Acts 21:3-6 “When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload her cargo. (4) And finding disciples, we stayed there seven days. They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem. (5) When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way; and they all accompanied us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city. And we knelt down on the shore and prayed. (6) When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship, and they returned home.”
Our timeline continues with Paul and his team leaving the town of Miletus and stopping off at the church at Tyre to spend some time with the disciples there as they journeyed towards Jerusalem. The above quoted passage of scripture tells us that Paul and his team stayed with them for one week. In this passage the Holy Spirit teaches us a very important lesson about operating in the gifts of the Spirit, for we see that during this time at one of their meetings the gift of the word of knowledge was manifested, but incorrectly given as a word of wisdom. So why do I say that? Well on the surface it sounds like the one who spoke gave Paul a word of wisdom, for they said to Paul through the Spirit, “not to go up to Jerusalem”. And so if this was a word of wisdom, then this was a clear instruction given by the Holy Spirit that Paul should have obeyed. Note that there was no confirmation gift displayed on this occasion, and we can clearly see from this passage that Paul chose to ignore the word of wisdom given and continued his journey on to Jerusalem. So why did Paul do that? Paul did that because he understood that this was a word of knowledge from the Holy Spirit simply preparing him for what lay ahead, and not a word of wisdom telling him not to go. And so we see that the disciple in the church at Tyre, who received this word from the Holy Spirit should have given it just like every other church had, i.e. a word of knowledge. But instead, when this person by the Spirit perceived what awaited Paul, they placed their own interpretation on the word and gave it as a word of wisdom, by telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem. Because Paul was a mature believer and knew the leading of the Holy Spirit however, he understood that the one who gave the word in Tyre had missed God’s intention, and so he ignored the “word of wisdom” given. You will recall that we said earlier that when God gives one a word of wisdom that He will always confirm that word, either with another of the revelation gifts or the working of miracles or by the inward witness. In this case Paul recognized that this was not a word of wisdom, because it went contrary to the inward witness that he already had from the Holy Spirit. In this example the person who delivered the word of knowledge incorrectly as a word of wisdom, did not do so as an act of intentionally disobeying the Holy Spirit. They saw in their spirit what Paul was about to go through, and interpreted that as a warning that the Holy Spirit wanted to give to Paul not to go to Jerusalem. They missed God. And so as I said earlier, this particular example is very instructive for us, because it clearly shows us that although the gift is perfect, the vessel used by the Holy Spirit is not perfect.
Acts 21:10-14 “And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. (11) When he had come to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit, 'So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.' “(12) Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. (13) Then Paul answered, "What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." (14) So, when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, "The will of the Lord be done.”
After the incident at Tyre, Paul and his team went on to the town of Caesarea. While Paul and his team were staying at Caesarea, the prophet Agabus was sent by the Holy Spirit to Paul to give him a specific word as to what awaited him in Jerusalem. We witness that incident taking place in the above quoted passage of scripture. I want you to notice from this passage that Agabus did not say to Paul not to go to Jerusalem, but merely what would happen to him once he got there. In other words Agabus delivered the word accurately to Paul just as the Holy Spirit intended, i.e. a word of knowledge, and Paul recognised the word as such. But look at the reaction from Paul’s team and the church at Caesarea when Agabus gave this word, for they all misinterpreted it as being a warning from the Holy Spirit not to go to Jerusalem. Nevertheless even though everyone else misinterpreted this word (Agabus excluded), Paul could stand firm in his decision to go on to Jerusalem because Paul had the inward witness as to what the Holy Spirit wanted him to do.
Acts 23:11 “But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, "Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.”
Many have erroneously taught that Paul missed God’s counsel on that occasion, and that he should never have gone to Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus teaches us differently however, for in the passage of scripture quoted above we see that the Lord appeared to Paul after he arrived in Jerusalem and was thrown in jail. This passage reveals to us that the Lord commended Paul for his obedience, and confirmed to him that just as he had witnessed for the Lord in Jerusalem, so the Lord also wanted him to go on to Rome to testify there. And so we can learn two important lessons from this last example which we have discussed. Firstly, the one who is being used by the Holy Spirit to deliver His word should always deliver that word exactly as they receive it, for to try interpreting the word before giving it (no matter how noble your intention may be), results in misrepresenting what God is saying. The Holy Spirit does not need any help in expressing Himself, and He certainly doesn’t need us to interpret His words for Him. Secondly, the one receiving a word must always test and interpret it in the light of the witness that they already have in their own spirits. For don’t forget that all of Paul’s ministry team added their own erroneous interpretation to the word given by the prophet Agabus. And so we see that if the word given does not witness with what the Holy Spirit has already placed in your own spirit, then as Paul did in this instance, just ignore it.
Michael E.B. Maher
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