Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin
How does one know they have the Holy Ghost?
Acts 19:2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
The folks believed in Jesus, but didn't have the Holy Ghost.
So to answer your question "Isn't the Holy Ghost at work in their lives at the moment of conviction, faith, and repentance?"
I would say no due to the context of Acts 19:1-6.
They had been preached "Jesus", but hadn't been baptized nor received the Holy Ghost. The people in Acts 19:1-6 had been taught the "one step salvation", since they "believed", but Paul clarified that they needed to be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost. |
Let's look at
Acts 19:1-6 closely...
Acts 19:1-6
1And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,
2He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
3And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
4Then 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.
5When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
Here's what we see. Paul passed through the upper coasts and came to Ephesus. There he found "certain disciples". Paul asks them if they had received the Holy Ghost since they believed. They answer that they don't even know if there is a "Holy Ghost". Paul then asks unto what they were they baptized. They answer, "John's baptism". This means that they were distant disciples of John the Baptist. John's baptism wasn't Christian baptism. John's baptism was the "baptism of repentance", a Jewish baptism. These people were Jews who had repented as a result of John's message. Paul then tells them that John preached that they should believe on the one who came after him, that is on Christ Jesus. Obviously at this point they come to faith in Christ Jesus and are water baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Immediately after their conversion from Judaism to Christianity John lays hands on them and they receive the Holy Ghost.
So as you can see...these weren't Christian disciples. In fact, Apostolic Christianity was the only form of Christianity present. The Holy Ghost featured greatly in the early church, therefore it's inconceivable that these would have been Christians who didn't believe in the Holy Ghost. These were Ephesian Jews who received John's message and Paul preached Jesus to them.
Now, we know this, IT IS WRITTEN,
1 Corinthians 12:3
Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
Paul tells us in
I Corinthians 12:3 that NO MAN can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. You see, it is the Holy Ghost that reveals Jesus to the wayward sinner. It is the Holy Ghost that convicts them of sin. It is the Holy Ghost that leads them to repentance. It is the Holy Ghost that they are then baptized with that they might receive empowerment to be witnesses into all the world.
The problem with the three-step notion is that it disregards the Holy Ghost's work from start to finish. They see the Holy Ghost as being strictly a factor in the third step of their three step liturgy in approaching the Lord. The truth is, the Holy Ghost is present and abiding from the moment one comes to faith in Christ Jesus, else they could never believe with a faith that pleases the Lord. Christianity isn't a three step recipe...it's a journey into greater and greater Christ likeness from child like faith to empowered faithfulness and obedience.
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