1 Ted Kirnbauer Acts 18:24-19:7 8/23/15

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1 1 18:23b-21:16 - Paul s Third Missionary Journey (part 1) Paul in Ephesus Acts 18:23b-19:41 Paul spent some time in Syrian Antioch, but then left and passed successively through the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples (18:23). Although Acts 18:23b-19:41 is considered to be Paul's third missionary journey, in a sense it was not a journey for Paul stayed for more than two years in Ephesus in order to establish a strong Christian community there. 18:24 Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. 18:25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; 18:26 and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 18:27 And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace, 18:28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. About a year had passed from Paul s first visit to Ephesus (18:19-21) to his return (18:24). Sometime before Paul returned to Ephesus, a Jew named Apollos had come from Alexandria. At that time, the city of Alexandria had a huge population of Jews. Two hundred years before Christ the Jews in Alexandria had translated the Old Testament into Greek which is often quoted in the NT. Alexandria was a center of education and philosophy which may have contributed to Apollos ability to communicate and think so well. Luke tells us three things about Apollos. First, he was an eloquent, learned man. Secondly, he was mighty in the Scriptures, probably meaning that he understood how the OT demonstrated that Jesus was the Messiah. Lastly, he was instructed in the way of the Lord. Apollos taught accurately about Jesus (18:25), and was fervent in the way he preached (18:25). Yet when Aquila and Priscilla heard him speaking in the synagogue, they recognized that his understanding in some areas was deficient (18:26). Although it is impossible to know where Apollos deficiency was, verse 25 says he was acquainted only with the baptism of John. This begs the question: what baptism was he NOT acquainted with? Two suggestions have been made: 1. The first view is that he had not heard of baptism in Jesus name. This would have to mean that he had not experienced Christian baptism himself. This fits well with the story that follows where twelve men are also said to know only of the baptism of John and needed to be baptized in the name of Jesus.

2 2 The weakness of this is that it is fairly clear that Apollos was a believer while the twelve men in 19:1-7 appear not to be. Considering that baptism in the NT was part of the salvation event it is hard to imagine that he was saved but not baptized. 2. The second view is that Apollos was a Jew ministering to the Jews of the Diaspora who knew of Christ s death and resurrection, but were not aware of His exaltation and the outpouring of the Spirit. In this view Apollos was not lacking knowledge of Christian water baptism, but lacked knowledge of the historical events that transpired after Christ s resurrection, especially the outpouring of the Spirit. John the Baptist had said, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me... will baptize you with the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11). John s contrast is not between his baptism with water and Christian baptism with water, but between his water baptism and Messiah s Spirit baptism. The baptism of the Spirit was the eschatological outpouring of the Spirit that demonstrated that Christ was exalted and that the new age had come. Spirit baptism is a theme throughout Acts. Jesus spoke of it in Acts 1:4-5; the Jews experienced it in Acts 2:1 ff.; Peter explained it in Acts 2:14ff.; it was the needed evidence that assured the Jews that the Samaritans (Acts 8:14-17) and the Gentiles (Acts 10: :16-18) could enter into the New Covenant without first converting to Judaism (Acts 15:7-11). Perhaps Apollos needed to be brought up to date with what had happened at Pentecost (Acts 2). Whatever the deficiency was, Aquila and Priscilla took him aside and explained the gospel more accurately to him. When Apollos desired to go to Achaia (where Corinth and Athens are located), the churches there welcomed him and he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. When we read 1 Corinthians we see that Apollos was an important figure in Corinth, and that a rivalry soon ensued between believers who followed him and those who followed Paul. Neither Paul nor Apollos sought a personal following and so Paul offered a scathing rebuke in 1 Corinthians 1 to these factious groups (1 Cor. 1:11ff.). In addition, the first four chapters of 1 Corinthians express how much Paul appreciated the ministry of Apollos. Paul calls him a fellow-worker in God's field and says that he (Paul) planted the seed; Apollos watered; but God caused the growth (1 Cor. 3:6). It is apparent in Acts 18:24-27 that the members of the early church worked together, were open to instruction, and encouraged each other in ministry. 19:1 It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. 19:2 He said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said to him, "No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." 19:3 And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" And they said, "Into John's baptism."

3 3 19:4 Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus." 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 19:6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. 19:7 There were in all about twelve men. In 19:1 the scene changes from Apollos to the beginning of Paul s three year ministry in Ephesus (Acts 20:31). There is a close connection between Paul s experience in 19:1-7 and the previous story of Apollos (Marshall, 323); both stories tell of men who had deficient knowledge; both speak of John s baptism; both address the need to be updated as to what had transpired since Pentecost (Acts 2 ff.). The difference between Apollos and the disciples in Acts 19 is that Apollos was clearly a believer (18:25). The twelve whom Paul met were not. Apollos was fervent in spirit (the Spirit?) and taught accurately about Jesus; these hadn t even heard if there was a Holy Spirit. The story goes as follows: Apollos had gone to Corinth and Paul was traveling in the upper inland regions that led to Ephesus (see map below). When Paul arrived in Ephesus he found some disciples. Although disciple normally refers to a believer in the Book of Acts, according to Luke's description, these do not appear to be Christians at all. Paul immediately had some doubts about their Christian status, so he began to question them and examine their claims more carefully (Marshall, 324; Stott, 304). The first thing he asked them was if they had received the Holy Spirit when they had believed. His question expressed the assumption that those who believe have the Spirit. It also indicates that they were at least professed believers. In verse 2 their answer is startling; they replied, "We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. This cannot mean that they had never heard of the Holy Spirit at all, for both the OT and John the Baptist taught about Him (Matt. 3:11; Jn. 1:33). Rather, since Paul had asked if they had received the Holy Spirit, their comment more likely means that they had not heard that the Holy Spirit had come into the believer s experience in the manner Paul was speaking of; that is, they were ignorant of Pentecost (Acts 1). These disciples had most likely believed about Jesus what they had heard from John, but they were still living under the Old Covenant. As Stott says, they understood neither that the new age had been ushered in by Jesus, nor that those who believe in Him and are baptized into Him receive the distinctive blessing of the new age, the indwelling Spirit (Stott, 304). Paul immediately asked a follow-up question; this time he linked the Spirit to their baptism, Into what were you baptized? (19:3). If they had been baptized with the Trinitarian formula in Matthew 28:19 20

4 4 in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, how could they not know that the Holy Spirit had been given? As it turns out, their baptism wasn t identification with Christ; it was the baptism of repentance practiced by John the Baptist. This confirms that they were disciples of John. Therefore, Paul went on to tell them that John preached about believing in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus (v 4; Jn. 1:26ff; 3:25ff.). Paul s explanation implies that they hadn t clearly understood that yet. When the lights came on, they received Paul s message and Paul baptized them "in the name of the Lord Jesus." He then laid hands on them, giving his official apostolic authorization as John and Peter had done in Samaria, and the Holy Spirit came upon them with accompanying signs; they spoke in tongues and prophesied. In other words, they experienced a mini-pentecost. Better, Pentecost caught up to them. Better still, they were caught up into it, as its promised blessings became theirs (Stott, 305). This is the fourth time in the Book of Acts where we read about the Holy Spirit coming upon people, and each time there is a particular significance. The first time was at Pentecost when the Spirit came upon the Jews (Acts 2). Next, He came upon the Samaritans (Acts 8), and then upon the Gentiles (Acts 10). In every case the presence of the Spirit was manifested. Every time the gospel advanced, Pentecost reached out and people were caught up in its ripples. Speaking in tongues and prophesying were signs that the new age had dawned and that that which God had promised was coming to pass. The New Testament doesn t make these universal experiences. Rather, they demonstrated visibly and publicly that particular groups were incorporated into Christ by the Spirit (Stott, 305). The normal Christian experience is a cluster of four things: repentance, faith in Jesus, water baptism, and the gift of the Spirit. Some emphasize the order of what happened in 19:4-6: Paul preached, they believed, they were baptized, Paul laid hands on them, and then they received the Holy Spirit. In other words, they stress that the Spirit came upon them at the laying on of hands, subsequent to conversion. They then conclude that this is the pattern for today, as well; people must first believe and then through the laying on of hands they receive the Spirt. This has a number of problems. First, in this very context Paul assumed that the Holy Spirit was received at the time of salvation; he asked John s disciples if they had received the Holy Spirit when they had believed (Acts 19:2). Secondly, the New Testament teaches that if someone does not have the Spirit, he or she is not a Christian (Jn. 3:5; Acts 11:17; Ro. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:3; Gal. 3:2; 1 Thess. 1:5f; Titus 3:5; Heb. 6:4; 1 Pet. 1:2; 1 Jn. 3:24; 4:13). Thirdly, this pattern is not consistent even in the Book of Acts. For example, in Acts 10:44 the Holy Spirit fell upon Cornelius as Peter was speaking. In Acts 2 He came while the disciples were waiting. Here He comes at the laying on of hands. Stott is probably right when he says, I do not myself think the order is very significant. To me the really important point is that all four events belong together and cannot be separated. They were different parts of a single initiation into Christ, which took place by both baptism and the laying on of hands (outwardly) and by both faith and the gift of the Spirit (inwardly)" (Stott, Baptism and Fullness, 48). When we place our faith in Christ we receive all that God has to give us. Ephesians 1:3 says that in Christ God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Once the Spirit is received,

5 5 progress in the Christian life is made by being filled with (controlled by) the Spirit and not grieving the Him. In sum, these12 men were most likely unbelievers because: 1) their identification was with John the Baptist and his baptism, not Jesus 2) Paul had to explain that John pointed to faith in Christ this implies that they hadn t understood this clearly 3) they were baptized which in the NT is part of the salvation event 4) they received the Holy Spirit which they would have already received if they had believed before now