Tag Archives: Acts 19-20

November 19, 2023 Bible Study — Paul and Apollos Independently Arrived at the Same Understanding of the Gospel

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Acts 19-20.

Off and on when I have read this passage, I wondered why Luke finds it necessary to point out that Apollos was in Corinth when Paul preached in Ephesus.  It struck me today that perhaps Luke was addressing the idea that Apollos and Paul had either learned from each other, or that there was animosity between them.  We learned in yesterday’s passage that Apollos was a scholar of Jewish Scripture, as was Paul.  Which suggests to me that perhaps Apollos preached a message more similar in style to that taught by Paul than the way in which Peter and the other original followers of Jesus preached.  Remember, the Sanhedrin considered Peter and John to be uneducated men.  So, it seems likely that Luke was making the point here that Apollos did not derive his teaching from Paul, but instead both arrived at similar positions from their study of Scripture.  Some see the difference in emphasis between Paul, and perhaps also Apollos, and the original followers of Jesus as evidence that Christianity, insomuch as it follows Pauline teachings, fails to follow Jesus’ teachings.  However, I believe the way in which the Jerusalem Council embraced Paul’s teaching indicates that the original followers of Christ found Paul’s understanding to be a correct interpretation of what Jesus taught.

There is another aspect of faith in Christ which this passage highlights.  Luke highlights that some people came to faith in Jesus without being baptized by the Holy Spirit.  It is not clear to me from the account here, and elsewhere in the Book of Acts, that those who had received only the “baptism of John” were not saved.  However, it IS clear that receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit should be desired and taught.  I think it is also clear that God will provide means for those who genuinely seek to follow Him to obtain teaching in the ways to do so.  God will pour out His Spirit on those who choose to follow Him.  However, it is also important that we as the Church teach about the Holy Spirit and lay on hands with the intention of the Spirit filling those who have come to faith in Jesus.

*I want to add a final note that I wish I could have found a way to include a reference to the Holy Spirit in my title, because I believe that Apollos’ understanding of the Gospel was deficient before the Holy Spirit was poured out on him.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

November 19, 2022 Bible Study — Even Those Who Distort The Truth Will Bring Glory To God

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Acts 19-20.

While Paul was in Ephesus there was a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit there resulting in many miracles.  This led to other occultists attempting to use Jesus’ name in their activities.  Before long this backfired on a team of exorcists.  This resulted in many Believers who had continued their occult practices after becoming Believers giving up those practices and destroying their “spellbooks” .  I use quotes because we do not really know what was on the scrolls which they burned, only that they were related to their practice of sorcery and had a large value.  Interestingly, only a short time later, Demetrius, a silver smith who made and sold shrines to the goddess Artemis, started a riot against Christians.  He appears to have done so by implying both that the spread of Christianity would hurt business and by threatening those craftsmen he employed with loss of employment with him.

When I started writing the previous paragraph I thought it was going somewhere different, but when I reached the end I cam back to a thought I had before I started writing.  At the end of today’s passage when Paul stopped and spoke with the elders from Ephesus he warned them against false prophets who would arise; men who would distort the truth in order to recruit followers.  The exorcists had attempted to hijack the name of Jesus to accomplish their own ends, rather than serving Him.  Demetrius tried to protect his own beliefs by using violence to silence Paul’s message, rather than making a counter argument for his own beliefs.  In the end, both served to bring glory to God, as will those who attempt to distort God’s Truth today.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

November 19, 2021 Bible Study — The Baptism Of The Holy Spirit

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Acts 19-20.

At the end of yesterday’s passage, Apollos met Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus, where he was preaching about Jesus even though he had never received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Luke writes that Priscilla and Aquila explained the way of Christ to Apollos more adequately.  Apollos then travelled to Corinth where he publicly debated those Jews who opposed following Christ.  Meanwhile, Paul returns to Ephesus and discovers some believers there who have not experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Reading between the lines suggests to me that these believers had obtained their faith by listening to Apollos before he met Priscilla and Aquila.  All told this passage indicates the importance of receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  This always troubles me because of those who insist that if you have not experienced a dramatic experience comparable to what the disciples experienced on Pentecost you are not truly saved.  I am also troubled by those who downplay the importance of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  I believe that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not always as dramatic as what the disciples experienced and I believe that some people are saved without experiencing the baptism of the Holy Spirit (I believe that Apollos, and the believers Paul found in Ephesus were saved before they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit).  However, the true power of our faith comes about when we are filled by the Holy Spirit in that baptism and we should seek that experience.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

November 19, 2020 Bible Study Harmless Superstition Or Unintentional Sorcery?

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Acts 19-20

As I read this passage, and what was in yesterday’s passage about Ephesus, when Paul first visited Ephesus on his way back to Antioch of Syria he only spoke to some Jews there, but not enough to convince them to become Believers.  He did leave behind Priscilla and Aquila, and a few other Believers from Corinth.  However, the first Believers in Corinth appear to have been converted by Apollos (or perhaps another follower of John the Baptist).  From there we have an interesting progression.  When Paul returned he discovered these Believers who had not yet received the Holy Spirit, he laid his hands on them and they spoke in tongues.  From there people began to experience miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit such that people saw Paul as a magic worker.  They began to view Paul as a powerful sorcerer who channeled the power of Jesus, which they could integrate into their systems of magic.  When it backfired on some well-known practitioners they realized how wrong they were and turned from the practice of magic.  This turning away from the practice of magic impacted the worship of Artemis, in particular the sale of items related to her worship which were used in magic rituals.  Many of those who had been practicing sorcery would have denied that they were doing so until they heard what happened to the sons of Sceva  and realized that their dabbling was dangerous.  What forms of idolatry do we practice bits and pieces of, thinking it is just an innocent diversion?

November 19, 2019 Bible Study — Riot In Ephesus

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.  

Today, I am reading and commenting on Acts 19-20

We do not know what led Demetrius the silversmith to set in motion the events which led to the riot in Ephesus.  The context suggests that he was alarmed by events which followed Believers realizing that sorcery and incantations were incompatible with following Jesus.  I see two scenarios.  In one of them, Demetrius witnessed large numbers of Believers burning their spell books and realized that as more and more people become Believers, fewer and fewer would be buying the shrines he sold.  In the other scenario, Demetrius observed that he was losing customers and realized this was because they were becoming believers.

In either case, he gathered together the craftsmen to whom he subcontracted work and told them that Paul was bad for business.  Realizing that that those not in his business were unlikely to be concerned with his loss of profits, he made this an insult to Artemis, and thus to the city.  As a result, he was able to stir people up against Christianity.  Or to be more precise, he stirred people up, but most of them had no idea what they were protesting about.  We learn a lot about mobs here.  First, often times those who get a mob started do so for reasons different than those which they talk about.  Second, once a mob gets started people join in without knowing what it is all about.

November 19, 2018 Bible Study — Paul Preached That Christianity Was the Natural Fulfillment of Judaism

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Acts 19-20.

    One of the more common ideas about Christianity is that it was Paul who created Christianity as a separate religion from Judaism. However, throughout the Book of Acts, whenever Paul went to a new town he preached in the local synagogue until those with the influence to do so made him unwelcome. Reading today’s passage made me realize that even those Jews who did not accept Christ viewed Christianity as merely a sect of Judaism. Luke describes a group of Jewish exorcists who attempted to use the name of Jesus to cast out demons. Clearly these Jewish men considered Jesus and Paul to be members of the Jewish faith. The results of their actions led many to recognize the dangers, and sinfulness, of occult and pagan worship practices. I suspect that the response to this incident was what created Demetrius’ concern about his business. As an aside, when the rioters gathered in the amphitheater, Paul wanted to go in and address them, but those who knew him begged him not to do so. Coming back to my main point, when Paul addressed the Ephesian elders on his trip to Jerusalem he told them that he had one message for both Jews and Gentiles. I believe that Paul preached throughout his ministry that Christianity was the natural progression of Judaism, that a full and genuine faith in Judaism would lead one to follow Jesus.

November 19. 2017 Bible Study — The Baptism Of the Holy Spirit

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I am on a business trip over the weekend and into next week, so my posts may be somewhat abbreviated.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Acts 19-20.

    In yesterday’s passage we learn that a Jew named Apollos preached the Gospel in Ephesus where he met Priscilla and Aquila. Luke told us further that at that point Apollos, while a powerful speaker on behalf of the Gospel, had a limited understanding of it. He was unaware of the Holy Spirit. Priscilla and Aquila gave him a more thorough understanding and together with the other believers in Ephesus sent him on to Corinth and vicinity. What is interesting is that we know that Priscilla and Aquila had spent some time with Paul before this, yet when Paul arrived in Ephesus a short time later, the believers there were still only aware of John’s baptism. So, despite Priscilla and Aquila spending some time among the believers in Ephesus and instructing Apollos on the Gospel the rest of the believers had a limited understanding.

    Paul preached successfully in Ephesus for two years without incident. Then, when he became convicted that it would soon be time to move on to Greece, he sent his closest companions on ahead of him. Shortly after this trouble erupted in Ephesus. The trouble here was similar to that earlier in Philippi. Demetrius felt economically threatened by the growing Christian community, which put no faith in personal shrines.

November 19, 2016 Bible Study — Christianity and Judaism

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on Acts 19-20.

    There are several places in the Acts of the Apostles where Luke makes a distinction between baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit, between the baptism of John and the baptism of Jesus, with the latter involving the Holy Spirit. I am not sure what this means, but I think we as a Church have lost something important in losing this distinction. I want to be clear that I understand intellectually the distinction they are making. As I write that I realize that perhaps to a degree I do understand that distinction. I believe that one of the reasons I have trouble seeing it is the modern Church’s separation of baptism from the confession of faith. The older I get the more convinced I am that baptism should, as a general rule, immediately follow confession of faith as we see in the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch.

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    Paul ministered in Ephesus for over two years. He rented a lecture hall to speak in after some of the Jews objected to him preaching Christianity in the synagogue. I never noticed this before, but throughout the Acts of the Apostles Luke emphasizes that the division between Christianity and Judaism was created by certain Jews rejecting Christianity and pushing it out of the synagogues. In other words, Luke wants his readers to see that Christianity is only a separate religion because some Jews were unwilling to accept it as being an interpretation of Judaism. I believe that modern Messianic Jews practice something close to what Paul originally tried to preach. I, also, believe that Paul saw the rejection by many Jews as God directing him to build what became today’s Church (this is in no way a criticism of Messianic Jews).