Christ Church

The Comfort of Christ (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #36) (KC)

Joshua Edgren on

INTRODUCTION

We live in a fallen world of turmoil, and we do not yet see everything under the feet of Christ, but we see Christ (Heb. 2:8-9). We do not yet see every nation discipled, every cancer cured, or death itself destroyed, but we see Jesus who has tasted death for every man, so that by Him, we may have a peace in this world that the world cannot give. We see in this text that this was a central part of Paul’s missionary work, and it continues to be a central part of the mission of the church.

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

As planned, Paul left Ephesus to go back to Macedonia and Greece, where he comforted the churches for some time before returning with seven assistants, sailing from Philippi to Troas right around Easter (Acts 20:1-6). On the following Sunday, the disciples gathered for worship, and the service went late into the night, and while Paul was preaching, a young man fell asleep and fell to his death out of the third story window of the house they were meeting in (Acts 20:7-9). When Paul came down, he embraced the young man, bringing him back to life, and the service finished with the Lord’s Supper, bringing great comfort to everyone (Acts 20:10-12). From there, Paul made his way back toward Ephesus, coming to Miletus, to take a ship to Jerusalem for Pentecost (Acts 20:13-16).

ENCOURAGEMENT & TEAMWORK

Following the uproar of Ephesus, Paul spends some time “comforting” the churches that have started (Acts 20:2). The root word for “comfort” is the same that Jesus uses to describe the Holy Spirit, the “Comforter,” who was promised to lead the disciples into all truth (Jn. 14:26, 15:26). Closely related is the fact that Paul is accompanied by a number of companions and disciples, at least seven of which are probably official representatives of churches Paul had planted, perhaps even delegates, bringing an offering to Jerusalem (cf. Acts 24:17). And the result of the worship service in Troas and the healing of Eutychus was “not a little comfort” (Acts 20:12). The ministry of the church is a ministry of comfort and encouragement (Acts 9:31, Rom. 15:4, 2 Cor. 1:4).

LORD’S DAY WORSHIP

At the center of this comfort is worship on the Lord’s Day, “the first day sabbath” (Acts 20:7), which is worth underlining, since it has often been translated as only “first day of the week.” But the word is actually “sabbath.” The same goes for all of the resurrection accounts: Jesus rose on the “first day sabbath” (Mt. 28:1, Mk. 16:2, Lk. 24:1, Jn. 20:1). In the Old Testament, there were various “sabbath days” that landed on different days of the week (new moon, festival days, cf. Lev. 23:39). As Phil Kayser has pointed out, in the first creation, God intended Adam and Eve to enjoy the sabbath as their first full day in the world, but they sinned and the Old Covenant condition was symbolized by a seventh day sabbath (looking forward). But Jesus restored us to the Garden in the New Covenant by His resurrection and restored that original first day sabbath.

John calls Sunday “the Lord’s Day” in Revelation 1, which is the same construction for the “Lord’s Supper” (1 Cor. 11). In the same way that we set apart ordinary bread to “remember” Christ’s work on our behalf, so too we set aside an ordinary day to “remember” Christ’s work on our behalf, and so a “sabbath rest” remains for the people of God (Heb. 4:9). And gathering for worship and resting from your ordinary labors is a crucial part of the “comfort” of the Holy Spirit. Slaves have no days off, but we are freemen in Christ.

SLEEP & RESURRECTION

At the center of this episode is the incident with the young man, Eutychus, whose name means “good luck,” and which might indicate that he was (or had been) a slave. It was a large upper room, full of torches (likely crowded), and Eutychus may have been sitting in the window for fresh air (Acts 20:8-9). The imagery was surely not lost on the first century audience: this would have reminded early Christians of Pentecost when the fire of the Spirit filled the upper room, and perhaps it would have also had echoes of Hannukah, and earlier still, the temple itself. They gathered to “break bread,” which was an early euphemism for the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7), and after Eutychus fell and was raised by Paul’s embrace (much like Elisha, 2 Kgs. 4:34), they celebrated the Lord’s Supper, our resurrection feast (Acts 20:11).

All of this emphasizes that the Spirit of the same Christ who conquered death is with Paul and with the Church. It’s no accident that after the resurrection, even death itself is likened to a “sleep,” that believers will rise from (1 Cor. 15:20, 51, 1 Thess. 5:10). And we comfort one another with these sure promises (1 Thess. 4:18, 5:11).

APPLICATIONS

Whether we wake or sleep: The foundational comfort of a Christian is eternal security – eternal life. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life (Rom. 6:23). Sinners deserve death, but Jesus took those wages by dying in our place and taking away our sin. The power of the devil was only in his ability to wield the fear of death for the punishment of sin (Heb. 2:14-15). But death is a defanged enemy because it is no longer our punishment. Jesus has the keys of death and hades (Rev. 1:18). Death is a river that all must pass through to get to the Celestial City. But it is a river crossing that Jesus personally oversees.

Worship is the engine: We often say that worship is the engine that drives everything we do. Fundamentally, this simply means that Jesus is Lord, and therefore, everything we do must submit to Him, bow before Him. But God has also made it clear that He wants us to gather as congregations to worship together. There is something particularly powerful and comforting when God’s people renew covenant together in word and sacrament on the first day sabbath, the Lord’s Day. This doesn’t turn everything into a church service, but rather it frees us to work and enjoy everything as a gift from our Risen King.

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Many Infallible Proofs (Acts of the Apostles #2)

Joshua Edgren on

INTRODUCTION

The first verse of Acts contained the formal introduction to the book, but the following verses fill it out a bit more. These verses refer to the Lord’s resurrection appearances, and the proofs He gave His disciples that He was in fact alive. Second, He taught them about the kingdom, and told them to wait in Jerusalem until they had been given kingdom power. When that power had descended upon them, they would be ambassadors of that kingdom out to the ends of the earth. And then last, the angels promised that Christ  would at some point return in the same way that He left, meaning that He would descend from the sky.

THE TEXT

“THE former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Luke begins volume two of his history by referring to volume one. The former book, also addressed to Theophilus, recorded all that Jesus started to do (v. 1), up to the point of His ascension (v. 2). Before He ascended, He delivered commandments to His chosen apostles (v. 2). Over the course of forty days, He appeared to them alive and provided many proofs of His resurrection, and taught them about the kingdom of God (v. 3). Gathering together with them, He required them to remain in Jerusalem until the promise of the Father came, which He had told them about (v. 4). John baptized with water, but in a very few days, they would be baptized by the Holy Spirit (v. 5). On one of their gatherings, they asked Him if this would be the moment when the kingdom was restored to Israel (v. 6). He replied that this was not for them to know, as the Father had it put under His authority (v. 7). But when the Holy Spirit comes upon them, they would be imbued with power, and would be made witnesses of Christ—in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the far reaches of the earth (v. 8).

After saying this, while they were watching, He ascended into the sky and disappeared into a cloud (v. 9). They were staring as He went, and suddenly two men, clearly angels, clad in white, appeared next to them (v. 10). You men of Galilee, they said, why are you staring? He will return in exactly the same way that He left (v. 11).

OUR TABLE OF CONTENTS

The eighth verse provides us with a fine overview of the entire book of Acts. It almost serves as a table of contents. They would be witnesses in Jerusalem (Acts 1:4), Judea (Acts 2:14), Samaria (Acts 8:5), and the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 13:4ff). Imagine a rock thrown into a pond, and the place where the rock entered was Jerusalem. The concentric ripples going out from that place were Judea (the province where Jerusalem was), then Samaria, just to the north, and then out to the rest of the world. Infallible Proofs
What does it mean to prove something? The Lord appeared to His disciples and provided them with convincing proofs. To prove something means that what you have done is created a moral obligation to believe. A person might be stubborn, and continue to say nuh uh for a while, but if he is sinning by doing so, then this means that the thing was proven to him. The existence of proof is not dependent upon whether or not the person you are talking to is continuing to hold out. The issue is whether he is sinning by continuing to hold out.

What we are told here is that the resurrected Lord met with His disciples over the course of almost a month and a half, during which time He convinced them that He had risen from the dead bodily. The proofs therefore ruled out dreams, hallucinations, wish fulfillment, or anything else like that. He offered His wounds to Thomas (John 20:27). He asked if they had anything to eat in the fridge—ghosts don’t eat (Luke 24:42-43). He had angels add their testimony (Luke 24:23). He conducted Bible studies, showing how it had to go this way (Luke 24:27). And since that time, because the Holy Spirit was poured out in power, the resurrection of Jesus is not so much an historical fact to be proven as it is an historical proof of two other great doctrines—first, that Christ is in fact the Son of God (Rom. 1:4), and second, that He is going to judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31).

REASONING ON FIRE

When the Holy Spirit is given, as we will see in the next chapter, He comes down upon the disciples in the form of fire. They were given convincing proofs in the first verses of Acts. But it is quite striking that these proofs were insufficient. You have the proofs, Jesus said, but you must still wait in Jerusalem. So their proofs just sat there waiting, like so much tinder and kindling. Wait, Jesus said. Your syllogisms will not be worth anything unless the Spirit sets them on fire first. Some Christians just want to stack and organize the wood, and also conduct conferences, seminars, and lectures about the wood. Other Christians just want the fire—and because it is just a massive Kleenex fire, their talks devolve into mere harangues. Why not both? The Scriptures are a vast forest, with wood enough and to spare. How long will this fire burn? We are stocked with enough wood to burn until the second promise of these verses comes to pass, and Jesus Christ returns. The first promise of the Father was the outpoured Spirit. The second promise of the Father is the return of the Son. Maranatha, come Lord Jesus.

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Christ & the Idols (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #35) (KC)

Grace Sensing on

INTRODUCTION

The gospel collides with all idolatry, whether external shrines or internal obsessions. But idols can be sneaky and even warnings about idolatry can weaponized and misused to steer unthinking Christians. Is it idolatry to love your work, your family, your church, your nation, your ethnicity? The answer is “no,” so long as “love” is defined biblically, so long as your love is obedient to God. Idolatry is disobedient love. And obedient love is at war with every disobedient love. 

The Text: “After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem…” (Acts 19:21-41)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

When Paul determined that he would go back through Macedonia before going to Jerusalem, hoping to ultimately go to Rome, he sent Timothy and Erastus ahead of him (Acts 19:21-22). Meanwhile, Demetrius, a silversmith, raised a stir in Ephesus about Paul’s preaching and its impact on all the business related to the shrine of Diana/Artemis (Acts 19:23-28). This turned into a very confused mob, and Paul’s friends prevented him from trying to talk to them (Acts 19:29-34). After two hours of chanting, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” the town clerk admonished the crowd for not bringing charges in an orderly fashion and dismissed them (Acts 19:35-41).

CONFUSION REIGNS

This episode highlights the fundamental confusion of idolatry. Scripture says that when men serve some part of creation rather than the Creator, they become vain in their imaginations and foolish, while professing themselves to be wise (Rom. 1:21-25). And this confusion about God and idols inevitably leads to confusion about sexuality and life in general (Rom. 1:26ff), including the confusions of greed, business scams, and people pleasing. 

Notice too that riots are commonly the language of confused idolaters (Acts 19:32) – idols are deaf and blind and must be “awakened” by rage and violence (cf. 1 Kgs. 18:28), and when that chaotic churn burns down some buildings or leaves a few people dead (or more), those effects and the cathartic release can be attributed to the gods, including gods named “democracy” and “equality” and “justice.” When you see mobs and riots in the streets, you should think “idols.” Idolatry is inherently violent.

THE ECONOMY OF IDOLS

In Ephesus, as everywhere, the economy was built around the values of the city. Food, clothing, housing, other goods and services, various hobbies, and worship all create various economies of exchange in societies. If the values of a society revolve around Christ, that will create one sort of economy, but if the values revolve around idols, that will create other sorts of economies. Statist idols create statist economies. Hedonistic idols create envious economies. The worship of Artemis and her shrine permeated the economy of Ephesus and those regional markets (Acts 19:27). 

When the gospel comes, it collides with all idols simply by declaring these parts of creation are not gods (Acts 19:26). But wherever cultures are oriented to those gods and their shrines made with human hands, the gospel is certainly a danger to that part of the culture (Acts 19:27). But remember, as we saw in Corinth, idolatrous cultures are enslaving and unjust (Acts 16). The great wealth of the silversmiths was a superstitious scam. Idols “unman” the people who serve them (Ps. 115), while worshipping the living God restores the image of God and creation to its rightful glory (cf. 2 Cor. 3). The gospel comes to restore and heal human society, but it disrupts the economies and cultures of idols. Some idols must be completely destroyed and many must be demoted and reformed.  

APPLICATIONS

Many modern Christians misplace the contrast between idols and the true God. The difference between the living God and Mammon is not amount of stuff or money or power or beauty. Romans 1 says that the fundamental difference is between giving thanks and refusing to give thanks. God gives richly all things to enjoy (1 Tim. 6:17), but they are meant to teach us to trust Him and thank Him. When you trust Him completely, you can give thanks in all things, whether in plenty or in want (Phil. 4:11-13). 

This is how the gospel collides with and re-orders human cultures. And the difference is in obedience to God or not. Since this gift is from God, how does He want us to use it and enjoy it? Food, clothing, housing, sports, money, work, sex? The Ten Commandments are the guard rails. Don’t serve these things or let them run your life. Don’t let them get in the way of serving God, honoring His name, keeping Sabbath, honoring parents, life, marriage, property, and the truth. Is your love for that gift causing you to disobey God? Is your favorite sport causing you to miss worship many Sundays? Do you read your Bible as much as you study your other loves? Is your desire for another house, different clothing, a spouse giving you a bad attitude? Don’t be confused (or cause confusion) about who your God is.

It has become fashionable to warn Christians about making an idol of marriage, family, and nation, but why not the church? Why so few warnings about being overly committed to church programs? But many of these warnings are misplaced, sort of like warning a prison camp about the dangers of gluttony. The real idol is often the opinions of non-Christians and liberal Christians. But love of God means an obedient love of the gifts of God. No one loves “enough,” but we can love more or less obediently. 

One commentator says that Christians “do not want to replace Artemis and become the next official religion of Ephesus, because in that case they would be under the thumb of the city and its special interests,” and there is a legitimate warning here: Erastianism (state run churches) has a poor track record. But the Reformed and American solution was not a godless state, but rather a truly Christian nation with a separate government from the churches. 

The gospel does not come to a city in order to drive out the idols only to leave the official religion empty or neutral. Some God or gods will always be the center of value and culture. Which God is it? Neutrality and secularism are simply sophisticated names of humanism, another idol of human hubris. But Christ is Lord of all, everywhere. There is no other way to have true social peace and justice, order or harmony. The clerk is quoted perhaps ironically, but every pagan city is in danger of causing riots and commotions unless or until they turn to Christ. And this is also true for every heart, every home, every church.

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Theophilus the High Priest (Acts of the Apostles #1)

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INTRODUCTION

The longest book in the New Testament is the gospel of Luke. The second longest is volume 2 of this same set, the Acts of the Apostles, the book where we are now going to spend some time. These two books were written by the same man and were dedicated to the same man—Theophilus. While we are beginning to work through the Acts, it is important to remember to keep this book connected in your minds and hearts with what Luke recorded about the Lord’s ministry earlier. This first message is going to focus on that. 

THE TEXT

“The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach . . .” (Acts 1:1). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Luke begins the book of Acts by making explicit reference to the gospel of Luke. It is clear that as the author he sees them as a matching set. He is addressing this treatise (logos) to Theophilus, the same man who was addressed in the account given in the gospel of Luke. He then says that the first account was concerning all that Jesus began to do and teach. The implication is that this book of Acts will be an account of what Jesus will continue to do and teach. 

This will be accomplished because the Spirit of Christ will be poured out at the very beginning of this book, and so He will continue His teaching and deeds through His appointed (and anointed) servants (v. 1). Christ indwells believers, and this means that believers are His hands and feet out in the world. Jesus continues His ministry through His body. Christ, the hope of glory, is in us (Col. 1:27). Christ is being formed in us (Gal. 4:19), and this in turn has an impact on the world.  

WHO WAS LUKE?

The author of the third gospel—and of our only inspired account of the early church—is a bit of a mysterious figure to us. We are introduced to him (obliquely) in Acts 16. In Acts 16:8, the account says they came to Troas. Then Paul was given a vision in the night. 

“And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us” (Acts 16:9). 

And in the next verse, v. 10, it says that immediately we endeavored to go to Macedonia. This is the place where Luke teamed up with Paul, and so it seems related to the vision somehow. If Luke is the man in the vision, this lends support to the long tradition that Luke was a Gentile—he would be a man of Macedonia, northern Greece. In support of this, the Greek of these two books is the most polished and sophisticated of all the New Testament, written by an educated man who knew Greek well.   

We know that he was a medical doctor because of a passing remark that Paul makes in Colossians. “Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you” (Colossians 4:14). Not only was Luke a faithful member of Paul’s entourage, he remained so until the end of Paul’s life. “Only Luke is with me . . .” (2 Timothy 4:11a). He is mentioned only one other time, at the conclusion of Philemon (v. 24).

Nevertheless he has had a pronounced impact on the character of the church. His gospel pays close attention to Gentiles, as well as to those who were suffering in various ways, or oppressed. His urbanity, careful scholarship, and compassion have helped to set the tone for countless numbers of believers over the history of the church.   

WHO WAS THEOPHILUS?

Different suggestions have been made regarding the identity of this Theophilus. Was he an unbelieving seeker that Luke was wanting to evangelize? Was he the patron who financially backed Luke’s research?

In my view, the most likely candidate is Theophilus ben Ananus, who was the High Priest from 37 A.D. to 41 A.D. This would make him the son of Annas (Luke 3:2), and brother-in-law of Caiaphas (Matt. 26:3). This identification does not make Theophilus a friendly, as though the son of the corrupt Annas was about to become a Christian. But it does make him a player, and so it makes sense that such a dedication would be attached to these two great apologetic works. Think of it like John Calvin dedicating the Institutes to King Francis I, a Catholic monarch who was decidedly unsympathetic to the Reformation. 

How would someone write an account for a hostile authority? The two great questions are: who was this Jesus? Who are these Christians?

INVITED BY LUKE

These books were no composed slapdash. We are invited by Luke to read two-volume set side-by-side, both of them together. Consider these parallels, gathered by a scholar named Mark Powell.  

Address to Theophilus (Luke 1:1-4), address to Theophilus (Acts 1:1-5). The Spirit descends on Jesus while He is praying (Luke 3:21-22), the Spirit descends on disciples as they were praying (Acts 2:1-13). A sermon announces prophecy fulfilled (Luke 4:16-27), a sermon announces prophecy fulfilled (Acts 2:14-40). Jesus heals a cripple (Luke 5:17-26), Peter heals a cripple (Acts 3:1-10). Religious authorities attack Jesus (Luke 5:29-6:11), religious authorities attack apostles (Acts 4:1-8:3). A centurion invites Jesus to his house (Luke 7:1-10), a centurion invites Peter to his house (Acts 10:1-23). Jesus raises a widow’s son from the dead (Luke 7:11-17), Peter raises a widow from the dead (Acts 9:36-43). A missionary trip to Gentiles (Luke 10:1-12), a missionary trip to Gentiles (Acts 13:1-19:20). Jesus goes to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51-19:28), Paul goes to Jerusalem (Acts 19:21-21:17). Jesus received favorably (Luke 19:37), Paul received favorably (Acts 21:17-20). Jesus was devoted to the Temple (Luke 19:45-48), Paul was devoted to the Temple (Acts 21:26). Sadducees oppose Jesus and scribes support Him (Luke 20:27-39), Sadducees oppose Paul and Pharisees support him (Acts 23:6-9). Jesus breaks bread, giving thanks (Luke 22:19), Paul breaks bread, giving thanks (Acts 27:35). Jesus seized by a mob (Luke 22:54), Paul seized by a mob (Acts 21:30). Jesus slapped by high priest’s aides (Luke 22:63-64), Paul slapped by order of the high priest (Acts 23:2). Jesus is tried 4 times and declared innocent 3 times (Luke 22:66-23:13), Paul is tried 4 times and declared innocent 3 times (Acts 23:1-26:32). Jesus is rejected by the Jews (Luke 23:18), Paul is rejected by the Jews (Acts 21:36). Jesus regarded favorably by a centurion (Luke 23:47), Paul regarded favorably by a centurion (Acts 27:43). Final confirmation of fulfilled Scripture (Luke 24:45-47), final confirmation of fulfilled Scripture (Acts 28:23-28).

CHRIST AND HIS BODY

As we reflect on what Jesus did during His earthly ministry, and as we study how He worked in the first century through those who had believed in Him, we are going to learn a great deal about how to read the narrative that is unfolding all around us now. What does it mean for fallen but forgiven sinners to walk in the footsteps of Jesus? What does it mean for Christ to work through His body? We have a template set out for us, enabling us to look to Christ effectively.

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The Conquering Word (The Continuing Adventures of Jesus #34) (KC)

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INTRODUCTION

Paul begins his third missionary journey in Ephesus, and the Lord confirms His presence with Paul through extraordinary signs, causing the Word of God to overcome all opposition. It was true then, and it is true today. The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. Whatever you face, whatever you need, Scripture is your light, your power, your peace, your wisdom.  

The Text: “And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, he said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Gost since ye believed?” Acts 19:1-20

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

When Paul returned to Ephesus, he found certain disciples of John who did not know that Jesus had come and had not received the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-4). When those twelve disciples believed in Christ, they were given Christian baptism, and Paul laid his hands on them and prayed for them to receive the Spirit and they spoke in different tongues and prophesied (Acts 19:5-7). From there, Paul began preaching the Kingdom in the synagogue until he was forced to separate from them and began teaching daily in the school of Tyrannus for about two years (Acts 19:8-10). 

Some really extraordinary miracles happened during this time, which caused even some of the unbelieving Jewish exorcists to invoke the names of Jesus and Paul, which seriously backfired, causing a great reverence among the Jews and Greeks for the gospel (Acts 19:11-17). And many believed in Jesus, confessing their sins, and publicly repenting, particularly of their superstitions, and the word of God grew mightily (Acts 19:18-20). 

THE BAPTISM OF JOHN

Last week, we said that Apollos was a disciple of the school of John the Baptist, but he clearly knew the Lord and only needed some minor instruction. But here we have twelve disciples who don’t appear to know that Jesus had come and had not heard of the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2-4), which was the particular promise of John that would accompany the Christ (Mt. 3:11). While this variation may seem strange, it also underlines that baptism really is tied to discipleship and teaching. To be baptized into Christ or in the name of the Lord Jesus is to be baptized into His school, His teaching, His way. Those twelve had received John’s baptism of repentance, but they were only taught to look forward to the Messiah. When they believe and receive Christian baptism, God sent a mini-Pentecost in Ephesus confirming the presence of Christ and the apostolic authority of Paul (cf. Acts 8:17). This was now the fourth “Pentecost” in the book of Acts: Jerusalem (Jews), Samaria (Samaritans), Cornelius (God-fearers), and Ephesus (Jews and Gentiles) (cf. Acts 1:8). 

SOFT CESSATIONISM

One of the questions that Christians have wrestled with over the centuries is whether we should expect miracles and signs of the Holy Spirit. Broadly, those who believe that the sign gifts have ceased are called “Cessationists” and those who believe they continue are called “Continuationists” or more popularly “Charismatics” or “Pentecostals.” We are what you might call soft-cessationists. A significant part of the reason for the extraordinary gifts given to the apostles was to prove that they had the right to speak for God and write the New Testmant (2 Cor. 12:12). When the New Testament was finished, that particular apostolic gift ceased, but we don’t at all believe that the Holy Spirit has ceased or that miracles have ceased. We simply don’t believe that anyone has that apostolic authority any longer, because Jesus Christ is the fullness of God’s revelation (Heb. 1). 

BATTLE WITH THE POWERS

A bunch of this passage echoes earlier stories in Scripture on purpose, underlining that this is the same Jesus at work bringing His Kingdom further into this world. We have “twelve” who receive the Holy Spirit and speak in different languages (like the twelve apostles), followed by extraordinary miracles (like Peter), followed by an inverted “seven” (Acts 6), and people trying to “buy” the Holy Spirit (Acts 8). As Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father” (Jn. 14:12). When God rises up to deliver His people, the “magicians of Pharaoh” often attempt to mimic that power as the Jewish exorcists attempt to do here. But this always backfires, as is currently happening with secularism. 

APPLICATIONS

The central miracle of the Holy Spirit is regeneration. As Jesus said, “you must be born again.” This is not merely a spiritual experience. We preach repentance in Christ – death and resurrection in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Gal. 2:20).

This is the power to be delivered from the powers of darkness through the forgiveness of sins. This is what baptism proclaims, and this is what the Holy Spirit confirms. But just as there were disciples who had been baptized that did not know Christ, we must constantly preach this Christ who gives His Holy Spirit without measure. 

And this change always has public ramifications. The Word of God rules in the Kingdom of God and so restores and glorifies nature, colliding with the Kingdom of darkness, setting the captives free.

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