21 Breaking With the Past

Although the atoning work of Jesus Christ inaugurated the New Covenant, it took time for the early Jewish believers to fully abandon the ceremonial practices of the revered and dutifully followed Old Covenant. The book of Hebrews contains the theology of that transition, showing Christ’s superiority to everyone and everything connected with the Old Covenant. The book of Acts records the transition’s historical outworking, as a new entity entered the stage of redemptive history. Clearly, God had temporarily set aside Israel (cf. Matt. 21:33–43; 22:1–9; 23:37–38; Rom. 10:19–21; 11:20–24), whose long history of apostasy reached an appalling climax in the killing of its Messiah. God began working out His kingdom purposes through the church. Yet it took time for the new church to separate itself completely from its old religious habits (cf. Acts 10, 11, 15).

First-century Judaism was far more than a religion; it was a combination of divinely ordained laws covering many features of daily life, along with which developed a man-made national and cultural tradition. To be Jewish was not merely to embrace a biblical creed or affirm an Old Testament theology. Being Jewish also meant embracing a traditional interpretation of Scripture and an expansion of legal prescriptions into nearly every area of life. To be Jewish meant not only to believe differently from one’s Gentile neighbors but also to behave differently. In fact, the purpose of many Old Covenant ceremonies and observances was to keep Israel separate from her Gentile neighbors.

The Jews were uniquely God’s people, and He wanted them to stand apart from the corrupting influence of the rest of the world, that they might be a witness to the nations of the power and grace of the true God. This divine design was compounded and even adulterated by the “traditions of men,” which Jesus said substituted for the “commandment of God” (cf. Matt. 15:3, 9).

Not surprisingly, even the apostles had difficulty shedding the old demands and patterns and making the transition. Acts 2:46 finds the church they led still meeting in the temple, and 3:1 shows that Peter and John were still observing the prescribed times of prayer. Peter strenuously and repeatedly resisted abandoning the dietary regulations (10:9–16). The Jewish believers, including the other apostles, were shocked that Peter violated Jewish custom by eating with Gentiles (11:2–3). Even Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, twice took a Jewish vow (18:18; 21:26). It should be noted that the Lord was patient with this transition. He likewise urged believers to understand that those who still observed the Old Testament laws should not be hurried into some freedom that would violate their consciences or cause them to engage in self-condemnation. This is the subject of Paul’s instruction in Romans 14:1–15:6.

The church, even in the Gentile world, was usually associated with the synagogues. Paul’s custom, when entering a city, was to preach the gospel first to the Jews gathered on the Sabbath. Jewish believers would often continue to operate within the framework of the synagogue for as long as possible (cf. 19:8–9). So common was that association that the Romans initially viewed Christianity as nothing more than a sect within Judaism. For that reason, the proconsul Gallio refused to rule in the Corinthian Jews’ case against Paul, declaring it to be an internal dispute within Judaism (18:12–15).

The text of Acts 18:18–19:7 is linked together by three examples of those caught up in this transition from the Old to the New Covenant: Paul, Apollos, and twelve Old Testament saints.

PAUL IN TRANSITION (18:18-23)

English Standard Version Chapter 18

18 After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow. 19 And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. 21 But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.

22 When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. 23 After spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

Gallio’s favorable ruling (18:14–15) allowed Paul to remain many days longer at Corinth. At last, however, he felt the need to return to Palestine. He took leave of the brethren at Corinth and put out to sea for Syria, taking with him Priscilla and Aquila, who had become two of Paul’s closest friends. That he felt the freedom to invite them to accompany him shows that other leaders had already emerged within the Corinthian church, such as Gaius, Sosthenes, Stephanus, and Crispus. And the fact that Priscilla and Aquila would leave their business to go with Paul indicates their loyalty and devotion to him.

Arriving at Cenchrea, the eastern port of Corinth, where he could find a ship going east, Paul had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow. His action seems puzzling at first glance, since he was well aware that the Old Covenant and all its rituals had passed away. Yet he had been reared according to the strictest standards of the Jewish faith. In Galatians 1:13–14 Paul wrote:

For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure, and tried to destroy it; and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.

To the Philippians he described himself as

circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. (Phil. 3:5–6)

After he became a Christian, Paul realized the worthlessness of all the efforts at self-salvation by ritual, tradition, legalism, sincerity, and external goodness compared to the true righteousness and knowledge of God that came through knowing Christ (Phil. 3:7–9). But he had a genuine love for God’s law in Scripture (cf. Rom. 7:12, 14) and was still influenced by his Jewish heritage. And when he wanted to show his deep thanks for God’s marvelous encouragement during the difficult times in Corinth (cf. chapter 11 of this volume), he naturally thought of a typically Jewish way of doing so.

The vow Paul made was a Nazirite vow—a special pledge of separation and devotion to God (cf. 2 Cor. 6:17). It was usually made in gratitude to the Almighty for gracious blessing or deliverance. In Numbers 6, God Himself inaugurated the Nazirite vow, saying to Moses,

Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, “When a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to dedicate himself to the Lord, he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh or dried grapes. All the days of his separation he shall not eat anything that is produced by the grape vine, from the seeds even to the skin. All the days of his vow of separation no razor shall pass over his head. He shall be holy until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord; he shall let the locks of hair on his head grow long.” (Num. 6:2–5)

The vow was for a specific period (usually a month, although Samson [Judg. 16:17], Samuel [1 Sam. 1:11], and John the Baptist [Luke 1:15] were Nazirites for life). At the end of that time there was an elaborate ceremony:

Now this is the law of the Nazirite when the days of his separation are fulfilled, he shall bring the offering to the doorway of the tent of meeting. And he shall present his offering to the Lord: one male lamb a year old without defect for a burnt offering and one ewe-lamb a year old without defect for a sin offering and one ram without defect for a peace offering, and a basket of unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil and unleavened wafers spread with oil, along with their grain offering and their libations. Then the priest shall present them before the Lord and shall offer his sin offering and his burnt offering. He shall also offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, together with the basket of unleavened cakes; the priest shall likewise offer its grain offering and its libation. The Nazirite shall then shave his dedicated head of hair at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and take the dedicated hair of his head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall take the ram’s shoulder when it has been boiled, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his dedicated hair. Then the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. It is holy for the priest, together with the breast offered by waving and the thigh offered by lifting up; and afterward the Nazirite may drink wine. This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the Lord according to his separation, in addition to what else he can afford; according to his vow which he takes, so he shall do according to the law of his separation. (Num. 6:13–21)

In Paul’s day, provision was made for those away from Jerusalem at the termination of their vow to shave their heads, as Paul did, then within thirty days present the hair at the Temple (cf. Josephus Wars, 2.15.1). The phrase he was keeping a vow indicates a process not yet completed. That required his arrival in Jerusalem.

Having crossed the Aegean Sea as they sailed eastward, Paul and his party came to Ephesus, the most important city in Asia Minor. Paul left Priscilla and Aquila there to become settled and establish their business. They apparently remained in Ephesus for a few years, had a church meet in their home (1 Cor. 16:19), and eventually returned to Rome (Rom. 16:3–5). Paul himself, as was his common strategy, entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. As in Berea, he was well received, so much so that the Jews asked him to stay for a longer time. His response to this great opportunity gives a clear testimony to the seriousness of his vow. He refused to stay! In a hurry to reach Jerusalem because of his vow, and (as some Greek manuscripts add) to reach the city before the Feast (probably Passover), he did not consent. Regretfully taking leave of them and saying, “I will return to you again if God wills,” he set sail from Ephesus. He did not leave the city without a Christian witness, however, since Priscilla and Aquila remained there. And, as will be seen shortly, they were soon to have help.

Arriving in Palestine, Paul landed at Caesarea, the Roman city and port of call for travelers bound for Jerusalem. From there he went on to fulfill his vow, and then greeted the church. That Paul did visit Jerusalem, although the city is not mentioned, is clear from the requirement of the vow, as well as from Luke’s use of the terms went up and went down. One naturally went up from Caesarea, located on the coast, to Jerusalem, located on Mount Zion, then went down from Jerusalem to anywhere else. Paul, then, completed his second missionary journey in Antioch, from where it had begun (15:35–36).

With those few short verses, focusing on the apostle in transition from the old ways, Luke sums up a long and arduous journey. William Barclay observes:

We may see very clearly here how much we do not know about Paul. Acts 18:23–19:1 describe a journey of no less than 1,500 miles and it is dismissed with barely a reference. There are untold tales of heroism of Paul which we will never know. (The Acts of the Apostles [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1955], 150)

Paul’s burning desire to reach the lost world for Christ did not let him remain for long in his home church at Antioch. After having spent some time there, he departed and passed successively through the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. With those words Luke begins the account of Paul’s third missionary journey. But before continuing with the record of that mission, he returns to recount what took place at Ephesus after Paul’s departure. He tells the story of a second individual in transition: Apollos.

APOLLOS IN TRANSITION (18:24-28)

English Standard Version Chapter 18

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.

As the scene shifts to Ephesus, the inspired physician introduces a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth. At the time, Alexandria, located in Egypt near the mouth of the Nile, had a large Jewish population. So although reared outside Israel, Apollos grew up in a Jewish cultural setting. Logios (eloquent) appears only here in the New Testament. The word “can mean either a man of words … or a man of ideas” (A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament [reprint, 1930; Grand Rapids: Baker, n.d.], 3:306). Apollos may well have been both a learned and eloquent man.

More important, he was mighty in the Scriptures. Dunatos (mighty) is related to dunamis, from which the English word “dynamite” derives. Graphais (Scriptures), as always in the New Testament, identifies the Old Testament. His learning and eloquence, coupled with his powerful treatment of the Old Testament, made Apollos a devastating debater (cf. v. 28). The rarity of such preachers is indicated by the fact that no one else is so designated as powerful in dealing with the Scriptures. The church today is in desperate need of men like Apollos.

That Apollos had been instructed in the way of the Lord does not mean he was already a Christian (cf. v. 26). The phrase the way of the Lord is an Old Testament term for instruction in the things of God. God said of Abraham in Genesis 18:19:

I have chosen him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice; in order that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.

Judges 2:22 describes God’s intent “to test Israel” to see “whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it as their fathers did, or not.” In Psalm 25:8–9 the psalmist declares, “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His way.” The way of the Lord, then, was the path of spiritual and moral standards God expected His people to follow (cf. 1 Sam. 12:23; 2 Kings 21:22; Prov. 10:29; Jer. 5:4–5).

Apollos combined his deep knowledge and eloquence with a passionate heart. Luke describes him as fervent in spirit, having a soul fired with enthusiasm for the things of God. His zeal translated into action, as he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. Based on his limited knowledge, Apollos was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus. He did not have a full understanding of the gospel, however, being acquainted only with the baptism of John. John’s baptism was one of preparation for Messiah’s coming (Luke 1:16–17). Apollos accepted John the Baptist’s message that Messiah was coming. He even believed that Jesus was that Lamb of God (John 1:29) and Messiah. He surely expounded with force and persuasion the Scriptures that pointed to Jesus. But he did not understand the significance of Christ’s death and resurrection. Nor was he acquainted with the coming of the Spirit and the birth of the church on the Day of Pentecost. In short, he was a redeemed Old Testament saint; he was saved but was not able to be called a Christian yet.

Although his teaching was accurate, as far as it went, Apollos needed the rest of the story concerning Jesus. Accordingly, when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. Instead of publicly instructing Apollos, they tactfully took him aside, possibly into their home, to speak to him. Having done so, they explained to him the rich fullness of the truth concerning the Messiah’s atoning death and resurrection. That the mighty preacher and scholar would consent to be taught by a lowly tentmaker and his wife attests to his godly humility.

After this wonderful instruction and completion of his faith, Apollos, armed with his newfound knowledge of God’s gospel, wanted to go across the Aegean Sea to Achaia—specifically to its capital, Corinth (19:1). The brethren in Ephesus encouraged him to do so and even wrote to the disciples in Corinth to welcome him as a fellow Christian. Fulfilling his plan and arriving at Corinth, the eloquent preacher soon made his presence felt in both the Christian and Jewish communities. Luke notes that he helped greatly those who had believed through grace. The designation of Christians here as those who had believed through grace is the Spirit’s way of reminding all that faith is a gift of grace (cf. Eph. 2:8). Apollos assisted the believers in their spiritual growth through his powerful preaching.

This fervent, brilliant Old Testament scholar also exploded like a bombshell on Corinth’s unconverted Jewish community. Like Stephen (6:8–10) and Paul (9:22) before him, Apollos powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. Refuted is from diakatelegchomai, an intense double compound word. Apollos was so effective in his discourse that he crushed his opponents, totally disproving them at every point.

His devastating performance in the public debates made a profound impression on the Corinthian church. They soon held him in the same high esteem in which they held Peter and Paul (1 Cor. 1:12; 3:4, 6). It must have pained him (as it did Paul and Peter), to have one of the developing Corinthian church’s factions identify with him. His successful transition from Old Covenant believer to New Testament saint was an immense blessing for the church.

OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS IN TRANSITION (19:1-7)

English Standard Version Chapter 19

19 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.

After the interlude describing Apollos’s conversion and ministry, Luke returns to the story of Paul for his final example of transition. He notes that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul (on his third missionary journey) having passed through the upper country came to Ephesus. The beloved apostle was making good on his promise to return to Ephesus (18:21), with the hope that the Jews would still be eager to hear. He arrived there by way of the upper country. By doing so, Paul took the more direct route, not the regular trade route on the lower level through the Lycus and Maender valleys. He thus approached Ephesus from the north, where he had been ministering (18:23).

Once in Ephesus, Paul found some disciples. Much controversy surrounds the spiritual status of these men. Those who insist they were already Christians use this passage as a proof text for their view that receiving the Holy Spirit is a subsequent, postsalvation, or “second blessing,” experience. Such an interpretation, however, is untenable. First, it commits the methodological error of failing to consider the transitional nature of Acts, which means that the experiences and phenomena described in Acts are not normative for today. Second, this is a faulty interpretation because it commits the comparative scriptural error. Other texts make obvious that this passage cannot be used to teach that some Christians today may not have the Holy Spirit. That would contradict the explicit teaching of the New Testament epistles, which declare unequivocally that every Christian receives the Spirit at salvation (1 Cor. 6:19; 12:13; 2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 1:13), and define those without the Spirit as unsaved (Rom. 8:9; Jude 19). (For a further discussion of the error of making the experiences recorded in Acts normative for today, see my book Charismatic Chaos [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992], 171ff.)

Nor does Luke’s description of them as disciples prove that these men were Christians. Mathētēs (“disciple”) simply means “learner” or “follower” and does not always in the New Testament refer to Christians (although every Christian is a disciple of Jesus Christ). The Bible speaks of the disciples of the Pharisees (Mark 2:18; Luke 5:33) and of John the Baptist (Matt. 9:14; 11:2; Luke 5:33; 7:18–19; 11:1; John 1:35; 3:25). Even all those called disciples of Jesus Christ were not saved. John 6:66 says, “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore.”

Paul certainly did not assume these twelve disciples were Christians. His question, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” sought to determine their status. Commentator David Williams explains the significance of Paul’s question:

His [Paul’s] criterion for what distinguished the Christian is significant. So, too, is the way in which his question is framed. It implies that the Holy Spirit is received at a definite point in time and that that time is the moment of initial belief (the aorist participle, pisteusantes, being construed here as coincidental with the verb, elabete). The same thought is expressed, for example, in Ephesians 1:13: “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (cf. Acts 11:17). No space of time is envisaged between the two events; nor is the possibility entertained of believing without also receiving the “seal of the Spirit.” (New International Biblical Commentary: Acts [Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1990], 329)

Their answer “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit” confirmed to the apostle that they were not yet Christians. That they were unacquainted with the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost showed that they were in fact Old Testament saints. Their response to Paul’s next question, “Into what then were you baptized?” further clarified their status. They responded, “Into John’s baptism,” showing that they were disciples of John the Baptist. That Paul would encounter followers of John the Baptist nearly a quarter of a century after his death is not unusual. J. B. Lightfoot notes that such groups still existed in the second century (Saint Paul’s Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon [reprint of the 1879 edition; Grand Rapids: Zondervan], 402ff.). And had these twelve already believed in Jesus Christ, they would have been baptized into His name.

Having learned that they were Old Testament saints, Paul explained that “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” The apostle’s statement offers further proof that these disciples were not Christians; they apparently did not know that Jesus was the promised Messiah whom John proclaimed. Significantly, Paul did not instruct them about how to receive the Spirit, but about Jesus.

The light of truth dawned in their hearts when they heard Paul’s teaching, and they were baptized in water in the name of the Lord Jesus, signifying their spiritual union with Him by faith. Immediately, in a gesture of apostolic affirmation, Paul laid his hands upon them. Some of the apostles had been present at each new phase of the church (Acts 2, 8, 10) so that they would be authoritative witnesses to the reality that all who believed in Jesus Christ were one in Him. I. Howard Marshall notes that

laying on of hands should be understood as a special act of fellowship, incorporating the people concerned into the fellowship of the church. This was necessary in the case of the Samaritan converts in chapter 8 to make it quite clear that they were accepted fully into the Jewish church centred on Jerusalem; and it was necessary in the present instance to make it clear to these members of a semi-Christian group that they were now becoming part of the universal church. (The Acts of the Apostles [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992], 308)

As Paul made this gesture, the Holy Spirit came upon them and, as had others before them (cf. 2:1–4; 8:14–17), they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. That was a further indication that they were now a part of the one true church (cf. 11:15, 17). And since they had not even heard that the Spirit had come, they needed tangible proof that He had indeed come into their lives.

These twelve men, like Paul and Apollos before them, illustrate the transitional nature of Acts. The church, which had embraced Jews, Gentiles, and Samaritans, now gathered in the last group: Old Testament saints. And the same miraculous gifts were present, so that all would know what was said of the Gentiles in Acts 11:17–18:

If God therefore gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way? And when they heard this, they quieted down, and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”

So all the groups were gathered in. And in each case apostles were present to verify that all received the same Holy Spirit in the same way. That having been completed, Paul could write to the Ephesians, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:4–5). From then on, the Holy Spirit would come to every heart at salvation, as the epistles teach.