"The Holy Ghost came on them" (Acts xix. 6). See also Acts i. 8, John xv. 26. John xvi. 7, 8, 13. From this expression may we not learn the _personality_ of the Holy Ghost? "Christ Jesus _came_ into the world," and "the Holy Ghost _came_ on them," are two parallel expressions. If Christ is here a person, why should the Holy Ghost be a mere influence? _9. "Sealed."_ "Ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise" (Eph. i. 13). See also 2 Cor. i. 22. This "sealing" in Eph. i. 13, is the "receiving" of Acts xix. 2; the "coming on them" of Acts xix. 6; for here, in this epistle, Paul is evidently referring to the incident related in Acts xix. 1-7. In Eph. i. 13, "In Whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in Whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise," we see the successive stages through which the Ephesians passed in their spiritual history. (1) There was a time when they had not heard the Gospel; they were living in the darkness of heathenism. (2) Then came the day when they "heard the word." (3) Then they "believed." (4) Succeeding this they were "sealed," "_after_ that ye believed ye were sealed;" a very distinct and definite blessing this for the Ephesians, as definite as their salvation when they believed. And yet, in face of this, some will affirm that there is no such thing as a Christian receiving a new distinct blessing after his conversion! If these Ephesians had this experience, why may not believers still? When a Christian is "sealed" by the Holy Ghost, "sealed" as the property of his Master, there will be no need to ask, "Whose Image and superscription is this" upon the "sealed" one? The King's, of course. Any one can see the Image. Of what use is a "seal" if it cannot be seen? Is the King's Image visibly, permanently stamped upon us? It is on every Spirit-filled "sealed" believer. CHAPTER IX. _HOW OBTAINED?_ We come now to the practical side of our subject. Surely the unprejudiced reader, if he has not already "received the Holy Ghost," has at least come to the conclusion that there _is_ such a blessing mentioned in the New Testament, and lying in God's Treasury, Jesus Christ, for all New Testament believers, and therefore for him--_for me_. Until it dawns on one's consciousness that there _is_ such a blessing as "being filled with the Spirit," it is not likely that he will trouble about seeking it, and therefore will never obtain it. In all fairness these terms which we have just been considering--"Filled," "Baptized," "Rivers," etc.--mean _something_. There is _some_ blessing represented by the terms, some substance at the back of the shadows. God the Holy Ghost knows what that blessing is. "Have I got _that_?" Is there anything in my life and experience to correspond with _that_? Now comes the question, "How am I to get it?" The Bible answer may be summarily comprehended in three words--CLEANSE, CONSECRATE, CLAIM.