Acts 19:2 kjv
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.
Acts 19:2 nkjv
he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."
Acts 19:2 niv
and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
Acts 19:2 esv
And he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
Acts 19:2 nlt
"Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" he asked them. "No," they replied, "we haven't even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
Acts 19 2 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Spirit's Reception/Baptism | ||
| Acts 2:38 | "Repent and be baptized... for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." | The promise of the Spirit to repentant believers. |
| Acts 8:15-17 | "When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit... then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit." | Samaritan believers received the Spirit after conversion, through apostles' hands. |
| Acts 10:44-45 | "While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the message... on the Gentiles also the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out." | Gentiles received the Spirit directly upon hearing the Gospel. |
| Acts 11:15-17 | "As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning... If then God gave the same gift to them as He gave to us..." | Peter recounts Cornelius' household receiving the Spirit, equating it with Pentecost. |
| Rom 8:9 | "Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him." | The Holy Spirit's indwelling is essential for belonging to Christ. |
| 1 Cor 12:13 | "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit." | All believers are baptized into the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. |
| Gal 3:2-5 | "Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? ...does he provide you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?" | The Spirit is received through faith, not by works of the law. |
| Eph 1:13-14 | "In him you also, when you heard the word of truth... believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance..." | Believers are sealed and guaranteed by the Holy Spirit upon believing. |
| Titus 3:5 | "he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit" | Salvation includes regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. |
| John 3:5-8 | "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God... The wind blows where it wishes... So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." | Spiritual birth through the Spirit is necessary for God's kingdom. |
| John's Baptism vs. Christian Baptism | ||
| Matt 3:11 | "I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me... will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." | John prophesied a coming one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. |
| Mark 1:8 | "I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." | Mark's account of John's distinction. |
| Luke 3:16 | "John answered them all, saying, 'I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming... he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.'" | Luke's account of John's distinction, echoing others. |
| John 1:33 | "I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'" | John's divine revelation about Jesus' role as Baptizer with the Spirit. |
| Acts 1:5 | "for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." | Jesus affirms the coming Spirit baptism distinct from John's. |
| Acts 18:24-28 | "Now a Jew named Apollos... was an eloquent man... knew only the baptism of John... when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately." | Apollos' case of incomplete knowledge of Christ and baptism, similar to the Ephesians. |
| Significance of the Spirit's Presence | ||
| Rom 8:16 | "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." | The Spirit assures believers of their adoption. |
| Eph 4:30 | "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." | The Spirit seals and empowers until redemption. |
| Joel 2:28-29 | "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy..." | Old Testament prophecy of the universal outpouring of the Spirit. |
| Ezek 36:26-27 | "And I will give you a new heart... and put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes..." | Old Testament promise of an indwelling Spirit for obedience. |
| Acts 15:8 | "And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us." | God's giving of the Spirit confirms genuine faith and acceptance. |
Acts 19 verses
Acts 19 2 Meaning
In Acts 19:2, the Apostle Paul encounters disciples in Ephesus and questions them about their reception of the Holy Spirit upon believing. Their startling response, that they had not even heard of a Holy Spirit, reveals a significant gap in their spiritual understanding and experience. This verse highlights the essential nature of the Holy Spirit's presence and power for Christian life, distinguishing genuine New Covenant faith and discipleship from an earlier, preparatory stage of belief exemplified by the ministry of John the Baptist. It underscores that true Christian conversion includes not just faith in Christ but also the indwelling and empowering of God's Spirit.
Acts 19 2 Context
Paul arrived in Ephesus during his third missionary journey (Acts 19:1). In Acts 18, Aquila and Priscilla had encountered Apollos, an eloquent Jew "fervent in spirit" who accurately taught about Jesus but "knew only the baptism of John" (Acts 18:25). They taught him "the way of God more accurately." Acts 19:2 likely picks up on a similar scenario. Paul encounters "disciples" (μάθητας - mathētas)—individuals who, like Apollos before his instruction from Aquila and Priscilla, had believed in some aspect of God's revelation but lacked the full understanding and experience of the New Covenant initiated by Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit poured out at Pentecost. The question highlights Paul's priority: the Holy Spirit's presence is a crucial sign of true Christian conversion and power, differentiating it from earlier forms of prophetic or preparatory belief.
Acts 19 2 Word analysis
- He said (Εἶπεν - Eipen): Refers to Paul. His immediate question implies a discernment that something was missing or different about these "disciples." It suggests an inquiry into their spiritual state, moving beyond initial appearances.
- to them: The "disciples" Paul found in Ephesus (Acts 19:1). Their designation as "disciples" (μάθητας) suggests they had committed to a teacher or a teaching, but not necessarily the full Christian doctrine post-Pentecost.
- Did you receive (ἐλάβετε - elabete): A past-tense verb in the aorist indicative, pointing to a definite event, a singular act of reception. Paul is not asking if they are receiving (an ongoing process) but if they have received (a completed act) the Spirit. This often points to the initial impartation of the Spirit in New Testament contexts.
- the Holy Spirit (τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον - to Pneuma to Hagion): The third person of the Triune God, God's Spirit. He is the divine agent of regeneration, indwelling, sanctification, and empowerment for believers. Paul's emphasis indicates the Spirit is not merely an optional extra but central to genuine Christian experience and life.
- when you believed (πιστεύσαντες - pisteusantes): A participle, "having believed." This links the reception of the Spirit with the act of faith, implying a very close connection. The question probes whether their belief was truly "Christian" belief that resulted in the Spirit's presence, or if it was an incomplete faith, lacking this fundamental aspect of the new covenant.
- No, we have not even heard (Οὐδ᾽ οὐδ᾽ - Oud' oud'... ēkousamen): An emphatic double negative, conveying absolute ignorance. It’s astonishing and reveals the depth of their unawareness regarding the Holy Spirit's existence, let alone His promised outpouring or personal reception. This is not simply lack of experience but a fundamental lack of knowledge of a key doctrine.
- whether there is a Holy Spirit: Literally, "if a Holy Spirit exists." Their knowledge seems to have stopped before the full revelation concerning the person and work of the Holy Spirit. They may have known the concept of "spirit" or God's "wind" (Hebrew ruach), but not as a distinct divine person promised to indwell believers, or as the transformative power inaugurated at Pentecost.
Words-Group Analysis:
- "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?": This question highlights Paul's understanding that the reception of the Holy Spirit is intrinsically tied to genuine faith in Christ. It implies that true belief, in the New Covenant sense, inherently leads to or includes the indwelling of the Spirit. Paul is looking for evidence of a full Christian conversion.
- "No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.": This astonishing reply points to a form of incomplete or "transitional" faith. They were "disciples" likely of John the Baptist's message of repentance and Messiah's coming, which lacked the full revelation of the Spirit's New Covenant role. Their ignorance wasn't willful defiance but a lack of exposure to the post-Pentecost reality and the full scope of Christian doctrine concerning the Spirit. It underscores the profound difference the advent of the Spirit made for the nature of discipleship.
Acts 19 2 Bonus section
The "disciples" encountered here were likely much like Apollos, sincere but operating with a pre-Pentecost understanding. They believed in the coming Messiah and practiced John's baptism, which was for repentance, but they hadn't yet been exposed to the good news of Jesus' completed work (death, resurrection, ascension) and the subsequent outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2). This account distinguishes John's preparatory ministry from the full Christian dispensation where the Spirit indwells believers, empowering them for witness and holy living. It reinforces that Christian conversion involves not only repentance and faith but also the transforming power of the indwelling Spirit as a central aspect of the new covenant. This isn't necessarily about a "second blessing" for already indwelt Christians, but about the completion of the understanding and experience for those who had only received part of the truth up to that point.
Acts 19 2 Commentary
Acts 19:2 stands as a crucial passage demonstrating the normative experience of receiving the Holy Spirit for Christian believers in the New Covenant. Paul's pointed question highlights the Spirit's vital role in conversion and discipleship. The Ephesian disciples' complete ignorance, even of the Spirit's existence, underscores their pre-Pentecostal understanding, akin to the followers of John the Baptist. Their knowledge and experience, though sincere, were incomplete; they had heard the message of repentance and preparation for the Messiah but lacked understanding of Jesus' completed work and the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
This encounter teaches that faith in Jesus leads to the reception of the Holy Spirit, who is indispensable for empowering, guiding, and transforming believers. It shows that initial belief, without the indwelling Spirit, falls short of the full, rich experience of New Covenant Christianity. The narrative provides an example where subsequent instruction and a distinct event of Spirit reception completed their spiritual journey, demonstrating the critical link between believing the full Gospel message and being endued with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.