They prayed for the believers. That the Spirit might come down on them. The "gifts of the Spirit" are not the same as the "Spirit as a gift." These had already been born of water and the Spirit (John 3:5), but had not yet been given the supernormal gifts of the Spirit. See notes on Acts 19:1-7. Calvin wrote: "Luke speaks not of the common grace of the Holy Spirit, but of those singular gifts with which God would have certainly endowed at the beginning of the gospel." Placed their hands on them. Only the apostles had the authority and the ability to pass on the gifts of the Spirit.

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Old Testament