‘DISCIPLES’ MADE ‘CHRISTIANS’

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on May 17, 2023 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: May 17, 2023 from Acts 19:1-7

Theme: The story of the conversion of the disciples in Ephesus teaches us that the full blessings of God’s grace come only through a clear faith in Jesus according to the gospel.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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As we come to Acts 19, we come to what seems—at first glance—like a very strange story. And yet, the lesson it has to teach us is extremely important. It touches on many things theologically—such as the significance of the ministry of John the Baptist, the nature of Christian baptism, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the nature of gospel preaching. And historically, it also gives us the very beginnings of Paul’s long-term and adventurous ministry to the people of the ancient Asian city of Ephesus.

But the most important thing that it does for us is to help us to see how absolutely essential it is that people hear the message of the gospel plainly and clearly; and that they place their faith intelligently in the Lord Jesus Christ and in His ministry for us.

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Now; the story picks up where Acts 18:21-23 left off. Paul had come briefly to Ephesus and only visited the synagogue for a short while. He left to go to Caesarea, then to Jerusalem to be present for the feast, and then up to Syrian Antioch to visit with the brethren who had sent him out as a missionary. After that, we were briefly taken away from the story of Paul; and we were introduced to the remarkable man Apollos. We were told about how he was brought to a clearer understanding of the gospel of Jesus through the ministry of Aquila and Priscilla. Apollos left Aquila and Priscilla in Ephesus and went on to minister in Achaia. And now—beginning in Chapter 19—Paul is brought back into the story:

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 Christ Jesus.” 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 (Acts 19:1-7).

It’s a story that is something very much like the story of the conversion of Apollos—only with more detail. These ‘disciples’—just like Apollos—had an understanding of Jesus only from the limited standpoint of the baptism and preaching ministry of John. And these disciples—just as Apollos must have done—came to a fuller understanding of Jesus’ ministry and believed.

And what this story teaches us most of all is that the full blessings of God’s grace come only through a clear, sincere faith in Jesus according to the gospel. There is no other way; but we can be confident that this one way is sufficient. What an important lesson this is for those of us who wish to proclaim Jesus to the world.

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Now; in this passage, John the Baptist is mentioned. Paul told these disciples that John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance; “saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus”. John’s ministry was clearly a ministry of anticipation. And so, it might be good to go back for a moment and examine again the story of John’s ministry.

In Matthew 3:1-6, we’re told of what happened just before Jesus began His public ministry:

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.’ ”

Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins (Matthew 3:1-6).

John’s ministry was rooted in the promises of the Old Testament. And it was a ministry of calling people to prepare themselves for the coming of the promised Messiah by repenting of their sins. His baptism was not like the baptism we observe in the church today. Ours is a baptism to declare our faith in a ministry already completed for us. But in John’s time, it was a baptism to prepare for that ministry yet to come. In Matthew 3:11-12, John explained:

“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. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (vv. 11-12).

John’s ministry of preaching and baptism was for another era. It was, if you will, an Old Testament ministry that was given by God to anticipate and prepare people for a New Testament ministry that was immediately about to be commenced.

As we saw in our last passage, Apollos was a man who was living still under the teaching of that Old Testament ministry of John. We were told that he “had been instructed in the way of the Lord”; and he taught fervently “though he knew only the baptism of John” (Acts 18:25). Once Apollos was more fully instructed about Jesus, however, he then believed and became a mighty minister for Christ.

And that serves as the background for the apostle Paul’s encounter with these ‘disciples’ in Acts 19. The first thing that we see about these disciples is …

1. THE DEFICIT (vv. 1-2).

Verse 1 tells us; “And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus.” He must have already completed his time in Antioch; and then made his way westerly to Asia Minor. He had a yearning to reach the people there; and having already seen ministry begun, he returned. And in verses 1-2, we’re told, “And finding some disciples he said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’”

Now; notice carefully that these are not called “Christians”. To have called them Christians would have implied that they were believers in Jesus and were saved by faith in Him. Instead, Luke—the writer of this book—was careful to only call them “disciples”. That would be another name for “students” or “learners”. They stood out to Paul in that they clearly knew something about Jesus, and they clearly sought to live in the light of what they knew. But there must have been something lacking in them. Perhaps they lacked a sense of warmth and zeal for what they knew. Perhaps it had only been intellectual to them—and had not yet reached their heart. Perhaps it had only seemed like a matter of ‘religious devotion’ to them—and not a genuine relationship of warmth and love. Perhaps he saw no evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in them. They “believed”; but whatever it was that Paul saw lacking, it led him to ask them if they had received the Holy when they believed.

And that was when the nature of their deficit was made clear to Paul. Verse 2 goes on to tell us, “So they said to him, ‘We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.’” In the original language of this passage, their answer was something more like this: “But not if the Holy Spirit He is have we heard.” This would have been clear evidence that they had not yet been ‘born again’. As Romans 8:9 makes clear;

Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His (Romans 8:9).

And so; this highlights what was the deficit in their experience. It wasn’t simply that they had not yet received the Holy Spirit or had not yet heard of Him. They had not yet received the Holy Spirit because they had not yet placed a clear, intelligent faith in Jesus Christ and received Him as Savior. They were “disciples” in the sense that they were “learners about Jesus” only; but they were not yet ‘born again’. Just think of how many people—all around us—are like that today!

Paul wisely sought to know more about their experience. How was it that they knew something about Jesus, but did not yet know the ministry of the Holy Spirit? This leads us to verse 3, and to …

2. THE ANALYSIS (v. 3).

“And he said to them, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’” He wasn’t asking them what ‘substance’ it was that they were baptized into; because it would obviously have been water. Rather, what he was asking was, “Into what kind of faith—and under what kind of teaching—were you baptized? What was your understanding of the commitment you were making? With what was it that you were being ‘radically identified’ through baptism? What did you place your faith in?”

Such questions are always important. Baptism isn’t simply a religious rite or ritual. It is a personal commitment to become—from that moment on—permanently identified with something into which we have placed our faith. When we are baptized in a church today, we are physically declaring that we have been placed, by God’s grace, into the full work of Jesus Christ for us through faith. We are permanently identified with His death, burial, and resurrection for us. It is never a good thing for someone to partake of ‘baptism’ without fully understanding what it is that they are being baptized “into”.

And so; when Paul put this question to them, we’re told, “So they said, ‘Into John’s baptism.’” And that’s when Paul was able to accurately analyze the situation. They had been baptized into the ‘Old Testament era’ baptism of John—a baptism that was anticipatory in nature; because when John had begun to baptize, Jesus had not yet been revealed. The sacrifice of the cross had not yet occurred, and the Holy Spirit had not yet been given after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension.

Their situation was very much like the situation of Apollos—that is, before Aquila and Priscilla explained the gospel to him more fully.

And notice …

3. THE SOLUTION (vv. 4-5).

Now; if someone today were to hear that someone was a “disciple” but who didn’t know about the Holy Spirit, they might be tempted to begin to explain to them the truths about the Holy Spirit. But that’s not what Paul did. The Holy Spirit was not sent into this world to draw attention primarily to Himself. Rather, He has come into this world in order to—as it were—turn the spotlight upon Jesus. As Jesus Himself said,

“He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you” (John 16:14-15).

And so; rather than tell them about the Holy Spirit, Paul told them about Jesus. In verse 4, we read, “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.’” And though we aren’t specifically told so in this text, Paul—the great evangelist—would no doubt have told them the full story of the gospel. He would have explained to them the story of the virgin birth of our Lord—His sinless life—His submission to the wicked hands of those who arrested Him—His crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection—His ascension to the right hand of the Father—the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Paul would have done for them what Aquila and Priscilla had done for Apollos; and he would ‘explain to them the way of God more accurately’. And without a doubt, he would have urged them to then place their faith fully in what Jesus had done for them; and to then express that faith by being publicly baptized.

Verse 5 tells us, “When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” It wouldn’t be proper to say that they were ‘re-baptized’; because their first baptism was a baptism of a different nature—an ‘Old Testament era’ baptism of anticipation. Now they were being baptized into a ‘New Testament era’ baptism of fulfillment. It was “in the name of the Lord Jesus” because it was with full faith in Him and in all that He had done for them.

What a tremendous lesson this is for us! It is not by being merely a ‘disciple’ or a ‘learner’ that someone enters into the full blessings of God’s grace. It’s not by being told about the power and ministry of the Holy Spirit as an end in and of itself. It’s only by hearing the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ—by believing in Him and by expressing the genuineness of that faith through being baptized in His name—that someone enters into the fullness of God’s blessing. As Paul put it in Romans 10:9-10;

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:9-10).

That’s what this small body of ‘disciples’ had done. And then, finally, notice …

4. THE RESULT (vv. 6-7).

We’re told in verses 6-7; “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.”

God confirmed the preaching of the gospel to these Ephesian disciples by the fact that when Paul laid his hands on them in response to their faith, the Holy Spirit manifestly came upon them—just as He had on the Jewish believers in Jerusalem at Pentecost; and just as He had done on the Gentile household of Cornelius in Acts 10-11 when they believed. These ‘Old Testament era’ recipients of the baptism and teaching of John “spoke with tongues and prophesied.” This was to demonstrate that they had entered into the ‘New Testament era’ of God’s grace—just as was described in Joel 2:28-29. And perhaps God allowed ‘twelve’ of them to manifest the reception of the Holy Spirit in order to show fully that God is no respecter of persons. He pours His grace equally upon all who believe on Jesus; “That whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Joel 2:32).

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Now; John preached in anticipation of this—as if from afar. But in time, he saw the end of the Old Testament era, and the beginning of the New Testament era. The apostle John wrote about it and said;

John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:15-17).

Grace and truth come only through Jesus. And what an illustration of this principle it is that we find in this story! How it ought to encourage us and motivate us to share the clear message of the gospel of Jesus Christ with others! For the full blessings of God’s grace come only through a clear, intelligent, sincere faith in Jesus according to the gospel—in no other way … but equally to all!

AE