been over-mastered by a depression of spirits which th rea ten ed to paralyze his usefulness and which seems to have been caused by th e sight of th e depravities around him. He wrote his Epistle to th e Romans here. The appalling catalogue of vices in the first chapter is no imaginary sketch bu t a photograph of w hat was going on before his eyes. Such iniquity made his work seem hopeless. Nevertheless he knew th a t Christ and th e cross were th e panacea and he determ ined to hold up the cross w ith steadfast and unyield ing devotion. All sub stitu tes are fee ble. The Gospel is th e orily antidote for sin. It is equally th e power of God unto salvation for th e elite of A thens and th e riff-raff of Corinth. The Gospel is designated and summarized by th e phrase “ Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
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