Saving the Ephesians
Acts 18:18 – 19:7
March 3, 2013
Well tonight we get into a bit a transitional scene in the book of Acts,
And I don’t mind telling you that when reading ahead to this text
I was a little concerned as exactly what to preach.
• You have one section where Paul seemingly passes over a people who want to hear.
• You have another section where we have a bold preacher who doesn’t know the whole truth.
• And then we are faced with a confusing incident of men speaking in tongues and receiving the Holy Spirit.
Put all that together and I have to say I was dreading this text just a little.
But that is just where God is so good.
It is all His perfect word and He has such a wonderful way of revealing truth through the Scriptures He has preserved for us.
Now to first help us a little in this text, and for all the book of Acts
I need to remind you of the transitional nature of the book of Acts.
We are all familiar with the Old Testament way of doing things.
• The Jews are God’s chosen people.
• They are in a covenant with God.
• God has given them the Law to obey.
• God is dwelling in the temple.
• And to appease God’s wrath, you brought blood sacrifices.
We are familiar with the New Testament way of doing things.
• The Jews have been broken off
• The Gentiles have been grafted in.
• The church is God’s covenant people
• God is dwelling in men
• And God’s wrath has already been appeased by Christ on the cross
What makes Acts so unique is that it is the transition between the two.
• We literally see Israel fading away and the church emerging.
• We literally see God begin to dwell in men, and not the temple.
• And the predominant message is not Law, but Christ.
That is why some things you see are a little confusing.
Couple that with the fact that they did not have the New Testament
To help explain things and you understand a little better.
Now, understanding that, we look to our text tonight.
And I love the truths that this text brings to mind.
When you read all these verses there are three words
That are repeated three times.
(19) “They came to Ephesus”
(24) “Apollos…came to Ephesus”
(19:1) “Paul…came to Ephesus”
And because I am really smart I can surmise that this text
Has something to do with Ephesus getting the gospel.
The unique privilege we have here is that we are actually able to see the phases in which Ephesus did receive the gospel.
Now, we don’t always get to see this.
Often times we jump into the story about the time someone gets saved,
And we often only see the end.
But this text allows us to sort of see the progression
That the Ephesians walked through into their salvation,
And it makes for a very enlightening passage.
Well, there are three things I want us to see here.
#1 EPHESUS GETS A TASTE
Acts 18:18-23
Now the passage begins in verse 18 with Paul still in Corinth.
God has supernaturally determined to protect Paul and his ministry there
And Paul is milking it for all it’s worth.
But the time does come for him to depart.
(18) “Paul, having remained many days longer, took leave of the brethren and put out to sea for Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila. In Cenchrea he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow.”
First you recognize that Paul takes “Priscilla and Aquila” with him.
Obviously the leadership in Corinth has emerged
And so Paul is able to take these two saints along with him.
And then “In Cenchrea he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow.”
This is kind of a peculiar verse,
But it lends that transitional concept I was telling you about.
Paul was paying a Nazirite Vow.
Numbers 6:2-5 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to dedicate himself to the LORD, he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes. ‘All the days of his separation he shall not eat anything that is produced by the grape vine, from the seeds even to the skin. ‘All the days of his vow of separation no razor shall pass over his head. He shall be holy until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the LORD; he shall let the locks of hair on his head grow long.”
Nazirites were living examples of holiness and dedication to the Lord.
And there are more qualifications than just these.
It was sort of a dedicated fast to the Lord.
At the end of the period you cut off your hair as an offering to the Lord.
Now it’s not SURPRISING that Paul would making such a vow to God.
Obviously he is grateful to God for the provision made at Corinth.
It does however seem a little STRANGE
That Paul would be participating in such a ritual as this.
And yet we are reminded of that TRANSITIONAL NATURE.
• Paul was a Jew.
• Born a Jew, raised a Jew, educated as a Jew, etc.
• And so it only stands to reason that Judaism would surface from time to time in
his life.
And then the arrival in Ephesus.
(19-21) “They came to Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent, but taking leave of them and saying, “I will return to you again if God wills,” he set sail from Ephesus.”
Now many have read those verses and then critiqued Paul
For not staying longer in a place that was interested in the gospel.
I mean, “they asked him to stay for a longer time,”
But Paul “did not consent”
Instead he made use of their hospitality and went on his way.
His only promise was “I will return to you again if God wills”
Now some have critiqued him for it, but Scripture doesn’t,
And so we just have to accept it for what it is.
Now from there Paul sails back to “Caesarea” travels up to Jerusalem, down to Antioch, and stays there a while.
That is actually the end of the 2nd Missionary journey.
Then also in verse 23 he leaves again (Starting the 3rd Missionary Journey)
And travels back to the Galatian Region and Phrygia
“strengthening the disciples”
So you get the broad scope.
Paul comes to Ephesus leaves quickly returns home
And then back on mission.
The reality of the situation is that EPHESUS GOT A TASTE
And I hope you understand what I mean by that.
I’ve often likened the working of the Lord as similar to when people date.
• There is that period where after the initial attraction two people determine to date one another and just get to know a little about each other.
• They are not yet married, nor are they intimate (or at least they shouldn’t be), but they are just getting a taste of what it is like to be with that person.
The Lord also does this.
He allows a taste of a relationship with Himself.
Psalms 34:8 “O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”
In Hebrews we really see this reality.
Hebrews 6:4-6 “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”
Now, we are obviously not dealing with a saved person here who loses their salvation, and for that argument we need another time.
But for brevity sake, we are dealing with a person who obviously received a TASTE of “the good word of God” and a TASTE “of the heavenly gift”
What we have there is a person who, for lack of better terms,
Was allowed to date Christ.
They were given a little of Him to enjoy.
They were given a taste.
They tasted things like what it is like to feel the Holy Spirit,
What it is like to understand the Scripture,
What it is like to have a transformed life.
But that particular person did not like what they tasted and then fell away, in effect crucifying Christ all over again.
But none the less, they received a taste.
• They received a little knowledge.
• They received a little feeling.
• They received a little experience.
They weren’t saved, they just tasted it.
Now the beauty for the Ephesians is that upon tasting, they wanted more.
Now Paul was not able to stay, but we know that
When a person wants more of God, God always obliges them.
Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
So Ephesus got a taste.
And there are many in our world who receive such a taste.
It is the first leg of salvation.
It is when the Holy Spirit breathes enough life in to you
To make you able to understand truth and able to respond to the gospel.
The purpose is to cause you to desire more,
And yet sadly so many stop right there and that is all they ever get.
So Ephesus gets a taste.
#2 EPHESUS GETS A TRUTH
Acts 18:24-28
They sought and God revealed.
Paul couldn’t stay, but God caused another to arrive.
(24) “Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures.”
• Here is a Jewish Egyptian named Apollos.
• He was a good speaker and He was a good student.
• Luke says “he was mighty in the Scriptures.”
This would have been the Old Testament Scriptures.
But Apollos was a man who knew the Bible and could speak it clearly.
He was the Adrian Rogers of Judaism.
And we notice something very important about this man.
Namely that his theology was incomplete.
(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;”
He “had been instructed in the way of the Lord”
Don’t equate that with Jesus being the “way”.
This merely meant the truths of Old Testament Scripture.
Apollos knew about God through the Old Testament.
And because he was a committed man and a bold man
He was teaching about Jesus from the Old Testament.
• The coming Messiah
• Maybe the virgin birth
• Maybe the necessity of Messiah’s suffering
We don’t know specifically what, just that he was teaching about Christ.
But one thing we do know is what he did not teach about.
He didn’t teach about anything beyond repentance.
How do I know this?
He was “acquainted only with the baptism of John”
• John also spoke about Jesus.
• John said He was the coming king.
• John said to repent and get ready to meet Him.
• John said to turn your heart around and get cleaned up.
And that is what Apollos knew about.
He knew Messiah was here and he knew people needed to repent,
But that was all.
You might put it like this.
• Apollos knew about the Jordan River, but he didn’t know about the
Upper Room.
• He knew about repentance, but not the day of Pentecost and the filling
of the Holy Spirit.
But still, as much as he knew, he spoke about boldly.
Now that is why I said that Ephesus received “A” truth, not “THE” truth.
What Apollos preached was true, it just wasn’t the whole truth.
Apollos was like the last Old Testament prophet.
He was still seeing dimly, not fully.
But his message of repentance was accurate
To what the Ephesians needed to hear.
In fact, I’ve told you before that the first word of the gospel is always recognizable, it is REPENT
• John the Baptist preached
• Jesus preached it
• Peter preached it at Pentecost
• Paul preached it at Athens
• And Apollos is preaching it here.
Repentance is the first thing lost and fallen man needs to know.
They need to know God has been offended and man must repent of sin.
That is what Apollos is preaching.
(26) “But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.”
So finally Apollos gets the whole story.
No doubt, having served with Paul at Corinth, Priscilla and Aquilla
Filled Apollos in on the Holy Spirit and salvation by faith in Christ.
The only problem was, once Apollos heard that,
He began to feel led to move on to Achaia (Corinth)
(27-28) “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, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.”
So Apollos leaves for Corinth and does a great job
Helping those Corinthians in their battle against the Jews.
The problem was, once again it leaves the Ephesians wanting.
They have been GIVEN A TASTE.
A now they have been GIVEN A TRUTH.
They know enough about Christ to know they want more
And they know know the necessity of repentance to find Him.
And this again is a vital truth that people must accept.
But again, you cannot just stay here.
But you still cannot stop here, for salvation is still not there yet.
Ephesus gets a taste Ephesus gets a truth
#3 EPHESUS GETS A TRANSFORMATION
Acts 19:1-7
Now here is the third time we see someone coming to Ephesus.
They have seemingly been abandoned twice now.
But God has not abandoned them.
God is now sending Paul back to finish the deal.
According to verse 1, “Paul…came to Ephesus and found some disciples.”
And I really love what he said to them.
(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.”
And Oh, what a debate this verse has caused!
This verse has been the single most quoted verse to support
The concept of being saved and then receiving the Holy Spirit later.
It has been a verse used often by the charismatic movement
• To support that a person can be saved and then get a second filling of the Holy Spirit (often called: The Baptism of the Holy Spirit) at a later date.
They say, “here we have believers without the Holy Spirit”
But that is to do to this text what the Holy Spirit never intended.
As I told you, we are in a transition from the Old Testament to the New.
We are in a transition from the Old Covenant, to the New.
We have been taught our whole lives about God dwelling in us,
This is a totally new concept to them.
But beyond that, you see what is going on at Ephesus.
So far all they have been taught about was the baptism of John
Which equates to repentance.
• Now did they believe that? Yes.
• Did they believe in Messiah? Yes.
BUT DON’T AUTOMATICALLY EQUATE THAT WITH SALVATION
This is a flaw in much of our theology.
We have been so engrained with this “Easy-believism”
That we want to say that everyone who “believes” is obviously saved.
That just isn’t so.
Want proof?
James 2:19 “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”
Does the devil believe in Jesus – Oh yeah.
But the devil isn’t saved.
That is some sort of intellectual belief,
But it falls ways short of the saving faith God requires.
Acts 8:13 “Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed.”
And yet, we read on in Acts 8 and find him trying to purchase the Holy Spirit with money and Peter told him he was “in the gall of bitterness and the bondage of iniquity”
Certainly he was not saved, even though he had some sort of belief.
John 8:30-32 “As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him. So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
Saved right? Wrong
By verse 44 “You are of your father the devil”
By verse 47 “You do not know God”
Even people who were disciples of Jesus were not saved.
Certainly Judas was one of them.
Or how about this crowd?
John 6:65-66 “And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.”
I know we sing “Only believe”
But listen, we are not just talking about intellectual belief.
We are talking about true genuine saving faith.
If you want to misunderstand this text, take their belief to equal salvation.
If that were true then we do have genuine believers who do not have the Holy Spirit and that is extremely problematic.
That goes against the promise of Pentecost:
Acts 2:38 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Furthermore that is impossible because Paul is clear
That the number one tell all sign revealing a true Christian
Is the presence of the Holy Spirit.
In fact, if you do not have the Holy Spirit, you are not a believer.
Romans 8:9 “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”
There is no such thing as a Christian without the Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:14 “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
Paul is not talking to Christians
Wondering if they have yet received a second filling.
Paul is talking to professed believers
Trying to determine if they are in fact real or not.
Ever come across people like that?
• They claim to believe.
• They claim to have faith.
Ever wonder what you can say to them?
“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?
“Is your faith saving faith or not?”
Because if it is saving faith then you did get the Holy Spirit.
If your faith was not saving faith, then you did not.
Paul is probing for the genuineness of their faith.
Now notice the answer he gets.
“No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”
Now they are honest.
They don’t even know what Paul is talking about.
And that provokes the next obvious question.
(3) “And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.”
You believe, but you didn’t get the Holy Spirit.
OBIOUS QUESTION: Then what do you believe?
Because if you claim to believe, but didn’t receive the Holy Spirit,
Then there is something wrong with what you are believing.
So what were you baptized into?
And they give the answer: “Into John’s baptism.”
And that makes perfect sense doesn’t?
WHY IS THAT ALL THEY KNEW?
Because that is all Apollos knew when he preached to them.
They believed all they had heard
They just hadn’t heard all they needed to believe.
That reinforces what Paul told us in Romans:
Romans 10:14 “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?”
That was the issue here.
Neither Paul nor Apollos stayed around long enough to set them straight
And so, even though they were repentant, they were not saved.
And so Paul gets to the point.
(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.”
They were right to repent at the preaching of John.
However, even John knew more was needed.
John 1:29-37 “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! “This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ “I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. “I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ “I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.” Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.”
John 3:31-36 “He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. “What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. “He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true. “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure. “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
John knew what people needed to do.
They needed to believe in Jesus.
John even said:
Matthew 3:11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Repentance is necessary, but it is not enough.
You must also trust in the One who pays for sin; that is Christ.
(5) “When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
In other words, now they finally believed in Jesus.
Now they finally demonstrated saving faith.
Now they were saved.
And so:
(6-7) “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. There were in all about twelve men.”
Paul laid hands on them because it was a unifying act,
But don’t read too much into this as though this is a necessity.
Cornelius also received the Holy Spirit, only at the preaching of Peter
And even before he was baptized in water.
Paul is merely testifying to their faith.
Furthermore, don’t get too focused on the fact that they spoke in tongues,
This was merely an indicator to prove to these men
That they had received what they previously never heard of.
But the point is that Ephesus first got a taste, then they got a truth,
And now they get a full blown transformation.
The beauty is that they did not stop half-way.
So many today do.
• Many today get a taste of Jesus and that is all they want.
They don’t want anymore and don’t seek anymore.
They fall away and never return.
• Some get a taste and even the truth of repentance.
They understand the need to confess sin and live righteously.
They even believe to a degree in the truth.
But they still are not saved.
BECAUSE THEY DO NOT POSSESS THE HOLY SPIRIT
That is the warning and admonition I would give tonight.
DID YOU RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT WHEN YOU BELIEVED?
If not, what exactly did you believe?
WE MUST HAVE THE HOLY SPIRIT
• At Sinai was God for us.
• At Bethlehem was God with us.
• But at Pentecost was God in us.
• We don’t have a temple
• We don’t have the incarnate Jesus
• But we do have the Spirit of God.
If you try to have a faith without Him, then you have a God-less faith.
That was Ephesus, but not anymore.
Let me encourage you as to what the process of salvation looks like,
And let me encourage you to pursue it to its intended end.
Trust Christ and receive the promise of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:38-39 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
