Gtcotr/ss051621
Early in AD53, I suppose the Apostle Paul was 48 years old and had been living and teaching in the city of Corinth for the last 18 months. While in Corinth he met a man named Aquilla and his wife Priscilla. Aquilla was a tent maker so the Apostle Paul picked up some part-time work with him while he discipled them and some others in the city. The Church Paul started in Corinth was filled with some very interesting people. Some were super-Christians and others were barely Christians.
When Paul decided to go to Jerusalem for an upcoming feast, probably Passover, Aquilla and Priscilla accompanied him. When the ship stopped at Ephesus Paul got to preach in the Synagogue there. Afterwards the Jewish congregation asked him to stay with them longer however, he decided it was best for him to continue his journey and he promised to return to Ephesus if the Lord allowed. Aquilla and Priscilla stayed behind in Ephesus to carry on the work of the Lord there until Paul’s hopeful return.
After Paul left a very eloquent teacher of the scriptures and a huge supporter of the teachings of John the Baptist came to Ephesus.
Acts 18 NKJV
24 ¶ Now a certain Jew named
Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the
Scriptures, came to Ephesus.
25 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.
26 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.
27 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;
28 for he vigorously refuted
the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.
Acts 19 NKJV
1 ¶ And it happened, while
Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions,
came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples
2 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.”
3 And he said to them, “Into
what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.”
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.”
5 When they heard this,
they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 And when Paul had laid
hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and
prophesied.
7 Now the men were about
twelve in all.
First, let me say that after reading this some years ago I became much more impressed with the ministry of John the Baptist. If we fail to read the whole New Testament and connect the dots, we might miss the real story and especially in this case the huge impact John the Baptist had on the people in the Middle East, Asia Minor, and Europe. His messages on preparing for the coming of the Lord drew and inspired so many people to go into all the world and tell people about the Messiah.
Just in these few verses we meet Apollos who was an eloquent man and mighty in scriptures who had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and taught accurately the things of the Lord, but he only knew the baptism of John the Baptist. In other words, Apollos only had one message … it was the same message Noah was given … Repent! However, instead of being commissioned to build an ark, Apollos was commissioned to go into all the world, from Egypt to Israel and from Asia Minor to Europe, and tell people to prepare for the coming of the Lord!
Then a few months later we see the influence John the Baptist’s again in the lives of another dozen men who were committed disciples of the same teachings. These men remind me of the disciples of Christ. We aren’t told if they had been converted to John’s message of repentance by someone like Apollos or if they had actually been baptized by John in the Jordan River during his ministry. But whichever, these men were committed to getting right and ready for the coming of the Lord.
I have often thought that the question Paul asked these men should also be asked of us today. It seems from the manner of life they portrayed, to their conversation, or perhaps their public teaching, that Paul expected they were already Born-Again Believers in the risen Savior Jesus. However, they weren’t. They were only living like it.
Even in Paul’s day people looked like Born-Again Believers and said the right things and lived the right way and were sorry for their sins and had been baptized in hopes it would change their lives, however … they had never actually accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior!
Expecting they were followers of Jesus, Paul said: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
They said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”
“Well,” Paul said … and I paraphrase … “How in the world did you get like this? … What in the heck made you decide to get right with God?”
They said, “It was John the Baptist. He said we better stop sinning, repent, and get right with God cause the Messiah is coming and we don’t want to be living in sin when the Lord shows up!”
Paul replied: “You’re right. John did preach a lot on repentance telling people to believe on the One coming after him, that is on Jesus Christ, and I’m telling you … He’s here! He came … it’s Jesus of Nazareth … He is the Messiah! Do you believe that?”
They said, “We do!”
When Paul heard they believed in Jesus as Lord and Savior he knew they were saved and so he baptized them in the name of Jesus and then after they were baptized he laid his hands on them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues and prophesied, just like had happened in the upper room in Jerusalem in Acts 2, and in Samaria in Acts 8, and in Caesarea in Acts 10, and in my house in Simms, Texas in 1980.
Something overwhelming and irrefutable happened to those 12 boys that day. They were doing their best, living right, saying the right things, doing the right things, encouraging people with the Word of God they knew, just like Apollos had been doing, and then they had a life changing experience with Jesus Himself.
Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
The miracle gift of God to be a witness for Jesus to the end of the earth.
Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?
It’s not enough just to change your ways, go to church, or just be good. Have you been Born-Again? Have you received the miracle working ability to be a witness for Jesus to end of the world?
John the Baptist’s message is still as powerful today as it was 2000 years ago. Get ready and get right and go tell everybody. Jesus is coming soon!
This is what I am asking you to do today:
·
Ask
yourself the question:
o
Why do I live like I do?
o
How in the world did I get like this?
·
Open
your heart to God and:
o
Ask God to fill you with the power of the Holy
Spirit.
o This miracle gift will
manifest in you as the power to be a witness and to explain truths you didn’t even
know.
·
If
you have not been baptized since you personally believed in Jesus:
o
Consider if you might need to be water baptized.
Let’s pray together right now.
