Acts 19:1-12

Chapter 70

Prayer

Almighty God, thou art near unto us in Christ Jesus thy Son. We come to thee by him, and, therefore, by the only way. We would come boldly in his name, speaking to thee what is in our hearts, telling thee of our sin, singing to thee of our thankfulness, and asking from thee daily direction and continual sustenance. This is our delight; it is no longer a burden to us, because of the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts. He takes of the things of Christ and shows them unto us. Jesus Christ himself thus enlarges upon our wondering vision until he fills all things with his radiant presence. Under the ministry of the Holy Spirit we would live, and would prove that we are under him by our joyfulness, peace, hopefulness, triumph over the world and time, and by all the fruits which they bear who are warmed by the presence of the spirit of fire. We bless thee that we have passed from the baptism of John to the baptism of the Cross. We are no longer in the state of mere repentance which daily begs forgiveness; we enjoy communion with God, fellowship with the Father yea, we have access into inner sanctuaries, into the Holy of holies, which we have obtained through the Cross of Christ; so that we are no longer children of grief and of fear, carrying burdens many and heavy; but are children of the day and of the light, filled with sacred hope, animated with unutterable joy yea, glorying in tribulations, also. This is thy miracle wrought in our hearts; we know it to be thine; this is no workmanship of ours; this is the gift of God, having in it the quality of eternal life and the joy of heaven partially begun. We bless thee for all the gifts of the week; for the balmy winds of summer; for the bread of the table; for the sleep which has refreshed us; for the thoughts which have made us men; for the hopes which have proved us to be in Christ Jesus; for all the favours thou hast shown throughout the rising and falling of the days. We stand here today to praise God with a full heart and an open mouth. Verily we are not afraid of our own voices. We would make a joyful noise unto the rock of our salvation. We would speak with holy confidence and emphasis of the preserving, sanctifying, tender care of which we have been the continual subjects. Hear thy people when they sing their psalm. Listen to them when they would whisper in the heart of thy love some tale of pain, of sin, of shame, and answer them with great answers, when, at the Cross of Christ and in the presence of its atoning blood, they ask thee for a double portion of thy Holy Spirit. We remember the sick those who are at home and those who are in public institutions. We pray that they may be healed and comforted, and that the thought of their weakness may become a new strength. We desire that having seen the side of life which is humiliating, they may now see the side of life which presents itself towards heaven's light and rises towards heaven's rest. Sanctify affliction and pain, sleepless nights, and weary days. Speak comfortably to those who can hear no voice but thine own, and where eyes are closing on earth's dim light may the eyes of the soul be opened on heaven's cloudless morning. Give wisdom to all physicians; give patience and tenderness to all nurses; make thou the bed of the afflicted, and keep thou watch by the side of the helpless. We pray for all mankind; and if specially for the land we love the most, thou thyself hast set that partiality in our hearts. We bless thee for love of home and native land; and we pray that every one now before thee, praying for special places and countries, may be heard and graciously answered. Read thy word to us thyself. May we know that we are only listeners, and may the expression of every life be, "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth." Let this be a wonderful day in the history of the Church. May thy servants speak with new boldness, and by their ministry may special miracles be done. Amen.

Act 19:1-12

1. And it came to pass that, while Apollos was at Corinth [ Act 18:27 ], Paul having passed through the upper [G. "more inland"; i.e., Lycaonia, the Phrygian district of Galatia, Act 18:23 ] country came to Ephesus, and found certain disciples [older term still used for Christians, Act 11:26 ].

2. And he said unto them, Did ye receive the Holy Ghost when ye believed? [G. "Holy Ghost" without the article, as in John 7:39 ; signifying, the gift of the spirit. " Given" is therefore correctly supplied below, as in John 7:39 : "Did ye receive the gift of the Holy Spirit as the consequence of your believing?"] And they said unto him, Nay, we did not so much as hear whether the Holy Ghost was given [1 Corinthians 12:13 ; for a strikingly illustrative modern instance see John Wesley's Alders-gate Street "experience," as narrated by Tyerman ].

3. And he said, Into what then were ye baptized? And they said, Into John's baptism.

4. And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Jesus.

5. And when they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord [the Ascended] Jesus.

6. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues [Acts 10:46 , Acts 10:1 Corinthians 12-14], and prophesied [Acts 11:27 . Signs and wonders were still necessary to enable their minds to grasp the new conscious fellowship of the Spirit].

7. And they were in all about twelve men [the Spirit saith "about"].

8. And he entered into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, reasoning and persuading as to the things concerning the kingdom of God.

9. But when some were hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way [compare with Act 9:2 ] before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, reasoning daily in the [? rabbinical] school of Tyrannus [as Jews came freely to hear Paul this was probably a "private synagogue," Tyrannus being the Greek name of a Jewish teacher].

10. And this continued for the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the Word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

11. And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:

12. Insomuch that unto the sick were carried away from his body [G. "skin": after use by the Apostle] handkerchiefs or aprons [used by tent-stitchers], and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out.

Apollos Completed By Paul

PAUL said he would return to Ephesus. In this chapter we find Paul again in that famous city. Something has occurred since he was last there that event occupied our attention in our last study. An "eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures," named Apollos, had been exercising his ministry in Ephesus, and some twelve men had answered the persuasion of his matchless eloquence. Paul found them out, and as he looked upon them he was surprised. They did not look happy. There was a severity in the face which excited Paul's anxiety; there was nothing radiant in that little Church. The twelve heads were bowed; the twelve faces were written all over with lines of discipline, subservience, fear, penitence. Paul was a direct speaker. Looking at them, and observing their mode and appearance, he said, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost?" He noticed that something was absent. He said, "This is not a Christian assembly; these twelve men are unhappy; they are not singing men; the spirit of triumph is not in their hearts what is it that is lacking here?" "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" If you had, your heads would have been erect; your eyes would have been flames of light; a new life would have lifted you up to higher levels of thought and feeling and utterance; what is wanting here is the Holy Ghost. Paul was a penetrative observ. He looked for causes, traced their operation, and judged of them by their effects.

Is there no lesson here for us? Looking upon us today, what would Paul inquire? He would read our faces; he would listen to our voices; he would pay attention to our mode of singing the sacred psalm and of reading the Holy Book, and if he saw happiness in our faces and heard music in our voices, and saw that we were not men who were time-bound and fettered by sense, he would say, "This is none other than the house of God and the gate of heaven, and these are the living miracles of the living Spirit of God." But if he saw us world-bound, if he saw our truant minds running out of the church for the purpose of collecting accounts and alleviating temporal anxieties, and making arrangements for the lower life if he saw our prayers like birds with bruised wings that could not fly; and if he heard us talking the common speech of time in the common tone of earth, he would say, "What is wanting here is the Holy Ghost Spirit of fire, Spirit of light, Spirit of love!" There is no mistaking his presence, for there is none like it. "The fruit of the Spirit is... joy."

The twelve men who followed Apollos were like their eloquent leader. We have seen, in the 25th verse of the preceding chapter, that Apollos knew only the baptism of John. What he knew he preached. Paul recognized the work that had been done, and did not attempt to undo it, but rather to complete it; and that is what we must study to do in reference to the education of the world. If you come to me knowing only the first four rules of arithmetic I must begin with you where you end; and recognizing the validity of these four rules of arithmetic, I must lead you up into heights on which no tape line can be laid, and gradually so enlarge your vision and increase the inheritance of your soul until you despise with ineffable contempt everything that can be measured by arithmetical figures and standards. I must not begin your education by throwing into contempt the only four rules you do know; my object as a wise prophet must be to lead you on until you yourselves feel that the first four rules of arithmetic are only for infants, and not for princes and kings of heaven. Paul did not attempt to undervalue the work of Apollos he carried it on to holy consummation. One minister must complete the work which another minister began. The students of Apollos must become the students of Paul. We began by loving eloquence; we end by loving instruction. But do not let the instructive teacher undervalue the eloquent evangelist. They belong to one another. Apollos has the silver trumpet; Chrysostom has the golden mouth. Let such men make their parables, create their metaphors and figures, thunder with strenuous energy of rhetoric, and they will do a good work in the world. By-and-by their students will look out for other teachers, and will pass on from the lower school of eloquence to the higher school of instruction, doctrine, even the theology which is truly theological. So must we have large appreciation of men: so must we put out no little light, but be thankful for its flicker and spark. The young man likes to hear a fluent speaker, one who rushes with unbroken force at a speed incalculable over an area immeasurable. The young man calls it "eloquence." He goes to the church where the Apollos preaches long before the doors are opened, and willingly stands there that he may see this rushing torrent of eloquence, and hear this mighty wind of sacred appeal. I will not condemn him; many of us once belonged exactly to that class. But Time teaching, drilling, chastening Time works its wondrous wizardry upon the mind, and without violence, or consciousness of transition, we come to a mental condition which says, "There was more in that one sentence than in the infinite Niagara whose bewildering forces once stupefied our youthful minds." But do not condemn any man. Let him teach what he can. If he is still calling for water to throw upon the faces of the people, or calling for people to plunge into the water, he knows no better let him do it. Have faith in the revelations which accompany a wise use of time.

If Paul did not discredit the work of Apollos, the disciples of Apollos did not discredit the larger revelation of Paul. The inference is, that the disciples of Apollos were well-taught. They were not finalists; they felt that something more might be possible. That is the highest result of education. The heart in a state of continual expectancy and preparedness in reference to spiritual possibilities that is the image of the true scholar, and that is the condition of true progress. Christians are always "looking forward and hastening unto." Marvellous attitude! A posture created by inspiration! The look, the hastening these are the proofs of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. Jesus Christ availed himself of this wonderful provision in human nature which creates continual expectation of still larger and brighter things. When did Jesus Christ say, "This is the end"? We know what he did say. For example: "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." Or again, "Thou shalt see greater things than these." The future will throw the past into relative insignificance. And again: "When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth." "Henceforth, know we no man after the flesh; yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now, henceforth, know we him no more." Is there then a new Christ? Certainly not. What is there? This: An enlarging appreciation of the true Christ, Christ is always giving to us his larger SELF. These are the "unsearchable riches." We have not changed our Christ, but our view of him has become larger, purer, clearer; so that he is to our best conception as is the cloudless noontide to the gray dawn. Look for no new birth in Bethlehem, for no new historical, visible Christ; but see if, in the growing time, the expanding and developing ages, there is not everywhere the print of the nails and the scar made by the sharp spear, and lay your finger-tip upon one proved and established benefit of civilization which cannot be traced back step by step to the cradle in Bethlehem. Perhaps preachers may have themselves to blame for not having given a true revelation of the magnitude and glory of the name of Christ. For myself, I find Christ everywhere; I cannot get away from him. If you have been thinking of some merely ecclesiastical Christ, I can, to a large extent, agree with you that such a Christ can never spread himself over all the ages and take into himself all the experiences of mankind. But the Christ we preach is not a creation of the Church, is not under the patronage of the Church, is not secured in his place by the lock and key of the Church. He is Alpha and Omega First, Last; who was, and is, and is to come; filling all things. This view of Christ enables me to look hopefully upon some persons who do not know the full extent of his name even upon Apolloses who have only got so far as the baptism of John. Such men are not to be won by denunciation, but by recognition, and recognition of the frankest, manliest, and most independent quality. The Church is larger than any four walls built for its accommodation.

We learn from verse seven that "all the men were about twelve"; and yet there is no whining about a "poor" Church and a "weak" Church. We must burn such adjectives out of the speech of Christians. There is no "poor" Church; there can be no "weak" Church. If you think of the Church as a commercial institution with investments, endowments, revenues, and outgoings, then you may speak about the Church being both poor and weak, but the Church is a spiritual fellowship, a branch in the vine sucking the very life of the root. Have we now to re-define the term "Church"? I fear so. There is a great deal of inquiry as to whether the Church is "poor," or "rich," or "weak," or "strong." It is not heroic inquiry. Moreover, we may be totally wrong in our estimate as to which is the "poor" Church and which is the "rich" one. A Church is not necessarily strong because its pews are thronged and its collections are heavy. It may be that the handful of copper given by some village Church may be more than the two handsful of gold given by the metropolitan congregation. In the large sum there may not be one sign of sacrifice and giving only begins when sacrifice begins. The little sum may represent pinching and suffering and economy equal to sacrifice. Banish from your thought and speech the idea that any Church, redeemed, purified, inspired by the Holy Ghost, can be either poor or weak though the number of the men may be "about twelve." If you allow the other style of reasoning you will insult not only the ministry, but the very genius of the Christian Church. We shall then talk about our "weaker" brethren and our "poorer" brethren, and will apportion them places on the back seats when they come up to the feast of trumpets. Let us protest against this. On the floor of the Church and in the presence of the Cross all Christians are equal.

We find from the verses remaining that the Gospel produced its usual twofold effect. Some received the Holy Ghost and advanced in the doctrines of grace, being strengthened daily by the indwelling Spirit of God. "But when divers were hardened and believed not" is the other side of the case. It must always be so. The Gospel is a savour of life unto life, or of death unto death. Every sermon makes us worse or better. Here you have the same city, the same preacher, the same doctrine, but not the same result. The results were twofold. In the one instance the Gospel resulted in life unto life, and in the other in death unto death.

In the eleventh verse we have an expression which would indeed be out of place in the cold speech of today's Christianity. We are afraid of the word "miracles"; we have almost to apologize for its use. But the writer of the Acts of the Apostles not only speaks of miracles, but of "special miracles"; miraculous miracles; miracles with a difference. Truly such men were not afraid of the word "miracles." We whisper it, or slur it; even in our most energetic speech we have cunning enough to drop the word miracle into a kind of tertiary tone; it is not uttered with a boldness, roundness, emphasis. But in the eleventh verse we find "special miracles." Until the Church becomes bold enough to use its native tongue it will live by sufferance, and at last it will crawl into a dishonoured grave the only tomb which it has deserved.