The beloved physician Luke wrote, “while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were you baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus”, and in chapter nineteen and verse six of the book of Acts Luke shared, “when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them” where we read:
And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them;
and they spoke with tongues, and prophesied.
The verse reads, “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them;”: Luke began with the words, “and when Paul” which means “and at the time and moment Paul whose name means small or little” “had laid his hands upon them” or “his physical hands upon the disciples at Ephesus”, “the Holy Ghost” or “the sacred, pure, morally blameless and religiously and ceremonially consecrated third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, who is coequal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son” “came on them” which means “arose and fell down upon the disciples of Ephesus”. Luke shared how “Paul” put his “hands” upon the “disciples at Ephesus” and God's “Holy Spirit” fell upon them.
The verse continues, “and they spoke with tongues, and prophesied.” Luke added the words “and they spoke with tongues” or “and the disciples at Ephesus uttered, declared and made proclamations with “glossa” in the Greek which means languages and dialects used by particular people distinct from that of other nations”, “and prophesied” which means “and spoke by divine inspirations”. Luke shared how the “disciples of Ephesus” began to “speak” in “foreign languages and dialects” and by “divine prophesies” after the “Holy Spirit” came upon them.
When we consider Luke's words in this verse, we learn how there was a physical response to having the “Holy Spirit” come upon the “disciples at Ephesus”. They began to “speak with tongues” that were unfamiliar to them, and they spoke “divine prophecies” as well. This “physical reaction” was noted by Luke and became evidence to the “disciples” that God's Spirit was upon them. God loves people, and He desires to forgive their sins, grant them everlasting life and fill them with His Holy Spirit when they believe and trust in His Son Jesus. Afterward they become His “witnesses” to others in the world concerning His “saving grace”. Let all who read these words receive Jesus as their “Savior and Lord” and become His “spirit filled” witnesses to others about Him.
Next time Luke shares how, “all the men were about twelve”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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