No Other God

Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.
Act 19:11-12

There is no doubt that the book of Acts contains many miraculous manifestations of the power of God by the hands of men filled with the Spirit.  We saw last time that the signs and wonders performed in the early history of the New Testament church had specific purpose.  They evidenced the fulfillment of prophecies such as the coming of the Messiah and the giving of the Holy Ghost, and these signs also identified the apostles, men chosen of the Lord to give us His word and upon whom He would found His church. (Act 2:22, 2:14-19, 2Co 12:12, Eph 2:20) But, with these purposes being accomplished, the visible signs began to wane in the church.

Paul was often used of the Lord to perform miracles.  In Act 14:3, Paul and his companions stayed a long time in Iconium, “speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.”  Just a few verses later in Lystra, God used Paul to heal a man who had been a cripple since birth. (14:8-10) Our main text even reveals that Paul at one time could heal men by simply sending his handkerchief to them!  But, as we read later letters written by the apostle, that ability was no longer present.  He didn’t send his handkerchief to Timothy but rather instructed him to use wine in a medicinal way for “your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities.” (1Ti 5:23) In Php 2:25-27, Paul was powerless to help his companion Epaphroditus who nearly died when he fell ill, but, as the apostle put it, he recovered because “God had mercy on him.”

To see these signs disappearing in Scripture may be confusing to us today when many claim to still be performing such things by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Remember, we are instructed in 1Jn 4:1 to “not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”  If we need to test the spirits, then we need to understand how to perform such a test.  The next verse holds the key: “By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God…” (v. 2) This truth agrees with what the Lord said the function of the Spirit would be, namely, to testify of Jesus Christ by declaring His word and glorifying Him!  Just listen:

Joh 15:26-27 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.  And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”

Joh 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

Joh 16:13-14 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”

If men are filled with the Holy Spirit, you can expect Christ to be at the center of what they are saying.  Man won’t be in the spotlight.  The Spirit won’t even be in the spotlight per Joh 14:13-14, but Christ will be glorified!!  Brothers and sisters, we need people full of the Holy Ghost today.  The truth is under attack.  Persecution because of the word is beginning to be more evident in this land, and I’m afraid that some will be revealed to be stony-ground hearers as they stumble under such assaults. (Mat 13:20-21) I pray we will not shy away from declaring God’s truth.  Remember, it is the gospel of Jesus Christ which is the power of God to salvation! (Rom 1:16) May we cry out as the church did in Act 4:29-31 for the courage to faithfully speak it and see the evidence of being full of the Holy Ghost: “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”

Jamie

Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.
Act 19:11-12

As I said last time, the book of Acts is full of unique, visible experiences which were not intended to continue as the church walked by faith and not by sight.  Our text above contains one such incident.  Some teach that God doesn’t perform miracles any longer.  I see no biblical basis for such a definitive statement.  God can do what He wants when He wants!  I do, however, believe we have strong biblical evidence that these signs and wonders were disappearing shortly after this time.  Once they had served their purpose, they were no longer necessary.  So, what was the purpose of these New Testament miracles?

The first person to perform miracles in the New Testament was, of course, Christ Himself.  These amazing displays of the power of God were not merely about the Lord flexing His spiritual muscles.  There was a reason for them as Peter explains in Act 2:22: “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know…”  The miracles validated that He was the Messiah who the prophets had foretold!  Another event that Jesus and the prophets said would come to pass was the giving of the Holy Ghost.  How would we know the Holy Ghost had been given?  You guessed it…signs and wonders!  When men began to supernaturally speak in other languages or tongues on the day of Pentecost because they had received the Spirit of God, Peter said, “…this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh…” Repeatedly in Acts, we see these amazing occurrences as the Gospel spread to new people groups and more men received the indwelling Spirit.  We must understand that the church was experiencing something new.  The Spirit had been with believers before but never permanently dwelling in them. (Joh 14:17) By the time Paul wrote the book of Romans, this experience of possessing the Spirit had become common to all believers: “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” (Rom 8:9)

Finally, miracles accompanied the word of the apostles to prove they were, in fact, chosen by God to declare the resurrection of Jesus Christ, of which they were eyewitnesses.  Paul referred to these miraculous events as “the signs of an apostle” in 2Co 12:12: “Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.”  How would we recognize these men who would form the foundation of the New Testament church? (Eph 2:20) By signs and wonders performed by their hands!  As was the case with Christ, these men were shown to be attested of God because of the miracles they performed.  The signs and wonders were to warn us that we’d better heed their words.  “…how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?” (Heb 2:3-4)  And so, “with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,” that we might recognize these men who God had called to that office.

If the office of an apostle was intended to continue, we might expect to continually see such signs to identify these men, but Paul says the following concerning the apostles: “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.” (1Co 15:3-8) Paul said he got in on the apostolic office at the very end, like “one born out of due time.”  He was like that “oops” baby you find in some families.  You know, that last child born ten years after his siblings. 🙂 Unlike the other apostles, Paul was a witness to Jesus’ resurrection on the Damascus road, AFTER Christ had already ascended!  He got in on the office of the apostle when it was coming to a close.  We’ve already referred to Eph 2:20 which says we have been built on “the foundation of the apostles and prophets”.  We all well know that the foundation of a structure is only laid once; likewise, the apostles were only necessary at the beginning of the formation of the New Testament church.  So, with the apostolic office disappearing, the signs and wonders used to validate that office were no longer necessary.

Next time we’ll see some specific evidence showing that even the apostles were no longer performing miracles in later years.  I want to leave you though with the reason why our topic is an important one.  Though signs and wonders were used by God to prove that Old Testament prophecies were being fulfilled, we are warned that they will be used by the enemy to deceive in the latter days.  Paul wrote in 2Th 2:9, “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders…”  Christ came and fulfilled that which the prophets declared.  The miracles validated that truth, but we’re now looking only for one further fulfillment of prophecy.  The Lord is coming back!  Don’t let signs and wonders prior to Christ’s return catch you off-guard and generate confusion in your mind.  The enemy will use them to deceive and draw people away from the true Christ.  Be watchful and ready.  “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.” (Mar 13:21-23)

Jamie

(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.
Acts 19:1-7

We were challenged in our study guide last week with the question of whether or not these men were saved when Paul first encountered them in v. 1. I felt the question was a difficult one to answer definitively because of the uniqueness of the time. The book of Acts is full of unique, visible experiences which were not intended to continue as the church walked by faith and not by sight. The salvation experience also clearly changed after Christ came. Faith has always been the issue of salvation (Rom 3:28-30), but before Acts 2, the experience of that faith included a visitation of the Spirit which Christ described as the Spirit being “with you”. (Joh 14:17) Jesus went on to say, however, that there would be a new experience (which came to pass in Acts 2 and following) in which the Spirit of God would be “in you”. With that in mind, let’s see what evidence the Scripture sets forth concerning this question of the salvation of these men at the outset of Act 19.

We understand that these men had been followers of the teachings of John the Baptist. (v. 3) That was all well and good at the beginning of John’s ministry, but John made it clear that his purpose was to lead men to One greater than himself. John’s view concerning Christ was, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (Joh 3:30) Some of John’s disciples realized this goal in Joh 1:35-37: “Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.” For these two, John’s mission had been accomplished! But for others, they stopped short of the fuller revelation in Jesus Christ and remained attached to John. This mistake led to a lack of understanding as in Mar 2:18 where, instead of agreeing with Christ, John’s disciples actually aligned with the Pharisees! “The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, ‘Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?’ ” They actually questioned the spirituality of Jesus and his disciples just like the Pharisees did! There is a tremendous warning in this text against exalting men to an unhealthy status in our lives. Our spiritual instructors must never take the place of the Lord, but we should only follow or imitate them as they follow Christ! (1Co 11:1)

So, if these men in Ephesus had stopped with John and had not gone on to Christ, they had come short of the goal. For this reason, they had not yet received the Holy Ghost. With this in mind, we need to understand a truth that many are confused about today. If a man is truly saved today, redeemed by Jesus Christ, he possesses the Spirit of God! 1Co 6:19 makes the following general statement about those who have been born again: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” Paul reiterates this thought in his second letter to the Corinthians: “And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’ ” (2Co 6:16) It’s clear that Paul recognized the indwelling Spirit to be an experience common to every believer.

Perhaps the best passage to consider is one that’s written to the very people Paul was preaching to in our text in Acts. In Eph 1:13-14, he wrote, “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” Saving faith was evidenced by the giving of the Spirit within. In fact, this passage tells us that the Holy Spirit is like earnest money you put down on a new home that you’ve promised to buy. God gives us His Spirit as a guarantee that He is taking us home to eternally dwell with Him as joint heirs with Christ! (Rom 8:17) Simply put, if God has saved you, His Spirit lives in you. If you don’t have the Spirit of God, you need to be saved! “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” (Rom 8:9)

With all the confusion today concerning the Spirit of God, I’m thankful for the plainness of God’s word. Jesus made a promise to all believers, and that promise has come to pass. He has given His Spirit to each of His children! Let us rejoice in that which our Savior has provided as evidence that He will indeed never leave us nor forsake us. “ ‘He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive…” (Joh 7:38-39)

Jamie

Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
Act 18:24-26

Please excuse my lame reference in the title to Rocky Balboa’s opponent Apollo Creed. It’s sometimes hard to hide being a child of the 80’s. 🙂 If nothing else, maybe the title will help you remember our topic today. As we encounter this Jew named Apollos in Ephesus, it’s worthy to note the creed by which he lived. What guided his actions? What goals motivated him from day to day? As we see what this man was made of, I think we’ll find an example worthy of us to follow.

1) He was fervent in spirit.

The Greek word translated “fervent” means to be hot or boil. It speaks of the zeal for God which Apollos possessed. I’m reminded of Psa 45:1 which explains how the psalmist felt as wrote the psalm and considered His Lord: “My heart is overflowing with a good theme…” The Hebrew word translated “overflowing” is much like the word “fervent” in our text. It means to boil or bubble up, to keep moving, to stir. Like the psalmist, Apollos could hardly contain himself when it came to the Lord–the word of God was bubbling over inside of him! He loved to study it and was driven to declare it which brings us to our next point…

2) He spoke and taught what he knew.

Preaching that word was no mere hobby for Apollos. His zeal for God and his love for His word prompted a sincere burden for souls around him. He had an earnest desire to help them understand the things of God. His passion was undeniable! He knew that God gives us what He does for us to share, not to hoard up for ourselves. Christ taught His disciples in Mat 10:8, “Freely you have received, freely give.” If Apollos got it from God, you were going to hear it!

3) He taught accurately.

This adverb “accurately” is important, and I wish all who taught the word of God today where likewise concerned about the accuracy of what they taught! To teach accurately does not mean a person has all the answers. Rather, it involves faithfully teaching all the Lord has revealed–not adding to it or taking away from it. (Rev 22:18-19) Such a person will give men the “whole counsel of God” as Paul said he did to the Ephesians in Act 20:27. Equally important in teaching accurately is being teachable yourself! Apollos was not puffed up with pride because of his knowledge. He was able to become a student if necessary as in Act 18:26 when Aquila and Priscilla “took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.” 1Co 8:1-2 says, “Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.” Apollos knew that he always had more to learn and this realization kept him humble and able to be taught.

So, I hope the next time you hear Apollo Creed’s name you’ll think instead of Apollos’ creed. May we follow the godly principles that guided his life. I pray his zeal for God would inspire us to faithfully share all that God has revealed to us. I can assure you that if we will walk obediently in all the light we have, God will give us more light! He will teach us His ways “more accurately” so that we, like Apollos, may “speak boldly” His gospel to a lost world which needs it so desperately! (Act 18:26)

Jamie

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
Mat 16:15-17

There is no question more important. Who do you say Jesus is? There are many ways men would answer that question today. Some would give an answer of respect while others would blaspheme, but on this point we must be clear. Jesus was not merely a good man, a gifted teacher, a prophet of God, or only the Son of God. He was and is the Christ. He is both the Son of God AND God the Son. He is the ONLY access to the Father. Along these lines, let us make three points of clear distinction between what Christ taught about Himself and what multitudes accept today.

1) He is THE great Prophet

Many years ago, I worked closely with a man who was a Muslim. I had never spent much time with anyone of that persuasion, and so, as I always try to do, I asked him what he personally believed rather than assuming something based on what I had heard. One thing that surprised me was the great respect this man had for Jesus. As I encountered other Muslims, I learned this attitude to be common. In corresponding with one man, he wouldn’t even write the name “Jesus” unless he followed it with “PBUH”, or “Peace Be Upon Him”. But though Christ was well-respected, to them, He was merely one of many messengers God had sent to specific groups of people over the ages. It was clear that Muhammad, the greatest and last of their prophets, was held in higher esteem for he came with a message for all mankind. Only through Muhammad’s teachings could men know Allah, their word for God. Even with all the respect they gave to Jesus, we must understand that Jesus claimed to be more! He was not merely one of the prophets, He is the great Prophet, the one of whom Moses said, “‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.” (Act 3:22-23) It is to Christ that all the other prophets pointed. He is the One Prophet to whom you must be rightly related.

2) He is God the Son

The Son of God and God the Son…does the distinction really matter? Absolutely! Nicodemus described Jesus in a pretty lofty manner: “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” (Joh 3:2) He acknowledged Christ as a great teacher, one who came from God, and one with whom God was, but Jesus says in the next verse that Nicodemus hadn’t made it yet. He still needed to be born again! Jesus wasn’t simply a teacher come from God. He was God Who had come to teach! God wasn’t just with Him. He was God! “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” (Joh 1:1-2) In case there’s any doubt Who the Word is, v. 14 reads, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” Many will accept Jesus as the Son of God, but you’ve gone too far if you claim He is God the Son. Just ask any Jehovah’s Witness. But, what did Jesus think? If He was not God the Son, surely He would have rebuked Thomas who addressed Him as, “My Lord and my God!” (Joh 20:28) When John fell down before the angel to worship him in Rev 22:9, the response was immediate: “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” Jesus confessed the same thing when Satan said he would give Him all the kingdoms of the world if He would worship him. Jesus responded quickly, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” (Mat 4:10) But just a few chapters later, after Jesus walked on the waves and calmed the wind, Mat 14:33 tells us, “Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Truly You are the Son of God.’”

3) He is the ONLY access to the Father

In this day of political correctness, such a statement is not very popular, but this truth has been set forth in the Scriptures over and over again. Jesus never claimed to be a way to God. Rather, He boldly declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” And just in case there was any doubt, He makes it clear in the next statement that He is the only Way! “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (Joh 14:6) This message was repeated by the apostles. Peter testified of it in Act 4:12: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Even if Oprah Winfrey is confused on this issue, there’s no excuse for any student of the word of God to be. As Paul writes to Timothy, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus…” (1Ti 2:5)

Christians, we are called to be closed-minded on these points.  There is no room for deviation. The message of Christianity is Christ! Just prior to His ascension, Jesus spoke of the effect of the Holy Ghost in this way: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Act 1:8) To make it plain, if we’re not witnesses of Him, we don’t possess the Holy Ghost! He is the only hope for mankind. To water that message down is to depart from the faith because He is the object of our faith. Men are lost and need saving. There is only one answer when a man asks as the Philippian jailer did, “what must I do to be saved?” May we be just as clear as the apostle Paul was: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved…” (Act 16:30-31)

Jamie