Test Every Word, Trust the Witness
- Michael E.B. Maher
- 21 hours ago
- 10 min read
Acts 13:1-3 “Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. (2) As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." (3) Then, having fasted and prayed and laid hands on them, they sent them away.”
In the example quoted above we have another account of the gift of the word of wisdom being manifested. What we do not know for sure on this occasion however, is the mechanism that the Holy Spirit used to deliver this word, for either the He spoke audibly so that everyone present could hear, or He spoke through prophetic utterance. And so we can interpret this incident either way, as the bible does not clearly specify which method the Holy Spirit used. If He spoke audibly, then we could clearly understand why Saul and Barnabas would be obedient to the word of wisdom given. If He spoke through prophecy however, then we need to dig a little deeper to understand just why Saul and Barnabas chose to obey the word of wisdom given on this occasion. So why do I say that? The reason is because although prophecy is a vehicle that the Lord commonly uses to convey words of wisdom, it is not one of the confirming gifts that He uses, such as the word of knowledge, the discerning of spirits or the working of miracles. So let us examine this incident in the light of it being a prophetic utterance, to see if we can understand why Saul and Barnabas obeyed the word given. These five ministers of the Lord were fasting and ministering to the Lord through prayer. And so it was during this time of prayer that one of the prophets among them spoke out the following word of wisdom, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them", and yet scripture records this statement as been given by the Holy Spirit. In other words the Holy Spirit spoke through the prophet. And so we see that Saul and Barnabas went out on their first missionary journey based on this word of wisdom given through prophecy. Unlike the other examples that we have looked at thus far however, there were no confirming gifts that were displayed along with this word so that they could clearly know that it was from the Lord. So how did Saul and Barnabas know that this particular word was from God? The answer is that they knew because it witnessed with what the Holy Spirit had already placed in their own spirits. If you study scripture you will see that prior to this incident, Saul and Barnabas had already gone up to Jerusalem by the leading of the Holy Spirit, to confirm with the apostles Peter, James and John, the gospel that they were being led of the Lord to preach to the gentiles (Galatians 2:1-10). And so we see that the Lord had been preparing them to go out to preach the gospel, but they just did not know His timing. And so when one of the prophets in the church at Antioch spoke out that word of wisdom, they knew that now it was God’s perfect timing for them to go out as apostles to plant churches, for until this time Saul and Barnabas had stood in the office of prophet. And so this is the first account that we have looked at, in which one member of the body of Christ delivered a word of wisdom to another member in the body. Most words of wisdom are delivered in this manner. In other words there are no confirming gifts displayed when the word of wisdom is given. And so before they act on words of wisdom delivered in this manner, it is very important for the recipient to have the witness of the Holy Spirit in their own spirits. For as we will see in another example, the person delivering the word may get it wrong, and so if the recipient were to act on that word without already having the witness in their spirit, they would get into all sorts of trouble.
Acts 19:21 “When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”
The next example that we want to examine is very helpful to us in explaining the operation of the revelation gifts of the Spirit. In order for us to clearly understand this example we need to look at the timeline of a number of scriptures that all deal with the same issue, i.e. Paul’s last trip to Jerusalem. Our timeline begins when Paul’s ministry in the church at Ephesus was drawing to a close, for he had been ministering there for close on three years. In the above quoted passage of scripture we see that it was during this period that the Holy Spirit began to witness to Paul that He wanted him to go to Jerusalem, and not only Jerusalem but then also to go on to Rome. By this time Paul had learnt not to make any major decision in life unless he was led by the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:17). And so we see that Paul had the inward witness of exactly where the Holy Spirit wanted him to go, for the scripture declares that Paul purposed this course of action in the Spirit. In other words Paul was being led by the Holy Spirit in this direction.
Acts 20:22-23 “And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, (23) except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.”
Our timeline continues when Paul eventually left the church at Ephesus to go to Jerusalem. However Paul did not go directly to Jerusalem, but rather he decided to first visit the churches in Achaia and Macedonia before going on to Jerusalem (Acts 20:1-3). And so the context of the above quoted passage of scripture is that Paul had completed his tour of the churches in Achaia and Macedonia, and had stopped off at the town of Miletus as he journeyed to Jerusalem. At the town of Miletus, Paul called the elders of the church in Ephesus to come down to him so that he could speak to them. During this meeting Paul related to the elders of Ephesus what had taken place in the churches that he had visited. Significantly for our discussion, Paul related in the above quoted passage of scripture that in each one of the churches, the Holy Spirit spoke to him telling him to expect chains and tribulations when he got to Jerusalem. So how did the Holy Spirit speak to Paul in each church he visited? He did so by using the disciples to speak to Paul through the gift of the word of knowledge. We know that the Holy Spirit used the gift of the word of knowledge in these instances, because the only information that the Holy Spirit communicated to Paul was what to expect when he got to Jerusalem. So why did the Holy Spirit impart this information to Paul? The Holy Spirit did that in order to prepare Paul for what he was to undergo in Jerusalem when he got there. Had the Holy Spirit used the gift of the word of wisdom in these instances, He would have advised Paul what to do, and not just what would happen. As an aside, it is important to note that this passage reveals to us that it was common practice for all the early churches to operate in the gifts of the Spirit, and the reason for that was because the apostles had taught the disciples about spiritual gifts and how to operate in them.
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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