Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 19:6
And when Paul had laid [his] hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
6. And when Paul, &c.] The gift of the Holy Ghost to these disciples appears to have been a special provision of the Spirit for the great work which was to change Ephesus, from the city wholly devoted to the goddess Diana, into the centre of Christian life throughout the west of Asia Minor for several centuries.
and they spake with tongues ] A Pentecostal outpouring, for as in Jerusalem the gift wrought its effect among the Jews then gathered there from every quarter, so was the Spirit given in this great centre of Gentile activity that a like result might follow, and that the amazement and marvel at such a power might win attention to the message and gain converts to Christ.
and prophesied ] Probably in this case to be understood of the exposition of Old Testament prophecy, and the power of preaching bestowed on them by the gift of the Holy Ghost. The foretelling of future events would be no such help to the cause of Christ as would the power of prophecy in the other sense.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And when Paul laid his hands … – See the notes on Act 8:17.
And they spake with tongues – See the notes on Act 2:4; Act 10:46.
And prophesied – See the notes on Act 2:17; Act 11:27.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. They spake with tongues, and prophesied.] They received the miraculous gift of different languages; and in those languages they taught to the people the great doctrines of the Christian religion; for this appears to be the meaning of the word , prophesied, as it is used above.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Laid his hands upon them; thereby ordaining and authorizing of them to preach the gospel.
The Holy Ghost came on them; in those extraordinary gifts of tongues, &c., whereby they were fitted to preach the gospel unto any nation or people unto whom they should be sent.
Prophesied; they prophesied, either in its proper sense, being enabled to foretell things that were to come; or in a larger and more improper sense, praising and magnifying of God, and declaring the hidden mysteries of the gospel; expounding the Scriptures, especially the prophecies concerning Christ, as 1Co 14:1.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. And when Paul had laid his handsupon them . . . they spake with tongues, &c.See on Ac10:44,45.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And when Paul had laid his hands upon them,…. They having been before baptized, not by him, but by John, or one of his disciples, in the name of the Lord Jesus; just as Peter and John laid their hands upon the believing Samaritans, who had been before baptized by Philip, Ac 8:14 and the same extraordinary effects followed:
the Holy Ghost came on them; in his extraordinary gifts, whose special grace they had before an experience of:
and they spake with tongues; with other tongues, or in other languages, which they had never learned, or had been used to, as the disciples did at the day of “Pentecost”: and prophesied; preached, having an extraordinary gift at once, of explaining the prophecies of the Old Testament, and also foretold things to come.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
When Paul had laid his hands upon them ( ). Genitive absolute of second aorist active participle of . This act of laying on of the hands was done in Samaria by Peter and John (8:16) and in Damascus in the case of Paul (9:17) and was followed as here by the descent of the Holy Spirit in supernatural power.
They spake with tongues ( ). Inchoative imperfect, began to speak with tongues as in Jerusalem at Pentecost and as in Caesarea before the baptism.
Prophesied (). Inchoative imperfect again, began to prophesy. The speaking with tongues and prophesying was external and indubitable proof that the Holy Spirit had come on these twelve uninformed disciples now fully won to the service of Jesus as Messiah. But this baptism in water did not “convey” the Holy Spirit nor forgiveness of sins. Paul was not a sacramentalist.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And when Paul had laid his hands on them,” (kai epithen tos autois tou Paulou cheiros) “And (after the inquiry) as Paul laid (his) hands upon them;” After he, Paul, had certified that they had received John’s heaven sent, heaven’s authorized baptism, he laid his hands on them. That Paul either baptized or re-baptized these brethren does not seem to be asserted, as is generally, mistakenly held by protestantism.
2) “The Holy Ghost came on them; (elthe to pneuma to hagion ep’ autous) “The Holy Spirit came upon them,” that is, the gift of the Holy Spirit, a special manifestation of the Holy Spirit, such as came to the church on Pentecost. These special Holy Spirit gift manifestations seem to have been given by the apostles, after Pentecost, by the laying on of hands. Had not Apollos and these disciples, brethren, not already held the Holy Spirit, they could not have been saved – people were not and are not saved by laying on of hands, Rom 8:9 b; 1Co 12:3; Act 8:16-17.
3) “And they spake with tongues and prophesied.” (elalou te glossais kai epopheteuon) “As a result they then spoke in tongues (languages) and prophesied.” The subject matter, contextual setting, and related Biblical truth regarding this event seems to be, that Paul simply would not lay hands for conferring the Holy Spirit gifts on any claiming to be disciples of Jesus, without first certifying that they had first received Scriptural baptism. The inflection of “have or did ye receive the Holy Ghost since or when ye believed? about which they responded, that they had not even heard or learned of such, apparently refers to what they immediately received after Paul laid his hands on them, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, tongues, and prophecy. See Act 8:12-21.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(6) They spake with tongues, and prophesied.Better, they were speaking with tongues and prophesying, the verbs implying continuous action. As to the nature and relation of the two gifts, see Notes on Act. 2:4; Act. 10:46. Here all the facts of the case confirm the view which has there been stated. The mere power of speaking foreign languages without learning them, as other men learn, seems a much less adequate result of the new gift than that which we find in the new enthusiasm and intensity of spiritual joy, of which the gift of tongues was the natural expression. It is not without interest to remember that the discussion of the two gifts in 1 Corinthians 14, in which the connection of the tongues with jubilant and ecstatic praise is unmistakable (1Co. 14:14-16), was written not very long after this incident, and while the facts must yet have been fresh in St. Pauls memory. On the laying on of hands, which was the outward and visible sign of the inward and spiritual grace, see Notes on Act. 8:14-18, where the laying-on of hands is followed by a gift of the Holy Ghost.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. Spake with tongues We have here a miniature Pentecost, a new outpouring of the charismatic Spirit upon a new twelve.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke with tongues, and prophesied.’
But the Holy Spirit did not come on them until Paul laid his hands on them and identified them with the Christian church. It was necessary that this be so, so that it would be crystal clear that initially the disciples of John had only ‘received the Spirit’ on becoming united with the Christian church through the laying on of hands of an Apostle.
The laying on of hands is always a mark of identification. Where it takes place under the strict direction of God the result will always be that the Holy Spirit comes on the one who has hands laid on him if he has not previously known the Spirit. It can also result in a special enduement with the Spirit on one chosen by God. But it is not the laying on of hands that ensures either. It is the fact that God has made His will known, and His people then identify those whom God has chosen. Once God has made His will known the identification by holy men of that one will ensure the coming of the enduement of power. But where the will of God is lacking, any laying on of hands will be an empty ceremony.
This incident is similar to that with the Samaritans Act 8:16-17, and in contrast with that of Cornelius Acts 11:44, in that the coming of the Holy Spirit is delayed until the recipients have been directly identified with an Apostle by the laying on of hands. This would seem to be because both were examples of distinct bodies who already saw themselves as worshipping the God of Israel and who were both therefore in danger of being satisfied with what they were and thus not uniting with the whole church of God. Thus in both cases it had to be made clear that their reception of the Spirit came though the one true church of Jesus Christ founded by the Apostles. For Cornelius and his group the word which gave life came directly through an Apostle and there was therefore no danger of schism.
We also learn that when the Holy Spirit came on these men they ‘spoke with tongues and prophesied’. This would identify them with Pentecost, and with Cornelius and his men, for the same thing happened in both cases. They too were being received by God on the same basis as both Jew and Gentile, through the reception of the Spirit. It was sealing the fact that the disciples of John were now being united in the body of Christ, and that without that union what they had experienced was only partial and insufficient.
We have no reason for assuming that such an experience of the coming of the Holy Spirit on men as witnessed by tongues and prophecy was commonplace for Paul. It is the first time in Acts that he is associated with such an experience. Seeing the effect of the Holy Spirit coming on the men accompanied by tongues and prophecy would be seen by him as a fulfilment of Pentecost before his eyes, a reminder that what Pentecost had brought for men was still as real there in Ephesus as it was previously. We note that while all spoke in praise of God, only some spoke in tongues. But the tongues were necessary so that they might all recognise that they were entering into the same experience as the infant church had at Jerusalem. They too were being ‘baptised into the body of Christ’ (1Co 12:13). The remainder praised and glorified God in their own language. In this case we are not told whether the tongues were identifiable to anyone, but the group, even though small, may well have been multi-racial. It may even be that the prophesying was in Greek or Aramaic while the tongues were their own native tongues, and that the fact of their spontaneous praise in this way was really the important sign (both tongues and prophesying are mentioned together).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Act 19:6-7 . After the baptism the imposition of the hands of the apostle (see on Act 8:15 , remark) became the vehicle of the reception of the on the part of the minds opened by the apostolic word. The Spirit descended upon them, and manifested Himself partly by their speaking with tongues (see on Act 10:46 ), and partly in prophetic inspiration (see on Act 11:27 ). These two must, according to the technical mode of reference to them in the apostolic church attested by 1 Corinthians 12-14, be distinguished , and not treated as equivalent, with van Hengel, who (comp. on chap. Act 2:10 ) finds here merely in general an expression of the inspired praising aloud of God in Christ. See his Gave d. talen , p. 84 ff.; Trip, p. 185, follows him. The analogy of the phenomenon with what occurred in the history of Cornelius (Act 10:44 ff.) serves Baur, I. p. 212 f., Exo 2 (with whom Zeller agrees; and see earlier, Schneckenburger, p. 56 ff.), for a handle to condemn the whole narrative as unhistorical, and to refer it to the set purpose of placing the Apostle Paul, by a new and telling proof of his apostolic dignity and efficiency, on a parallel with the Apostle Peter. The author had, in Baur’s view, seeing that the first (chap. 2) is exhibited in the person of Jews , and the second (chap. 10) in that of Gentiles , now chosen for the third a middle class , half-believers (like the Samaritans! see Schwegler). With all this presumed refinement of invention, it is yet singular that the author should not have carried out his parallelism of Paul with Peter even so far as to make the descent of the Holy Spirit and the speaking with tongues take place, as with Cornelius, before baptism, on the mere preaching of the apostle! People themselves weave such fictions, and give forth the author of the book, which is thus criticised, as the ingenious weaver.
Act 19:7 . A simple historical statement, not in order to represent the men “ as a new Israel .” [93]
[93] So Baumgarten, II. p. 7, whom the very ought to have preserved from this fancy.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
Ver. 6. And prophesied ] By a divine and evident inspiration they expounded the writings of the prophets, and also foretold future events.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
6. ] See ch. Act 8:17 ; Act 10:46 , and note on ch. Act 2:4 ; and on ., ch. Act 11:27 , note.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 19:6 . . . ., see above on Act 8:16 . . .: the imperfects may mean that they began to speak, or that the exercise of the gifts mentioned continued. The two gifts are discussed in 1Co 12:10 ; 1Co 12:14 , in an Epistle which was written probably during this stay at Ephesus no doubt the gifts are specially mentioned because the bestowal of such gifts distinguished Christian Baptism from that of John. McGiffert, p. 286, while admitting the accuracy of the account as a whole, thinks that its representation is moulded, as in 8, in accordance with the work of Peter and John in Samaria; so too Hilgenfeld refers the account to his “author to Theophilus,” who also, in Act 8:16 , narrates that the baptised Samaritans received the Holy Ghost by the laying on of Peter’s hands. This is in some respects not unlike the older view of Baur, who held that the narrative was introduced to parallel Paul’s dignity and work with that of Peter in Act 10:44 the first speaking with tongues in 2 is narrated in relation to Jews, the second in relation to Gentiles, 10, and the third in relation to a kind of middle class, half-believers like the Samaritans! (so Zeller and Schneckenburger). But not only does this require us to identify 2 with 10 and 19, the speaking of tongues at Pentecost with subsequent bestowal of the gift, but it seems strange that a narrative should not have been constructed more free from liability to misconception and misinterpretation if the leading purpose of its introduction had been as supposed above.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
the Holy Ghost. Both arts. App-101.
on. Greek. epi. App-104.
spake. Greek. laleo. App-121.
prophesied. See App-189.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
6.] See ch. Act 8:17; Act 10:46, and note on ch. Act 2:4; and on ., ch. Act 11:27, note.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 19:6. , and) A very similar instance occurs, ch. Act 8:12; Act 8:15-16, in the case of some persons who had been at first baptized in the name of JESUS, and afterwards received the Holy Ghost.-) came promptly.- , upon them) Therefore they knew now from the effect that there is (the presence of) the Holy Ghost, Act 19:2.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
laid: Act 6:6, Act 8:17-19, Act 9:17, 1Ti 5:22, 2Ti 1:6
the Holy Ghost: Act 2:4, Act 10:45, Act 10:46, Act 13:2, 1Co 12:8-11, 1Co 12:28-30
and prophesied: 1Co 14:1-25
Reciprocal: Exo 35:35 – the cunning Num 27:18 – lay Mar 16:17 – they Act 8:16 – only Act 10:44 – the Holy Ghost Act 11:15 – the Holy Ghost Rom 1:11 – that 1Co 12:10 – divers 1Co 13:8 – tongues 1Co 14:2 – he that 1Th 5:20 – General 1Ti 4:14 – with Heb 6:2 – laying
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
7
Act 19:6-7. What happened when Paul laid hands on them, was what he was inquiring about in verse 2. Only those who were baptized with “Christian baptism” were entitled to that gift, and even then it required the hands of an apostle.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 19:6. And they spake with tongues. The immediate effect of their baptism, after that Paul had laid his hands upon them, was the visible presence of the Holy Ghost among them manifesting itself in the form of supernatural gifts. These gifts took the form of speaking with tongues and prophesying. Of the last of these it is uncertain whether the miraculous influence showed itself in what we terra a strange and peculiar power of preaching, an especial gift for the purpose of winning men to the side of Christ, or whether it included as well an insight into futurity, the prediction of future events; possibly both these powers were conferred on these twelve.
We have very little knowledge of the gift of speaking with tongues. Not long after this incident was that famous 14th chapter of the first Corinthian letter written, which really contains all we know on this mysterious subject (the various questions have been discussed previously in an Excursus on the Pentecost Miracle of the 2d chapter of these Acts) which St. Paul wrote. The passage in the first Corinthian epistle was written some two years later, or two and a half years at most after this incident. He must, among other instances of the exercise of this gift of tongues, have had this special one in his mind. We can therefore lay down with some certainty the following conclusions respecting the nature of the gift then conferred on these disciples of John the Baptist:
It did not edify any beyond the man who spoke (1Co 14:4). To be of any service, it needed a specially gifted interpreter (1Co 14:5-27). Men did not as a rule understand it, though God did (1Co 14:2). He who used this gift was to those who listened to him as a barbarian or a foreigner (1Co 14:11). It was therefore no power of speaking in a language which had not been studied in the ordinary way, but it was clearly an ecstatic utterance of rapturous devotion. There were phenomena certainly attending the first exercise of the gift on the Pentecost morning (Acts 2) which could not have been subsequently repeated; for while at Pentecost the speakers were understood in their ecstatic utterances by men of various nationalities, the account of the 14th chapter of the first Corinthian epistle clearly tells us that all speaking with tongues without an interpreter was utterly unintelligible. This mysterious power remained, however, but a very little season among men. At a very early date in the history of the Church, it appears to have ceased altogether.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
See notes on verse 1
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
6. And Paul, laying hands on them, the Holy Ghost came on them, and they continued to speak with tongues and prophecy. Conversion is indispensable to discipleship. Hence these disciples had been converted under the ministry of Apollos. Paul not only leads them didactically and ceremonially out of the Johanic into the Christian dispensation, but inaugurates a regular holiness meeting for their sanctification, culminating in their spiritual illumination and preparation for the experience which they, in due time, receive on their knees at the altar, while Paul prays for them and lays hands on them. Here we have clear New Testament precedent and Apostolical authority for the second work of grace. There is no evasion of the issue. The Holy Ghost calls no sinner disciple. Hence these were all converted before Paul arrived. When, under the ministry of Paul, the Holy Ghost came on them, even imparting His extraordinary gifts, i. e., tongues and prophecy, clearly confirming the fact of their sanctification, as these spiritual gifts are normal only to the sanctified. We should still retain the imposition of hands while praying for people, that they may be imbued with the Holy Ghost. It is certainly safe to follow New Testament precedent and Apostolic practice. The innate impressibility of the human spirit through the physical organism is beyond our comprehension. God help us meekly to walk in the footprints of our predecessors.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
As with the new converts in Samaria, these Ephesian disciples received the Holy Spirit when an apostle, this time Paul, laid his hands on them (cf. Act 8:17). They did not receive the Spirit by water baptism. In Samaria, this identification of the coming of the Spirit with Peter and John first authenticated God’s giving of the Spirit in a non-Jewish context. Here the identification of the coming of the Spirit with Paul authenticated God’s giving of the Spirit in a town in which demonic religious activity flourished (cf. Act 19:13-19). As subsequent events would show, the Jesus whom Paul preached was the more powerful deity. These former disciples of John received the Holy Spirit when Paul laid his hands on them thus obviously connecting their endowment with Paul’s message and apostolic authority. There was no delay in the Spirit coming on Cornelius when he believed, and Peter did not have to lay his hands on him to impart the Spirit (Act 10:44).
There are some interesting parallels between Spirit baptism as it took place in Ephesus in this chapter and how it occurred in Samaria in chapter 8.
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"Chapter 8 |
Chapter 19 |
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Word is preached to the Samaritans (by Philip); many become disciples and are baptized (Act 8:4-13). |
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God’s Word is proclaimed to the men at Ephesus (earlier by Apollos?); some become disciples and are baptized (John’s baptism, Act 18:24-26). |
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2. |
Peter and John come to Samaria and see that the presence of the Spirit is not evident in the disciples’ lives (Act 8:14-16). |
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Paul comes to Ephesus and notes that the presence of the Spirit is not evident in the disciples’ lives (Act 19:1-5). |
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3. |
Peter and John lay hands on the disciples; the Holy Spirit comes upon them (Act 8:17). |
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Paul lays his hands on the disciples; the Holy Spirit comes upon them (Act 19:6). |
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4. |
Peter and John’s ministry engages the interest of the magician Simon (Act 8:20-24). |
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Paul’s ministry stimulates the interest of exorcists; the seven sons of Sceva (Act 19:13). |
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5. |
A conflict arises between Peter and Simon. Simon is overwhelmed (Act 8:20-24). |
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A conflict arises between the exorcists and demons. The exorcists are overwhelmed (Act 19:14-16). |
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6. |
Peter and John preach in many of the Samaritan villages before returning to Jerusalem (Act 8:25). |
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All those in Asia hear the Word of the Lord as a result of Paul’s teaching (Act 19:10). |
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7. |
Many miracles are performed among the Samaritans by Philip (Act 8:6-8). |
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Paul performs special miracles by the power of God (Act 19:11-12)." [Note: Harm, pp. 35-36.] |
The phenomenon of the separate conversion and Spirit baptism experiences of some Christians that Luke recorded in Acts may need further clarification. It seems that God wanted to highlight the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise that He would send the Holy Spirit to be in and with believers (Joh 14:16-18; Joh 14:26; Joh 15:26). To do so God made the coming of the Spirit obvious until the church generally appreciated the fact that it normally occurred at the time of regeneration.
"This story has often been used as the basis for doctrines about the reception of gifts of the Spirit subsequent to conversion; but it has no real connection with these. Rather Paul was dealing with an unusual situation which required special treatment. . . .
". . . it is safe to say that the New Testament does not recognize the possibility of being a Christian apart from possession of the Spirit (Joh 3:5; Act 11:17; Rom 8:9; 1Co 12:3; Gal 3:2; 1Th 1:5 f.; Tit 3:5; Heb 6:4; 1Pe 1:2; 1Jn 3:24; 1Jn 4:13)." [Note: Marshall, The Acts . . ., p. 305. See also Wiersbe, 1:481.]
"It should be noted that the reception of the Holy Spirit [by Christians] in Acts does not follow any set pattern. He came into believers before baptism (Act 10:44), at the time of or after baptism (Act 8:12-16; Act 19:6), and by the laying on of apostolic hands (Act 8:17; Act 19:6). Yet Paul declared (Rom 8:9) that anyone without the Holy Spirit is not a Christian. Quite obviously the transitional Book of Acts is not to be used as a doctrinal source on how to receive the Holy Spirit (cf. comments on tongues, 1Co 13:8 to 1Co 14:25)." [Note: Toussaint, "Acts," p. 409. Cf. Harm, p. 38.]
"Ephesus was a polyglot city of the Roman Empire. There were many languages spoken there, just as there had been in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. East and West met all along that coast. . . . These men were now able to give the good news about Christ to the entire city." [Note: McGee, 4:597.]
This is the last reference to speaking in tongues in Acts (cf. Act 2:4; Act 10:46; 1Co 12:10; 1Co 12:28; 1Co 12:30; 1Co 13:1; 1Co 13:8; 1 Corinthians 14). Is this gift still in the church today? Some charismatic Christians believe that it is. They argue mainly from experience, having heard someone, perhaps themselves, speak in what others refer to as tongues. In most cases what they call tongues is gibberish, not known languages. This is different from what the New Testament identified as tongues, namely, known languages (cf. 1 Corinthians 12; 1 Corinthians 14). In a few cases people have apparently spoken in known languages that they have not studied, the type of tongues-speaking that the New Testament describes.
The real issue is what the New Testament says about tongues, not what one may have experienced. It says that they would pass away or cease of themselves, as in petering out (1Co 13:8, middle voice of pauo). When would this happen? The New Testament does not specify when, but it implies that they would peter out before prophecy would end (lit. be terminated [by God], passive voice of katargeo, 1Co 13:8). I do not believe that any one verse indicates that tongues would cease or did cease in the apostolic period. However, I think it is safe to conclude that they did for two reasons. (Similarly we believe the doctrine of the Trinity not because there is a verse that clearly teaches it but because many verses lead us to conclude that God exists as a triune being.) First, other New Testament passages imply that they would and did cease then (Eph 2:20; Heb 2:3-4). Second, the early church fathers wrote that tongues petered out in the early history of the church even though there were rare instances of the phenomenon after that. [Note: Origen (ca. 185-ca. 254 A.D.), "Against Celsus," 7:8 in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, 4:614; Chrysostom (347-407 A.D.), "Homily 12 on Matthew," in The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 10:77; idem, "Homily 14 on Romans," ibid., 11:447; idem, "Homily 29 on 1 Corinthians," ibid., 12:168; idem, "Homily 6 on 1 Corinthians," ibid., 12:31; Augustine (354-430 A.D.), "On Baptism, Against the Donatists," 3:16:21, ibid., 4:443; idem, "The Epistle of St. John," 6:10, ibid., 7:497-98; idem, "The Epistle of 1 John. Homily," 6:10, ibid., 7:497-98; idem, "The Answer to the Letters of Petition, to Donatist," 2:32:74, ibid., 4:548; and idem, "On the Gospel of St. John, Tractate," 32:7, ibid., 7:195. See also Dillow, Speaking in . . ., pp. 147-64, for further information about the historical cessation of the gift of tongues.]
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Speaking in Tongues in Acts |
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Reference |
Speakers |
Audience |
Time |
Purpose |
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Act 2:1-4 |
The Twelve |
Unsaved Jews |
After salvation |
To validate for Jews the coming of the Spirit |
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Act 10:44-47 |
Gentiles |
Saved Jews |
Same time as salvation |
To validate for Jews God’s acceptance of Gentiles |
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Act 19:1-7 |
Disciples of John the Baptist |
Jews and Gentiles |
Same time as salvation |
To validate for Jews Paul’s message |
How can we explain the instances of people speaking in languages they have not studied today? It may be that God occasionally gives people this ability today, though the evidence of this happening is rare. Practically no one, including respected charismatic leaders, claims that the ability to speak in a language that one has not studied exists today as it did in New Testament times. Obviously the ability to grasp a foreign language readily as one studies it is not the New Testament gift of tongues.
God evidently gave the gift of prophesying to each of these Ephesian disciples to enable them to assume leadership of the church and the church’s mission. This gift involves speaking forth the Word of God and leading the worship of God.