God in me.


 

 

 

 

 

 


“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. 19:2

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Ephesus is known as the gateway to Asia.  It is the terminus of a major highway between the coast and central Asia Minor.  The great temple of Artemis is in this city.  This is the religious center of all Asia, and metal workers make a rich living from the sale of shrines and miniature silver images of the goddess.  Richards’ Complete Bible Handbook, Lawrence O. Richard

Paul finds some people who know of John the Baptist’s ministry but have not yet heard of Jesus.  He baptizes them in the name of the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit came on them. 6

Paul teaches in Ephesus for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.  And God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out. 10-12

Some exorcists attempt to imitate this.

“Some of the Jewish exorcists… 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.”… the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”  And 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.  13-16

And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of all. 19

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Paul is amazing.  Through all the confusion and uproar, how could he walk such a straight line?

Where is old Paul?    He’s like Jesus now…  performing miracles, healing and even resurrecting the dead.   I see Paul.  But it’s God the Holy Spirit in him who is working through him.

Without the Holy Spirit, we would be defeated like the exorcists who just borrowed the name of Jesus.  But, even if it happens, we can run to God.  Burn up the sad old books and run to him.  Don’t have to stay naked and wounded.

God in me.  How could it be?   I want it to happen to me too.