This tape contains the 21st of a series of teachings on the book of Acts by the Reverend John W. Howe of Truro Episcopal Church in Fairfax, Virginia. The teaching is entitled, Into What Baptism? And the scripture reference is Acts chapter 18 verse 24 through chapter 19 verse 20. Lord, we thank you that you feed us not only physically but spiritually. And we would ask you again today to open your word to us and instruct us from it. For we ask it in Christ's name.

Amen. We left off in Acts chapter 18 last time. Just to recap, Paul had spent 18 months plus some days in the city of Corinth in Greece.

He had been secularly employed in what the book of Acts calls tent making. Probably more broadly than that, it was leather working in general and the making of shelter, which even today is very widely used in the Middle East. They use a thick, heavy leather as a covering for many of the encampments.

You can see the Bedouins in their tents, living much as they did 2,000 and even 4,000 years ago. So that presumably is how he employed himself, working leather and in particular tent making, with a couple named Achilla and Priscilla. During that time he was engaged in ministry, and scholars have reckoned that there was really a remarkable and almost incredible evangelistic success.

somewhere upwards of 60,000 people came to Christ during that year and a half. And then Paul started back for home. You remember that he was, in fact, on the second of three distinct missionary journeys.

And so he left off for home. And you could trace this. This is a very rough map up here.

You might want to come up and take a squint at it afterward, or you probably have maps in the back of your Bible and you could trace this. Just very simply, he went from Corinth back to Jerusalem and to Antioch, from which he had departed a couple of years earlier. He went via boat this time rather than overland.

And his first stop was to go across to Ephesus on the coast of Asia Minor and then to sail around Cyprus, landing at Caesarea and making his way back down to Jerusalem. He stayed a very short time in Jerusalem and then went back up to Antioch, from which he had departed. and you could just sort of trace that in your mind and in verse 24 of Acts 18 with no fanfare whatever he departs on yet a third journey it says after spending some time there in Antioch he departed and went from place to place through the region of Galatia and Phrygia strengthening all the disciples so it was a brief layover he was back in the area from which he had been launched initially twice now, and they send him out yet a third time.

So we could just draw that quickly. Corinth to Ephesus, down to Jerusalem, up to Antioch, and then started off yet again into the area of Asia Minor. Now, there's one major event that we still have to look at that is recorded in Acts, really the end of Acts 18 and Acts 19, before things begin rushing toward a final confrontation in Rome.

And actually, the book of Acts doesn't record that confrontation. It leaves off somewhat abruptly in the middle of the story, for which reason various people have published articles and magazines called Acts 29, which is to say the story goes on. It was clear that Paul hoped for a confrontation before Caesar in Rome in which he hoped not only to be vindicated personally, but to have the gospel, in essence, legitimized as his ministry was vindicated.

It didn't end that way, as you know from history, but that's how the book of Acts ends, was he was awaiting that final confrontation in Rome. Things really do tumble after Acts 19, and so I'm going to be speeding up considerably in the last three lectures after today. But we want to look at this one more major event.

Now, I want to just say one other thing because it's important that we put the pieces together. You remember that he started off with Luke and with Silas and Timothy and he was sort of dropping people en route as he went on this second journey. He left Luke in Philippi.

He left Silas and Timothy in Berea, which was very near Thessalonica and they had ministry in both places. As he spent his time in Corinth, he obviously became very, very close to this couple, Achilla and Priscilla. And as he leaves for home, he takes them with him.

So he's dropping people off and he's picking people up. And the first stop on the way home, as I said a moment ago, was Ephesus. Sure enough, he leaves Achilla and Priscilla there.

Now, I just want you to see something of the mind of St. Paul or going in to strengthen works that were previously begun, he's perfectly willing to give away his best people and believing that God will add unto him. Bishop Stanway shared that with me. He said that the principle that he had operated on for 20 years in East Africa was be willing to give away your best.

Every time you try to hold your best leadership, it will turn to dust in your hand. When you're willing to have God take it from you, he'll multiply it. That clearly was Paul's approach.

He's willing to give away his best. And God multiplies the ministry in the process. So he's moving on, as I say, back home to Jerusalem and to Antioch, and he leaves Achilla and Priscilla to minister in Ephesus.

We pick up the story at verse 24. Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, Egypt, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, well-versed in the scriptures.

He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. Now we just need to pause and notice that sentence, what has been said about him. That's a fairly remarkable description when you stop to unpack it.

He's a member of the Jewish dispersion. He is a Jew, but he's living down in Alexandria, Egypt. He comes up to Ephesus at precisely the same time that Aquila and Priscilla are staying there.

Look at what it says about him. He's eloquent, a very powerful public speaker. He is well-versed in scripture.

He knows his Bible. He is fervent in spirit. He wants to see people transformed and converted to his message.

And he taught accurately the things concerning Jesus. You might ask, what more would you ever want? Many churches would be mighty pleased to get such a man as their pastor.

Which is precisely what's wrong with many churches. Because what he knew of Jesus, accurate though it was, was only that which had been taught by John the Baptist. Okay?

Accurate so far as it went. But he had received an instruction, probably not directly from John. There's nothing to suggest that he had ever met John personally, but this was the legacy, the heritage of John's ministry.

that he is getting a view of Messiah, which is still in the future. It's as if Messiah hasn't come. He's getting the Old Testament prophecies and predictions interpreted as by John about one who was to succeed him, one who is yet to come.

Now, that gives you two things at once. It gives you some sense of the breadth, the scope of John's ministry. It's all the way down to Egypt.

Again, not to suggest that John had ever personally traveled to Egypt, but the influence that that man had extended reached throughout the whole of the known world. It's like a first century Billy Graham, if you could imagine it. That word of mouth had carried it, and there were pockets of his disciples all over the dispersion.

All right? It is amazing when you stop and think about it. And secondly, bear in mind that John has died 25 years ago.

And here is somebody even now still interpreting things, his whole worldview is in the light of what John had preached. That is an incredible legacy. It's a very odd position for this man to be in, isn't it?

Anticipating one who is yet to come, when as a matter of fact he already came, died, and was resurrected 25 years ago. So that, you need to understand, Apollos has right theology. and right motives.

His heart is right. He's fervent in spirit and he is winning converts. Okay?

But it's on the basis of intellectual conviction rather than a personal encounter with the living Christ. And that's what's lacking. Right theology.

Right motives on the basis of intellectual conviction but no personal encounter. He does not know the power of the Holy Spirit in his life. His power in speaking is more the force of personality than it is the anointing of the Spirit.

It's as if he's in the same position that John was prior to the crucifixion ever happening where Jesus can say there's none born of woman greater than John the Baptist and yet I tell you he that is least in the kingdom is greater than he. Do you understand that? That as inadequate as you might be that there is a sense in which your experience of God is greater than the greatest that John knew within his earthly life because he was prior to its unfolding, to the outpouring of the Spirit upon the release after the resurrection.

So he comes in to the town of Ephesus and holds forth just as Paul would have done. He goes into the synagogue and he preaches very, very powerfully, very eloquently, calling upon the Jews to repent and be baptized according to the baptism of John. And here are Aquila and Priscilla.

And you can just see them as this guy comes striding into town and takes over. And Aquila nudges Priscilla in the ribs and she says, Yep, we'll get him after the service. And that's exactly what they do.

Priscilla and Aquila heard him. They took him out and expounded to him the way of God more accurately. more completely.

Now it doesn't give us any detail about what that included but you can sort of read it back in from what happens in the next paragraph. Obviously their great news to Apollos was all that you're looking forward to has come to pass. We have great news for you.

It's already happened. Jesus has come just as you expected him to. He's already come.

He's died for your sins. He's gone and sits on the right hand of the Father and he has poured out his spirit. and if you would receive him by faith and be baptized into his body you too will become a recipient of that self-same spirit.

It's clear from what follows that that's exactly what happened. That Apollos entered into the fullness of the spirit and as a matter of fact, interestingly enough they send him back to Corinth. See, they've learned Paul's lesson.

They realize how needy the church is and here's a guy who is ideally suited to minister in Corinth. All he needed was the Holy Spirit, you see. He's got all of the other tools ready.

And now he's entered into the Spirit. He does not need to go off to seminary for three more years and serve a diaconate and an internship and get priesthood. He's all set.

All he needed was the Spirit. And they send him right back to minister in Corinth. Of all places.

I mean, if you can imagine going into Corinth, Sin City, with all of the spiritual pride running rampant and the fleshly approach to the gifts of the Spirit. And yet he, as he enters into the kingdom of the Spirit, is able to go back and minister there. We could spend a long time on that, couldn't we?

This is why, you just might cross-reference this, Paul writes to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 3, he says, I planted, Apollos watered, and God gave the increase. So there's a beautiful overlapping of ministries here, isn't there? As Paul takes out Achilla and Priscilla, they've got a work to do in Ephesus, and part of the product of that work is they send back someone even better equipped than they would have been to stay put and minister in Corinth.

Don't despair when God moves you around, or when God moves around those who you had looked to, to share a particular thing with you. God will provide for that. Somebody asked me just last week about, you know, isn't it an anguish to you to have people constantly on the move in this Washington area?

And yes, personally it is, because you begin new friendships and then they're broken up. And yet we find God is distributing the ministry, multiplying the ministry. We train people to be shepherds or to be evangelists or what have you, and they just get trained and God moves them on, and he multiplies the ministry.

And invariably he brings in others who are able to pick up where they left off. Just about this time, Paul comes to Ephesus. He's been up in Asia Minor, Phrygia, Galatia, and he comes down to Ephesus by the inland road.

And so it's almost a revolving door. You've got a picture here in Ephesus as things are happening. While Apollos was at Corinth, chapter 19, Paul passed through the upper country, came to Ephesus, and there he found some disciples.

And he said to them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And they said, No, we have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. And he said, Into what then were you baptized?

They said, Into John's baptism. And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus. On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve of them in all. I think this incident has been as thoroughly misinterpreted as anything in the Bible.

And this is one of the instances where it is not at all helpful to have a King James Version of the Bible, because it translates Paul's question, Have you received the Spirit since you believed? Which clearly sounds as if the presupposition behind it is that there are two distinct events that ought to be in everybody's life. One is believing in Jesus, receiving him, becoming part of his body, being baptized into his church, having new life given in the forgiveness of sins, and then at some subsequent point in your life, receiving the Spirit in power.

Have you received since you believed? And that's the way it has very widely been interpreted. There is no possible way that the Greek can be constructed that way.

That is simply an inaccurate translation. It is far better the way both the RSV and the NIV put it. Did you receive when you believed?

What a different sense that is. Did you receive when you believed? The supposition behind that question is, you should have.

you see. When you believed, you should have received the Holy Spirit. And you sort of have to stop and scratch your head and say, what would provoke such a question?

You know, why would anybody ask such a question? It's clear that Paul's initial assumption was these are Christian people. Luke calls them disciples.

That's the term usually used for Christian people. They're talking the right language. They sound like, they look like Christians, but obviously something is wrong.

And so Paul asks a most unusual question. Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? What's behind that question?

Obviously there is something suggesting to him that they didn't, even though they should have. Now who are these people? It's not clear from the context exactly who and what they are, but the best guess is that they are the product of Apollo's earlier work.

Okay? Because they're in exactly the same boat that he was in. They had received the baptism of John, which is exactly what he had received.

They had right theology and were anticipating the coming of Messiah, but they were not yet into the Spirit. And so Paul perceives that. They're talking about the coming one.

They're talking about Messiah. They're talking about one who will come and fulfill all the Old Testament prophecies and predictions. And yet there's clearly something lacking.

It's precisely the same thing that was lacking in the life of Apollos. Probably they were some converts, some disciples of his. Now notice very, very closely what happens.

Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And their answer is, no. We never even knew there was a Holy Spirit. now that tips you off these are not Christians in any legitimate full-fledged sense of the word they may again have right theology but they have no personal experience of the renewing power of the spirit some of the texts broaden that slightly we never even heard that the Holy Spirit is being given that's an alternative rendering of that we never even heard that the Holy Spirit is being given obviously if they knew the scriptures they knew there was a holy spirit okay but not that he was yet being given in power in the way that was promised upon the advent of the messiah that behold i will pour out my spirit on all flesh they're still anticipating that in the future they'd got what apollos had gotten and when paul hears that notice his response he does not give them a little course of instruction about how to receive the Holy Spirit.

Isn't that interesting? He does not even instruct them in how to receive tongues. Isn't that interesting?

He immediately says, well, then what in the world were you baptized into? And the answer is John's baptism. Ah, the penny drops.

They're disciples expectant in the way that John was, expectant in the way Apollos was, but they haven't even begun, you see. He goes right back to the beginnings, into what were you baptized. What is the presupposition behind that question?

That upon your baptism into Christ, you ought to be entering into the power of the Spirit. Do you see how those two things go together? Do you follow what I'm saying?

It's not that there are two distinct separate events that you get baptized into Christ and then at some subsequent point according to the sovereignty of God you enter into the fullness of the Spirit. No. If you have not entered into the fullness of the Spirit Paul's immediate question is then what were you baptized into? There's something faulty in your baptism.

Do you see? you didn't get started right and they're re-baptized technically they're not re-baptized because they have never yet been baptized as Christians they had merely a baptism for repentance the baptism of John is not Christian baptism it's merely a washing for repentance whereas Christian baptism goes a step further of entering by faith into the death and resurrection of Christ and so Paul instructs them regarding Christ they're baptized into Christ he lays hands on them and the Holy Spirit comes upon them with tongues and again they have a mini Pentecost they enter into it right on the spot I want us to notice this very very closely we've already seen from previous episodes in the book of Acts that receiving the Spirit is not dependent upon the laying on of hands though that was often done and very helpfully done. It was done in this instance and it was very helpful.

But receiving the Spirit is not dependent upon the laying on of hands. Cornelius got it before Peter was even done with his sermon. Right?

Okay, so that's an option. We've also seen that while people sometimes spoke in tongues upon receiving the Spirit, there is no consistent recorded pattern that they always did that. You may read that back in if you choose to, but the Bible does not say so.

They often did. And the assumption is that the gift of tongues is very, very widely available, but you cannot construct an absolute case that they will always speak in tongues. They did in this instance.

But what you can say is normative and is consistent is the expectation that a true conversion will include putting your faith in Christ, repenting of your sins, being baptized by water in his name, and that it should be accompanied by empowerment from the Holy Spirit. And anything less than that is an incomplete conversion. Do you follow what I'm saying?

Alright. There is a consistent expectation that a conversion, a full biblical conversion, will include at least these elements. Putting your faith in Christ, receiving Him as your Messiah and Lord, repenting of your sin and turning away from it, renouncing it and turning your back on it, which is manifested, both of those things, are accompanied by and manifested by being baptized into His body.

And upon doing of all that, receiving of the Spirit in power, which may manifest itself in the gift of tongues or in some other gifts, or it may not manifest itself in those specific gifts, but it's clear that you have received the Spirit in power. If all that is not there, there's something deficient in your coming to Christ. And immediate steps are taken to remedy it.

Immediate steps are taken. We saw that with the Samaritans. We saw it with Cornelius on the other side, and we see it here.

Into what in the world were you baptized if you have not received the Spirit in power? You could not have been baptized into Christ, not adequately, If you had been adequately baptized into Christ, then you would have received the Spirit in power. That's the presupposition behind the question.

And immediate steps are taken to remedy the deficiency. And again, note that the steps are not to have a little series on receiving the Spirit, but to go to the beginnings. You didn't receive Christ adequately.

You follow what I'm saying? Not have you received since, did you receive when? now I'm not suggesting that everybody who has been baptized in the name of Christ has therefore automatically received the Spirit in his fullness what I am suggesting is that if someone has not received the fullness of the Spirit there's something deficient there's something deficient his experience is not New Testament experience should I say that again?

I'm not saying that all those millions of people who have been baptized in the name of Christ have therefore automatically received the Spirit of God. One would have wished it were so. I am not saying that.

What I am saying is if they have not received the fullness of the Spirit, there is something deficient in their Christian experience. Because from the book of Acts point of view, those go together. It's normative.

Immediate pain should be taken to remedy the deficiency. I'll put it another way they are living a sub-Christian experience this is not an optional extra to be tacked on for some later willy-nilly according to the sovereignty of God some get it and some don't this is part and parcel of what it means to come to Christ is that you enter into the empowerment of his spirit you with me now? and let me push it one step further I'm not saying therefore that you ought to run out and get re-baptized.

One baptism, okay? But that you ought to take whatever steps need to be taken to enter into the fullness of what your baptism was about. To be baptized into Christ is to be baptized into his body.

There's no way to be baptized into his body in a full New Testament sense except by entering into the power of the Spirit. So that if that is not your experience, There's something deficient. And you ought to do whatever needs to be done to make up that deficiency.

It is not an optional extra. It's God's will for us. That, I would trust, is absolutely clear by now if you've gone all the way this far in the book of Acts.

God's normative will for His children is that they enter into the fullness of His Spirit. That's the whole point. I am come that they might have life and have it abundantly.

I'm the one who pours out my spirit on all flesh, even your menservants and your maidservants. So don't go and get re-baptized, but enter into what your baptism is all about. And then very quickly, we push on to the next break.

Paul enters the synagogue and for three months speaks boldly, argues and pleads about the kingdom of God. When some were stubborn and disbelieved, speaking evil of the way before the congregation, he withdrew from them, taking the disciples with him, and arguing daily in the hall of Tyrannus, a rented hall. He got a big hall and held forth there.

Again, the same pattern that we've seen over and over. He starts in the synagogue, wins a few, antagonizes the majority, and moves on. Interesting comment in verse 10.

This continued for two years so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord. How about that? Let me just tell you what happened during that two years.

Paul just basically stayed put in the city of Ephesus in a rented hall, lectured every day, argued, preached, evangelized. And because it was the major center, people are coming into Ephesus from all the surrounding area. a fellow by the name of Philemon came in one day he was a rich fellow who lived in the neighboring city of Colossae had a servant by the name of Onesimus both of them get converted Philemon goes back and starts a little church in his home a few years later Paul writes a letter to the church in Colossae that meets in the home of Philemon Onesimus, you can read the story of Onesimus believes that his master's conversion very incomplete one because it didn't include setting me free.

And so Onesimus runs and pleads his case before Paul, who sends him back to face the music with Philemon, but with a letter that says to Philemon, I really would appreciate it if you'd set him free. Marvelous story that you can read, shortest book in the New Testament, I guess the second shortest. While he's there in the city of Ephesus.

Did you ever hear of a place called Smyrna? A place called Thyatira? A place called Pergamum?

A place called Sardis and Philadelphia and Laodicea? Churches of the Book of Revelation? All these get started as people come in and hear Paul preaching in the Hall of Tyrannus.

Get converted and go back to their hometown and start a church. And as Paul multiplies himself, people touching people, touching people. Luke can write all of Asia.

It's really primarily Asia Minor, as we call it today. The whole surrounding area. Here's the word of God.

Paul stays put in one rented room. And then there's a tremendous confrontation with the power of the occult, which was very, very strong in the city of Ephesus. And you see in verse 11, God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul.

So that handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick and diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. Again, how this has been misinterpreted and misapplied. You've got to get the picture of Paul laboring.

Probably he's still to some extent supporting himself at leather working, at tent making. In addition to which, day by day, he's holding forth and he cannot be running all over the place meeting with individuals who have need. And it says God did extraordinary miracles.

This is out of the ordinary. All right? Special miracles.

So Paul, in essence, is saying, I can't come with you here. Take this sweat rag. You've got to see it that grossly.

He's laboring there in the heat of the day in a dirty old sweat rag. Take this. And God's Spirit so accompanied that dirty old sweat rag that people got healed in its presence.

Now, there is no warrant here for this really funny practice that has emerged in some places of praying over Kleenex and sending it out. This is extraordinary miracles for an extraordinary situation in the midst of a city dominated by the power of the occult. It was never again repeated in the book of Acts.

It happened there. All right? I am not saying that that should never be done, but I'm saying there is no suggestion that it ought to be done.

Okay? I need you to see the confrontation between the power of God and the power of the evil one. And in fact, we read on, there were some itinerant Jewish exorcists who undertook to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.

Do you remember that Jesus himself in the Sermon on the Mount said, there will be those who come and say, Lord, Lord, did we not cast out evil spirits in your name? And I say, depart from me, I never knew you. You realize that all down through the history of the occult, right down to the present time, there are people who use the name of the Lord Jesus in an occult way to cast out evil spirits.

And he predicted that. And that's exactly what's going on. Only the evil spirits are too strong for them.

It says, seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Svecca were doing this, and the evil spirit answered them, Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who are you? And one man, so dominated by the power of evil, overcame the seven of these exorcists at once, and they ran away terrified. Into such a city, God gave an extraordinary anointing of Paul others who were coming to Christ so that the confrontation is absolutely clear-cut.

And there is such an eventual winning over of those who previously were in the occult that they have a tremendous book burning and they bring in all their occult materials. And in modern day terms, it totaled up to something in the neighborhood of $15,000 worth of occult books and literature that were burned there in testimony to the redemption and the liberty that Christ brought into that city. That's where we're going to break off till next time.

Verse 20 So the word of the Lord grew and prevailed mightily.