You can turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts. We shall, God willing, return to our study in Ephesians next week, but tonight, Acts 19. And the title of the message is The Ministry of Paul in Ephesus. We'll take up the first 10 verses. sort of another baptism sermon.
I want to consider the baptism of John the Baptist and argue that it is, in fact, Christian baptism, and that what you're finding in this section is not re-baptism, but Paul simply stating what had happened to those who had received John's message. So I want to read chapter 19, verses 1 to 10. And it happened while Apollos was at Corinth that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples, he said to them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?
So they said to him, We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit. And he said to them, Into what then were you baptized? So they said, Into John's baptism. Then Paul said, John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on him who would come after him, that is, on Jesus Christ.
When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Now the men were about twelve in all. And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God.
But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. Amen. Well, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Our gracious God and Father, we thank you again for this blessed day. We thank you for the mercy, the grace, the kindness that you've shown us in the Savior King. And we pray that tonight the Spirit of God would guide us as we consider this portion of Holy Scripture. We pray that you would forgive us for all of our sins and unrighteousness.
We pray that you would have saving dealings with any here that are outside of Christ. We pray that tonight, today would be the day of salvation. She would call sinners forth out of darkness into marvelous light to confess faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We know the same God who served and saved in the first century is saving even today.
And we rejoice in that. We know the power of the gospel. We know the glory of our blessed Savior. And we pray now that you would be honored as we gather together And we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.
Introduction
Well, as we come to this particular passage of scripture, Paul is on the third missionary journey. The third missionary journey took place from AD 53 to AD 57. We see it begins in chapter 18 at verse 23. In fact, you can look there at verse 22, and when he had landed at Caesarea and gone up and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch.
After he had spent some time there, he departed and went over the region of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples. That was about 1500 miles. Well, then he comes to the city of Ephesus and he spends a couple of years there. He had been there prior, if you look back at chapter 18, in verses 18 and following.
He is there, but he leaves Ephesus to go back to Jerusalem for a feast. So as I said, we can see or sort of localize the emphasis in Ephesus in that third missionary journey. In the first missionary journey, we ought to think the churches of southern Galatia. The second missionary journey, we ought to think of Corinth.
Not that these were the only places visited on these missionary journeys, but they were the places where Paul spent the most amount of time. And so this chapter, I didn't read the entirety of the chapter, but it's quite intriguing. Not only does Paul deal with these disciples of John the Baptist, but then Paul does what God's apostles were supposed to do. He preached the gospel, we'll see that in a few moments, But there was such an effect upon the city of Ephesus that the occultists were basically shot down.
The tradesmen who trafficked in idolatry were shot down. There was a riot that ultimately broke out in the city. In other words, we see the gospel of Jesus Christ turning the world upside down as it is preached, as it is received, and as it is responded against by those who reject it. So the gospel is, in fact, the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
But those who do not believe, those who reject it and resist it, oftentimes express their antipathy and enmity against the people of God. So chapter 19 in the book of Acts is full of all sorts of exciting things. But I want to focus first on the meeting with the disciples in verses 1 to 7, and then secondly, the ministry in Ephesus in verses 8 to 10. Now, with reference to the meeting with the disciples, there's three things here.
First, the interview with the disciples, verses 1 to 3, the review of the ministry of John in verses 4 and 5, and then the reception of the Holy Spirit in verses 6 and 7. So again, as I read through this passage, it probably looks a lot like these men were re-baptized. They had been baptized by John, they hear the words of the Apostle Paul, and then they're baptized by the Apostle Paul. But as we move through, I want to show you that's not what's happening.
It's a question of punctuation. If you took that end quotation mark at the end of verse four and extended it to the end of verse five, I think that's the emphasis in the passage. The emphasis is upon what Paul said, and then what Paul did. What Paul said entails verses 4 and 5, and what Paul does is in verses 6 and 7.
Interview with the Disciples
But let's look first at the interview with the disciples. I've already mentioned that he had been previously in Ephesus, he left there, he eventually went back to Antioch, and from there was sent out on this third missionary journey. He comes to these men, and according to verse 2, he said to them, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?
Now, the nature of the question is not, do you know anything at all about the Holy Spirit? If you drop down to verse 6, you will see what the emphasis in the passage is. At verse 6, when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. The context helps us to understand the nature of the question.
Nature of Paul's Question
Did you receive the supernatural gifts associated with the Holy Spirit when you believed and were baptized? That's what's going on in the passage. It cannot be the case that these disciples of John the Baptist had never heard of the Holy Spirit. Of course they had heard.
Most likely they were Jews. They would have understood who the Holy Spirit was according to the Old Testament. But as well, in John's preaching, in one instance, in chapter 3 of Matthew's Gospel, verse 11, I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
So it's not a question as to whether they know of the third person of the triune God, it's a question as to whether or not they received the Holy Spirit in a manner that was like Pentecost in Acts chapter 2, in a manner that was like Judea Samaria in Acts chapter 8. in a manner that was like Cornelius and his household in Acts chapter 10. You see these pivotal times in the movement of redemptive history in the book of Acts to showcase the power of the Spirit coming upon the church to enable them for that worldwide mission of taking the gospel to all the nations. So back to the text. Notice how the disciples respond.
Now notice, even before that, it says, "...and finding some disciples in verse 2, he said to them..." Now typically, when we meet that word, disciples, in the book of Acts, it's Christian disciples. It's the followers of Jesus Christ. It's believers in Him. And again, I think that is the consistent way to approach this and to address this.
The ignorance concerning the Spirit was not total. It was not absolutely, positively, no idea whatsoever. In fact, John Stott, commenting on this passage, and he disagrees with me, by the way, he does believe that they were baptized by the Apostle Paul, but he makes this observation. He says, this cannot mean that they had never heard of the Spirit at all, for He is referred to many times in the Old Testament, and John the Baptist spoke of the Messiah as baptizing people with the Spirit.
It must rather mean that although they had heard John's prophecy, they had not heard whether it had been fulfilled. They were ignorant of Pentecost. So verse 2, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? Verse 2b, so they said to him, we have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.
Again, not total, not absolute, but rather relative to the day of Pentecost and this great and glorious outpouring of the Spirit that was consistent with Joel 2. The prophecy of Joel foretold that in the latter days, the Spirit would come in great power upon the church. And you see that happen in the day of Pentecost.
Apollos and Partial Knowledge
Turn back to chapter 18. This man, Apollos, did not know about the Day of Pentecost either. Remember, they didn't have Bible apps on their phones. They didn't have email or computer programs.
They didn't have logos. They didn't have the variety of ways that you and I know the scriptures. If they hadn't heard of something, they didn't know that it had occurred. And so Apollos was the same sort of man.
Notice in chapter 18, specifically at verse 24, Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him. And when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace, for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly as showing from the scriptures that Jesus is the Christ. So along the way in the book of Acts, you meet these various characters or persons that don't know about the previous chapters in the book of Acts. They don't have the book of Acts.
They didn't have that historical reference. They didn't have that ability to know everything. And so these disciples of John, when they're asked, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And they respond, we have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.
Paul then asks them, according to verse three, he said to them, into what then were you baptized? The question indicates a link between the Holy Spirit and baptism. The idea being is that when you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you receive the Holy Spirit, and then you get baptized, you obey God, and you identify with Him publicly in the waters of baptism. We saw that this morning.
This is the natural progression. This is according to the Great Commission. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and then teach them to observe all things that I have commanded, and then the promise of Christ, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." So you go and you make disciples. Once those disciples are made, they believe the gospel, then you baptize them, and then what happens?
They join the church, and then you teach them to observe all things that the Lord had commanded. So this is the natural progression. There is a unique link between baptism and the Spirit. We believe the gospel, we're sealed by the Spirit, we get baptized.
And so this indicates that reality. The question of Paul indicates that he's not investigating their profession of faith. He's not investigating whether or not they're true disciples. Again, he wants to know if they have received that power that was associated with the Spirit in this first century church.
Acts 2, Acts 8, Acts 10, and here now with these disciples of John the Baptist. This power of the Spirit coming upon them and then speaking in tongues and prophesying. This is not normative for everyone in the history of the church. The charismatics are wrong to associate the reception of the Spirit in every case with speaking in tongues.
That is simply not accurate. Tongues and prophesying in the first century were revelatory in nature. God spoke through tongue speakers and through prophets to communicate his word. Now that we have his written word codified in the New Testament along with the Old Testament, there's no longer a need for the revelatory gifts of tongue speaking and prophesying.
But at this juncture in redemptive history, there was a need. And so you've got the Jews in Acts 2, you've got the Samaritans in Acts 8, you've got the Gentiles in Acts 10, and now you've got these disciples of John the Baptist in Acts 19. They received the power of the Spirit so that they may speak in tongues and prophesy. Again, not something duplicated throughout the history of the church subsequent to that, but rather for this particular time, when the Spirit comes in accordance with Joel's prophecy.
So that's the scene, that's the issue, that's what's going on. Now notice what the disciples say. The end of verse 3, he says, or Paul says, he said to them, into what then were you baptized? So they said, into John's baptism.
Again, Matthew 3.11 was simply one instance, but other places where the Baptist is referred to, he speaks of the Holy Spirit concerning the gospel. He speaks concerning Christ. He speaks concerning the Spirit. These persons would not have been ignorant concerning the third person of the triune God.
So that's the interview with the disciples.
Review of John's Ministry
Let's look at the review of the ministry of John. Now, this is verses four and five. Now, I'm going to suggest that you read the structure of the passage this way. Verses 4 and 5 are what Paul said, and verse 6 is what Paul did with these specific disciples.
In other words, the reference to baptism in verse 10 is not on Paul re-baptizing, But Paul highlighting that John's contemporaries, persons like these 12 men, who had heard him speak concerning the coming Christ and the necessity of faith in him, were baptized by him. So verses 4 and 5 hinge upon what Paul said. Verse 6 hinges upon what Paul did. So again, these persons had not been re-baptized by Paul, but rather, verse 5 continues what Paul said.
He explains John's baptism in verse 4, and then he says those who heard of John's baptism, his contemporaries, were baptized by John. Now, this isn't shocking, or it shouldn't be, because punctuation is not inspired. Punctuation in the English versions is a translation call. It is an interpretative call.
There's times in the New Testament where you're not really sure if some letters should be in red. That's an interpretative or translational call by the interpreter. There's times where you see sort of biases or perhaps mistakes or perhaps an assumption brought to the text of scripture by the translators. I'm not suggesting they're horrible monsters that are burning in the pit of hell because they're demonic.
I'm simply saying that translation is not always an easy task, and especially when you punctuate. The original autographs or the original writings didn't have punctuation marks. There weren't periods, there weren't commas, there weren't semicolons, there weren't colons, there weren't quotation marks, and there certainly wasn't red-letter additions. So when, I almost said Americans, but I meant people that speak English come to translate into English, they do so, and at times there's some difficult passages, and they make calls.
Well, here I think they made the wrong call. I think that the punctuation, the end quotation marks, should not be at the end of verse 4, but at the end of verse 5. So if we do that, it clears up what Paul is saying and doing. In other words, John's baptism was Christian baptism, and therefore there is no re-baptism taking place in this particular passage.
Now, how do we know that John's baptism was Christian baptism? We know based on what Paul says right here as he rehearses John's baptism in verses 4 and 5.
John's Baptism of Repentance
Notice in the first place, John baptized with a baptism of repentance. You've probably heard that before in gospel calls. You hear a presentation of the life and death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, what's the way we access that?
How do we appropriate the benefits of Christ's redemptive work? You believe and you repent. You see it in Acts chapter two on the day of Pentecost when Peter is preaching to Jerusalem sinners. He says, repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins.
So this idea of repentance is absolutely positively consistent with Christian baptism. Remember John the Baptist in Luke 3, 3, he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. When particular categories came to him, sinful or categories of sinners in Luke 3, he says to them, therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance. Now, he does live consistently with that.
It's not an empty ritual. It's not an empty rite. He just doesn't willy-nilly sort of apply baptism. If he lays down the emphasis to have fruits consistent with repentance, then we ought to assume those are the ones he baptizes.
The person who doesn't repent, the person who doesn't believe, The person we have no knowledge of as having a saving union with Christ does not get baptized. That's not to be mean, it's not to be vicious, it's not to not be inclusive, but rather it is to uphold the Lord's command. Believe and be baptized. Repent and believe and be baptized.
This is what the emphasis is in the New Testament. So John baptized with a baptism of repentance.
John's Proclamation of Faith in Christ
Secondly, John explained faith in Jesus Christ. John explained faith in Jesus Christ. Look again at verse 4. Then Paul said, John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
Who's the object of faith relative to John's baptism? It's Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ is the object of faith and persons exercise that faith and are baptized subsequent to that, ergo, it's Christian baptism. So the doctrine of justification by faith alone is held up by John the Baptist.
Certainly repentance. Repentance is the other side of the same coin relative to our response in conversion. That they should believe on Him who would come after Him, that is on Christ Jesus. Remember the language of John the Baptist in John 1.
You've heard me repeat it many times as we work our way through John's gospel. When the Baptist sees Jesus, what does he say? He says, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That shouldn't surprise us that John then says, look to Him in faith.
Look to Jesus. Believe on Him. He was never directing persons to look at him. He was always emphasizing that there was one preferred above him.
He must increase, but I must decrease. John understood justification by faith alone in our Lord Jesus Christ, just like Moses, just like Isaiah, just like the Lord Jesus, and just like the Apostle Paul, who in Acts 16 says, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. So John baptized with a baptism of repentance, John explained faith in Jesus Christ, and then notice,
John Baptized Believers
John baptized those who heard and believed. That's verse five. So verse four again, John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on him who would come after him, that is on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, who?
The persons that heard John the Baptist preach it. The persons like these 12 men that Paul meets when he comes to the city of Ephesus. When the persons out of Transjordan, Bethabara, the region beyond the Jordan, when John the Baptist was baptizing, persons believed him. They understood by the grace of God, the Old Testament, they understood the Levitical system, that it was not the end, but rather it was typological, it pointed forward to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
So when they by grace repent and believe the gospel, what happens? John baptizes them, John immerses them, John dips them, or John plunges them. So when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. So the movement of the quotation marks from the end of verse 4 to the end of verse 5, I think, facilitates this particular interpretation.
The structure of the passage is then evened out. What Paul said, verses 4 and 5, and then what Paul does in verse 6. And that's sort of the keynote. Did you receive the supernatural gifts associated with the coming of the Holy Spirit when you believed and were baptized by John?
No, we haven't. So Paul corrects that, or rectifies that. Paul deals with that, and Paul then lays hands on them so that they may receive the Holy Spirit. So the emphasis in verse 5 is that when John's contemporaries heard him and believed on Jesus, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
It is stipulated there, verse 5, when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. How is this not Christian baptism? How is this anything different than what we did this morning? Other than I didn't have, you know, locusts and wild honey this morning.
I don't sort of look like Elijah the prophet. I'm not out in Bethabara. We're not in the Transjordan. So obvious dissimilarity, but the emphasis, or similarity, is faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is believed and be baptized. It is come to the Savior in faith, and you will have everlasting life. Now again, we receive the same spirit, but we don't receive the same revelatory gifts because we've got New Testaments. We've got the closed canon.
That's another argument. It's connected to this, but it's an argument that I'm happy to make if you want further information. To summarize, I will quote John Gill. Often I do that.
He says, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Not the disciples that Paul found at Ephesus, but the hearers of John. For these are the words of the apostle Paul giving an account of John's baptism and of the success of his ministry showing that his baptism was administered in the name of the Lord Jesus. And not the words of Luke the evangelist recording what followed upon his account of John's baptism.
For then he would have made mention of the apostle's name, as he does in the next verse. Notice the what Paul said and what Paul did motif, verses four and five, and then verse six. He goes on to say, and have said, when they heard this account, they were baptized by Paul in the name of the Lord Jesus. That's not what he says.
The historian reports two things. First, what Paul said, which lies in Acts 19.4 and 5, and what he did, Acts 19.6, where he repeats his name as was necessary. As that, he laid his hands upon them, which was all that was needful to their receiving the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost, having been already baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. That's the issue.
That's the emphasis. That's what's happening. He's not re-baptizing these disciples of John as if this was somehow deficient. He is simply asking them whether or not they had received the gift to prophesy and speak in tongues.
Reception of the Holy Spirit
That brings us then to the reception of the Spirit in verse 6. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Turn back to Acts chapter 8. You see the same emphasis.
I mentioned that these passages indicate what's happening in terms of the Spirit coming powerfully upon the church in the first century. Acts 2, Acts 8, Acts 10, Acts 19. What happens in Acts 2? We know when the Spirit comes, they speak in tongues.
In Acts 8, same thing, but look specifically at what happens in Acts 14. Now, when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet, he had fallen upon none of them. Again, not the seal and guarantee function of the Spirit that even Old Testament believers had.
Remember David's Psalm of Repentance in Psalm 51, take not thine Holy Spirit from me. This is not the salvific soteriological reception of the Spirit that Paul speaks of in Ephesians 1, 13 and 14. It's the extraordinary gifts associated with the Spirit's coming in the book of Acts, Acts 2, Acts 8, Acts 10, and here in Acts 19. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Now notice in verse 17, then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. And this evokes from Simon, the magician. He wants to buy this gift. He wants to buy this particular ability because it would go a long way in terms of his career path.
So back to chapter 19 in the book of Acts, the Spirit came upon them, the disciples spoke in tongues, the number of them. Some see a parallel with the 12 here, with the 12 apostles. I'm not convinced that there's anything significant to that. You might be, and that's perfectly acceptable.
But the point is, is that they now spoke in tongues. They now prophesied. they now received what had been promised in Joel 2 so that they could advance the kingdom of Christ through proclamation. And with reference to these significant events, one man in a very helpful book on the book of Acts, Thompson, says Luke's focus in these texts Acts 2, 8, 10, 11, and 19 is on the fulfillment of prophecy, salvation history, and the beginning of the last days, rather than paradigms or patterns for individual experiences. Again, the charismatic is wrong to come to the book of Acts and say, well, they all spoke in tongues after receiving the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, if you've never spoken in tongues, you've never been a recipient of the Holy Spirit. That's terrible logic, very bad logic, and a very bad way to read the book of Acts. There are things with reference to the book of Acts that are descriptive and not prescriptive. They describe what happened, but does not necessarily prescribe what must continue to happen.
The first century church, as I mentioned before, had tongue speakers. had prophets who were receiving revelation from God and communicating that to the people of God. Once that revelation had been received, once the epistles had been written, once the New Testament canon was closed, guess what? We no longer have a need for tongue speakers. We no longer have a need for prophets in the New Testament church.
Now, if we wanna loosely speak of preaching as prophesying, I don't necessarily have a problem with that, but if we're gonna define New Testament prophecy that way, we're missing the boat. They were engaged in revelation. They were speaking the truth as it came from God. So there are things described in the book of Acts that are not necessarily prescribed for us in this present age.
What we find in the first century, in these chapters specifically, we see an emphasis on corporate experience. God the Spirit comes in power to furnish the church with the ability to extend the kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth. So that's the meeting with the disciples.
Ministry in Ephesus
Let's look quickly at the ministry in Ephesus in verses 8 to 10. Notice he first ministers in the synagogue. This was Paul's custom. Remember, Paul on his missionary journeys would go to the synagogue.
There he would find Jews, people interested in religion. What better audience to preach Christ to than a bunch of Jews waiting for the Christ? But as well, there were God-fearers in the New Testament. You see a reference to God-fearers.
Typically, that's Gentiles who were interested in Yahweh. They were interested in Israel's God. You have that Ethiopian eunuch. You have Cornelius.
You have others in the Book of Acts that were outsiders in terms of the Jewish community, but they had an interest in the God of Israel. So Paul, in a strategic move, would go to those places, and he would preach to both Jews and God-fearers, and he does that. So notice in Acts 19 at verse 8, and he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. It's a beautiful thing, isn't it?
He doesn't just go in there and say, everybody give your heart to Jesus, and off he goes. He preaches the truth, brethren. If we want revival, if we want awakening, it's not going to come through religious experience. It's not going to come through therapeutic self-help.
It's going to come through the proclamation of God's holy word. In other words, Paul's last command to the church in a corporate manner was preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching.
Why do you think that is? Because he understood that the gospel is advanced by the preaching of the gospel. It is the truth that separates the Christian from the non-Christian. It is the truth that separates the heaven-bound from the hell-bound.
It is the truth of God's Holy Word. It is the reception of that truth and belief in that truth. So when Paul goes to synagogues or when Paul goes to the temple in Jerusalem, what does he do? He speaks boldly.
He doesn't do it apologetically. Well, I'm sorry. I just want to tell you a few things. I don't want to offend anybody's delicate sensitivities.
Preachers today need to study the Book of Acts, not in terms only of the content, but in terms of the manner in which these men went about their task. As I've already said, that verse, 1823, encompasses about 1,500 miles. The Apostle Paul moved all throughout the Roman Empire to advance the cause through the proclamation of the truth. And here we get a snapshot of what he does.
He went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God, the entrance to it through the blood and righteousness of Christ, blessed communion with God in it, and then the expectation of the kingdom of glory in the future. So the apostle highlights that. Luke encompasses it by that statement, he preached concerning the kingdom of God.
Rejection and Withdrawal
Now notice the rejection by the Jews in verse 9. But when some were hardened and did not believe, even at the preaching of the apostle Paul, So I think there's this mindset, well, I'm not going to keep on doing it because nobody ever believes. Nobody ever comes to faith. Our task is to be faithful.
Our task is to be obedient. Our task is not with the results. Our task is with the proclamation. It's up to God who He saves.
It's up to God who receives. It's up to God, based on His sovereign election from eternity past, who will come to the Savior. The apostle highlights this in 2 Corinthians. To some, we're an aroma of life unto life, but unto others, death unto death.
What does that mean for the apostle Paul? Does he say, well, I'm only gonna go to those places where the sensible sinners hang out, where there's a predilection on the part of some that they may possibly come to Jesus. No, you preach the gospel indiscriminately to all creatures under heaven. And those who believe and are baptized will be saved, Mark 16.
And so Paul does that, and there's obviously rejection. You see that parallel throughout the book of Acts with the gospel narratives. The way in the gospels that unbelieving Jews treated Jesus is the way in the book of Acts that unbelieving Jews treat the apostles. Our brother intimated that in the prayer.
He said they counted themselves worthy, or they rejoiced because they had been worthy for suffering for the name of Christ. Well, who did they suffer as a result of? Unbelieving Jews. That was the first persecutor of the church.
The Roman Empire would come later. The viciousness of the The godly or godless civil government would turn their sights against the people of God, but initially Christians were just seen as a subset of Judaism. The first real enemy of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is the unbelieving Jews. I'm not suggesting we go out and be anti-Semites and we hate the Jews or anything like that, but it's a factual matter.
That's what's happening here. That's what's recorded for us. in the pages of the gospel records and as well here in the book of Acts. So they were hardened and unbelieving. Paul intimates or alludes to this 1 Corinthians 15 32.
If in the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, Now, that could be literal in the Roman Empire. They were being fed to lions, but most take it figuratively. Again, it would come later that they would be sort of lion fodder with reference to the amusement of the crowd. But in 1 Corinthians 15.32, I think he's intimating what happened to him in Ephesus. caused a riot.
There was lots of opposition. There was lots of enmity. There was lots of antipathy against him. She says, if in the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me?
If the dead do not rise, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. So back to verse nine, but when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples. Now notice this reference, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. Well, what was the school of Tyrannus?
Was it founded by Christian missionaries? Was it a place secured by, you know, Christians who had been saved under, you know, the preaching of Peter, and they founded this school, and they made it such that preachers or missionaries could come there? No, it was a pagan lecture hall. It was a pagan philosopher.
He either owned it or used it, and Paul rented it. In other words, he paid money so that he could stand and reason from the Scriptures and persuade men concerning the kingdom of God. Again, that strategy and that methodology and that manner shows us his commitment to the truth as it is in Jesus. He knows that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
He knows that of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth. He knows that apart from the ministry of the gospel, apart from the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit, men perish and end up in hell. And so he rents this school of Tyrannus. Calvin, rather, makes this observation.
Paul did separate the disciples, lest the goats should, with their stink, infect the flock of sheep. Secondly, that the pure worshipers of God might make profession freely. So he departs from the synagogue who had mistreated, who had spoken ill against him, and against the church, and against the gospel, ultimately. So he then goes to the school of Tyrannus.
Luke, rather, summarizes this time in verse 10. And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. two years in this rented school of Tyrannus and the effects of his ministry in that school of Tyrannus. Again, Calvin says, Luke does not mean that the men of Asia came tither to hear Paul, but that the smell of his preaching went throughout all Asia and that the seed was sown far and wide so that his labor was fruitful, not only to one city, but also to places which were far off. So this was a strategic deployment by the Apostle Paul.
He's chased out basically from the synagogue. He doesn't say, well, I'm gonna go retire and I'm gonna go golf. No, he rents the school and he preaches in this school and he does so for a period of two years. Persons come, they get converted, they go and they bring that gospel back to where they went.
We'll see a man or a name of a man in just a moment when we close. And we are gonna close now.
Application
First, in terms of application, the meeting with the disciples. Charismatics are wrong. If you have been brought up in that system, or you have been affected by that system, and you doubt your salvation, it's interesting. It's almost like several churches, or communions of churches, or denominations are calculated to make sure you never think you're saved.
I just don't get that logic. I just don't get it. The freeness of the gospel is pretty clear. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.
Not a lot of wiggle room there. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved. Well, we know the Hyper-Calvinists say, well, you can't ever have assurance, because if you have assurance, then that's bad. We've got the Charismatics that say, well, you can't have assurance if you haven't spoken in tongues.
Again, brethren, find that in the pages of the New Testament as the test or verification that one has received the Holy Spirit. And do not point to Acts 2, Acts 8, Acts 10, or Acts 19. Your hands are going to be tied. So the charismatics are wrong who see the necessity of the supernatural gifts of the Spirit as normative for all believers.
But as well, re-baptizers are wrong who do not see John's baptism as Christian baptism. What Paul does not do here is that he does not baptize. He lays hands on those who had been baptized by John so that they might receive the supernatural gifts associated with the Holy Spirit. And as well, for everybody who's come out of the sort of Paedo-Baptist church background, I am sure you have personally heard me say that baptizing somebody who was baptized as an infant is not rebaptism.
That's the typical response out there, that, oh, that's re-baptism. Well, that assumes that paedo-baptism is a valid baptism. I don't want to get too nasty, I don't want to get too far afield, but it's not a valid baptism. I read from our confession this morning, and I think a great summary statement concerning the significance of baptism.
Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ to be unto the party baptized, a sign of His fellowship with Him, in His death and resurrection, of His being engrafted into Him, of remission of sins and of giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to live and walk in newness of life. If that's what baptism is, how can we predicate that of every single infant that is born in a particular church? The argument is not God can't save infants. That's not the argument.
The argument is that baptism is herein defined. And so we give the covenant sign to those who make that confession, who profess saving faith in our Lord Jesus. We have a certain expectation that this is the way it's going to be in this New Covenant environment. Way back in the prophet Jeremiah, Jeremiah 31, 31 to 34, he tells us there's going to be dissimilarity between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.
Certainly in the Old Covenant you could know Yahweh savingly. Certainly in the Old Covenant, you could have your sins forgiven. Certainly in the Old Covenant, you could have the law of God written on your heart. But those weren't essential features of the Old Covenant.
The New Covenant, those are essential features. So the Baptist argument is simple. Based on covenant theology there, it's those who are in the New Covenant community that receive the sign of being in the New Covenant community. So this text does not authorize re-baptism at the level of John the Baptist's baptism, but as well with reference to paedo-baptism.
It's not re-baptism. We ask the question, what is baptism? And then we ask the question, is that what occurred in that baby's life then? The answer is a resounding no.
And again, the argument isn't that Jesus or God can't save infants. I believe that. I affirm that. I rejoice in that.
But it's a matter of who do we give covenant sign to? We give covenant sign to covenant participants. How do we know they're covenant participants? Because they profess saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
They manifest repentance unto life. They have those marks. They have those characteristics. That is part and parcel of who they are now as new men and women in Christ Jesus.
So the interpretation that I suggest hinges on theology, ecclesiology, and at the level of Bible translation, punctuation. I think Matthew Poole, so not only John Gill, who was a Baptist, but Matthew Poole, who was a Paedo-Baptist, agrees that this is not a case of re-baptism of John the Baptist's disciples. Matthew Poole says, the baptism of John in Christ, which he commanded, are one and the same. John's baptism did respect Christ and obliged the baptized to believe in him as also to repent.
And more, it was a seal unto them of the remission of sins, as is expressly observed, so that the baptism of John and the baptism of the apostles afterward had the same sign and the same thing signified in them both, as also they had both the same end, and therefore they were both the same. So when you read this passage, try to divorce your mind of the automatic assumption that Paul re-baptizes these who had already been baptized. They had received Christian baptism. And then, secondly and finally, by way of an application, the ministry in the synagogue shows tactical wisdom.
Getting chased out of the synagogue and renting this lecture hall of Tyrannus shows tactical wisdom. It shows the strategy of the Apostle Paul. It shows his commitment to the proclamation of the truth. I don't think it was because Paul just liked to preach, though I suspect Paul did like to preach because it's a blessed privilege to proclaim the glories of Jesus Christ our Lord.
But he didn't rent this hall so he could hear himself blather on day in and day out. He rented this hall so that the people in Asia Minor could hear the truth of the gospel, both Jews and Greeks, and come to a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. He put his money where his mouth was, he ponied up, and he did what was necessary to extend the kingdom of God through the proclamation of the truth. And in terms of the effects of his ministry, it says, this continued for two years so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
The immediate effects are recorded here in chapter 19. There's the rejection of the occult. Ephesus was a place where they liked black magic. They liked occultism.
In fact, you'll see them burning their books when they received the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. As well, you see the ruin of godless commerce. I especially like that. I mean, I like to see the occultists put out of business, but the ruin of godless commerce.
These guys made idols of Diana and sold them. And so when Paul comes and preaches that Jesus Christ is King of Kings, that Jesus Christ is Lord, that Jesus Christ is God, what happens to the idol business? Well, If persons aren't coming to Diana, they're certainly not going to leave little statuettes of Diana. So Paul hit them in the pocketbook.
Paul hit them in the bottom line. Paul hit them where it hurt, and that upset them tremendously. And then, of course, the entirety of the city breaks out in a riot. So that's the immediate effect of faithful gospel preaching.
It's a beautiful immediate effect of faithful gospel preaching, to reject the occult, to ruin godless commerce, and to see riots in the city, provided you have safe passage out of the city. And then the long-term effect. There's a fellow by the name of Epaphras that's mentioned in Colossians 1, and then again in Colossians 4, and Philemon 1. It is likely, and this is what most commentators suppose, that he, Hephaestus, was converted during this time and he went back to the Lycus Valley to plant or assist in planting the churches in Colossae, Hierapolis, and Laodicea.
Hierapolis is mentioned in Colossians 4, along with Laodicea, as is Laodicea in Revelation chapter 3. And then the churches of Asia Minor, the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, are probably the fruit of Paul's ministry here in this lecture hall of Tyrannus. So we end on that blessed note of the power of the Christian gospel to transform people at the individual level, and then those people living their lives in a manner that is consistent and faithful with God's high calling. Whether you're a husband, whether you're a wife, whether you're a father, whether you're a mother, whether you're a doctor, whether you're a lawyer, the gospel should affect that.
The gospel should indeed produce and provoke in you a godliness in your life. we see the blessed ramifications of the reception of the truth, we see the power of that gospel in terms of the salvation of sinners, and we see the advancement of the cause of Jesus Christ our Lord in this first century setting. If you're not a believer, look at the passage Look at what is emphasized. It is faith in Christ Jesus. It is faith in our Lord Jesus.
It is belief in Him. And the other side of that coin of faith is repentance. And that simply means to have a change of mind about sin, and then to bear fruit manifest, or fruit, rather, worthy of that repentance. Well, let us close in a word of prayer.
Closing Prayer
Our God and Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the ordinance of baptism. Again, we rejoice in this Lord's Day to witness our brothers and sisters take that step in terms of obedience and expressing their identification with the triune God. As well, we thank you for the ministry of the Word.
We know we're here not because we're good, we're not wise, we're not better than others, we didn't make a decision to follow the law of God in a more wholehearted way. We're here because in your grace you granted us the gift of faith that we may lay hold of the Lord Jesus Christ. You granted us the gift of repentance that we may turn from sin, And we rejoice in your loving kindness. We rejoice in the power of the gospel.
And we pray that you would go with us now. Bless this word as it goes throughout all the earth. And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
We'll close with a brief time of meditation.