How Do You Know You Have the Holy Spirit? Acts 19

Paul in Ephesus

19 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when[a] you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. 4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
Something interesting happens when Paul comes to Ephesus.  When Paul asks the disciples (presumably Christians) if they had received the Holy Spirit they say quizzically, "No, we have not even heard there is a Holy Spirit!" 
This brings up a great question.  If they are called disciples, are they Christians?  And if they are Christians, did they come to believe in Christ but not receive the Holy Spirit.  There is considerable debate about this passage among bible believing Christians.  Here is how one commentary describes the dilemma, 
"An often-debated question is, “Were these 12 Ephesian disciples actually Christians before this remarkable filling of the Holy Spirit, or not?” On the one hand, they were called disciples – and appeared to part of the company of Christians in Ephesus, things that would not usually be said of them if they were not actually Christians. On the other hand, they knew so little about Jesus; and they were baptized in water again, this time in the name of Jesus. It is difficult to say with certainty if they were already Christians or not, but one can say with certainty that Paul perceived they lacked something of the Holy Spirit in their lives."
I would be interested in what prompted Paul to ask them if they had received the Holy Spirit?  Obviously it is an important question or he wouldn't have asked it. He also assumed they would know it if they did.  But they didn't know it. One thing is for sure after Paul baptized them in the name of Jesus, they did know it. The passage says they were filled with the Holy Spirit and manifested His presence by speaking in tongues (speaking in an unknown language only known to God) and prophesying (speaking forth God's Word in a timely and relevant way). 
John's baptism was one of preparation for Jesus.  It was a baptism of repentance, which meant to turn from one's past behavior and get ready to trust in Jesus. So in the end, I don't think it is as important to focus on whether they were Christians before or after they were baptized by Paul, after all we will never know. What is important is to point out the importance of the Holy Spirit and what it means to know the Spirit.  Paul assumed they would know it if they had received the Holy Spirit.  This tells me that the Holy Spirit's presence in our life is discernable and recognizable to us.
Paul teaches us in Galatians 5:22, "The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness and self control."  If you are living and walking by the Holy Spirit, you will experience his presence as evidenced by these qualities and virtues.  
Charles Spurgeon says this about the experience of the Holy Spirit, "If someone doesn’t seem to know if they have the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in their life, it’s fair to assume that they don’t have it. If you have it, you should know it. “Give a man an electric shock, and I warrant you he will know it; but if he has the Holy Ghost, he will know it much more.” (Spurgeon)  This isn’t something to hope about; we can know – one can know they are filled with the Holy Spirit. 
Bottom line is the Holy Spirit is a gift of God.  The Holy Spirit is God himself dwelling in our body and soul. The Spirit is a downpayment of our future assurance guaranteeing our salvation in Christ. If God is dwelling in you how could you not know or feel it?  The Holy Spirit is a PERSON of the Trinity as we often pray, "Come Holy Spirit".  We pray for the Holy Spirit to renew our hearts and lives.  Let's not miss out on the power, peace and person of the Holy Spirit!  May we not say like the 12 Ephesian disciples said today, "We didn't even know there was a Holy Spirit!" 




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