When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear,and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. (Acts 19:17, 18)
Paul’s time in Ephesus as recorded in Acts 19 is the sort of thing that makes me sit up and pay attention to what the power of the gospel can do to a community.
Those who operate in the Spirit have the blessing of knowing they have the backing of the Truth. That backing is critical because in the same way that Paul had a strong connection with Jesus by the Spirit, he was aware that he was in a real struggle not just with political and religious opposition, but a very real spiritual opposition.
The reach of that spiritual opposition was exposed when the sons of Sceva looked to fake it when it came to demonic expulsion. The humiliation and the spread of the news about it had an impact on people far greater than that seen with the death of Ananias and Sapphira back in Jerusalem. Here a completely foreign territory saw how worthy the name of Jesus was. The Kingdom impact saw people en masse getting rid of anything and everything that was unlike Christ.
The efforts to dispel the truth with civil unrest by those concerned about the impact of the gospel on the idolatry trade, also met with the sort of godly intervention that allowed Paul to be able to be protected and not have to say a word. Seeing the city clerk make a stand to get the rowdy mob to actually see sense that their trouble-making and rabble-rousing would only end with the city in disrepute is a good example of how the plans of the opposition can be confounded by itself.
There are efforts to mix the truth with the false – but the truth will emerge. There are efforts made to squash the truth the false – but the truth will emerge. It is to be wary of which side we find ourselves. It’s for us to allow the truth to root out the false in us. It’s for us to let the truth stand against the false around us.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
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