The Conquering Word (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #34) (Copy)
INTRODUCTION
Paul begins his third missionary journey in Ephesus, and the Lord confirms His presence with Paul through extraordinary signs, causing the Word of God to overcome all opposition. It was true then, and it is true today. The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. Whatever you face, whatever you need, Scripture is your light, your power, your peace, your wisdom.
The Text: “And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, he said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Gost since ye believed?”
SUMMARY OF THE TEXT
When Paul returned to Ephesus, he found certain disciples of John who did not know that Jesus had come and had not received the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-4). When those twelve disciples believed in Christ, they were given Christian baptism, and Paul laid his hands on them and prayed for them to receive the Spirit and they spoke in different tongues and prophesied (Acts 19:5-7). From there, Paul began preaching the Kingdom in the synagogue until he was forced to separate from them and began teaching daily in the school of Tyrannus for about two years (Acts 19:8-10).
Some really extraordinary miracles happened during this time, which caused even some of the unbelieving Jewish exorcists to invoke the names of Jesus and Paul, which seriously backfired, causing a great reverence among the Jews and Greeks for the gospel (Acts 19:11-17). And many believed in Jesus, confessing their sins, and publicly repenting, particularly of their superstitions, and the word of God grew mightily (Acts 19:18-20).
THE BAPTISM OF JOHN
Last week, we said that Apollos was a disciple of the school of John the Baptist, but he clearly knew the Lord and only needed some minor instruction. But here we have twelve disciples who don’t appear to know that Jesus had come and had not heard of the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2-4), which was the particular promise of John that would accompany the Christ (Mt. 3:11). While this variation may seem strange, it also underlines that baptism really is tied to discipleship and teaching. To be baptized into Christ or in the name of the Lord Jesus is to be baptized into His school, His teaching, His way. Those twelve had received John’s baptism of repentance, but they were only taught to look forward to the Messiah. When they believe and receive Christian baptism, God sent a mini-Pentecost in Ephesus confirming the presence of Christ and the apostolic authority of Paul (cf. Acts 8:17). This was now the fourth “Pentecost” in the book of Acts: Jerusalem (Jews), Samaria (Samaritans), Cornelius (God-fearers), and Ephesus (Jews and Gentiles) (cf. Acts 1:8).
SOFT CESSATIONISM
One of the questions that Christians have wrestled with over the centuries is whether we should expect miracles and signs of the Holy Spirit. Broadly, those who believe that the sign gifts have ceased are called “Cessationists” and those who believe they continue are called “Continuationists” or more popularly “Charismatics” or “Pentecostals.” We are what you might call soft-cessationists. A significant part of the reason for the extraordinary gifts given to the apostles was to prove that they had the right to speak for God and write the New Testmant (2 Cor. 12:12). When the New Testament was finished, that particular apostolic gift ceased, but we don’t at all believe that the Holy Spirit has ceased or that miracles have ceased. We simply don’t believe that anyone has that apostolic authority any longer, because Jesus Christ is the fullness of God’s revelation (Heb. 1).
BATTLE WITH THE POWERS
A bunch of this passage echoes earlier stories in Scripture on purpose, underlining that this is the same Jesus at work bringing His Kingdom further into this world. We have “twelve” who receive the Holy Spirit and speak in different languages (like the twelve apostles), followed by extraordinary miracles (like Peter), followed by an inverted “seven” (Acts 6), and people trying to “buy” the Holy Spirit (Acts 8). As Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father” (Jn. 14:12). When God rises up to deliver His people, the “magicians of Pharaoh” often attempt to mimic that power as the Jewish exorcists attempt to do here. But this always backfires, as is currently happening with secularism.
APPLICATIONS
The central miracle of the Holy Spirit is regeneration. As Jesus said, “you must be born again.” This is not merely a spiritual experience. We preach repentance in Christ – death and resurrection in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Gal. 2:20).
This is the power to be delivered from the powers of darkness through the forgiveness of sins. This is what baptism proclaims, and this is what the Holy Spirit confirms. But just as there were disciples who had been baptized that did not know Christ, we must constantly preach this Christ who gives His Holy Spirit without measure.
And this change always has public ramifications. The Word of God rules in the Kingdom of God and so restores and glorifies nature, colliding with the Kingdom of darkness, setting the captives free.