Here is a teaching on chapter 19 of the book of Acts. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added into that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.
First I want to say a quick prayer... Lord, I pray that you lift up every single person listening to this right now. I pray that you open up our eyes to see the truth of your words. I pray that you give us knowledge and understanding to know exactly what it is that we're reading and wisdom to implement it in our daily lives. Holy Spirit please guide us and help us to see the truth, know the truth, discern the truth, and live by the truth. Lord, I pray that whatever it is that we're supposed to get out of this Bible study, that it's revealed to us, and that we implement it in our daily lives. I love you with every ounce of my being. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Acts Chapter 19:
1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"
They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
3 So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?"
"John's baptism," they replied.
4 Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." 5 On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about 12 men in all.
First I want to point out that these verses here show that Paul arrived at Ephesus. We saw in our Bible study in chapter 18 of the book of Acts that the people asked Paul to stay in Ephesus longer and he declined because the Holy Spirit was guiding him to other places, but he promised them that he would come back if it was God's will for him. So in these verses here we see that clearly, he came back to Ephesus and he asked them if they received the Holy Spirit after they believed. In 2-4 of chapter 19, we see that they didn't receive the Holy Spirit and that they had received John's baptism. We saw in our Bible study from chapter 1 of the book of John about John the Baptist, how he was sent as a witness to testify Jesus Christ, and he was baptizing people, but his baptism was about repentance. Jesus is the only one that can save us and it's only after we truly believe in him and ask him to come into our hearts, that we have the Holy Spirit within us.
I want to go into the book of Matthew really quick in chapter 28 verses 18-20 and they say: "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'" So in these verses here we see that we have to be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
In verses 5-6 of chapter 19 of the book of Acts, after these people heard about John's baptism being a baptism of repentance, then they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Paul placed his hands on them and the Holy Spirit came on them and then they spoke in tongues and prophesied. Speaking in tongues is speaking in different languages, so they were all speaking in different languages or their native language.
8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
21 After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. "After I have been there," he said, "I must visit Rome also." 22 He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.
So in verses 8-10 we see that Paul spoke boldly in the synagogue in Ephesus for three months and then he left because some of them refused to believe. He took the disciples with him and they had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus, and all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. Sometimes when you spread the gospel of Jesus and people refuse to believe, you have to move on to other people, and that's what Paul did here. Some of these people refused to believe when he was preaching in Ephesus so he and his disciples left. The ones that Jesus has chosen out of this world will believe and listen. Again, I emphasize this in all of the Bible studies, but that's why it's so important for us to let the Holy Spirit guide us and make sure we're staying fully submitted to the will of God the Father and following Jesus Christ.
Verses 11-12 say that "God did extraordinary miracles through Paul." So the power is in God, the power is not in Paul. Through Paul, God did these miracles, but Paul didn't have any power on his own. He was able to do these things because of his faith in Jesus Christ, and through the power of God, illnesses were cured and evil spirits left people that even just touch the handkerchiefs and aprons that Paul had touched. Then in verses 13-16, these Jews that went around driving out evil spirits didn't believe in Jesus. They were falsely using his and Paul's name to try and drive out evil spirits. They thought that if they said the same thing that Paul did in the name of Jesus, then they could heal these people, but you have to be saved by Jesus Christ and have the Holy Spirit within you. It's not as simple as using his name. If you don't truly believe in Jesus and you're just trying to use his name for your own gain, that's blasphemy and that's not okay. So like we see in verse 15, one day the evil spirit answered and said that they know Jesus and Paul, but who were they? Who were these Jews that were falsely using the name of Jesus without actually believing in him? And that evil spirit overpowered them and he gave them a beating
In verses 17-20, when the Jews and Greeks living an Ephesus found out about this they all had fear and they held the name of the Lord Jesus in high honor. Then many of those who believed openly confessed their evil deeds. It's so important for us to acknowledge our evil deeds and repent, and then truly change our ways. When we're saved and we have the Holy Spirit within us, he will guide us and show us the truth. This doesn't make us exempt from sin, but when we do sin we should repent and ask God to reveal the fruit of the spirit in our hearts. Then we see in verses 21-22 that after all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem and then go to Rome.
23 About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. 24 A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen. 25 He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: "Men, you know we receive a good income from this business. 26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all. 27 There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty."
28 When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" 29 Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia, and rushed as one man into the theater. 30 Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. 31 Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.
In verse 23 when it says that "a great disturbance arose about the Way;" the way is Jesus Christ. Like we know from John 14:6, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one can come to the Father except through Him. We see in verses 24-27 that Demetrius, a silversmith, called the craftsmen together and he told them how Paul was affecting their business saying that man-made gods are no gods at all. Which we know that man-made gods are not gods. There's only one true God. The silversmith and the craftsmen were just so worried about their business being affected. Demetrius knew that he made good money doing his trade and Paul was affecting that by telling these people not to believe in the manmade gods. If people didn't believe in them, then the craftsmen would be out of so much work of making these man-made gods. Demetrius also told them that not only was their trade in danger, but the goddess would be robbed of her majesty. Then we see in verses 28-29 that this made the craftsmen furious and soon the whole city was in an uproar
32 The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there. 33 The Jews pushed Alexander to the front, and some of the crowd shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. 34 But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"
35 The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: "Men of Ephesus, doesn't all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and her image, which fell from heaven? 36 Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to be quiet and not do anything rash. 37 You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. 38 If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges. 39 If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. 40 As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of today's events. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it." 41 After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
Alright, so those are all the verses of chapter 19 of the book of Acts, but I'm going to discuss these verses with you guys here. So we see in verse 32 that most of the people didn't even know why they were there. People can get so pumped up for something that they don't even believe in. It's that mob mentality, when there's a riot going on and people are shouting, then other people will join in and shout also without even knowing why they're doing it, and that's what happened here. Then in verses 35-41 the city clerk calmed the crowd and told them to deal with it legally if they had any problems and then he dismissed them. He told the crowd that the whole world knew that Ephesus was the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and not to do anything rash. He also said that these men that they brought in hadn't robbed or blasphemed the goddess, so if they had any other problems they would have to deal with them legally. So Demetrius had got these other people in his trade all riled up about their trade being in danger and about Artemis being robbed of her majesty all because he was greedy and didn't want to lose out on the money for making these silver statues of their goddess Artemis. The city clerk wasn't having anything to do with it so he said to deal with them legally and then he dismissed them.
Acts Ch 19 Study Guide
Why did Paul go back to Ephesus?
In verses 2-3, why didn’t these disciples receive the Holy Spirit with John’s baptism?
In verse 12, how were the sick cured and the evil spirits leave these people?
Did Paul have any power on his own? Why or why not?
Why is it so important for us to confess our evil deeds?
Why did Demetrius call the workmen together?
What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible study?
So that concludes this Bible study on chapter 19 of the book of Acts. Next week we'll go into chapter 20, so make sure you stay tuned for that.
I love you guys so much.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
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