Tuesday | 25 August 2026
We know that the apostle Paul preached the steps of salvation and the significance of the Holy Spirit to the believers in Ephesus, because he later wrote to them, ‘In Him [Christ] you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory’. Eph 1:13-14.
Paul’s first question to the Ephesians regarding the Holy Spirit focused on the need for God to abide in us. His second question to the Ephesians focused on the need for us to abide in God. He proceeded to ask them, ‘Into what then were you baptised?’ Act 19:3. They replied that they had been baptised into John’s baptism. That is, they had been baptised in water as an outward sign of their repentance from sin, in response to the gospel that had been proclaimed to them by Apollos.
Having listened to the way that they answered his question, Paul then proceeded to upgrade their understanding of baptism. Act 19:4-5. In response to Paul’s teaching, this group of newly born sons of God were then baptised into the name of Christ as an expression of their faith to become His disciples, and to learn from the messengers of Christ how to abide in the kingdom of God.
The congregation in Ephesus began with about twelve families who had been immersed into the name of the Lord Jesus and immersed into the Holy Spirit to become witnesses of Christ as part of a lampstand administration. Act 19:5-7. We could liken this congregation to the first flower in the central branch of the lampstand. Paul then lived among this congregation in Ephesus. In this regard, Paul was no longer the messenger coming to Ephesus; he was a messenger living in Ephesus. We could liken Paul’s ministry in Ephesus to the bud above the first flower on the central branch of the lampstand.
Further Study:
Ephesians 1
References:
Eph 1:13-14
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
Act 19:3-7
And he said to them, ‘Into what then were you baptised?’ So, they said, ‘Into John’s baptism.’ Then Paul said, ‘John indeed baptised with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.’ When they heard this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Now the men were about twelve in all.