And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples.
Acts 19:1-10
Apollos moves on to Corinth and Paul now comes to Ephesus where he meets some believers who had not heard of the Holy Spirit let alone been baptized by the Holy Spirit. The converts had been baptized into the baptism of John (the Baptist), a baptism of repentance. After Paul explained that John the Baptist was a forerunner of Jesus and he pointed his followers to Jesus, these believers were baptized in the name of Jesus. Upon their baptism, the twelve men began to prophesy and speak in tongues not native to them. There are some people today who say they believe in Christ but, to be baptized as Jesus commanded, they say is to become a legalist and not a believer by faith. If Jesus, our Savior and Lord, was baptized, even though He was a sinless human being, for righteousness sake, then believers in Jesus should be baptized, also. Now, there may be extenuating circumstances such as health concerns, sudden death after conversion, or impossible conditions preventing baptism such as the thief on the cross, that make baptism impossible. Baptism is a symbol and a sign of the Christian’s conversion. It should never be assumed to be the means of salvation for anyone. Paul, then, went to the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews for three months about the Kingdom of God. When some became obstinate, refusing to accept the gospel message, trouble brewed against Paul. So, Paul took the Jewish believers and some Gentile believers to the “hall of Tyrannus” and, there, for two years, Paul preached and taught the gospel message and edified the congregation there. Today, devout Christians may face resistance to the gospel message and find that they are no longer welcome in a given location even though there are Christian believers there. The example here of Paul is the answer to the problem of such resistance. There will always be people who reject the gospel message and become malevolent towards those who do accept it. Christians must give the unbelievers their own path to destruction by relocating themselves to another gathering place where Christians can worship and fellowship in peace. Source: S C Ball July 24, 2023
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