The Holy Spirit comes down, and those in the upper room are baptized in the Holy Spirit, as God had promised. What is this Baptism of the Holy Spirit and what is the effect on those who receive it? There were various gifts given to them, which we will discuss and make clear as to what they were. We discuss these gifts, how they were manifested, and how the Jewish leadership responded. And we discuss the major benefits to the Church then and today of this baptism.

Just before Paul began the first of his three missionary journeys, he and others at the Church of Antioch were worshiping and fasting, when Holy Spirit set Paul and Barnabas apart on a special mission to the gentile cities. They journeyed throughout much of the Mediterranean coastline of modern day Turkey with John-Mark – a helper who would later be the cause of Paul and Barnabas’s separation in Acts 15. This first missionary journey is unique because Paul and Barnabas taught the Jews first and then the Gentiles (later on Paul would focus primarily to teaching the Gentiles) and tells of Paul and Barnabas’s response to a sorcerer who tried to lead a Roman Governor away from Christianity. What isn’t unique however, is how the Jewish leadership stirred up persecution against Paul expelling him and Barnabas from the region.

After the death of Stephen, Saul brought great persecution upon the Church chasing its’ leaders throughout Samaria and Gentile cities as they spread the gospel. Saul’s plan to eradicate Christianity didn’t work the way he had desired as Christianity only gained more followers. One of these church leaders was Philip. In Acts 8, Luke tells two stories about Philip, the first is his encounter with a sorcerer who tries to buy the power of the Holy Spirit, and the other involves teleportation and an Ethiopian Eunuch.