Genesis 1:1-5
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
Acts 19:1-7
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”
“John’s baptism,” they replied.
4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
Mark 1:4-11
4 And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Why did Paul ask the question that he did when he arrived in Ephesus?
Why did he say, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
What did he see in them, in their behaviour, attitude, or practice that led him to ask this very pointed question?
How did He NOT see the Holy Spirit in them?
Paul’s practice was to visit the synagogues in the towns he visited. He had been to Ephesus before, at the end of his second missionary journey on his way back to Caesarea. (Acts 18: 19ff). He had been to the synagogue and had reasoned with the Jews there. They were interested in what he had to say and wanted him to stay on with them. He couldn’t though because he had urgent business back home.
This was a return visit to people he had already met. However, before his return they had been visited by Apollos who had taught them the way of the Lord. We read in the previous chapter that he was “a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervour and taught about Jesus accurately … though he only knew the baptism of John.” (Acts 18:24-25)
Apollos could only teach them “so far” because that was all he knew. Some of the earliest Christian writers said that he was from Alexandria, a dynamic teacher, who had been in Israel during the ministry of John and had been converted to his teaching of repentance and the expectation of the Messiah. He had taught John’s baptism, a baptism of repentance, in Ephesus until Priscilla and Aquila, whom Paul had left in the city, were able to explain to him “the way of God more adequately.” (Acts 18:26)
These disciples knew “the stuff” but they were incomplete. There was an important ingredient missing in their life. Paul noticed that and so he asked the question, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
What was missing?
According to 2 Cor 5:17, a great change takes place in the life of one who becomes a Christ follower – the text tells us that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
But what is this change which Paul DIDN’T see in the lives of the disciples in Ephesus? He saw the old, but he didn’t see the new.
In Genesis, in the account of creation of the heavens and the earth - the formless, empty darkness was given form, fullness and light and it was the first day. So perhaps when Paul returned to Ephesus on his third missionary journey he realized that despite the outward appearance, these disciples were still not yet spiritually renewed – they had not yet received the Holy Spirit. There was no form, fullness and light for them. They had not yet entered the “new day”.
Our best source for understanding this “new creation” is, in fact, Paul’s letter to this very same church – in the letter to the Ephesians. When we receive the Holy Spirit, or are newly created three things happen…
1. We take our place with Christ in the heavenly realm
2. We live lives worthy of our calling, and
3. We stand our ground when the day of evil comes.
Let’s look at each of these in turn…
1. We are seated with Christ in the heavenly realm (Eph 2:4-6)
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
To be newly created MUST affect the way we think, for we are now seated with Christ in the heavenly realms, it must change our approach to everything – we have a new perspective.
Previously we were dead in our transgressions and sin – now we are alive.
Our focus is no longer on the things of the world for we know what it is to live by grace. We are unperturbed by the demands and disasters of the world because we have a new outlook – we are seeing the view no longer from the world’s perspective but from the right hand of the Father.
2. We are living a life worthy of our calling (Eph 4:1-3)
I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
We are newly created so that we can live lives which are worthy of our calling - holy and blameless (Eph 1:3-4).
We become a people who live a life of love (Eph 5:2) – just as Christ did; who live as children of light (Eph 5:8) - having nothing to do with the darkness; and who live as wise people (Eph 5:15) – making the most of every opportunity to understand the Lord’s will.
3. We stand our ground when the day of evil comes (Eph 6:10-13)
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
When we are newly created we are strong to face the challenges which come against us in the day of evil. We are not strong in ourselves but in the power of His might. (Eph 6:10). We can face the power of the devil, the threat of temptation and we can unloose the chains of sin.
Life is not easy – we face a constant barrage from the world, the flesh and the devil which threatens the holiness and integrity of our walk with Christ. It is only in Christ that we can stand strong against such threats.
Now it would seem to me that when Paul arrived back in Ephesus, he met these disciples and they had none of this new outlook, new life and new strength.
Each of these comes because we are born again of the Spirit – there is a new energy ignited within us, our efforts are effortless because its not about striving to be this new creation, or to live up to its standards. We ARE a new creation.
The old way has us struggling. We try to do the things of the new creation – we force ourselves to read the Bible, to pray, to go to church. We do it because it is a duty, something to perform.
But in the new way, this is who we ARE! We want to walk with God, we want to read His Word, we want to do His will. It is no longer me, trying to overcome my sinful nature with the added burden of religious duty. No, the Spirit in me has ignited a fire within me.
When John the Baptist came, he was the forerunner of that which was to come. He was preparing the way for the Lord. He was announcing the imminence of the new creation. His was a baptism of repentance – it was a challenge for the people to recognize who they were, how they had failed and that it was their sin and selfishness which kept them from the fullness of God’s grace. It was to prepare them to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Those disciples in Ephesus knew John’s baptism. They had recognized their sin, they knew that they had failed and now, without the help of the Holy Spirit (because they had not yet even heard that there was a Holy Spirit), they were trying to model the life of Christ.
You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that they had set for themselves an impossible task. So perhaps what Paul saw was a group of tired people, trying really hard out of their own strength to be newly created.
But they didn’t have the perspective of the heavenlies – everything was seen in the flesh, and this is the breeding ground of anger, resentment and pride.
They were trying to live the worthy life but they didn’t have the energy of the Holy Spirit and so perhaps they were tired, bored and defeated.
And they didn’t have the strength of God’s armour to defend themselves against the attack of the enemy. They were defenceless against the fiery darts of the devil, weakening under every attack.
The sad thing about all of this is that there are many people in Christ’s Church today – and even more who have “given up” because they sought to live the new life, the life of Christ, out of their own strength and failed.
There is clash between our being made in the image of God and the sinful nature which came by the way of Adam’s sin. We are not satisfied with our life – we know that it must be changed – this is the stuff of New Year resolutions! But we cannot deal with this crisis, this need for life change, by simply resolving to do so.
John’s baptism was a recognition of the sinful nature and a desire to be done with it but to live the new life needed the baptism of Christ – the drenching with the Holy Spirit. You cannot have one without the other.
To be baptized into repentance without the Holy Spirit, is to find yourself in constant failure – you have desired to leave the sin behind but you find that your life is not actually changed.
To be baptized with the Holy Spirit without repentance is itself an impossibility, but if it were possible, there would be a constant clash between your two natures for you have brought your sin into your new life.
Those twelve men in Ephesus, who had received John’s baptism – the baptism of repentance – were incomplete. They were on track but their lives were not changed. They needed to be baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus and as that happened the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke in tongues and prophesied – their life was changed.
We too need our lives to be changed, we need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit if we are to live in this life of the new creation which is the promise of Jesus. It involves one decision and one step of faith – the decision is to be done with the sin of the past; the step of faith is to accept Jesus as Saviour AND Lord of one’s life. The decision and the step of faith go hand in hand and sometimes we blur them into each other but they are two distinct parts – be done with your sin, go forward with Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit.
