The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 14:1-3,
“At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders.”
There are those these days who mistakenly believe that during the apostolic days of the book of Acts, Paul, Peter and other apostles and disciples were able to perform miracles and healings whenever they wanted. In their attempts to mimic a misperception they have of the miraculous within the early church by the Holy Spirit, they betray a lack of understanding in this regard of the Scriptures.
Consider the case of Epaphroditus in Paul’s letter to the Philippian church. Paul felt a great anxiety that Epaphroditus might die in his illness as he served Paul as a gift from the church in Philippi. What was the cause of Paul’s anxiety? That Epaphroditus might die in service to the work of Christ by meeting Paul’s needs. It wasn’t that Epaphroditus lacked faith or had sin in his life, as is often offered as reasons why someone may not receive a healing these days. Paul holds him up as an example to the church: “honor men like him”, Philippians 2:29. The account can be read in Philippians 2:25-30.
Then there is Timothy who suffered “frequent illnesses”, 1 Timothy 5:23. Paul advised him to look to the medicinal qualities of “a little wine”. I’m certain if Paul had the ability to heal whenever he wanted, he certainly would have healed Timothy.
We read of James encouraging those who are sick to call the elders - not to a “healing service” but to prayer. We see the Holy Spirit performing miracles through the apostles and disciples at certain times and not at others.
What is my point here? As we read of Paul and Barnabas in this passage, Peter and John in Acts 3 and of other healings and miracles that took place in the book of Acts, I think we lose an important perspective of the activity of the Holy Spirit and the great faith of these early believers if we simply assume that there was something of a blanket enablement by the Holy Spirit to perform such deeds. As I read these accounts, I sense these wonderful folks of God might have woken up each morning not knowing what to expect that day. They lived their lives on the edge, not knowing what might happen from day to day.
I don’t think there was anything automatic, assumed or expected in those early days relative to miracles and healings as the gospel advanced. I suspect Paul, Barnabas, Peter and others were just as astounded and excited as anyone when these special events took place.
When God, in the person of the Holy Spirit, invaded planet Earth and confirmed the gospel message as the disciples took it to the world, it was just as exciting and fresh to them as it would be today.
How can anyone not be excited and astonished to see the hand of God reach out and act in a very visible way in our presence at any point in time?
There are those these days who mistakenly believe that during the apostolic days of the book of Acts, Paul, Peter and other apostles and disciples were able to perform miracles and healings whenever they wanted. In their attempts to mimic a misperception they have of the miraculous within the early church by the Holy Spirit, they betray a lack of understanding in this regard of the Scriptures.
Consider the case of Epaphroditus in Paul’s letter to the Philippian church. Paul felt a great anxiety that Epaphroditus might die in his illness as he served Paul as a gift from the church in Philippi. What was the cause of Paul’s anxiety? That Epaphroditus might die in service to the work of Christ by meeting Paul’s needs. It wasn’t that Epaphroditus lacked faith or had sin in his life, as is often offered as reasons why someone may not receive a healing these days. Paul holds him up as an example to the church: “honor men like him”, Philippians 2:29. The account can be read in Philippians 2:25-30.
Then there is Timothy who suffered “frequent illnesses”, 1 Timothy 5:23. Paul advised him to look to the medicinal qualities of “a little wine”. I’m certain if Paul had the ability to heal whenever he wanted, he certainly would have healed Timothy.
We read of James encouraging those who are sick to call the elders - not to a “healing service” but to prayer. We see the Holy Spirit performing miracles through the apostles and disciples at certain times and not at others.
What is my point here? As we read of Paul and Barnabas in this passage, Peter and John in Acts 3 and of other healings and miracles that took place in the book of Acts, I think we lose an important perspective of the activity of the Holy Spirit and the great faith of these early believers if we simply assume that there was something of a blanket enablement by the Holy Spirit to perform such deeds. As I read these accounts, I sense these wonderful folks of God might have woken up each morning not knowing what to expect that day. They lived their lives on the edge, not knowing what might happen from day to day.
I don’t think there was anything automatic, assumed or expected in those early days relative to miracles and healings as the gospel advanced. I suspect Paul, Barnabas, Peter and others were just as astounded and excited as anyone when these special events took place.
When God, in the person of the Holy Spirit, invaded planet Earth and confirmed the gospel message as the disciples took it to the world, it was just as exciting and fresh to them as it would be today.
How can anyone not be excited and astonished to see the hand of God reach out and act in a very visible way in our presence at any point in time?
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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