Acts 19:1

Acts 19:1 says. And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the upper coasts and came to Ephesus.  He had told them he would visit them again, and he did.  There, he found certain disciples. As the gospel spread, it became more normal to find believers, but they didn't always understand the full gospel. We can encounter people today who profess to be believers, but when we discuss Christ with them, they really don't understand Who He is.  They have a semblance of the gospel, but not a true understanding.  I have heard some people say that they are Christians but are not born again.  You cannot be one without the other.  Verse two adds, 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.  Paul asked these disciples if they had received the Holy Ghost since they believed.  They replied that they had not so much as heard there was a Holy Ghost. Matthew Henry in his commentary says that it is as impossible to be saved without the Holy Spirit as it is to be saved without Christ.  When we are saved through Christ's sacrifice, we are indwelled and empowered by the Holy Ghost.  Verse three continues, And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.   If someone says they are saved but don't know anything about the Holy Ghost, or Spirit, then we need to ask them as Paul did whose name they were baptized in.  In Paul's case, they said in the name of John. Verse four states, Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.  Paul reminded them that John had said that his baptism was a baptism of repentance as they awaited the One Who would come after him, Jesus Christ.  Verse five adds, When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.  They believed Paul and accepted Christ as their Savior and were baptized.   When they accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, they were immediately indwelled with the Holy Spirit, as are all Christians.  Verse six continues, And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.  Did Paul transfer the Holy Ghost on them by laying his hands on them?  No, they had just accepted Christ and been baptized, so they were now filled with the Holy Ghost. We cannot transfer the Holy Ghost from us to anyone else.  As it states, the Holy Ghost came upon them.  Why? Because they accepted Christ as their Savior.  When we do one, accept Christ, the other occurs at the same time, being filled with the Holy Ghost.  It would indeed be strange for Christ to save us but leave us without the Comforter He promised to send.  They prophesied, or proclaimed what they now understood, that Jesus Christ was Lord.  They spoke in tongues, which means they were able to reach out to people of other nations with God's word.  I consulted with Matthew Henry again on this, and this was his interpretation.  Since God is not the author of confusion, He bestows gifts upon us to bring unity in Christ.  I use the Matthew Henry commentary because it has been in existence since 1721 and has been widely accepted since then.  Verse seven concludes, And all the men were about twelve.  We are told there were about twelve of them. This was not an excessively large number, but we actually reach people one at a time as God calls them.