Main news for 6 June 2025

What is the relationship, the connection, between baptism and the descent of the Holy Spirit? In the second chapter of Acts, baptism is accompanied by the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit (2:38); in the eighth chapter, baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus did not lead to the outpouring of the Spirit (8:16); in the tenth chapter, the descent of the Spirit precedes baptism (10:44-48); and now in the nineteenth, the Ephesians needed John's baptism, baptism in the name of the Lord, and also the laying on of Paul's hands. Truly, the Spirit blows where He wills (John 3:8)!

Second, what is the connection between the gifts of the Spirit and salvation? If salvation is given by faith and baptism (Matt. 16:16), why is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit needed? Perhaps the Holy Spirit gives those being saved the power for witness.

Third, why does the book of Acts insist precisely on these gifts of the Holy Spirit, tongues and prophecy? After all, Paul also writes about many other gifts of the Spirit manifested in the Church (1 Cor. 12). Perhaps the point is that the gifts described here appear in people immediately after conversion; these gifts are visible at once, while others, such as the gift of healing, teaching, and working miracles, appear later.