Chapter XIII. - Paul at Ephesus.
While Apollos was preaching at Corinth, Paul fulfilled his
promise to return to Ephesus. He had made a brief visit to Jerusalem, and had
spent some time at Antioch, the scene of his early labours. Thence he had
travelled through Asia Minor, visiting the churches which he had himself
established, and strengthening the faith of the disciples. {LP 128.2}
The city of Ephesus was the capital of the province of Asia,
[AS USED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, THE WORD ASIA DOES NOT APPLY TO THE CONTINENT OF
ASIA, BUT TO A ROMAN PROVINCE WHICH EMBRACED THE WESTERN PART OF ASIA MINOR, AND
OF WHICH EPHESUS WAS THE CAPITAL.] and the great commercial centre of Asia
Minor. Its harbour was crowded with shipping
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from all parts of the known world, and its streets thronged
with the people of every country. It therefore presented, like Corinth, a
favourable missionary field. {LP 128.3}
The Jews, now widely dispersed in all civilized lands, were
generally expecting the speedy advent of the Messiah. In their visits to
Jerusalem at the annual feasts, many had gone out to the banks of the Jordan to
listen to the preaching of John the Baptist. From him they had heard the
proclamation of Christ as the Promised One, and on their return home they had
carried the tidings to all parts of the world. Thus had Providence prepared the
way for the apostle's labours. {LP 129.1}
On his arrival at Ephesus, Paul found twelve brethren, who,
like Apollos, had been disciples of John the Baptist, and like him had gained an
imperfect knowledge of the life and mission of Christ. They had not the ability
of Apollos, but with the same sincerity and faith they were seeking to spread
the light which they had received. {LP 129.2}
These disciples were ignorant of the mission of the Holy
Spirit, that Jesus promised to his believing people, to be the life and power of
the church. When asked by Paul if they had received the Holy Ghost, they
answered, "We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost." Paul
inquired, "Unto what then were ye baptized?" and they said, "Unto John's
baptism." The apostle then proceeded to set before them the great truths which
are the foundation of the Christian's hope. {LP 129.3}
He told them of the life of Christ on earth, and of his cruel
and shameful death. He told them how the Lord of life had broken the
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barriers of the tomb, and risen triumphant over death. He
repeated the Saviour's commission to his disciples: "All power is given unto me
in Heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." He told them
also of Christ's promise to send the Comforter, through whose power mighty signs
and wonders would be wrought, and described the glorious fulfilment of that
promise on the day of Pentecost. {LP 129.4}
With deep interest, and grateful, wondering joy, the
disciples listened to the words of Paul. By faith they grasped the atoning
sacrifice of Christ, and acknowledged him as their Redeemer. They were then
baptized "in the name of Jesus;" and as Paul laid his hands upon them, they
received also the baptism of the Holy Spirit, by which they were enabled to
speak the languages of other nations and to prophesy. Thus these men were
qualified to act as missionaries in the important field of Ephesus and its
vicinity, and also from this centre to spread the gospel of Christ in Asia
Minor. {LP 130.1}
It was by cherishing a humble and teachable spirit that these
brethren gained their precious experience. Their example presents a lesson of
great value to Christians of every age. There are many who make but little
progress in the divine life, because they are too self-sufficient to occupy the
position of learners. They are content to remain in ignorance of God's word;
they do not wish to change their faith or their practice, and hence make no
effort to obtain greater light. {LP 130.2}
If the followers of Christ were but earnest seekers after
divine wisdom, they would be led
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into rich fields of truth, as yet wholly unknown to them.
Whoever will give himself to God as fully as did Moses, will be guided by the
divine hand as verily as was the great leader of Israel. He may be lowly and
apparently ungifted; yet if with a loving, trusting heart he obeys every
intimation of God's will, his powers will be purified, ennobled, energized; his
capabilities increased. As he treasures the lessons of divine wisdom, a sacred
commission is intrusted to him; he is enabled to make his life an honour to God
and a blessing to the world. "The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth
understanding unto the simple." {LP 130.3}
A mere intellectual knowledge of religious truth is not
enough. There are today many as ignorant as those men of Ephesus of the Holy
Spirit's work upon the heart. Yet no truth is more clearly taught in the word of
God. Prophets and apostles have dwelt upon this theme. Christ himself calls our
attention to the growth of the vegetable world to illustrate the agency of his
Spirit in sustaining religious life. {LP 131.1}
The juices of the vine, ascending from the root, are diffused
to the branches sustaining growth, and producing blossoms and fruit. So the
life-giving power of the Holy Spirit, proceeding from Christ, and imparted to
every disciple, pervades the soul, renews the motives and affections, and even
the most secret thoughts, and brings forth the precious fruit of holy deeds. The
life attests the union with the true and living Vine. {LP 131.2}
The Author of this spiritual life is unseen, and the precise
method by which it is imparted and sustained is beyond the power of human
philosophy to explain. It is the mystery of godliness.
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Yet the operations of the Spirit are always in harmony with
the written word. As in the natural, so in the spiritual world. Human life is
preserved, moment by moment, by divine power; yet it is not sustained by a
direct miracle, but through the use of blessings placed within our reach. So the
life of the Christian is sustained by the use of those means which Providence
has supplied. He must eat of the bread of life, and drink of the waters of
salvation. He must watch, he must pray, he must work, in all things giving heed
to the instructions of the word of God, if he would "grow up to the full measure
of the stature of a man in Christ Jesus." {LP 131.3}
There is still another lesson for us in the experience of
those Jewish converts. When they received baptism at the hand of John, they were
holding serious errors. But with clearer light they gladly accepted Christ as
their Redeemer; and with this advance step came a change in their obligations.
As they received a purer faith, there was a corresponding change in their life
and character. In token of this change, and as an acknowledgment of their faith
in Christ, they were rebaptised, in the name of Jesus. {LP 132.1}
Many a sincere follower of Christ has had a similar
experience. A clearer understanding of God's will, places man in a new relation
to him. New duties are revealed. Much which before appeared innocent, or even
praiseworthy, is now seen to be sinful. The apostle Paul states that though he
had, as he supposed, rendered obedience to the law of God, yet when the
commandment was urged upon his conscience by the Holy Spirit, "sin revived, and
I died." He saw
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himself a sinner, and conscience concurred with the sentence
of the law. {LP 132.2}
There are many at the present day who have unwittingly
violated one of the precepts of God's law. When the understanding is
enlightened, and the claims of the fourth commandment are urged upon the
conscience, they see themselves sinners in the sight of God. "Sin is the
transgression of the law," and "he that shall offend in one point is guilty of
all." {LP 133.1}
The honest seeker after truth will not plead ignorance of the
law as an excuse for transgression. Light was within his reach. God's word is
plain, and Christ has bidden him search the Scriptures. He reveres God's law as
holy, just, and good, and he repents of his transgression. By faith he pleads
the atoning blood of Christ, and grasps the promise of pardon. His former
baptism does not satisfy him now. He has seen himself a sinner, condemned by the
law of God. He has experienced anew a death to sin, and he desires again to be
buried with Christ by baptism, that he may rise to walk in newness of life. Such
a course is in harmony with the example of Paul in baptizing the Jewish
converts. That incident was recorded by the Holy Spirit as an instructive lesson
for the church. {LP 133.2}
As was his custom, Paul had begun his work at Ephesus by
teaching in the synagogue of the Jews. He continued to labour there for three
months, "disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God." He
at first met with a favourable reception; but as in other fields of labour, he
was soon violently opposed by the unbelieving Jews. As they persisted in their
rejection of the gospel, the apostle ceased preaching in the synagogue.
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{LP 133.3}
The Spirit of God had wrought with and through Paul in his
labours for his countrymen. Sufficient evidence had been presented to convince
all who honestly desired to know the truth. But many permitted themselves to be
controlled by prejudice and unbelief, and refused to yield to the most
conclusive evidence. Fearing that the faith of the believers would be endangered
by continued association with these opposers of the truth, Paul separated the
disciples as a distinct body, and himself continued his public instructions in
the school of one Tyrannus, a teacher of some note. {LP 134.1}
Paul saw that "a great door and effectual" was open before
him, though there were "many adversaries." Ephesus was not only the most
magnificent, but the most corrupt, of the cities of Asia. Superstition and
sensual pleasure held sway over her teeming population. Under the shadow of her
idol temples, criminals of every grade found shelter, and the most degrading
vices flourished. {LP 134.2}
The city was famed for the worship of the goddess Diana and
the practice of magic. Here was the great temple of Diana, which was regarded by
the ancients as one of the wonders of the world. Its vast extent and surpassing
magnificence made it the pride, not only of the city, but of the nation. Kings
and princes had enriched it by their donations. The Ephesians vied with one
another in adding to its splendour, and it was made the treasure-house for a
large share of the wealth of Western Asia. {LP 134.3}
The idol enshrined in this sumptuous edifice was a rude,
uncouth image, declared by tradition to have fallen from the sky. Upon it were
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inscribed mystic characters and symbols, which were believed
to possess great power. When pronounced, they were said to accomplish wonders.
When written, they were treasured as a potent charm to guard their possessor
from robbers, from disease, and even from death. Numerous and costly books were
written by the Ephesians to explain the meaning and use of these symbols. {LP
134.4}
As Paul was brought in direct contact with the idolatrous
inhabitants of Ephesus, the power of God was strikingly displayed through him.
The apostles were not always able to work miracles at will. The Lord granted his
servants this special power as the progress of his cause or the honour of his
name required. Like Moses and Aaron at the court of Pharaoh, the apostle had now
to maintain the truth against the lying wonders of the magicians; hence the
miracles he wrought were of a different character from those which he had
heretofore performed. As the hem of Christ's garment had communicated healing
power to her who sought relief by the touch of faith, so on this occasion,
garments were made the means of cure to all that believed; "diseases departed
from them, and evil spirits went out of them." Yet these miracles gave no
encouragement to blind superstition. When Jesus felt the touch of the suffering
woman, he exclaimed, "Virtue is gone out of me." So the scripture declares that
the Lord wrought miracles by the hand of Paul, and that the name of the Lord
Jesus was magnified, and not the name of Paul. {LP 135.1}
The manifestations of supernatural power which accompanied
the apostle's work, were
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calculated to make a deep impression upon a people given to
sorcery, and priding themselves upon their intercourse with invisible beings.
The miracles of Paul were far more potent than had ever before been witnessed in
Ephesus, and were of such a character that they could not be imitated by the
skill of the juggler or the enchantments of the sorcerer. Thus the Lord exalted
his servant, even in the estimation of the idolaters themselves, immeasurably
above the most favoured and powerful of the magicians. {LP 135.2}
But He to whom all the spirits of evil were subject, and who
had given his servants authority over them, was about to bring still greater
shame and defeat upon those who despised and profaned his holy name. Sorcery had
been prohibited in the Mosaic law, on pain of death, yet from time to time it
had been secretly practised by apostate Jews. At the time of Paul's visit to
Ephesus, there were in the city certain Jewish exorcists, who, seeing the
wonders wrought by him, claimed to possess equal power. Believing that the name
of Jesus acted as a charm, they determined to cast out evil spirits by the same
means which the apostle had employed. {LP 136.1}
An attempt was made by seven brothers, the sons of one Sceva,
a Jewish priest. Finding a man possessed with a demon, they addressed him, "We
adjure thee by Jesus, whom Paul preacheth." But the evil spirit answered with
scorn, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?" and the one possessed
sprang on them with frantic violence, and beat and bruised them, so that they
fled out of the house, naked and wounded. {LP 136.2}
The discomfiture and humiliation of those who
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had profaned the name of Jesus, soon became known throughout
Ephesus, by Jews and Gentiles. Unmistakable proof had been given of the
sacredness of that name, and the peril which they incurred who should invoke it
while they had no faith in Christ's divine mission. Terror seized the minds of
many, and the work of the gospel was regarded by all with awe and reverence. {LP
136.3}
Facts which had previously been concealed were now brought to
light. In accepting Christianity, some of the brethren had not fully renounced
their heathen superstitions. The practice of magic was still to some extent
continued among them. Convinced of their error by the events which had recently
occurred, they came and made a full confession to Paul, and publicly
acknowledged their secret arts to be deceptive and Satanic. Many sorcerers also
abjured the practice of magic, and received Christ as their Saviour. They
brought together the costly books containing the mysterious "Ephesian letters,"
and the secrets of their art, and burned them in the presence of all the people.
When the books had been consumed, they proceeded to reckon up the value of the
sacrifice. It was estimated at fifty thousand pieces of silver, equal to about
ten thousand dollars. {LP 137.1}
The influence of these events was more widespread than even
Paul then realized. The manifestation of the power of Christ was a grand victory
for Christianity in the very stronghold of superstition. From Ephesus the news
was widely circulated, and a strong impetus was given to the cause of Christ.
These scenes in the ministry of Paul lived in the memory of men, and were the
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means of converting many to the gospel, long after the
apostle himself had finished his course. {LP 137.2}
When the Ephesian converts burned their books on magic, they
showed that the things in which they had once most delighted were now the most
abhorred. It was by and through magic that they had especially offended God and
imperilled their souls, and it was against magic that they showed such
indignation. Here was given the best evidence of true conversion. {LP 138.1}
Those treatises on divination contained rules and forms of
communication with evil spirits. They were the regulations of the worship of
Satan,--directions for soliciting his help and obtaining information from him.
By retaining these books, the disciples would have exposed themselves to
temptation; by selling them they would have placed temptation in the way of
others. They had renounced the kingdom of darkness, and they did not hesitate at
any sacrifice to destroy its power. Thus the truth triumphed over men's
prejudices, their favourite pursuits, and their love of money. {LP 138.2}
It is fondly supposed that heathen superstitions have
disappeared before the civilization of the nineteenth century. But the word of
God and the stern testimony of facts declare that sorcery is practised in this
Christian age and Christian nation as verily as by the old-time magicians. The
ancient system of magic is, in reality, the same as that which is now known as
modern Spiritualism. Satan is finding access to thousands of minds by presenting
himself under the guise of departed friends. The Scriptures of truth declare
that "the dead know not anything." Their thoughts, their love, their hatred,
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have perished. The dead do not hold communion with the
living. But true to his early cunning, when in the form of a serpent he deceived
the mother of our race, Satan employs this device to gain control of the minds
of men. {LP 138.3}
The heathen oracles have their counterpart in the
spiritualistic mediums, the clairvoyants, and fortune-tellers of today. The
mystic voices that spoke at Endor and Ephesus, are still by their lying words
misleading the children of men. The mysteries of heathen worship are replaced by
the secret associations and séances, the obscurities and wonders, of the
sorcerers of our time. Their disclosures are eagerly received by thousands who
refuse to accept light from God's word or from his Spirit. While they speak with
scorn of the magicians of old, the great deceiver laughs in triumph as they
yield to his arts in a different form. {LP 139.1}
His agents still claim to cure disease. They profess to
employ electricity, magnetism, or the so-called "sympathetic remedies;" but in
truth the magnetic power of which they boast is directly attributable to the
sorcery of Satan. By this means he casts his spell over the bodies and souls of
men. {LP 139.2}
The sick, the bereaved, the curious, are communicating with
evil spirits. All who venture here are on dangerous ground. The word of truth
declares how God regards them. In ancient times he pronounced judgments upon one
who sent for counsel to a heathen oracle: "Is it not because there is not a God
in Israel that thou sendest to inquire to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?
therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but
shalt surely die."
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{LP 139.3}
The visible and the invisible world are in close contact.
Could the veil be lifted, we would see evil angels employing all their arts to
deceive and destroy. Wherever an influence is exerted to cause men to forget
God, there Satan is exercising his bewitching power. All who venture into scenes
of dissipation or irreligious pleasure, or seek the society of the sensualist,
the sceptic, or the blasphemer, by personal intercourse or through the medium of
the press, are tampering with sorcery. Ere they are aware, the mind is
bewildered and the soul polluted. The apostle's admonition to the Ephesian
church should be heeded by the people of God today: "Have no fellowship with the
unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." {LP
140.1}