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.
Michael E.B. Maher
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