Acts Of The Apostles # 26 Of 39

In our text, we learn Paul left Corinth to go to Ephesus where Apollos had come from. When Paul arrived at the place where Apollos had been preaching and teaching, he discovered the disciples had the same problem that Apollos had. Remember, when Apollos came to Corinth he was a dedicated Christian, and an excellent speaker, but he was limited in his understanding about the gospel. He was preaching all that he knew to preach, but he was not preaching all that he should have been preaching.

When Apollos began to preach, those who were deeper in the Word of God, could tell that what he was preaching about was John's baptism of repentance. He did not know about the Messiah Who had come, died, was buried and resurrected.

It was that lovely Christian couple, Aquila and Priscilla, who called him aside, and (the Bible says in 18:26), "... expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.”

When Paul arrived where Apollos had been sharing his limited knowledge, he found, “...certain disciples, " who had the same problem Apollos had. This may have been part of the reason Paul wanted to go to Ephesus.

Illus: It is impossible for a teacher to teach something he himself does not know. This is why very much time needs to be spent in the Word of God. If they do not know what God's Word teaches, they certainly cannot teach it. All they can do is pass down their ignorance to others.

This is exactly what Apollos, who was sincere but had limited knowledge, had done about the gospel.

I. PAUL' S EXPERIENCE WHEN HE ARRIVED

A. THEIR IGNORANCE

Verses 1-3, “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 Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.”

When Paul arrived, he became acquainted with “...certain disciples.” The Scripture does not say upon arrival he became acquainted with “certain Christians,” they were disciples.

Is there a difference? Yes, a big difference. A disciple is a follower of a teacher, but we find in the Scriptures, that on some occasions the “followers” of Jesus, were not necessarily God's children. A classic example is in John 6:70, Jesus said, “Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil??”

In our text, the followers of Apollos' teachings knew a great deal about John the Baptist and his baptism, but little else. Some feel with their limited knowledge perhaps they were followers of Apollos, but not necessarily were they children of God. How was John's Baptism different from Christian Baptism? Those who had been baptized in John's Baptism, did not know yet that the Messiah had come, nor about being baptized in the Holy Spirit. John's baptism was not a baptism after salvation.

The design of John's preaching, was to turn people from their sins, and direct their attention to Him who was to come and save them from their sins. His baptism was a preparatory baptism, to cause men to look forward to the Messiah, but Christian baptism is looking back to the Messiah, Who came, died, was buried, and was resurrected.

They had accepted the message that Apollos taught, but they were totally ignorant of the Messiah, and the filling of the Holy Spirit.

People were ignorant of the gospel message then, and many are still ignorant today. Why?

People are spiritually ignorant for two reasons:

1. SOME CHOOSE TO BE IGNORANT.

Each week, they choose to attend a church that does not teach and preach the Word of God. That does not bother them in the slightest, because they have no desire to learn what this Bible teaches.

2. SOME ARE IGNORANT BECAUSE THEY REFUSE TO BE TAUGHT NEW THINGS.

Illus: For example, this age we live in is fast becoming the age of computers. It may not be long before you are going to feel helpless if you do not know anything about computers. Even though you may be considered a smart person today, if you do not learn something about computers, in the future you will be considered to be ignorant.

Illus: For example, can you imagine a man like the apostle Paul living in our modem age? He was a brilliant man in his day and time. Yet, if he could have been transported to our day and time, he would be lost downtown with cars, buses, trucks, red lights, elevators, tall buildings, etc.

Illus: He would be like the old farmer who came to town for the first time in his life. He went into a department store, and saw people coming down from the second level, riding the escalators. He stopped, stared and watched those people for about half an hour. Someone noticed him staring and said, “Hey, mister, are you alright?”