Acts 19:4
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. 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.
John baptized with a baptism of repentance that called the people to believe on the One who would come after him, that is Christ Jesus. At Ephesus Paul found about twelve disciples who knew only that baptism and had not so much as heard of the Holy Ghost. They knew only part of Christ's life and mission and held serious errors, needing fuller light on his life, death and resurrection and on the Holy Spirit. When they heard that clearer light they trusted in his atoning sacrifice and accepted him as Redeemer, and were baptized again in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then when Paul laid hands on them the Holy Ghost came upon them and they spoke with tongues and prophesied, the same gift promised to believers today who surrender the will, humble the heart, and seek counsel and power from God with much prayer.
Paul at Ephesus
Paul reached Ephesus after passing through the upper coasts while Apollos was at Corinth. There he found certain disciples who knew only John's baptism and had not so much as heard whether there is any Holy Spirit. They numbered about twelve. John had proclaimed Jesus as the Promised One, and those who heard him carried that news throughout the world, preparing the way for the apostles' work.
When they heard Paul's explanation they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, and when Paul laid his hands on them the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Afterward Paul spoke boldly in the synagogue for three months about the kingdom of God. His work at Ephesus helped establish a large church in a stronghold of heathenism.
John's Baptism Meaning
John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance that told the people to believe on the One who would come after John, that is Christ Jesus. It pointed forward to Jesus as the Christ, directing those who received it to put faith in Him who was to follow the Baptist. In that sense it was preparatory, joining a call to turn from sin with a call to trust in the coming Redeemer.
Those who had received only that baptism did not yet fully understand Jesus’ mission as the One who bears sin, and they held serious errors. They knew only part of Christ’s life and mission and had an incomplete knowledge that needed to be enlarged to embrace Christ and the Holy Spirit. What was lacking was fuller light on His life, death and resurrection as the atoning sacrifice.
Repentance and faith are conditions for receiving baptism. John’s baptism itself joined repentance with direction to believe in Christ who came after John. That union shows what is required of those who come to the ordinance.
Response and Holy Spirit
When clearer light came concerning Christ's life, death and resurrection, those who had known only John's baptism trusted in His atoning sacrifice and accepted Him as their Redeemer. Their purer faith wrought a change in life and obligation, for they now understood more fully Jesus' mission as the bearer of sin from which serious errors had before held them back. That change was openly acknowledged when upon hearing Paul's explanation they were baptized again in the name of the Lord Jesus as the sign of it and the confession of faith in Him.
When Paul laid his hands upon them the Holy Ghost came upon them and they spoke with tongues as the Spirit gave utterance and prophesied. It was the same experience as that of the apostles, the promised power coming upon believers who have accepted John's baptism of repentance unto faith in Christ Jesus. The record stands for the instruction of the churches today, showing that the Spirit was given to these disciples who were especially set apart.
The same presence will go with every laborer together with God who seeks His counsel and surrenders the will to His will. The Spirit is the sacred endowment of those who humble the heart before God and submit to His guidance, and the secret of their power. With much prayer and constant surrender He brings the pledged help of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, with angels working for those who yield to the Spirit.
John's preaching had convicted people to believe in Christ Jesus and brought them to rejoice in faith, yet some afterward forsook that faith. Those who were so convicted and then fell away are among those addressed by the message to the church in Sardis. By not holding the beginning of their confidence firm to the end they were left without spiritual strength, believing as without faith. They quibbled over matters of no importance not given as tests and dwelt on differences of opinion until those differences became as mountains separating them from Christ and from one another and destroying unity and love.