Relearning (Acts 18:24-19:7)

Do you know enough about the Bible and God to be content?

Psalm 1:1--6 (ESV) --- 1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Looking at this Psalm, we learn a valuable lesson about life. First, he points out that righteous people have no delight in the counsel of the wicked or the way of sinners, but their delight is in the law of God. They meditate on God’s word day and night. That’s a contrast. To be righteous, we must be the type of people who are constantly enjoying God’s word and meditating on it.

Then, he solidifies this with a word picture. He says the person who is delighting in God’s words and meditating on it day and night “will be like a tree planted beside streams of water that yields its fruit in it’s season, and it’s leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”

Two Stories

Today, we will look at two stories that show us righteous men and women, and we will study two stories about men who are wicked next week. These first two stories encourage us to be the type of people who adapt and grow closer to what God wants us to be. They encourage us to be like a tree planted beside the water.

Aquila, Priscilla, and Apollos

Our first story is about three people, Aquila, his wife Priscilla, and a man named Apollos. Paul comes to Ephesus. He teaches in their synagogue, but he cannot stay. So Aquila and Priscilla, who have spent a year and a half alongside Paul at Corinth, stay there to teach them. This husband and wife combination seems to have much success in Ephesus, preparing for Paul’s return. But in verse 24, we learn about another man who shows up in Ephesus to teach the people about Jesus.

Acts 18:24--28 (ESV) --- 24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 27 And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.

‌This man, of course, is a Jew named Apollos, who is from Alexandria. Alexandria is an Egyptian city with a diverse culture since the Jews, Greeks, and Romans settled there. When Apollos comes onto the scene, his educated upbringing shines through. We are told that he is a very eloquent speaker with a great understanding of the scriptures. This man has read his Scriptures, and he knows them well. When he teaches, he speaks boldly and accurately concerning Jesus. But he doesn’t know everything. He only knew the baptism of John. He was missing some critical information about the baptism of Jesus.

Notice what happens. It says Aquila and Priscilla “called him out in the middle of the assembly for being a false teacher!” It doesn’t say that. Nor does it say that Aquila and Priscilla spoke evil of him behind his back. The text tells us that they took Apollos aside and explained to him the way of Jesus more accurately. He was teaching things accurately, but he did not yet understand this point of baptism. When he understands this, he seems to accept and teach it because all the brethren supported him in traveling to Corinth to teach there. They encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. This man who was wrong in one area of his teaching became a powerful source of good.

In this first story, notice how Apollos had to relearn some things. He was like a tree planted by the water. He was continually looking to understand more about God’s word, and he was able to determine that the things Aquila and Priscilla were saying were true. We don’t understand that he was proud and upset about his mistake. Maybe his feelings were hurt a little, but we don’t see it in the text. He seems to care so much about the truth that he is unaffected by criticism. What a rare combination! God has gifted this man with the ability to speak well and understand complex things, but also with tremendous humility. He was willing to say, “I don’t know everything,” and show that he meant it by listening carefully to the counsel of Aquila and Priscilla. This is what it looks like to be righteous.

Twelve Disciples

The second story is about twelve men. It has a common thread with the first. They are still in Ephesus, but now Apollos has traveled away, and Paul has returned to the city. While Paul is there teaching, he finds some disciples but listens to what happened with them.

Acts 19:1--7 (ESV) --- 1 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. 7 There were about twelve men in all.

‌So Paul asks them if they received the Holy Spirit when they believed, but they don’t even know what it is all about. It turns out that these men had also been taught about Jesus, but they were never introduced to his baptism. It’s possible that the same people taught these disciples and Apollos. In both of our stories, we have seen a misunderstanding about baptism. That’s interesting. Let’s talk about what that means for a minute.

Rebaptism?

What exactly did Apollos and these twelve disciples fail to grasp? What is the difference between John’s baptism and Jesus’ baptism? We’ve seen this in our two stories. Is one done with water and the other one without water? No, we see people becoming disciples of Christ through water baptism throughout Acts. Is it the way John was baptized or the location? No, they both seem to immerse one in water, and any water seems to work just fine, whether a pool or a river. How about the person doing the baptism? I don’t know of a situation where an unbeliever is baptizing someone who believes, but that would have been true under John’s baptism as well, except the belief was different. Ah, here is where we see a difference.

In John’s baptism, repentance and forgiveness of sins were offered, but the belief was that the Messiah was coming. In Jesus’ baptism, repentance and forgiveness of sins are offered, but the belief is that the Messiah has already come. There is also a belief that the Holy Spirit has been poured out and that we come into contact with his spiritual blessings when we are baptized.

1 Corinthians 12:12--13 (ESV) --- 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body---Jews or Greeks, slaves or free---and all were made to drink of one Spirit.‌

Do you see the significance of baptism into Christ? It’s not just about submitting to the call to get wet. Baptism is a partaking of the Spirit and joining Christ. In baptism, the Spirit cleanses us and brings us into contact with the blood of Christ, sprinkled on our hearts, providing us with a clear conscience---many other texts back this up.

Titus 3:5 (ESV) --- 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

Hebrews 10:22 (ESV) --- 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

1 Peter 3:21 (ESV) --- 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

In Acts 2, Peter says, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Throughout the New Testament, there is harmony about Christ’s baptism. It’s not believing that the Messiah will come, but believing that he has come and imparts the blessings of the Holy Spirit through baptism.

In this text, these disciples are asked if they received the Holy Spirit when they were baptized. That might sound unclear to you, but there are two senses by which a believer receives the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Spirit is the idea that a relationship has been created between you and God so that God is with you, “indwelling.” Then, there is a sense in which one receives the Holy Spirit and has miraculous spiritual gifts. This was only imparted through the apostles in the first century. At least, that’s all I have seen a record of throughout the New Testament. Paul’s first question was regarding the spiritual gifts because not everyone had received them, but their response led him to ask about the relationship.

When these disciples hear a description of Jesus’ baptism, they relearn what they thought they knew. When they heard the truth, they didn’t get angry or offended to know that they must be rebaptized. They willingly submitted to it and professed faith in Jesus. They loved the truth more than what they believed in the past. There wasn’t a proud bone in their body that refused to submit to rebaptism.

Learning To Relearn

If you are like me, you mark things off your list as done and never return them. As I was going through school, finishing the final test, always felt like a relief. I would think, “I’m so glad I never have to think about any of that stuff again!” Have you ever felt that way about Bible study and understanding God? Once we learn something, we are through. We don’t need to relearn it again. Learning it was the hard and painful part. I’ve heard multiple people say things like, “I read the whole Bible, and I really only like the part about Jesus.” It’s as though they are saying, “I know what the Bible says now because I read it that one time.” This is the attitude that many people develop. Some may also think they know everything they need to know after attending Bible classes for a decade and hearing the same old things, but it’s simply not true. If we aren’t careful, we could become content with what we know and stop growing.

I’m still learning things all the time. I’m coming to a greater understanding of the things I have learned. When discussing the wisdom of God, it’s essential to recognize that it is endlessly deep. Sometimes, we have to start over and listen like we have never listened before. Other times, we have to dig deeper than we have ever dug before. We should develop a sense of humility, curiosity, and open-mindedness about the things God reveals to us in scripture. Our goal must be to arrive at a more excellent knowledge of the truth, not to preserve what we have always believed to be accurate. We must question our traditionally held interpretations and beliefs and listen closely to those with different perspectives on biblical texts. It’s essential to recognize that we can be wrong about our beliefs. It’s essential to recognize that fact and change when the truth is put before us. So, what do we learn from all of this? The love of the truth pushes us to teach and accept the truth.

This is what a righteous person does. The tree planted by the water is delighting in the word of God and meditating on it day and night forever, but the wicked are like chaff. They receive no greater understanding and become dried up and dead.

Application

Teaching The Truth

God allows us to grow as we speak the truth with one another. That’s what we see the disciples doing in the first century. They are so focused on honoring God with the truth that they are willing to speak up when people say something false. But, and this is a big but, they do it wisely and lovingly. Apollos was teaching baptism wrong. Aquila and Priscilla noticed that he taught many things about Jesus accurately, but they needed to take him aside and explain the way of Christ more accurately. Their love for Apollos and the truth pushed them to do that.

What about you? Do you have a sense of pride and arrogance in your level of understanding and knowledge? Do you look at Apollos, who is eloquent and knowledgable, and think, “He needs to be embarrassed. I’ll put him in his place.” When we look down on those who do not understand what we understand, we are the ones without understanding. Love has left the building. Aquila and Priscilla set the example of what love and respect look like. They don’t overreact and consider Apollos’ feelings as they speak. Sometimes that’s hard for us to do because we are self-focused or have no experience in it. But if we love the truth and our brethren, we must learn to speak respectfully as we correct a brother.

Accepting The Truth

As we listen to one another, we need open hearts and minds. Learning the truth sometimes requires course correction. It might upset us that we are wrong, but we cannot let that truth remove love from their hearts. When we admit that we are wrong, we start being right. Everyone in these two stories loved the truth more than they loved their feelings. Paul reached out to these disciples, and when it became evident that they hadn’t understood the baptism into Christ correctly, he baptized them and blessed them with spiritual gifts by laying hands on them.

How often have you heard criticism or disagreement and become extremely upset and militant? Maybe the person was utterly respectful, humble, and gentle toward you. Maybe not. But deep down inside, you know that their words are valid. You don’t want them to be true because that means you have to relearn things, and that’s a lot of work. Plus, t might be a little embarrassing. We must be willing to change. We have to love the truth more than the comfort of things staying the same. If you have believed the same way for twenty years without considering opposing views, that’s not healthy. We have to love the truth more than that.

We need to devote ourselves to a greater understanding. We are delighting in the word and meditating on it. That meditation should include others and pondering all the different things the word could mean. It should include understanding what we don’t know and asking questions.

Rebaptism

Finally, I want to close this lesson by considering the truth we learn in this text about rebaptism. Many in our world do not understand what baptism is according to the scriptures. Their beliefs on baptism are similar to those of the disciples of John. Baptism is a statement of repentance, but instead of focusing on the Messiah coming to save them like John’s baptism, we believe that the Messiah has come. We believe that those who are baptized now are baptized into Christ.

The words of Paul would be the same to you, “Into what then were you baptized?” If you believed you were saved before baptism, is that correct? Based on the texts we have looked at and a few more, baptism is the point at which we plead to God for a clean conscience. When we are added to the body of Christ, the Holy Spirit applies the blood of Christ and cleanses our conscience of sin for all time. Did you believe in the powerful working of the Holy Spirit when you were baptized, or did you just get wet? Believing that the Messiah has done everything he said he would do before baptism is not correct. Our belief must have been that God washed away all of our sins in baptism, and if we genuinely believed that, great. But if not, we might also need to be rebaptized.

There may be some in the audience who attended a congregation that taught baptism, like John’s baptism. You did not have faith in the powerful working of God to remove your sins with the blood of Christ. Maybe, like these disciples, you were sincere in your desire to repent and serve God. You also heard about Jesus and believed in him, but we see what these disciples did when they were faced with the fact that John’s baptism wasn’t Jesus’. They learned the baptism of Christ with humility and submitted to it with open minds and hearts.

Conclusion

Will you open your heart to a greater understanding of God’s word? Will you delight in his word and be like a strong tree planted by water?