Acts 19:1-22

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 19:2

He said unto them, have ye received the Holy Ghost ,.... Meaning, not the special regenerating and sanctifying grace of the Holy Ghost, for that is supposed in their being disciples and believers, but the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost, for it follows, since ye believed ? that is, in Christ; which is taking it for granted, that they had received the special grace of the Spirit of God; for this believing is to be understood of true, spiritual, special faith in Christ: and they... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 19:3

And he said unto them, unto what then were ye baptized ?.... The apostle takes it for granted that they were baptized, since they were not only believers, but disciples; such as not only believed with the heart, but had made a profession of their faith, and were followers of Christ; but asks unto what they were baptized; either in whose name they were baptized, since Christian baptism was administered in the name of the Spirit, as well as in the name of the Father and of the Son; or what... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 19:4

Then said Paul ,.... In reply to their answer, understanding them that they were baptized by John, he takes it up, and gives an account of John's baptism: showing how agreeable it was, and that it was the same baptism with the baptism of Christ, being administered in his name: John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance ; which required repentance antecedent to it, and was a fruit and effect, and so an evidence of it: saying unto the people ; the people of the Jews, the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 19:5

When they heard this ,.... That is, the people to whom John preached, his hearers; when they heard of the Messiah, and that Jesus was he, and that it became them to believe in him: they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus ; not the disciples that Paul found at Ephesus, but the hearers of John; for these are the words of the Apostle Paul, giving an account of John's baptism, and of the success of his ministry, showing, that his baptism was administered in the name of the Lord... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 19:6

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, Acts 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... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 19:7

And all the men were about twelve. The Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, have not the word "about"; but affirm, that the men were twelve; and indeed the number being so small, the historian might be at a certainty about it: these seem to be the first materials of a Gospel church at Ephesus, which afterwards was very large and flourishing, and very likely were some of the elders of it. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 19:8

And he went into the synagogue ,.... Of the Jews at Ephesus, for it seems to have been a private house, where he had met with the twelve baptized disciples, and had laid his hands on them; and these being Jews, as it seems most likely, by their having been baptized into John's baptism, the apostle went along with them to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his usual custom; having a very great desire, and an affectionate concern, for the welfare of his countrymen the Jews: and spake... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 19:9

But when divers were hardened and believed not ,.... For though some were affected with and convinced by the arguments the apostle used, others were but the more hardened and remained incredulous: for the Gospel, while it is the savour of life unto life to some, it is the savour of death unto death, to others; as the sun melts the wax, and hardens the clay: but spake evil of the way before the multitude ; the Syriac version and Beza's ancient copy read, "before the multitude of the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 19:10

And this continued by the space of two years ,.... Reckoning from the end of the three months, which had been spent in teaching in the synagogue: so that all they which dwelt in Asia ; in the lesser Asia, called the proconsular Asia, of which Ephesus was the chief city: heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks ; these, as they came to Ephesus, whether on account of religion, the Asiatic Jews to their synagogue, and the Greeks or Gentiles to the famous temple of Diana,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 19:11

And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul. For the confirmation of the doctrine which he preached, and of his mission, as an apostle; and these were not any sort of miracles, common and vulgar ones, and much less things of chance, and what were merely accidental, as the word may signify; but they were rare and uncommon ones, and in which there was a visible display of the power of God; to whom as the efficient cause they are ascribed, the apostle being only an instrument God made... read more

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