The Full Package: From John's Water to Jesus' Fire Text: Acts 19:1-10
Introduction: Spiritual Diagnostics
We live in an age of religious consumerism, where it is possible to assemble a bespoke faith from a catalogue of options. A little bit of Jesus's moral teaching, a dash of therapeutic sentiment, a sprinkle of community service, and a general feeling of goodwill toward men. You can have a faith that is sincere, active, and even disciplined, and yet be entirely missing the main point. You can be a disciple, but a disciple of an incomplete message.
This is precisely the situation the Apostle Paul encounters when he arrives in Ephesus. Ephesus was a major league city. It was a center of commerce, culture, and pagan religion, home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was a city marinating in idolatry and spiritual darkness. And into this city comes Paul, who finds not pagans, but "some disciples."
This passage is a master class in spiritual diagnostics. Paul, like a skilled physician, does not simply check the vital signs; he asks penetrating questions to get to the heart of the matter. He is not content with the label "disciple." He wants to know if they have the reality that the label is supposed to represent. The questions he asks then, we must ask now. Is our gospel the full package, or are we running on a preparatory, Old Covenant version of the faith? Have we settled for the signpost instead of the destination? Do we have the baptism of repentance without the baptism of power? This is not an abstract historical question. It is a perennial diagnostic for the church in every age.
The Text
Now it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper regions and came to Ephesus and found some disciples. And he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said to him, "No, we have not even heard if the Holy Spirit is being received." And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" And they said, "Into John's baptism." Then Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus." And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. Now there were in all about twelve men.
And after he entered the synagogue, he continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some were becoming hardened and were not believing, speaking evil of the Way before the multitude, he left them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
(Acts 19:1-10 LSB)
An Incomplete Faith (vv. 1-3)
We begin with Paul's arrival and his immediate, incisive inquiry.
"And he said to them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?' And they said to him, 'No, we have not even heard if the Holy Spirit is being received.'" (Acts 19:2 LSB)
Paul does not ask about their church attendance, their tithing record, or their feelings. He goes straight to the heart of New Covenant identity. The defining mark of a Christian is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. If you do not have the Spirit of Christ, you do not belong to Christ (Romans 8:9). This is the fundamental difference between the Old Covenant and the New. The New Covenant promise was that God would put His Spirit within His people (Ezekiel 36:27). Paul's question is essentially, "Are you New Covenant believers?"
Their answer is a dead giveaway. "We have not even heard if the Holy Spirit is being received." This is not a confession of ignorance about the third person of the Trinity. An Old Testament saint would know of the Spirit of God. Their answer means they had not heard that the great promised outpouring of the Spirit, the event of Pentecost, had occurred. They are living before the cross, before the resurrection, before Pentecost, even though those events are now in the past. They are disciples, but they are stuck in the prequel.
So Paul asks his second diagnostic question:
"And he said, 'Into what then were you baptized?' And they said, 'Into John's baptism.'" (Acts 19:3 LSB)
Baptism is an oath of allegiance. It marks you out. It declares which army you have joined and whose name is on your uniform. Their answer confirms the diagnosis. They had received John's baptism, which was a baptism of repentance in preparation for the coming Messiah. It was a good and necessary thing, but it was preparatory. It was the trailer, not the movie. To be a disciple of John after Jesus has come, died, risen, and sent His Spirit is to be tragically, woefully out of date.
The Necessary Upgrade (vv. 4-7)
Paul's response is a model of pastoral correction. He does not belittle their faith or John's ministry. He explains how John's ministry finds its fulfillment in Jesus.
"Then Paul said, 'John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.'" (Acts 19:4 LSB)
Paul puts John in his proper place, as the great signpost. John's whole purpose was to point away from himself and toward Christ. To camp out at the signpost is to dishonor the signpost's purpose. John's ministry was to get the people ready. But now the King has arrived, established His kingdom, and sent His royal emissary, the Spirit. It is time to move from preparation to participation.
The response of these twelve men is exemplary. There is no pride, no defensiveness. They hear the truth and they immediately embrace it.
"And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying." (Acts 19:5-6 LSB)
They are now baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus, which is to be united with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection. This is not a "re-baptism." Their first baptism was a valid baptism into John's preparatory message. This is their first and only Christian baptism, incorporating them into the body of the risen Lord. And with this baptism comes the apostolic confirmation. Paul lays hands on them, and the Holy Spirit comes upon them in power. The gifts of tongues and prophecy are the external, undeniable evidence that they have now received the full package. This is their personal Pentecost, confirming their full inclusion in the New Covenant people of God. The number twelve is surely significant, a sign that this is a new foundational community, a new Israel, being established in this pagan city.
From Conversion to Confrontation (vv. 8-10)
The gospel is never a private affair. True conversion immediately leads to public proclamation. Paul's strategy is consistent: he goes to the synagogue first, to the existing people of God.
"And after he entered the synagogue, he continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God." (Acts 19:8 LSB)
Note his method. He is bold. He reasons. He persuades. The Christian faith is not a matter of wishful thinking or a leap in the dark. It is a robust, defensible, logical truth claim about reality. And the subject of this reasoning is "the kingdom of God." This is the central message of the apostles. It is the declaration that Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified, has been raised from the dead and installed as the Lord of heaven and earth. His kingdom is not some future ethereal reality; it is a present invasion, a hostile takeover of all that belongs to the evil one.
But the gospel is a sword, and it always brings division.
"But when some were becoming hardened and were not believing, speaking evil of the Way before the multitude, he left them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus." (Acts 19:9 LSB)
Rejection of the truth does not lead to neutrality; it leads to hardness of heart and active opposition. They began "speaking evil of the Way." "The Way" was an early name for Christianity, and it is a good one. This is not a hobby or a weekend club; it is a comprehensive way of life under the lordship of Christ. When faced with this intractable opposition, Paul makes a strategic withdrawal. He separates the disciples, forming a distinct community. He shakes the dust from his feet and moves his base of operations from the religious institution of the synagogue to the public square, the secular lecture hall of Tyrannus.
And from this new beachhead, the gospel explodes.
"This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks." (Acts 19:10 LSB)
This is the fruit of faithful, patient, daily labor. For two years, Paul taught in this school. And the result was the evangelization of an entire Roman province. This did not happen because Paul was a frantic whirlwind of activity, running from town to town. It happened because he established a training center. He equipped the saints, who then went out as missionaries, church planters, and evangelists, taking the word of the Lord to every corner of Asia Minor. This is the biblical model for cultural transformation. It is not a flash in the pan revival, but the steady, daily, relentless application of God's Word to every area of life, resulting in a gospel saturation that leaves no one untouched.
Conclusion: Your Personal Pentecost
This passage confronts us with a series of vital questions. First, what is the content of our gospel? Is it the full-orbed message of the crucified, risen, and reigning King Jesus, and the gift of His Spirit? Or have we settled for a preparatory gospel of moralism and repentance without power? We must not be content to be disciples of John the Baptist in the age of the Spirit.
Second, what is our response to the truth? Are we like the twelve disciples, who humbly and immediately received the correction and were baptized into Jesus? Or are we like those in the synagogue, who became hardened, refused to believe, and began to speak evil of the Way?
Finally, what is our strategy for the kingdom? The gospel is a public truth that must be reasoned about and proclaimed boldly in the public square. We must be engaged in the daily work of reasoning and persuading from the Scriptures. We should find our own "school of Tyrannus," that place in the world where God has placed us, and from that post, work faithfully so that all who live in our "Asia," our sphere of influence, may hear the word of the Lord. The same Spirit that turned twelve out-of-date disciples into the foundation of the Ephesian church is the same Spirit who empowers us for this task today. Let us therefore seek the full package, and refuse to settle for anything less.