Paul and the Disciples at Ephesus

This is our final lesson about the best models for the salvation experience. We have not just studied random stories like the ones you might hear in a church “testimony time.” These were the examples of conversion God presents to us in his Word. If he has immortalized these in the Scriptures, it’s because he wants his Church to examine and emulate them. These are exemplary models.

Carefully consider the Bible's salvation stories. God established them as examples so that we, the Church, might sustain similar standards. The Scriptural focus is just as much on the method and standards as it is on the results.

For example, one means by which a person is saved is baptism in water. Does your congregation evangelize with baptism? Does your pastor speak of it Biblically and use it the Apostles did?

At this point, you should be very familiar with how evangelization works. You should understand the mechanics of evangelization: preach the Gospel, seek the fruit of repentance, establish Biblical faith in God, baptize in water, pray for the new birth in the Spirit, and commit people. You now know, as Timothy did, what it means to do the work of an evangelist.

The Wisdom to Work

That was then and this is now. Do you realize how sorely needed evangelists are in the Church today? Countless cheap imitations of evangelism exist, but the real work of evangelism is disregarded and despised in church circles.

For example, in what congregation do they give due regard to the wisdom required to evangelize? Where do they foster, teach, and train future evangelists? A person must study to do this well!

… he who wins souls is wise (Proverbs 11:30).

And what pastor today teaches on the categories of people we must evangelize? There are (a) doubters, (b) people engulfed in sin, and (c) others whose sin is so contagious that we should fear. In other words, an evangelist needs prudence. He needs to take great caution with certain people lest he be tempted himself.

The three categories of targets for evangelism are revealed to us by Jude:

… (a) have mercy on some who are doubting; (b) save others snatching them out of the fire; (c) and on some have mercy with fear hating even the garment polluted by the flesh (Jude 1:22-23; NASB).

So, according to Scripture, a wise evangelist even has a degree of hate in him. He hates those things which have been contaminated by the sinful nature. As the old adage goes, he “hates the sin, and loves the sinner.” There's some evangelistic wisdom for you!

Like an expert surgeon, an expert evangelist has some hate. The surgeon hates the cancerous tumor, although of course he loves the patient. He separates the two. The expert surgeon has the skills to remove a malignant tumor with minimal physical harm to the patient.

He is as non-invasive as possible; however, he is experienced enough to be extremely invasive when needed. The best surgeon can cut deep into a patient’s tissue and organs to assure complete freedom from cancer. He has the wisdom to work.

One Encounter, Three Baptisms

The Apostle Paul arrived at Ephesus and ran into some men the text calls “disciples." Those “disciples” wanted to hear about Jesus. They were hungry for the Truth and had some knowledge of the Bible from what they learned from John the Baptist. They didn’t know about Jesus and what he did at Calvary. They had never heard about the Holy Spirit either. So, Paul taught them about Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Paul contrasted the Lord Jesus’ message with the message of John the Baptist.

For example, he pointed out that John the Baptist only preached repentance. He did not preach Calvary. He did not preach that we die and are resurrected with Jesus in baptism. John did not proclaim the name of Jesus. He preached repentance from sins. And although that was a great message, it wasn’t enough to save.

Jesus, on the other hand, preached a plan for each person to enter the Kingdom and it included a new birth in the Spirit. That plan is called the "Gospel." That's the same message Paul preached. And often Paul preached to people who knew about John the Baptist, but not about Jesus or the Holy Spirit. So let's look at how he handled those cases.

Here's Acts 19:

Paul… found some disciples, and he said to them ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ And they said to him, ‘no, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.’ And He said, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ And they said, ‘Into John’s baptism.’

And Paul said, ‘John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.’ And 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 Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. And there were in all about twelve men (Acts 19:1-7; NASB).

A Seamless Transition

Do you notice how Paul seamlessly transitions from the message of faith in Jesus, to the act of baptism? He does. He moves directly from the proclamation of the Gospel to the sacrament of baptism.

That’s why when the text says ‘when they heard this’ (that Jesus was the Messiah of whom John the Baptist spoke), the twelve men ‘were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.’ So, the passage proves that baptism is simply what people who hear about Jesus should do when they first believe in him.

Baptism is the initial response of a repentant believer to the Gospel. In fact, the only valid response to the Gospel is baptism. Nothing else cuts it. Nothing else will serve as a substitute. A person who believes that Christ died for them must die with him for his death to count for them.

A person who recognizes that Jesus was buried and rose again must be buried themselves--not under the Earth, but in water. And when they rise to the surface, they experience an unbreakable identification with Christ—they obtain the promise of a resurrection! They have fully identified with Christ’s death and resurrection, and God has applied the blood of Jesus to their life!

A Higher Goal

But it’s clear that Paul’s goal for the twelve new believers in Ephesus was more than water baptism. Paul’s goal was for them to receive the Holy Spirit. We know that because Paul’s foundational question was not “Were you baptized?” Rather, his question was:

Into what then were you baptized (Acts 19:2; NASB)?

Observe how these two questions are different. The first question is not as directed or demanding as the first. If we asked the first question (“Were you baptized?”) we would get a lot of “yeses.” At least in the West you’re going to find many people who were baptized during infancy.

The problem with getting a “yes” answer from those people is that your question makes them feel justified. They feel like they’ve fulfilled their duty.

However, if we ask the latter question (“Into what then were you baptized?”), the people who were baptized as babies will think twice. They’ll reflect a little before they respond. And once they respond, if they are honest, they will say: “I was baptized into the Catholic Church.”

Bingo! That’s correct, but that response proves that they were never baptized into the Holy Spirit. They were baptized into a religion, but never into the Holy Spirit. They were committed to a church, but they never committed themselves to the Kingdom. With their own words they admit that they do not have the One Baptism.

Here's your next step with them if you are evangelizing them: Help them to recognize that they haven’t yet been born again. Show them that they have a serious problem because no one will enter into the Kingdom unless they have been born again. No one will see the Kingdom who has not been baptized in water and the Holy Spirit. You'll recall that that's what Jesus told Nicodemus one night.

Meaning

Now, it’s patently obvious that most people who hear the Biblical question ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ will not understand the question. You can expect them to respond to you with a confused “What do you mean?” if you ask the question. That’s because ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ requires context.

So then, let’s give people the needed context.

If you’re evangelizing Catholics and Evangelicals, you may prefer to start instead with the question “Were you ever baptized?” Again, you are almost guaranteed to get a “yes” as an answer to this question.

But, that's good. Once you get a “yes” then it shouldn't be a great leap to enter into a discussion whether the person knew what they were doing. And, if they were baptized as a baby, they certainly didn’t! Babies have not idea what's happening when they are baptized.

Then you can ask the ones who were baptized as adults: “What did you expect to get out of your baptism?” If they respond, “The baptism of the Holy Spirit,” then they have the right focus. They’re enlightened. They must have read the Scriptures. Ask them if they got what they wanted.

Ask them if they have received a gift from the Holy Spirit and what specific gift it is. Anyone born of the Holy Spirit has a spiritual gift.

Again, if you find that they were baptized as a baby, to get them to think about what may or may not have happened, you can ask them if they would do it again for their own children. That will demonstrate whether they believe in baptizing children or not. If they do, then tell them about repentance from sin and the washing away of sin. Babies don't need either of those.

Paul’s Question is Wise

Paul’s evangelism is wise, and we do well to adopt it and to adapt it to our cultural setting, as the Holy Spirit leads. Although for two millennia the doctrine of baptisms has been twisted, misconstrued, and maligned, it is still the Church’s primary means of evangelism. Today, in many cultures and churches, baptism means something different from its original meaning—but baptism is still with us, and it can still be used properly.

And if Paul asked the question ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ two thousand years ago, and the question worked to bring people to adult Christian baptism, and to the new birth, then we should be willing to ask the same question. We just need the boldness to do it.

Explaining baptism, it might help for us to provide a synonym for the term baptized. Try these: immersed or submerged. Or, you could use the word committed, because that’s what baptism is, a commitment. “Into what were your committed?” is the real question we should ask. Or, another way of putting it would be: “Into what did you immerse your body, soul, and spirit?” When you’re baptized, you are immersing yourself in Christ. You are devoting yourself to him.

As long as you eventually prove that the baptism that matters is the one the Holy Spirit provides, then you’re on the right track in your evangelism. Don’t settle for water baptism. It’s not the goal. It’s an indispensable means to a goal. It’s a vital means, but it’s still not the goal! So ask people if they have been baptized in the Spirit.

That’s what Paul did. This image of him is found in a grotto on a hill overlooking the ruins of Ephesus:

Different Baptisms

The twelve men Paul encountered had not been baptized in the Spirit. They had only been baptized into repentance. They were followers of John the Baptist. John’s baptism provided a washing of sins and they told Paul this, which led Paul to declare to the men how much they were missing.

Baptism in Jesus’ name is not merely a baptism of repentance. It’s much more. Baptism in Jesus’ name is entry into the New Covenant, a covenant with the Father through Jesus. But here’s the best part of baptism in Jesus’ name: It is the prerequisite for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Once this prerequisite is satisfied, it clears the way for the Spirit to a person's heart.

After baptism in water, baptism in the Holy Spirit then empowers. He quickens the human spirit, bringing it to life. So, the baptism of the Holy Spirit enlivens a person. The Puritans used to say that it "quickens" a person. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the goal of an evangelist.

One Aim

Do you aim at the baptism of the Holy Spirit for the people you evangelize? Do you inform them that they must receive the Promise of God, the Gift of the Spirit? Well, we hope you do because they need him in their hearts.

We hope you are not shy about telling people about their need for the power of the Holy Spirit. Without him, they will forever be weak against temptation. If they receive his empowering presence, they will experience salvation. So tell them about the Spirit.

Paul describes the baptism of John as being solely for repentance—something inferior to baptism in Jesus’ name. John’s baptism was a washing of sins, but Christ’s baptism gives us complete forgiveness of all previous sins. In other words, John’s baptism washed away a limited number of sins, while baptism in Christ’s name washes away all sins.

More importantly, our old self is nailed to the Cross and buried with Christ and when we’re baptized in his name. That never happened with the baptism of John. There was no burial with Christ because Jesus’ hadn’t been buried yet. John’s baptism was a wonderful washing of sins, but it was not a dying to our old self.

Baptism in Jesus’ Name

In baptism in Jesus’ name, we are also raised with him as we come up from the water. Our identification with Jesus is complete because we rise from the water just as he rose from the Dead. Our new identify is Christ. We join ourselves to him in his death and resurrection when we are baptized in water in his name.

And full identification with Jesus is what opens the door for God to give us the Holy Spirit. Just as God gave Jesus the Holy Spirit at his baptism, he grants us the same Spirit. To obtain Holy Spirit baptism, what we need is an anointed believer to lay their hands on us so that the Spirit might be transmitted to us like a person who lights a friend’s candle with theirs.

John the Baptist did not transmit the Holy Spirit. Indeed, he could not baptize people into the New Covenant because it hadn’t even been established in his day. Jesus established the New Covenant with the words ‘This cup is the New Covenant in my blood’ (Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25) a year or two after John died.

Soon after the Last Supper, Jesus put the New Covenant into practice. After he ascended to Heaven, he began his ministry as our High Priest. Even today he stands in the presence of God Almighty in the Heavenly Temple.

Three Baptisms

In remarkable fashion, this passage distinguishes very clearly for us the three baptisms of John, of Jesus, and of the Holy Spirit. Like Paul, if you are a true evangelist, you will query people about what kind of baptisms they have accomplished, and you will encourage them to strive for the one that seals their salvation, the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Baptism in Jesus’ name will establish a person in the New Covenant and will give them full identification with Christ--nothing to snuff at. But they will still need to receive the Holy Spirit. Receiving the Holy Spirit is something for which Jesus prepared us.

Do you remember how he prepared us for it? The Scriptures remind us of what he did:

… he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ (John 20:22).

Ten days later, that's exactly what the Apostles did. They received the Holy Spirit. Now, two thousand years later, anyone who wants eternal life must do the same.

Have you told people that they need to receive him? They must receive the Holy Spirit, or they won't enter the Kingdom. Tell them. Let them know, and help them!