Transcript

One day, a father and son went fishing. After a couple of hours out on the lake in a boat, the son suddenly became curious about the world around him.

He asked his father, “Dad, how does this boat float?” The father thought for a moment, then replied, “I really don’t know, son.”

The son returned to his contemplation, then turned back to his father, “Dad, How do fish breathe underwater?” Once again the father replied, “You know, I’m not sure, son.”

A little later the son asked his father, “Do fish have ears?” Again, the father responded, “I have no idea, son.”

Concerned that he was annoying his father, he said, “Dad, do you mind me asking you all of these questions?” The father replied, “Of course not son. If you don’t ask questions, you’ll never learn anything!”

In this passage, we find 12 men who had something to learn. Will Rogers is purported to have said, “Everyone is ignorant, just on different subjects.” And Paul found twelve disciples in Ephesus who were ignorant about the subject of the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 19:1-7: “And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,

“He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.

“Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should 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 his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve.”

In Acts 18:23, we read how Paul set out on his third apostolic journey. He departed from Antioch in Syria, and “went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.” From the area of Phrygia, in verse 1 of chapter 19, we learn how Paul then traveled across Asia Minor to the coastal city of Ephesus.

Now Paul had stopped by Ephesus on his return from his second apostolic journey. And those at Ephesus wanted Paul to stay longer with them, but Paul did not agree to do so at that time. However, Paul promised them that he would return.

Acts 18:21 tells how Paul “bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I WILL RETURN again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.”

Sounding much like Douglas MacArthur, Paul said, “I will return.” And in verse 1 here we see Paul keeping his word to the Ephesians as he returned to them.

Paul’s example in keeping his promise teaches us to do the same in life, and it is truly a characteristic of godliness. Because God is faithful to His Word, and He always keeps His promises.

It’s important to note the reference to Apollos in verse 1. In the previous chapter, in Acts 18:24-28, we learn about Apollos being in Ephesus before Paul.

Much like the 12 men in the first seven verses of Acts 19, Acts 18:25 tells us that Apollos knew “only the baptism of John.” But then Aquila and Priscilla, “took him [Apollos] unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.”

And that’s what you find Paul doing with the 12 men in Ephesus: expounding unto them the way of God more perfectly.

In our lives and ministries, many today, like Apollos and these 12 men, only know John the Baptist’s baptism and the Gospel records, and have come no further in their understanding of God’s Word and God’s progressive revelation and His further revelation given to Paul. They have advanced no farther dispensationally.

We are tasked, like Aquila and Priscilla and the Apostle Paul, to bring people along, to expound unto them the way of God more perfectly, to teach and help people to grow in their understanding of what God is doing now under grace among the Gentiles.

Coming to Ephesus, Paul found “certain disciples,” or learners, pupils. According to verse 2, they had “believed” and been saved under John the Baptist’s ministry.

Paul asked these believing disciples a question, “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?” The word “since” is better understood by “when,” “when ye believed.” Or “Have ye received the Holy Ghost upon believing?”

Because the receiving of the Holy Spirit for the believers at Pentecost, as well as believers under grace, does not take place subsequent to salvation. It takes place AT salvation.

Paul asked them about RECEIVING the Holy Spirit, and at Pentecost, when Israel repented of crucifying their Messiah and were water baptized, Acts 2:38 says they immediately RECEIVED the gift of the Holy Ghost.

And Galatians 3:2 tells us that we, the Body of Christ, RECEIVE the Spirit by the hearing of faith, the moment we trust Christ alone, that He died for our sins and rose again.

The response of these 12 disciples to Paul’s question about receiving the Spirit when they believed was, “We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.”

Now, this does not mean that they were unaware of the existence of the Holy Spirit. Rather, what this means is that they had not heard the Holy Spirit had come or was being given to believers.

John the Baptist had taught his followers that “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire” (Matt. 3:11).

These 12 were aware of the existence of the Holy Spirit from John’s preaching as well as from the teaching of the Old Testament Scriptures.

Their response to Paul is that they were not aware of the Spirit’s coming at Pentecost. They had not heard that the promise from John had been fulfilled.

And that means that these 12 men, though the feast of Pentecost required all Jewish men to be in Jerusalem, they were not there when the Spirit did come.

According to Acts 2:9, there were Jewish men at Pentecost from Asia Minor, but for reasons not stated, these men were not present.

Hearing that they did not know about the Spirit being given and had not received the Spirit, Paul’s follow-up question was, “Unto what then were ye baptized?” And to this, they replied, “unto John’s baptism.”

This explains why they had not received the Spirit, because had they been baptized with Peter’s baptism at Pentecost or after it, they would have received the gift of the Spirit.

These men had been to Judea in the time of John and had been water baptized. Paul was here in Ephesus around AD 53 or 54. John the Baptist’s ministry was around AD 27 or 28. So it had been at least 25 years since John’s ministry and their baptism.

Our Lord told His apostles, shortly before Pentecost, “For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence” (Acts 1:5).

Being baptized “unto John’s baptism” means these men had been baptized only with water, but had not been baptized with the Spirit.

Being baptized by John the Baptist, meant that they were baptized BEFORE and years prior to the Spirit’s coming at Pentecost.

Then Paul, in verse 4, reminded these disciples what they knew that “John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”

John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. If a Jew wanted to get saved at the time of John he had to repent or have a change of heart and mind. But further, in order to be saved at that time, they had to prove they had repented by submitting to being water baptized.

Those who submitted to John’s baptism were demonstrating a change of heart and mind in not trusting in themselves or that being a child of Abraham would save them, but in turning unto God to save them, and trusting John’s message “that they should believe on Him which should come after Him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”

They heard about the coming Messiah and King through John and they heard of their need to be ready through repentance to receive their Messiah, and they believed it.

And by submitting to John’s baptism of repentance, Mark 1:4 says very clearly that it was for the remission of sins: “John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.”

Repentance, water baptism, and faith in the identity of the Messiah are what were required of them to be saved from their sins at that time.

Then verse 5 is the response of the people, in the past, at the time of John the Baptist’s ministry to his ministry and preaching.

Verse 5 means this: “When [or at the time of John the Baptist] they [“the people” from verse 4, including these 12 disciples] heard this [John’s message about repentance, baptism and belief in the Messiah], they were baptized [with water] in the name of the Lord Jesus [in His name because salvation was tied to their faith in the identity of Israel’s Messiah].”

Though it is often taught that he did, Paul did not baptize these men. They were not re-baptized. Paul’s action is in verse 6.

Verse 5 is referring to what these men and others did at the time of John the Baptist. Paul quotes John in verse 4 and gives the reaction of John’s hearers to John in verse 5.
Put the quotation marks before “John” in verse 4 and after “the Lord Jesus” in verse 5, and when you join these 2 verses together, you will see there was no rebaptism here.

The baptism they submitted to by John had been for the remission of their sins. And they were already “disciples” who had “believed” and had an earthly kingdom hope. And thus, there was no need or purpose for them to be re-baptized.

There was no basic difference between John’s baptism and that of Peter at Pentecost. Both were baptisms of repentance. Both were for the remission of sins. But there was a difference in the result because, at Pentecost, those water baptized received the “gift of the Holy Ghost” in addition to the remission of their sins.

Being baptized by John, what these 12 men lacked was the presence of the Holy Spirit to empower and enable them to live for the Messiah in light of their earthly hope.

Earlier in Acts 8, Peter and John laid their hands on those believed in Samaria to impart the Holy Spirit. And during this transition time, it is shown by these 2 accounts that, for different reasons, some kingdom believers needed the instrumentality of God’s apostles to lay hands on them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit.

In this case in Acts 19, believers who had been baptized prior to Pentecost, who were not present at Pentecost, needed an apostle to lay hands on them to receive the Spirit.

And when Paul laid his hands on these 12, demonstrating HIS apostolic authority, showing he was in no way inferior to Peter, John, or the other ten apostles, “the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.”

As an apostle, the Apostle of the Gentiles, Paul had the ability to help them receive the Spirit that they missed out on at Pentecost.

And what you find here during the transition period, is a believer in one dispensation helping believers of another dispensation. Like Aquila and Priscilla, members of the Body of Christ, helped Apollos, a prophetic, kingdom saint, so Paul a member of the Body of Christ helped these 12 prophetic, kingdom saints.

And this is natural because whether one had an earthly hope or a heavenly hope, we are all part of the overall family of God.

Their receiving of the Holy Spirit was clearly demonstrated in the fact that when Paul laid hands on them, “they spake with tongues, and prophesied.”

Consistent with the Spirit’s working during the Acts period, and before the completion of God’s Word and the revelation given to Paul, these Jewish disciples were enabled by the Spirit to speak with tongues, or supernaturally speak in known languages of the world that they did not previously know, and to prophesy, or to speak the very Word of God.

This is the last time the gift of tongues is mentioned in the Book of Acts. Paul wrote the letter of 1 Corinthians during this time period, during this 2-3 year stay at Ephesus.

And a time was coming soon back at that time, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “that whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease” (1 Cor. 13:8).

Acts 19:8-10: “And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.

“But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.

“And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.”

As his custom was, that we often see in Acts, Paul went into the Jewish synagogue in Ephesus. This is consistent with Paul going to the Jew first during the time of Israel’s diminishing and casting away, in order to share Christ and reach unbelieving Jews with the gospel of grace.

When Paul had previously stopped by Ephesus at the end of his second apostolic journey, Paul reasoned with the Jews of this synagogue, and Acts 18:20 tells us that “they desired him to tarry longer time with them.”

Returning to Ephesus, he spake boldly in this synagogue for 3 months. Speaking boldly meant that he held nothing back. He gave them the truth without fear of rejection.

He cared about what they believed and sought to reach them with the truth. Like Paul, we show the love of Christ by caring about what others believe and telling them the truth.

And verse 8 shows that as Paul spoke boldly, he disputed and persuaded his hearers. We get our English word dialogue from the word translated as “disputing.”

Paul had much discourse and discussion, as he lectured and also responded to their questions and challenges and they discussed and talked back and forth. He also persuaded them and convinced some by argument.

As Paul disputed and gave persuasive arguments, he did so concerning the things of the kingdom of God.

The phrase “kingdom of God” is found 55 times in the Gospels, 7 times in Acts, and 8 times in Paul’s letters. It must be defined by the context in which it is found. Found in the Gospels, it’s referring to the earthly kingdom and Christ’s millennial reign.

In Acts 1:3, we read about our Lord with His apostles after His resurrection, “To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”

As our Lord taught His apostles about the kingdom of God, it was in relation to His reign on the earth, and of the apostles’ and Israel’s place of prominence in it.

Since that point in Acts, however, after the coming of the Holy Spirit, Israel continued in her rejection of Jesus as their Messiah, culminating in their stoning of Stephen.

This resulted in Israel’s fall and temporary setting aside and the suspension of the earthly establishment of the kingdom of God. Then Christ raised up Paul, because God was turning to the nations in His plans and purposes and Christ sent him to the Gentiles with a message of grace for the world offering reconciliation to all thru Christ’s finished work.

And to Paul, Christ revealed the heavenly inheritance of the Body of Christ in the kingdom of God, which had been kept secret until it was made known to Paul.

This is what Paul refers to as he later wrote these Ephesians in Ephesians 1:10-11: “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

“In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.”

We, the Body of Christ, have been predestinated according to the purpose of God to reign in Christ in His heavenly kingdom. We have an eternal inheritance in heaven.

While believing Israel and the prophetic saints have been called to reign in Christ in His earthly kingdom. They have an eternal inheritance on earth.

Thus, the kingdom of God as used by Paul and in reference to His ministry refers to God’s overall kingdom, which includes His plan and purposes for Christ to reign over BOTH heaven and earth, and this includes the saints of all ages.

And as Paul spoke boldly about the kingdom of God, he was likely explaining why Israel’s earthly kingdom had been postponed due to her temporary setting aside, and of our place in the heavenly kingdom.

And like Paul, we still dispute and persuade others concerning the kingdom of God.

Here in the Ephesian synagogue, the Jews were more tolerant than they had been in some other towns that Paul had evangelized, and he was able to continue speaking there for three months. Three months in a synagogue without a riot was somewhat of a record for Paul! It usually didn’t take that long.

But after 3 months, it separated those who believed from those who “believed not.” Those who did not believe gradually hardened their hearts to Paul’s message, and out of their unbelief and hardened hearts against God, they spoke “evil of that way.”

They spoke against those who were believers, who followed “that Way” or the Way of salvation, who is the Lord Jesus Christ. And when this began to happen, separation became necessary.

Paul, therefore, separated the disciples who embraced his teaching, and withdrew from the synagogue to a neutral site: “the school [or lecture hall] of one Tyrannus.”

Tyrannus means “our tyrant.” And this may have been a nickname given to him by his students in this school. There’s been many a teacher who were strict tyrants!

In this school of a Gentile called Tyrannus, Paul had the freedom to teach these separated-out disciples, and out of his tireless zeal, he did so daily.

Speaking and teaching daily in this school over a space of two years meant many hundreds of hours of instruction.

During this time, Paul did what he later taught Timothy to do “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2).

This ministry in the school of Tyrannus had such an impact that “all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks” (Acts 19:10).

Paul’s students took the gospel of grace and spread the word of the Lord throughout the province of Asia Minor and reached people for Christ and established local churches.

Asia Minor was evangelized even without the use of internet, radio, or television! It was the result of the zeal of those who had been trained in the Word, who were motivated by the love of Christ, and equipped for service by Paul going out and traveling all over this large province sharing Christ and the good news of God’s grace.

By this effective and powerful ministry, this is how churches were established in Colosse and Laodicea, cities of Asia Minor, though Paul had never been there.

We see this in Colossians 2:1: “For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”

Interestingly, during Paul’s second apostolic journey, Acts 16:6 teaches how he had been “forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the Word in Asia.” This seems puzzling as you read that because Asia Minor needed Christ and the gospel of grace.

But now later, during Paul’s third apostolic journey, Paul was used of God to evangelize the whole province through his two years of ministry and teaching in this school.

This reminds and teaches us that sometimes we have to wait on God’s timing and His will for things in life and ministry. And God blesses that when we wait on Him.

Again, Paul wrote 1 Corinthians during this time in Ephesus, and his testimony of the ministry in the school of Tyrannus was “For a GREAT door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries” (16:9).

There are always adversaries when something great is being done for the Lord. Satan will always see to that. And something great was done for the Lord in the school of Tyrannus.

By Paul’s ministry in the synagogue of the Jews, we see hardened hearts, unbelief and rejection of Christ by Israel, but by Paul’s ministry in the school of the Gentile, Tyrannus, we find that God opened up a great and effectual door.

These two locations, the synagogue and the school, give us a snapshot of what is taking place in the Book of Acts: (1) from Israel in her unbelief, to (2) Paul separating and turning to the Gentiles, and God blessing and powerfully using his ministry to reach both individual Jews and Greeks throughout the entire province of Asia Minor.