Ember Wednesday within the Octave of the Feast of Pentecost
Posted on May 31, 2023 by under
Scripture: Acts 8:14-17 (NKJV)
8:14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Devotion
“For as yet [the Holy Spirit] had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 8:16 NKJV).
The Holy Spirit is always connected to Baptism. Sometimes He shows His power before or after, but He is not separated from Baptism. In today’s text, some had been baptized “in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Baptism and the Holy Spirit are blessings that God gives through the Apostolic Ministry. Jesus had instructed the Apostles to baptize “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost” (Matt. 28:19). These people had been baptized, but the connection of that baptism with the Apostolic Ministry was unclear. So the Holy Spirit waits to come in power until Peter and John come and lay hands on the baptized. Then, they received the Holy Spirit.
For those baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—either by men who hold the Office of the Apostolic Ministry, or in an emergency by others—the Church has the good practice that baptism is properly affirmed by the prayers and laying on of hands of those who hold the Apostolic Ministry. We rejoice that we have received the Holy Spirit according to God’s will and institution, for He sustains our faith in Christ and empowers us for holy living.
Prayer: O God, who didst teach the hearts of Thy faithful people, by sending them the light of Thy Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in His holy comfort; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Ember Wednesday within the Octave of the Feast of Pentecost
O Lord, may the Comforter, who proceedeth from Thee, enlighten our minds, we beseech Thee, and guide us into all truth, even as Thy Son hath promised, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
