October 19, 2014
Ministry:
Hymn 351 - One Door and Only One
Prayer
In John 10, we read about three doors:
John 10:9 & 11
The shepherd went into the fold by the door, not over the wall like the robber. He called the sheep to follow Him, out of the fold.
God had choosen Israel as His people and had put walls around them (laws to keep them from the people around them) so they would not enter into sin. But Jesus—manifest in the flesh—came down into the fold. He told them to follow Him. He led them out of the fold and, as we will see today He led the, through another door.
In v. 9 Jesus is saying “I am the door.” This is another figure of speech. Jesus is not literally a door, but He is the door of salvation. If we look at the verse, it isn’t saying only the Israelites can enter it. It says anyone may come and enter it.
Jesus said that He is the door and “by me”, not by laws or ordinances, a man may be saved. What is on the other side of the door? There is a flock and a shepherd.
Salvation is not like a tunnel: a process of doing something to earn eternal life. It is like a door: a step of faith and trust in Jesus brings joy, peace, and blessing.
The Lord Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and He takes care of the flock. Then, we can go out and in and find pasture. We go in by spending time in His Word, and by worshiping and remembering Him. We go out when we go about doing our daily tasks, sharing with others, or teaching Sunday School, and so on.
The Good Shepherd gave His life for the sheep so the door of salvation could be opened to all. But you can only enter through that door. There is only one door that washes away sin and offers forgiveness. Jesus is that door.
Acts 19:1-20
In the last chapter, we looked at Apollos; a believer who was eloquent and and mighty in the Scriptures, but only knew the baptism of John. Aquila and Priscilla helped him, though, and eventually he traveled from Ephesus to Achaia and Corinth.
Paul, meanwhile, traveled through the upper coasts (somewhere he hadn’t gone before) and came to Ephesus. There he found disciples, but they must have been disciples of John the Baptist, not Jesus. Something made him suspicious of this, for he asked them, “Did ye receive [the] Holy Spirit when ye had believed?” (Darby Translation). These men hadn’t heard that the Holy Spirit had come. “What were you baptized to then?” asked Paul. “To John’s baptism,” they replied. This brings up the important point that we are baptized unto something or something. John’s baptism was unto repentance, while Christian baptism is unto the Lord. These men were baptized unto John’s baptism. John told people that he baptized with water, but Jesus—coming after him—would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Later, Jesus told his disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
These twelve believers heard this, and were baptized with Christian baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus. Paul laid his hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit and spoke with tongues. This wouldn’t happen today, because power like that was reserved only for the apostles. It was for that time only.
Paul went to the Ephesus synagogue and spoke, as well. Not everything he said was readily accepted, for he had disputing and persuading to do. Paul was gifted and able to meet the intellects of the day, but he didn’t necessarily see many people converted. An assembly was started, though; and from what we can tell it was a precious one.
Paul spoke about the Kingdom of God. It’s a somewhat mysterious topic, but we know that the Kingdom of God is a place where God reigns, is given His proper place, is honoured and reverenced, and Jesus Christ is recognized. Salvation brings us into this kingdom. We talk mainly about salvation today, but Paul talked both about salvation and the Kingdom of God.
When truth is presented and you refuse to believe it, your heart is hardened and can keep getting harder and harder. You can start to speak evil things about the truth. That’s what happened with the Jews at Ephesus when Paul preached. Things got so bad that Paul needed to separate from them; but, even so, verse 20 says that the word of God was mighty and prevailed. Paul taught for a least two years in the school of Tyrannus, and it is recorded that all Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the gospel.
Hymn 310 — Come to Jesus, come to Jesus
Prayer