¹It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. ²He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” ³And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.”

Apollos spent a limited time in Ephesus and then left to preach in Corinth; Paul then returned, and we see how his ministry there developed. This constituted the beginning of the apostle’s third mission tour, which began with a tour of the Galatian churches to strengthen them before launching back west to Ephesus. By the time he arrived, the believers there had had a good grounding in the faith under Priscilla and Aquila’s teaching and also that of Apollos.

Ephesus was a major port city in what is now present-day Turkey. Situated on the Aegean Sea across from Greece/Achaia, it enjoyed the commerce that came from lying at the intersection of two major overland routes. It also was the home of the temple to Artemis (a.k.a. Diana). The idol there was fashioned apparently out of a meteorite. The year was around 54 A.D.

When Paul first arrived, he came across “some disciples.” There was a clear connection with them, but something was amiss, enough so that Paul asked whether they had received the Spirit “when [they] believed.” Unfortunately, the King James Version (KJV) translates this as, “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?” implying that Paul was asking about a post-salvation experience, “since the time you believed.” This has led many to think that Paul believed baptism of the Spirit was something different than when a person first comes to faith for salvation.

The word “since” is not a wrong translation, but it can also mean “because you believed.” All modern translations, including the New King James Version (NKJV), remove the ambiguity, and translate the word “when” and not “since.” In other words, Paul was asking about the genuine spiritual nature of their “conversion” experience. Did they receive the Spirit or not? If they had truly believed, the evidence would be that they would have received the Spirit. As it turns out, they didn’t have the Spirit, thus they were not saved.

They, like Apollos, had only part of the story of Christ, that which John the Baptist had taught. Possibly what they knew they learned from Apollos, and what they knew they believed; but it wasn’t enough. This story does not support a so-called baptism of the Spirit as a second blessing, for these men had not yet become saved believers because they had not had the full message of Christ.

Lord, help me to carefully interpret Your Word, so as not to be led astray.