Missional Living – About The Spirit and The Kingdom (Acts 19:1-10)

Central passage: Acts 19:1-10; Related Passages: Luke 17:20-21; Acts 1:3; Acts 28:23, 30-31

      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.

     ⁸ And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. ⁹ But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

Introduction

Getting The People from John to Jesus (Acts 19:1-4)

While Luke does not identify the catalyst for Paul’s question, the question itself suggests that he was probing something he considered important: Had these disciples received the Holy Spirit when they believed? (And what was it that prompted him to ask this question. Did the apostle notice missing marks of the kingdom?) He is asking about the earnest of our inheritance—the down payment guaranteeing what is to come—and the power for witness (Ephesians 1:13–14; Acts 1:8). Through the Spirit, the kingdom proclaimed as “at hand” (Matthew 3:1-2; Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:14-15) becomes a reality personally experienced and in hand (Romans 14:17). Rebirth and renewal, God’s love poured into our hearts, and a life characterized by righteousness, peace, and joy are all features of the kingdom brought through the Spirit (Titus 3:5; Romans 5:5; 14:17).

The reply of the disciples exposes a shortcoming in their understanding and experience. (In his prior work for Theophilus Luke has used the disciples (GK, TL) for followers of John the Baptist. See Luke 5:33 and 7:18f.) Paul addresses this deficiency by directing them to the point of John’s preaching and the mission of John’s ministry (VR). In fact, John’s focus was in getting his hearers to believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus (). John himself had proclaimed that the Coming One would baptize with the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:7–8). At Pentecost, the risen and exalted Jesus (aka the one who would come after John the Baptist) poured out that promised Holy Spirit (Acts 2:32–33). The kingdom that had been at hand in the Spirit-filled life of Jesus was now among men filled with His same Holy Spirit.

But what happened with these disciples? These particular John-followers appear not to have heard that the promise had been fulfilled: We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit. In light of John’s ministry and message, they cannot be saying that they did not know about the baptism of the Holy Spirit by Messiah (Luke 3:16); they meant they had not heard about the fulfillment — the outpouring at Pentecost. They knew only of John’s preparation preaching through a baptism of repentance. Paul now points them to the One for whom John had prepared them:

Paul’s statement in v. 4 is the critical point. John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance, preparatory to the coming of the Messiah. John’s entire role as forerunner was to prepare the people for the Messiah’s coming. The Messiah had indeed come, and he is Jesus. Thus, to be a true disciple of John was to confess Jesus, for he is the one whom John had heralded. (Polhill, 1992, p. 399)

In this light, although this disciples have repented. The kingdom has not come for them; there remains a work to be done in their lives by Christ. And we do well to remember this when preaching.

A ministry that promotes repentance is good. But by itself misses the mark and is impoverished. The repentance required by God is not merely a turning from sin; there must be a turning to the Savior. In response to our decision to transfer the treasure of trust to Christ, God makes a deposit, a down payment – The Holy Spirit. The abundant life promoted by the Christian is not a human effort to abandon sin but the application of a new nature.

Peter and Paul — Parallels and Proof of Authority (Acts 19:5-7)

The disciples of John the Baptist, upon hearing this, are baptized in the name of Jesus. But why? We would say that they have already been baptized. That shows our tendency to conflate the preparatory baptism of the forerunner with the Christian rite of baptism. It uncovers our theology: we make repentance redemption. They are not the same. The difference is Christ. If they were the same Paul would have merely laid hands on them. But, because they have believed on Jesus and been baptized in Jesus’ name, he obeys the commandment of Christ and baptizes them again.

The disciples made a decision to follow Jesus and publicly declared that decision with a water baptism that was an outward confirmation of a inner decision to receive Christ (VR: Ethiopian eunique; Philippian Jailer and his household; Cornelius’ and his household). But they did not receive the Holy Spirit yet. Paul would have to intervene and thereby be validated for his role in their lives and ours:

⁶ And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.

The laying on of Paul’s hands in order to receive the Holy Spirit is not going to be the norm. But it parallels an event that was used to indicate Peter’s unique position among leaders in the church. The big fisherman was set apart among the apostles; he alone was given an authority to release and bind (VR). Luke shows Paul to be among the Gentiles what Peter has been among the Jews and among people in general (Acts 10).

This was done to ensure that the disciples would regard Paul as having authority and that the promise had been kept. If they had received the Spirit without any heavenly fanfare, they may have questioned what changed or why they should listen to Paul. By doing it this way Jesus directed the disciples to head the teachings of Paul going forward. Luke takes great pains to make the reader see the similarities between Peter and Paul with the goal of showing that their words are to be received and obeyed:

Table 1: Parallels between Peter and Paul (adapted from Bruce, 1988, pp. 367–368)

What is the rule, then, about the reception of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts? The truth is that apart from the reception of the Holy Spirit a person does not belong to Christ and is not saved. However, there is no one way that it takes place in Luke’s record:

It should also be noted that the reception of the Holy Spirit in Acts does not follow any set pattern. He came into believers before baptism (Acts 10:44), at the time of or after baptism (8:12–16; 19:6), and by the laying on of apostolic hands (8:17; 19:6). Yet Paul declared (Rom. 8:9) that anyone without the Holy Spirit is not a Christian. (Toussaint, 1985, p. 409)

Twice, though, the Holy Spirit is given by Christ only after there was a laying on of apostolic hands (Acts 8:17; 19:6). These cases were used to ensure that the recipients had a right regard for the authority of the apostles and their teaching. In other cases (a) the apostles are not present (VR: Ethiopian) or (b) an apostle is present but there is no laying on of hands (Acts 10:44). Let us get from this the message that Jesus surely meant to send to the disciples:

Paul, like the apostles before him, has been given special authority in the church (Galatians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 10:8). His writings are to be regarded as Scripture and as carrying the authority of the Lord’s commands (2 Peter 3:15–16; 1 Corinthians 14:37; 2 Thessalonians 2:15; 3:14). He received the gospel through the revelation of Jesus Christ and instruction concerning the Lord’s Supper from the Lord Himself (Galatians 1:11–12; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26). Jesus confirmed Paul’s authority when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples after Paul laid hands on them (Acts 19:6). Jesus says concerning His kingdom, “Listen to Paul!”. 

The Kingdom Explained and Seen (Acts 19:8-10)  

From the earliest times in Israel, God was acknowledged as king (cf. Ex. 15:18). His kingship is universal (Ps. 103:19), but is manifested most clearly where men and women recognize it in practice by doing his will. (Bruce, 1988, p. 32)

With the fall of the monarchy and the end of national independence, there arose a new conception of the kingdom of God as destined to be revealed on earth in its fullness at a later date (cf. Dan. 2:44; 7:13–14). It is in the light of this later conception that we should understand the New Testament teaching about the kingdom of God. (Bruce, 1988, p. 32)

Jesus inaugurates the kingdom: it “drew near” with the inception of his public ministry (cf. Mark 1:14–15) and was released in power by his death and exaltation (cf. Mark 9:1). (Bruce, 1988, p. 32)

The things relating to the kingdom of God which form the theme of his postresurrection teaching at the beginning of Acts are identical with “the things relating to the Lord Jesus Christ” which form the theme of Paul’s teaching in Rome at the end of the book (28:31). (Bruce, 1988, p. 32)

At Christ’s first coming the age to come invaded this present age; at his coming in glory the age to come will have altogether superseded this present age. Between the two comings the two ages overlap; the people of Christ live temporally in this present age while spiritually they belong to the heavenly kingdom and enjoy by anticipation the life of the age to come. (Bruce, 1988, p. 33)

The topic of his discussion was the kingdom of God which obviously included the person and work of Christ but also must have anticipated His millennial reign (cf. 1:3, 6). (Toussaint, 1985, p. 410)

The kingdom of God does not come with observation; it is in us. Though us it has become at hand to those that are being presented Christ. In us the kingdom is being experienced as we, in the power of the Spirit, bear the fruits of righteousness, joy, and peace in the midst of a crooked and perverse generations.  

Do not merely look for the kingdom; live under the King. Jesus said His kingdom does not come with observation. Through His Spirit, let His rule shape your life in righteousness, peace, and joy, and keep making Him known to others (Luke 17:20–21; Romans 14:17; Acts 19:8–10).

Conclusion  

Takeaways: Key Questions and Action Items

Table 2: Takeaways

References

Bruce, F. F. (1988). The Book of the Acts. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26). Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Toussaint, S. D. (1985). Acts. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2). Victor Books.