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.” Acts 19:4

Acts 18:18–19:7 – The Story of the Church: Living Into This Drama in the 21st Century
Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost – October 17, 2021 (am)

Here at GCD we pay pretty close attention to the clarity and precision of our doctrinal and theological beliefs. Just recently you’ve seen the attentiveness and care we’ve given to our Position Papers on Corporate Worship and Special Creation, combing through our expressions and descriptions to make sure they communicate our understanding of Scripture as thoroughly and accurately as possible.

Some might wonder, what difference all that makes? If we know that Jesus died for our sins, isn’t that enough? Answer: surely our trust in Jesus’ death on the cross—as God’s solution for our sin that has severed our relationship with Him—is enough to reconcile us to God. But God has communicated so much more than just that in His Word. And it’s a worthy pursuit for us to press hard to understand all of that as well and as fully as we’re able.

We see a bit of the difference this makes as we move into our passage today. Different forms of unusual beliefs and misbeliefs appear in each of these three paragraphs. And pressing into them a bit helps us see their importance. This brief little drama unfolds in three scenes.

Scene 1: Paul Finishes His Second Journey – 18:18-22

It was many days (18:18) after the decision of Gallio, identifying Christianity with Judaism, making it an approved religion in the Province of Achaia (18:14-15), that Paul’s [eighteen month stay] in Corinth (18:11) came to an end. He left there with Priscilla and Aquila and was heading back home, to Syria (18:18). Before [setting] sale from Cenchreae, though, he got a hair cut, evidently finishing a vow (18:18). This detail makes it almost certain that [this] was a Nazarite vow (Stott 300) (cf. Num.6:1-21). Jews made vows to God either in thankfulness for past blessings ([like] Paul’s safekeeping in Corinth) or as part of a petition for future blessings ([like] safekeeping on [his coming] journey) (Marshall 1980 318). And for Paul, it really could have been either.

We know he had much to be thankful for there in Corinth, so it could easily have been related to that.

But we also know that once his head was shaved to end the vow, the hair was [to be] burned, along with other sacrifices, as a symbol of self-offering to God (Stott 301). And the intent was that this offering would be made in the temple at Jerusalem (Marshall 1980 318). Although, if the vow was completed away from Jerusalem, the hair could still be brought there to be burned (Stott 301).

Plus, given some of the hostilities that we already know were brewing between Paul and the Jews, it wouldn’t hurt for him to arrive in Jerusalem with his head shaved, a clear indicator to Jews who doubted him that he’d just finished a vow. Also, if this was the kind of vow taken by Paul, it implies that he intended to visit Jerusalem (Marshall 1980 318).

And, after a brief stint in Ephesus, where he left Priscilla and Aquila (18:19), it appears he did just that. 18:22 When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, language that usually describes the ascent up to Jerusalem (Marshall 1980 318), and then went down to Antioch­—back north to his sending church.

18:23 After spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. In other words, after a brief stay Paul headed right back off on his third journey, retracing the steps of his second journey early on, taking the inland route north and west through… Galatia and Phrygia, then without much more detail, landing back in Ephesus (19:1). This time the Holy Spirit allowed him to enter Asia! (cf. 16:6)

Scene 2: Interlude: Priscilla & Aquila and Apollos – 18:24-28

But in the meantime, much had happened in Ephesus since he reasoned with the Jews there (18:19), and they asked him to stay for a longer period (18:20). 18:24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, although we don’t know how or by whom. The gospel came to that influential city of Alexandria early on, but the details of that story up through the later second century have been lost (Bruce 359). And being fervent in spirit, or, boiling hot (Strong) in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, although for some unknown and unexplained reason, he knew only the baptism of John. He wasn’t acquainted with the baptism Jesus commanded in the great commission (Mat.18:9-20), the one Peter preached about on the day of Pentecost (2:38). Apollos knew only the baptism of John, a baptism of repentance, as Paul will soon explain (cf. 19:4), to prepare for the coming [Messiah] (cf. 18:28).

Here’s where we begin to see the importance of right doctrine, and the impact the lack of it can have on the preaching of a clear gospel. 18:26 [Apollos] began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they discerned that something was wrong, something was missing, so, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately (e.g., baptism in the name of the trinity [Mat.28:19-20]).

They discipled him, in private. They didn’t ignore the incomplete or inaccurate message he was preaching just because he preached it with boiling hot passion and persuasiveness! They brought him along in the faith and the results were immediate and impressive: for some unexplained reason, he [wanted to go] to Achaia (18:27), to Corinth (19:1), and the [other Christians] in Ephesus thought this was a great idea (18:27). So, Apollos traveled there and engaged the Jews in rigorous public debate, now proving that the [Messiah] was in fact Jesus (18:28). He made quite an impact in Corinth as can be seen in Paul’s letter to them (1Co.1:12; 3:4-6, 22; 16:12; I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth [1Co.3:6]).

Scene 3: Paul Begins His Third Journey – 18:23; 19:1-7

And by the time Paul got back to Ephesus, Apollos was already gone (19:1). But he immediately met a group of about twelve men (19:7) whom Luke identified as disciples (19:1). The way Luke usually uses this word suggests that they were disciples of Jesus (Bruce 363). And Paul acknowledges that they had believed (19:2). But they were missing the same part of the gospel story as Apollos had been missing—they’d been baptized into John’s baptism (19:3-4). Yet they were missing a whole lot more. Paul discerned this when he asked: 19:2 … “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

Now, this couldn’t really mean they didn’t know the Holy Spirit even existed. The OT speaks of Him. And so did John (Luk.3:16). They just didn’t know that promise had been fulfilled! That said, Paul’s identifying two significant biblical, theological, experiential shortfalls here. Yet, Luke doesn’t say he preached the gospel to these twelve. He says that: 19:5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, in Whom, evidently, they’d already believed (19:2). 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. How do we make sense of this without careful biblical, theological, doctrinal thought that addresses a wide range of specific questions?

Were these guys converted or not? Was their [belief] saving belief, or were they still in their sins? How were their circumstances similar to those of Apollos? How did they differ? Why does Luke record that they were baptized but says nothing about baptism for Apollos? What was the difference? And how do we know?

These questions and many more like them could be asked about this brief, simple section at the end of Paul’s second journey and the beginning of his third. And there’s much discussion on the answers to them. Some think neither Apollos nor these twelve were saved. Some think both were. Some think Apollos was and these twelve weren’t. And very few think there was any connection between them even though they all had this same baptism of John issue. And they had it in the same city where Apollos had been teaching even before Priscilla and Aquila helped set him straight!

Another question: why do tongues and prophesying (19:6) show up again here in Ephesus after we’ve not seen them in response to conversion since Cornelius and his family? (10:46) And [laying on] hands to receive the Holy Spirit hasn’t happened since Samaria (8:17).

In short, I think Apollos was a true [believer], even though he knew only the baptism of John (18:25). And I believe this because it appears Luke is saying that he was filled with the Spirit (18:25). But I believe the twelve quite possibly weren’t saved because the Holy Spirit is the One who makes us alive! (cf. Rom.8:11) And I believe [laying on] hands and tongues and prophesying show up again because Ephesus was such a charged and twisted city spiritually. These expressions showed up with the Samaritans and their biblical half-truths, then with Cornelius, a God-fearing Gentile, now here in Ephesus, a city saturated in dark spiritual power. They’ve shown up each time it needs to be proven that the faith being embraced is the same faith that was preached on the day of Pentecost. And the same Spirit Who was poured out that day is being received anew here and now (Stott 303-305). In 305 other words, they experienced a mini-Pentecost. Better, Pentecost caught up on them. Better still, they were caught up into it as its promised blessings became theirs (Stott 304-5).

And is it just coincidence that there are twelve? Might this be the symbolic starting of the new covenant community there in the dark, pagan city of Ephesus that will play such a prominent role throughout the remainder of the NT? And might this be the reason why Paul couldn’t come here on his second journey? It just wasn’t time yet!

Conclusion

How do decide on answers to all these? How do we build all these convictions if we don’t press into the truths and teaching of God’s Word and carefully shape our interpretation, theology, doctrine according to it? New workers were being raised up to continue the work of the apostles. How were they going to be prepared in order to protect the precious truths of the gospel, in order to guard the good deposit being entrusted to them? (cf. 2Ti.1:14)

Without clear teaching from God’s Word, we can’t know whether we’re presenting, or even believing, a clear gospel. We can feel unclear about what to teach our children, or how to answer their questions. Without clear teaching from God’s Word, we don’t know how to question someone who professes saving belief but just doesn’t really seem to know Jesus. We don’t have a basis for evaluation, a confident sense, of which truths are more important and which are less. And that lack of confidence with others can back-feed and cause us to begin questioning our own belief. Without clear teaching from God’s Word, we can’t discern why we see supernatural manifestations at some times but not at others. We can’t see where they fit, and how? Without clear teaching from God’s Word, we can feel unequipped to participate in conversations at church where we’re evaluating our Doctrinal Statement. Or we can wonder why such statements need to be monitored so carefully and revise so frequently. We might even begin to wonder why we listen to so much teaching at church, why preaching plays such a prominent and dominant role in our church services. And almost certainly we won’t have thoughtful questions about the texts we read, like: why were the responses to Apollos and these twelve so different when it sounds like they struggled with the same issue? Without clear teaching from God’s Word, very soon we will not even be able to tell the difference between good input and poor on what God’s Word actually says. And when we lose that, losing the clear, pure gospel altogether is only a short step or two away.

We don’t all need to know these truths to equal depth and clarity—God has gifted us differently—but we all need to know why it’s important to know them, to hold to them, and to guard them like the priceless treasure they are! These are the tenets of our most holy faith, the truths of the gospel that saves us and the teachings of the God Who provided that salvation, they deserve our undivided attention and our unswerving allegiance in this life until the day when we finally see them fully realized right before our eyes!

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Resources

Beale, G. K. and D. A. Carson, eds. 2007. Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Acts, by I. Howard Marshall, 513-606. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

Beveridge, Henry, ed. Commentary upon the Acts of the apostles, vol. 1, by John Calvin. Translated by Christopher Featherstone.

Bruce, F. F., ed. 1988. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. The book of Acts, revised, by F. F. Bruce. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Carson, D. A., R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, and G. J. Wenham, eds. 1994. New Bible Commentary 21st Century Edition. Acts, by Conrad Gempf, 1066-1114. Leicester, Eng.: InterVarsity.

Dockery, David S, ed. 1992. New American Commentary. Vol. 26, Acts, by John B. Polhill. Nashville: Broadman & Holman.

Grudem, Wayne, ed. 2008. ESV Study Bible. Study notes on Acts, 2073-2156, by John B. Polhill. Wheaton: Crossway.

Longman III, Tremper and David E. Garland, eds. 2007. Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Vol. 10, Acts, by Richard N. Longenecker, 665-1102. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Morris, Leon, ed. 1980. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Vol. 5 Acts, by I. Howard Marshall. Downers Grove: InterVarsity.

Stott, John, ed. 1990. The Bible Speaks Today. The Message of Acts, by John Stott. Leicester, Eng.: InterVarsity.

NEXT WEEK: The Name of the Lord Jesus Was Extolled, Acts 19:8–41