50: Why Was The Spirit Not Given At Baptism?, Part 2

In this episode, we continue exploring the intriguing cases in Acts where the Holy Spirit’s indwelling did not coincide with baptism. Why did Paul have the twelve disciples in Ephesus re-baptized, while Apollos—who also knew only John’s baptism—was not? What does this tell us about faith, baptism, and receiving the Spirit? We also examine how God sometimes makes exceptions to His usual methods of salvation, demonstrating His sovereignty and mercy throughout Scripture. Don’t miss this thought-provoking discussion!

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
(Music)
Welcome to the Ready for Eternity
podcast, a podcast and blog dedicated to
inquisitive Bible students exploring
biblical truths that might not be fully
explored in typical sermons or Bible
studies. My name is Eddie Lawrence. In

(00:23):
the last baptism episode, we looked at
two exceptions in the book of Acts where
the Holy Spirit's end-willing did not
coincide with baptism. In this episode,
we'll look at the third exception, the 12
disciples in Ephesus.

(00:45):
No matter your view of baptism, this
story in Acts 19 about
the 12 disciples in Ephesus
is a head scratcher and it poses an interesting interpretive challenge. Paul had these men

(01:52):
re-immersed because there was something
about their first baptism that was
evidently deficient. We can only
speculate about why Paul thought they
needed to be baptized again. I suggest
that it had to do with their lack of
knowledge about Jesus.
Now, just a few verses earlier, we read

(02:13):
about Apollos, who had been instructed in
the way of the Lord and he spoke with
great fervor and taught about Jesus
accurately, though he only knew the
baptism of John, Acts 18. Priscilla and
Aquila took Apollos aside and explained
to him the information he was missing.

(02:36):
Knowing only of John's baptism and not
Christ's baptism, his knowledge was
incomplete. Apollos and the 12 Ephesian
disciples had something in common.
They had all received John's baptism, but
knew nothing of Christian baptism.

(02:56):
There's no record that Apollos was
re-baptized. Why was his previous
immersion acceptable, but the 12 Ephesian
disciples' immersion wasn't? Luke clearly
says that Apollos had accurate knowledge
of Jesus, but he doesn't say the same

(03:16):
thing about the 12 in Ephesus. The only
difference I can see is that Apollos knew
about Jesus and presumably the 12 did
not. If this is true, it implies that
John's baptism was sufficient with no
need for another immersion if the

(03:37):
recipient went on to learn about and put
his faith in Jesus. This would explain
why there's no record of anyone who
received the Spirit on Pentecost ever
being re-baptized. Presumably, they had
either received John's baptism or Jesus's
baptism. And yes, Jesus did baptize John

(04:01):
chapter 4 verses 1 and 2. Another
possibility is that the 12 had received
John's baptism after Christian baptism
was already in effect, rendering their
immersion invalid. That's speculative,
but a possibility. Regardless, the big

(04:21):
difference between Apollos and the 12
appears to have been faith or like
thereof in Christ. One key thing we need
to notice is that Paul expected them to
receive the Spirit during baptism. This
passage in Acts 19 confirms this. Notice

(04:42):
how Paul's first question after coming to
understand these men did not have the
Spirit was, then what baptism did you
receive? Clearly, Paul's expectation was
that they should have received the Spirit
during baptism because they didn't. Paul
proceeds to question them about their

(05:04):
immersion to try to find out why.
Ultimately, these men were baptized in
the name of the Lord Jesus, but again, we
see a delay in the receiving of the
Spirit. Even though newly immersed, the
12 did not receive the Spirit until Paul
placed his hands on them. Of the three

(05:25):
exceptions in the book of Acts, I think
this one is the most difficult to
explain. We can surmise that receiving
the Spirit through the laying on of
Paul's hands served to confirm Paul's
message. It may have been Cornelius in
reverse. The Spirit fell upon Cornelius

(05:47):
early to confirm to the Jews that God had
extended salvation to the Gentiles.
Perhaps the Spirit fell upon the 12 in
Ephesus late, that is, not until Paul
laid hands on them, to convince them that
Paul's message was legitimate and that he

(06:07):
was a prophet and apostle of Jesus. The
bottom line is that the rest of the New
Testament suggests God saves us when the
Spirit is given during baptism. These
three instances were exceptions to the
norm of receiving salvation and the
Spirit during baptism, and the reasons

(06:28):
are fairly easy to understand for the
most part. Some people conclude that
these three cases show that we can't know
the exact moment of salvation. The truth
is that we can't determine what is normal
by focusing on exceptions. We can see the
reasons for the exceptions.

(06:50):
The timing of the Spirit's arrival wasn't
random. The remainder of the New
Testament shows that the normal case is
that God gives the Spirit during baptism.
However, God can do as he pleases.
Sometimes God makes exceptions. If it

(07:10):
troubles you that God might make
exceptions to the timing and or methods
he normally uses to save people,
understand that there is no cosmic law
that God is subject to. God himself
determines the criteria for pardon. In
every age, God has forgiven sins and

(07:32):
extended mercy outside the prescribed
covenant terms. For example, when David
sinned with Bathsheba, God forgave him
without sacrifice. Melchizedek was a
priest of God even though he was not part
of God's covenant with Abraham. Jonah

(07:53):
preached to Nineveh and God forgave them
without circumcision and other works of
the law. God accepted Naaman without
circumcision or animal sacrifice. God
approved of the Jews of the northern
kingdom who attended Hezekiah's Passover
while they were unclean. They acted in

(08:14):
ignorance, but their
motivation was to please God.
Even though the law required the death
penalty for them, God made an exception.
God makes exceptions when it suits him,
and it suits him to keep his promise to
save all who have obedient faith. (Music)

(08:39):
Thanks for listening to the podcast. We
hope this episode has deepened your
understanding of scripture. If you found
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studies, visit our website at
readyforeternity.com. That's the word
"ready," the number four, and the word
"eternity." Readyforeternity.com. Be sure

(09:00):
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studying your Bible, growing closer to
God, and getting ready for
eternity. See you next time.
(Music)

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(Music)