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NT LESSON 32
"LIVE IN THE
SPIRIT"
Acts 18:23-20:38;
Galatians
by Ted L. Gibbons
INTRODUCTION: Paul was a witness of God in
every situation in which he found himself. He had been given this
direction at the time of his conversion. Ananias said to him on the day he
was healed and baptized,
The God of our fathers hath chosen thee,
that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest
hear the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be his witness unto all men
of what thou hast seen and heard (Acts 22:14-15, emphasis added).
All of us who are under the covenant of
baptism are obligated to "stand as witnesses of God at all times and
in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until
death" (Mosiah 18:9). No one ever did this any better than Paul. And
the likelihood of death was never a determining factor in his witnessing.
Paul never sought a safer environment on his own, but at least eight times
in the book of Acts when Paul was in danger, the disciples tried to move
him out of harm's way (see Acts 9:24-25; 9:29-30; 17:5-10; 17:13-14;
19:28-31; 20:22-24; 21:4, 10-13). The Lord had commanded him: "Speak,
and hold not thy peace" (Acts 18:9). And that is what he did for the
final thirty years of his life, regardless of personal danger.
Paul went where he was supposed to go and
said what needed to be said. If he could not make a personal appearance,
he wrote letters. Paul*s life and his epistles make it abundantly clear
that Paul was ready at any time to speak and hold not his peace.
I. PAUL TEACHES, BAPTIZES, AND CONFERS
THE HOLY GHOST ON BELIEVERS IN EPHESUS.
Paul spent some time at home in Antioch
following his second mission (see Acts 18:22,23), but he was not given to
protracted sabbaticals. Before very long, "he departed (again!) and
went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening
all the disciples."
In Ephesus, where Paul spent almost three
years, he heard of a most remarkable man, a "certain Jew named
Apollos." Apollos knew of the baptism of John but not of the Holy
Ghost. However, even without that gift in his life, he
6. Mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly (18:28)
Apollos sounds very much like John the
Baptist, preparing the way for the coming fulness in Ephesus and Corinth.
Members who heard him speak in the synagogue on a Sabbath took him aside
and "expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly" (Acts
18:26).
When Paul arrived at Ephesus, he met
certain disciples who had been baptized with the baptism of John. They may
have been disciples of Apollos who had departed for Corinth. When Paul
asked them if they had received the Holy Ghost, they said, "We have
not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost" (Acts 19:2).
Paul knew what we know. Anyone commissioned
by Christ who performs a baptism does so with the promise that the gift of
the Spirit will follow. Whoever had baptized these disciples was not sent
forth by proper priesthood authority. Paul baptized them again, "in
the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid his hands upon them, the
Holy ghost came on them and; and they spake with tongues and
prophesied" (Acts 19:5,6).
Paul knew what we must know. This gift of
the Holy Ghost is an absolute imperative in our lives if we mean to earn
exaltation.
I spoke at my granddaughter's baptism in
July. My assigned topic was the Holy Ghost.
I told her that I have a picture of her
with her sister on my computer wallpaper. "Every time I turn on the
computer, she is there with you," I said. If she could be with you
all the time in your life, would she help you choose the right? This
8-year-old was pretty sure she would. I asked the same questions about her
mom and her dad. She thought that if one of both of them could be with her
all the time, she would be able to make pretty good decisions because
someone would always be there who knew more than she did to help her.
I even asked about President Hinckley. This
little girl thought that he would help her with her decisions too. But she
agreed with me that he might be too busy to follow her around 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week. "But if he could, you would always know the best
thing to do, wouldn't you?" I asked. She was pretty sure that was
true.
Then I asked her what it would be like to
have a member of the Godhead with her all the time. We read 2 Nephi 32:5.
For behold, again I say unto you that if
ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show
unto you all things what ye should do (2 Nephi 32:5)
I am amazed at this, that God would give
all of his covenanting children continuous access to a being who knows
everything. This is what Paul was doing for the unconfirmed disciples in
Ephesus. And he did it with the proper authority.
This chapter contains additional emphasis
on the need for proper authority in this work.
Then certain of the vagabond Jews,
exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the
name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul
preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of
the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus
I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil
spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against
them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded (Acts
19:13-16).
The words of this work might be spoken
without priesthood authority; even the forms of the ordinances might be
practiced, but without ordination to the priesthood by one with authority,
it is all show without substance. And proper record-keeping is, in our
day, an indispensable part of this process as well. I ordained a young man
a Priest two weeks ago. He is in his twenties and making a great effort to
return to full activity in the church. When I asked him, he assured me
that he had been ordained a Priest. Even his mother was certain. But the
records of the Church listed him as a Teacher. We performed the ordination
again. Now there is no question.
As great an evangelist as Apollos was, Paul
was greater. I am continuously amazed at what he does as at the zeal with
which he does it.
In Ephesus he "went into the
synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and
persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God" (Acts 19:8) This
must be the longest sermon on record! Even a deacon sitting though this
might learn to love a High Councilman!
When the Jews in the synagogue were
hardened against him, he "separated the disciples, disputing
[teaching] daily in the school of one Tyrannus. And this continued by the
space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of
the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks (Acts 19:10,11).
In Acts 20 we find Paul preaching
publickly, and from house to house.
Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward
God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (20:20-21).
Paul charged the leaders of the Church at
Ephesus: to "remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not
to warn every one night and day with tears" (Acts 20:31).
You will not be surprised to read in these
chapters that even Paul*s ministry in Ephesus encountered opposition.
A craftsman named Demetrius was terrified
of the success of this Roman Jew. He manufactured silver shrines for the
goddess Diana. Since her temple at Ephesus was one of the seven wonders of
the ancient world, the tourist trade was lucrative, but if Paul were to
turn enough people away from this idol worship, then
not only this our craft is in danger to
be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana
should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all
Asia and the world worshippeth (Acts 19:27).
I wonder how many times in the history of
the world the pocketbooks of men have intervened between their hearts and
the manifestations of the Spirit. In a city in the state of São Paulo,
Brazil, I taught the gospel to a man who owned a bar. He and his family
were prepared and excited and, before long, baptized. During a visit not
long after they joined the church, the father took me into an office in
his business and said something like this. "I have a problem. I make
my living selling stuff that I do not believe people should use."
Not very long after, he sold his bar.
Unable to find new employment for a while, he lived on the proceeds of the
sale and spent his days working on the new chapel being constructed in his
city. When the building was finished and a church reorganization occurred,
he became the bishop of his ward. A few years later he became Stake
President.
He was a man unlike the silversmiths of
Ephesus. He refused to let his silver impede his spirituality. This is a
lesson we must all learn, for as the Savior said, "A rich man shall
hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 19:23).
Aroused by the claims of Demetrius, the
whole city of Ephesus rushed into the theater. We assume this was the
temple of the great goddess Diana, which, according to ancient records
held about 24000 people. For two hours these people shouted, "Great
is Diana of the Ephesians." Think about that service the next time
you get bored at stake conference.
II. PAUL GIVES A FAREWELL ADDRESS TO
CHURCH LEADERS FROM EPHESUS.
"After the uproar was ceased"
(Acts 20:1), Paul departed from Ephesus and went to Greece. On a Sunday he
spoke to the saints in Troas. He was leaving the next day, and had a great
deal to say, and so he "continued his speech until midnight"
(Acts 20:9). Elder McConkie said,
Sermons can and sometimes should be long.
The modern penchant for capsule presentations often deprives men from
coming to a full knowledge of the doctrines of salvation. Who among us
would object to listening to Paul or Peter or Joseph Smith for as many
consecutive hours as human strength allowed? (DNTC, v.2, p. 176).
But not everyone was captivated.
And there sat in a window a certain young
man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long
preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft,
and was taken up dead (Acts 20:9).
Let that be a warning to all of us who have
a tendency to doze off when long-winded speakers claim the pulpit. Paul
was not deterred, however. He healed the young man, broke bread with the
saints, "and talked a long while, even till break of day . . ."
(Acts 20:10-12).
From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the
church leaders to meet him there (Acts 20:17) for a farewell address. His
review of his credentials is touching. I will highlight the
characteristics of Paul that made him great among these people:
18. When they were come to him, he said
unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what
manner I have been with you at all seasons,
19. Serving the Lord with all
humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me
by the lying in wait of the Jews:
20. And how I kept back nothing that
was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you
publickly, and from house to house,
21. Testifying both to the Jews, and
also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord
Jesus Christ. . . .
26. Wherefore I take you to record
this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.
27. For I have not shunned to
declare unto you all the counsel of God (Acts 20:18-21, 26,27,34).
34. Yea, ye yourselves know, that
these hands [Paul's hands] have ministered unto my necessities, and to
them that were with me.
Paul departed knowing that hard times were
in his future.
22. And now, behold, I go bound in
the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me
there:
23. Save that the Holy Ghost
witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.
24. But none of these things move
me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my
course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord
Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
25. And now, behold, I know that ye
all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my
face no more.
But Paul's entire life since his conversion
had been hard. You can read a long time in Acts and the epistles before
you will find Paul discussing any of the easy things he had to do. But no
prospect of danger moved him. The thing that mattered was not personal
safety, "neither count I my life dear unto myself", but that he
should finish his life, his course, with joy in the Lord.
Paul warned the Ephesians about external
enemies whom he called "grievous wolves," and internal apostates
who would arise "speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples
after them" (Acts 20:29,30).
And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled
down, and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore, and fell on
Paul's neck, and kissed him, Sorrowing most of all for the words which
he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied
him unto the ship (Acts 20:36-38).
III. PAUL CHASTISES AND COUNSELS THE
GALATIAN SAINTS.
Sometime during his third mission, Paul
wrote a letter to the saints in Galatia. Word had by some means come to
him that the members in branches there had returned to some of the
practices of the Law of Moses. He was astounded at their regression.
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from
him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which
is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert
the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any
other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him
be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach
any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be
accursed (Gal. 1:6-9).
Judaizers were Jewish Christians who
believed that many of the ordinances and requirements of the Law of Moses
were still binding on New Testament Christians. Their influence seems to
have troubled the saints of Galatia and pulled many of them back into the
morass of daily rituals enjoined by the Law of Moses. These Judaizers seem
to have taught that Paul was teaching the rejection of the Law in order to
make the gospel more pleasing to converts, but that he had no authority to
do so. Note Paul's response to this:
For do I now persuade men, or God? or do
I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the
servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which
was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man,
neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ (Gal.
1:10-12).
I wonder if we are ever guilty of preaching
in such a way as to make the doctrines more acceptable to our hearers. Do
we ever choose to overlook of under-emphasize certain requirements of the
kingdom in order to avoid offense or argument? Paul would never have done
this. He spoke the truth the way he learned it by revelation after his
conversion.
But when it pleased God, who separated me
from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in
me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred
not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which
were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto
Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter,
and abode with him fifteen days (Gal. 1:15-18, emphasis added).
Paul learned the doctrine in the deserts of
Arabia, conferring with the Spirit and with the scriptures. After three
years he traveled to Jerusalem, and in fifteen days received the apostolic
seal on his understanding and his teachings from the President of the
Church. Those were Paul*s credentials. He had been taught by Peter, and,
years later, accepted by Peter, James, and John (Ga1. 2:9). Thus Paul can
write, "Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I
lie not" (Gal. 1:20).
The message of this letter is probably best
summarized in Galatians 2:16.
Knowing that a man is not justified by
the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have
believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of
Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law
shall no flesh be justified.
Suppose God had reduced all of the
commandments of the Gospel to one command: "Thou shalt pull a train
to the top of Mount Everest by thy own power." No need to repent or
love or forgive or attend meetings or do our home and visiting teaching.
Just pull the train to the top. We would all be on our way to the
"dark and benighted dominions of Sheol," because none of us*not
a single one*could ever comply. Perhaps if the ground sloped slightly
downward in the beginning, the very strongest might move the train (if
there were only a few cars) a few inches. But to the top? I could not
happen. This is Paul*s point. You will never be saved by living the law
because you cannot live it well enough. Only the grace of Crist, only by
the power of Christ, only by faith in Christ, can we ever hope to reach
the top. Thus, "no man is justified by the law in the sight of God .
. . for the just shall live by faith" (Gal 3:11).
The purpose of the law was to be "our
schoolmaster until Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after
faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster" (Gal. 3:24,25,
JST).
Paul*s desire was to set his converts free
from the bondage and oppression of the law. He might want to set us free
as well. Many of us long for lists and definitions of the permissible
activities on the Sabbath and in other areas of our religious life.
"How much kissing is too much?" is a question I often ask
members of my young adult ward. Can we put a number on that? "What
must happen for you to get your home teaching done every month?" One
visit? A meaningful phone call? A brief conversation in church? Paul
warned these saints about the danger of these kinds of questions with this
language:
But now, after that ye have known God, or
rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly
elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days,
and months, and times, and years (Gal. 4:9,10).
We must walk in the Spirit, be led by the
Spirit, live in the Spirit, and enjoy the fruits of the Spirit (see Gal.
5:16, 18, 22-25).
CONCLUSION: Apostasy has not
disappeared from among us. I have a letter in my possession written by a
former colleague and Elders Quorum President. The letter contains a
"revelation" calling me to the Quorum of the Twelve in his
church, of which he is, according to his business card, "Prophet,
Seer, and Revelator." I have another friend, an associate of twenty
years, who has turned from the sweetness of the revelations and living
prophets back to the practice of polygamy. You all know of stories like
these. They are tragic but they must be warnings to us to live in such a
way and with such obedience that we can enjoy the companionship of the
Holy Ghost, which will "show unto you all things what ye should
do." (2 Nephi 32:5).
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