After Paul founding churches in Phillipi, Thessalonica, and Corinth… after establishing a gospel foothold on the continent of Europe… the apostle Paul and Aquila and Priscilla…complete this gigantic loop, traveling all the way back to Ephesus to Syrian-Antioch, even to Jerusalem, and then north to eastern Asia. There is an ebb-flow to Christian work—seasons of strengthening new life in Christ must necessarily follow seasons of expansion (esp. rapid expansion). Evangelism and discipleship must walk hand-in-hand, never one at expense of the other, or else the movement of Jesus fragments. Both tasks are equally difficult.
Let's look at Jesus’ Great Commission once more. Matthew 28:18-20, “Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always to the end of the age.”
The operative imperatives are as follows: First, the Church of Jesus Christ is to “go” into all the world to preach the gospel to every creature under heaven. Second, the Church is to “make disciples” of everyone everywhere which includes “baptizing people into the name of (putting people under the authority) of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Jesus is the only name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved. His name is powerful to save. Third, the Church of Jesus Christ is to “teach people to observe (obey) everything Christ commanded.”
Every movement has its own distinctive characteristics, set by its founder. Jesus inaugurated the Church through preaching and evangelism, through baptism, through teaching and discipleship. The central priority of the first followers of Jesus was to be faithful to the pattern of life and pattern of teaching Jesus entrusted to those first disciples and apostles. If we usurp Christ's authority as the head of the Church... If we begin making disciples according to any other pattern than the life, pattern, imitation of Jesus… If we erase the sacraments of baptism, of the Lord's Supper, instituted by Christ according to God's sovereign wisdom… If we make Church about any other name than the saving name of Jesus… If we begin teaching any other doctrine or philosophy than that given in Scripture… any departure at any level from Christ's Great Commission charter… jeopardizes the strength, vitality, unity, and transformative power of the Jesus movement.
The early church didn't operate in a complicated way. Acts 2:41-46. “So those who accepted [the Apostles'] message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.” They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, the breaking of bread, prayer, sacrificial generosity, worship and praise. Acts 2:46, “Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”
For thousands of years the church of Jesus Christ has conformed to this pattern of Jesus. I've got to tell you something I'm thankful for. Jesus never wanted the process of becoming a Christian to be complicated. You hear the gospel preached, you repent, you believe and trust in Jesus, confessing that Jesus is Lord. Your obedience begins with a tangible, visible act of submission. You yield your life to the God of the Universe, your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You put yourself no longer under your own authority, but his authority. You no longer live to bring glory to yourself, but you put yourself under his name, and live for his glory. And having pledged yourself to Jesus your whole body is baptized (immersed) in water, symbolizing the washing and forgiveness of all your sin, symbolizing the death of your sinful soul in a watery grave. And then you are raised up out of that water, to breathe in the Holy Spirit, to not only live a new life, but to declare your resurrection hope in Christ's power that just as God raised Jesus by the Spirit of God so also, he will raise you up and give you eternal life. And from baptism your added or membered into the church where you are taught to obey everything Christ commanded, according to the Spirit whose power is at work in you.
Earlier in Acts 2:38-41, the crowd wanted to know what they should DO about their sin. They’d just crucified Jesus! Whenever evangelicals hear that dreaded two letter word “DO" alarm bells always go off. Oh no, salvation is a gift. You can't “do" anything. Salvation is 0% man and 100% God. If you think you can do anything you are deceived. James says a faith profession without doing… without works…is a dead profession. No, here is what you do! You obey Jesus! “38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” 40 With many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!” 41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.”
Every time in salvation history, when God saved some soul, obedience was always in the equation. Noah had to build an ark. The Israelites had to flee Egypt, pass through water, eat manna and quail, drink water from rock, and submit to God’s commandments and discipline in the wilderness. God always does the saving. When Paul says “be saved from this corrupt generation" it’s a passive command. You are not saving yourself—you are putting yourself into his hands, under the name of the one who can. Be baptized. You’re not working, you’re entrusting yourself to one who saves
Now what happens when some sincere, believing soul comes along who hasn't begun, or isn't living the Christian life according to the pattern given? Friends, this happened all the time in the 1st century, it happens all the time today. Differences of opinion, doctrine, and practice arise over time. Over time, men and their rival movements usurp the name of Christ and sometimes seek to erase the distinctives first set out by Christ in the gospels and in Acts. In the early church you had a universal church emerge. Catholic means universal. We're all “catholics” in the first and earliest sense of “catholic”. But then rival popes divided the church into the east and west, then north and south. Rival authorities slowly usurped the authority of Christ alone as Head of his Church. Rival movements divided believers one against the other around matters of doctrine, opinion, creeds, and practices. The sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper have been deconstructed and re-envisioned a million ways. Today there are thousands of Christian sects, denominations, and creeds.
Here is how it happens. Look no further than Acts 8:24-25, “Now a Jew named Apollos, a native Alexandrian, an eloquent man who was competent in the use of the Scriptures, arrived in Ephesus. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit…” [a sincere spirit is everything these days, right? So far so good, right?] “… he was speaking and teaching accurately about Jesus although he knew only John’s baptism.”
Just a note here. John the Baptists’ baptism was a baptism of repentance. It was by immersion, down in the waters of the Jordan River. But it wasn’t the same as Jesus' baptism. John’s baptism was preparatory. It was a person’s declaration of their readiness for the Messiah or Christ, the Hope of Israel, to be revealed. And John said, I baptize you with water… but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. When Jesus is baptized in the gospel, in water, in the Jordan, the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus and the Father confirms Jesus’ sonship, “This is my son whom I love, with whom I am well pleased.” The Father would also say, “listen to him.”
Apollos has checked every box there is to be checked. He can even check the “I was immersed" box. Acts 8:24-25, “26 He [Apollos] began to speak boldly in the synagogue. After Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside [that's respect] and explained the way of God to him more accurately. 27 When he wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers and sisters wrote to the disciples to welcome him. After he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28 For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating through the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.” This Apollos is a Rock Star! He's like the Apostle Paul 2.0! He’s an Influencer!
Despite all we’re reading about Apollos, Apollos still had some unfinished business in his life. Now keep in mind, up to this point, Apollos had fully, sincerely obeyed Jesus in every manner of life, doctrine, he’d been taught. He eloquently and with great affect (the Corinthians swooned around the guy) preached and was a true servant of the gospel. He was commended by all as a true believer. But there was one thing that yet remained (both for Apollos and his followers) …
Acts 19:1-7, “While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” “No,” they told him, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 “Into what then were you baptized?” he asked them. “Into John’s baptism,” they replied. 4 Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy. 7 Now there were about twelve men in all.”
It's amazing how in the modern church, there are competing views and practices of baptism. I’ve researched baptism extensively through the years. Some groups teach that there are as many as seven different baptisms practiced in the Bible. I'll spare you the details. In Ephesians 4:1-6, Paul is writing to Ephesus, where Apollos and twelve others were found. This is what he says about the Christian life: “Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.”
Not only did Apollos check the “eloquence box”, the “teaches the scripture competently box”, the “fervent and sincere box”… but as part of the Twelve… checked all the “Ephesian 4 boxes”… the “walk worthy of the calling you received box”, the “humility and gentleness box”, the “make every effort to keep unity of the Spirit box”, and the “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one body, one Spirit, one God and Father box…”
You might wonder how might we ever begin to agree on such divisive matters, whether baptism or another topic? First, we need to recognize that it takes real effort to create, preserve unity. We have to listen, discern, teach and instruct one another. Right doctrine and right practice matter to God. Don't be so quick to run away from tough conversations, especially doctrinal ones.
Second, we need to recognize Christ's authority in all matters of faith and practice. It doesn't matter what one man, no matter how eloquent, or charismatic, thinks, feels, says, or does. It doesn’t matter what a church, or a movement, or a denomination…no matter how global…thinks or teaches. Christ is head of the Church. And in the gospels, we have the pattern of Jesus’ life, and his sufficient teaching, to guide our faith and practices. Jesus was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. Jesus’ followers were baptized or immersed not just for forgiveness but to receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus began and ended his earthly ministry declaring the necessity of baptism into his name. We have the example, the normative pattern, of what the early Church actually did. They not only practiced baptism, but they also carefully preserved its meaning and integrity at every turn. We baptize by immersion for the forgiveness of sin and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit because that’s what Jesus taught, modeled, and the apostles commanded, and the early Church practiced. We don't see baptism as a work of self-salvation, but an occasion to invite God to work out his salvation in us.
Third, in the spirit of Ephesians 4, we need to exhibit humility and gentleness. It takes great humility to be an Apollos and remain tender, teachable and responsive to the Spirit of Christ. It takes the gentleness of an Aquila and Priscilla to lovingly pull someone aside, even a high-profile leader and servant… and teach them the word of God more accurately. This isn't about winning or losing. It's about honoring the way of the Lord most fully.
So much more could be said about baptism, but not just baptism, also faith, confession, repentance, forgiveness, resurrection, Lord’s Supper, preaching, and generosity. But in Acts 18, baptism was the issue, and maybe today, it’s also a matter of business for you. If you have questions, want revisit the matter of baptism, why not initiate a conversation… attend our Pathway Class… Email us… Use the Prayer App. Let's talk. We will teach you to complete satisfaction the way of the Lord, from Scripture, from gospels, from Acts, from the Bible. We will walk you through steps needed to be baptized for forgiveness of sin and to receive the Holy Spirit.