The Jews could not deny the evidence of God’s salvation among the Gentiles because they saw and heard the manifestation of God’s power among them (the infilling of the Holy Spirit). The Jewish believers were shocked. Not only had God made salvation available to the Gentiles, but He had also sent the infilling of the Spirit before the normal order of public confession and water baptism had been fulfilled. This is the only instance in Scripture where you will find God operating in this manner. In every other instance the outpouring of God’s Spirit occurs after conversion. I believe God did this because He knew the Jews required a special sign that He was extending His gift of salvation to the Gentiles as well.

The Ephesians

The fourth account that I want to examine is found in Acts 19. Paul was in the midst of one of his many journeys when he came to Ephesus. Upon his arrival, the Bible says that he encountered some disciples of John the Baptist. The very first question he asked them was, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (Acts 19:2). Wow! If this was the first thing Paul asked these Ephesians, it should be one of the first questions we ask any new believer.

Again, why was this issue so important to the early Church leaders? Because the empowerment of the Holy Spirit is essential to our mission in Christ. Why would any of us ever want to live an hour without the power to fuel that mission (see Acts 1:8)? To be effective in the Father’s kingdom, we must be both positioned in Christ (salvation) and empowered by the Holy Spirit (infilling of the Spirit).

Paul discovered that though these Ephesians were disciples of John the Baptist, they had not heard the good news of salvation through Jesus, so he began to share the gospel with them.

As I mentioned before, receiving our position in Christ will always precede the empowerment of His Spirit. Even if, as in the case of Cornelius, the outward manifestation of power (the infilling of the Spirit) precedes the outward confession of salvation (in the form of water baptism), salvation always comes before empowerment.

Therefore, after hearing Paul’s words, the Ephesians were first “baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:5). In other words, they received the salvation that is only in and through Jesus Christ. But the encounter did not end there: “And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied” (Acts 19:6).