Passage of the Day - January 14, 2011

Acts 19:13-17

¹³But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches."

 ¹⁴Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.

 ¹⁵And the evil spirit answered and said to them, "I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?"

 ¹⁶And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

 ¹⁷This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified.

This passage shows that merely knowing about Christ is not the same as faith.  Jesus is King and don’t try to invoke the King’s authority when you are not a subject of His kingdom.  If we are not connected to the vine, we are completely useless.  In addition, it was through the Holy Spirit, not merely the name of Jesus, that God performed these miracles.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)

Passage of the Day - January 13, 2011

Acts 19:11-12

 ¹¹God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,

 ¹²so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.

We can ask why doesn’t this happen anymore.  Why do we not see miracles of physical and spiritual healing like this now?  I struggle with this, but I noticed something in this passage.  God acted through Paul’s handkerchiefs that other people brought to the sick.  He acted through the faith of Paul and the faith of those delivering the handkerchiefs.  However, it was by the hands of Paul that the miracles happened, not the deliverers.  It appears those that delivered the handkerchiefs were not having miracles performed by God through their hands.  They obviously had faith, but that didn’t automatically mean that God would perform miracles through them.  We can’t make the miracles of the Early Church normative, nor can we say that God absolutely does not still do this today.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)

Passage of the Day - January 12, 2011

Acts 19:8-10

⁸And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

 ⁹But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.

 ¹⁰This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

There is no point in arguing with someone who speaks evil of Christ, especially in front of others.  No good can come from it.  We are called to share and discuss with non-believers and come to the defense of the gospel, but not arguing with those who speak evil of Christ.  We must remember the whole point of life is to get God glorified, not blasphemed.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)

Passage of the Day - January 11, 2011

Acts 19:1-7

 ¹It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples.

 ²He said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said to him, "No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."

 ³And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" And they said, "Into John's baptism."

 ⁴Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus."

 ⁵When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

 ⁶And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.

 ⁷There were in all about twelve men.

Again I must quote Matthew Henry.  Sometimes I don’t reference him.  Other times I use him as a guide.  Occasionally, as in this occasion, he says it best:

Paul, at Ephesus, found some religious persons, who looked to Jesus as the Messiah. They had not been led to expect the miraculous powers of the Holy Ghost, nor were they informed that the gospel was especially the ministration of the Spirit. But they spake as ready to welcome the notice of it. Paul shows them that John never design that those he baptized should rest there, but told them that they should believe on Him who should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. They thankfully accepted the discovery, and were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. The Holy Ghost came upon them in a surprising, overpowering manner; they spake with tongues, and prophesied, as the apostles and the first Gentile coverts did. Though we do not now expect miraculous powers, yet all who profess to be disciples of Christ, should be called on to examine whether they have received the seal of the Holy Ghost, in his sanctifying influences, to the sincerity of their faith. Many seem not to have heard that there is a Holy Ghost, and many deem all that is spoken concerning his graces and comforts, to be delusion. Of such it may properly be inquired, "Unto what, then, were ye baptized?" for they evidently know not the meaning of that outward sign on which they place great dependence.

http://www.christnotes.org/commentary.php?com=mhc&b=44&c=19

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)

Passage of the Day - January 10, 2011

Acts 18:23-28

 ²³And having spent some time there, he left and passed successively through the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

 ²⁴Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures.

 ²⁵This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John;

 ²⁶and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

 ²⁷And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace,

 ²⁸for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

I read Matthew Henry’s commentary on this passage.  It brings up some great points.  The great orators don’t have perfect knowledge of the Scriptures, they only sound like they do.  Much of what they know had to be taught to them.  Priscilla and Aquila taught Apollos about Christ and Apollos was willing to learn.  When we have special talents, we can think we don’t need other people’s help, when in fact we will always need other peoples help, encouragement, refinement, and teaching.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)

Passage of the Day - January 9, 2011

Acts 18:19-22

 ¹⁹They came to Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.

 ²⁰When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent,

 ²¹but taking leave of them and saying, "I will return to you again if God wills," he set sail from Ephesus.

 ²²When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and went down to Antioch.

Interesting thought on God’s will.  Are we supposed to find God’s will in order to know what to do in life, or are we to be subject to the boundaries God’s will sets up?  Is it knowing which door to go through, or is it more about not trying to pry open a door He already closed?  There is very little (if any) in the Bible about how to determine God’s specific will, but there is a lot about having faith in Him knowing what He is doing.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)

Passage of the Day - January 8, 2011

Acts 18:18

¹⁸Paul, having remained many days longer, took leave of the brethren and put out to sea for Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila In Cenchrea he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow.


I have looked into this vow and have found about as much concrete information on it as Luke has detail for it.  If it was a Nazirite vow, it wan't done in the proper fashion, but Luke doesn't mention it was a Nazirite vow.  Therefore, before making wild assumptions we must ask why does Luke provide only a glancing blow.  For some reason it was mentioned and for some reason he left out the nature of the vow.  We should just leave it at that.  Other confusing passages of the Bible should be handled the same.


Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)