Study #44: The Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Saul to plant churches among the Gentiles, and they began on Cyprus (12:25

Study #44: The Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Saul to plant churches among the Gentiles, and they began on Cyprus (12:25 - 13:12)

Acts, Chapter 2.1: The Jews of Asia Minor violently opposed the church-planting efforts of Paul and Barnabas among them (12:25 - 15:35)

§Complement Introduction: The Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Saul to plant churches among the Gentiles, and they began on Cyprus (12:25 - 13:12)

¶Opposite The Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Saul to work in the mission field (12:25 - 13:5)

¶Opposite Paul destroyed the spiritual influence of a false prophet on the leader of Cyprus (13:6 - 12)

§Complement Body: The hostility of the Jews in Asia Minor moved the missionary efforts of Paul and Barnabas toward the Gentiles (13:13 - 14:28)

¶Opposite Paul and Barnabas traveled to Antioch in Pisidia of Asia Minor to preach the Gospel in the synagogue of the Jews (13:13 - 25)

¶Opposite Paul boldly proclaimed Jesus Christ as the Risen Messiah of Israel to them (13:26 - 43)

¶Complement The hostility of the Jews in Antioch of Pisidia encouraged Paul and Barnabas to reach out to the Gentiles with the Gospel instead (13:44 - 52)

¶Complement The hostility of the Jews in Iconium eventually forced Paul and Barnabas to flee for their lives to Lystra and Derbe (14:1 - 7)

¶Unique After spending time with the new churches they had planted, Paul and Barnabas returned home to the church in Antioch (14:8 - 28)

§Unique Conclusion: The Apostles and elders held a council at Jerusalem to determine whether Gentile Christians should be circumcised (15:1 - 35)

¶Complement The church leadership debated whether Gentile Christians should be forced to follow the Law of Moses (15:1 - 12)

¶Complement The church at Antioch rejoiced to hear that Gentile Christians would not be forced to follow the Law of Moses (15:13 - 35)

All Bible quotations and the arrangement are found exclusively in the Kingdom Study Bible version, published by Jehovah Has Spoken Publishing Ministries.

It is published for free online at https://https://www.phibible.org/

We continue our study of Acts Chapter 2.1 with the Introduction Section.

The Golden Ratio outline of paragraph 1 with the Bible text:

§Complement Introduction: The Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Saul to plant churches among the Gentiles, and they began on Cyprus (12:25 - 13:12)

¶Opposite The Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Saul to work in the mission field (12:25 - 13:5)

Unique And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry; and they took with them John, whose surname was Mark.

Complement Now there were in the Assembly at Antioch certain Prophets and teachers: as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work unto which I have called them.”

Complement And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

Opposite So they, being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went to Seleucia; and from there sailed to Cyprus.

Opposite And when they were at Salamis, they preached the Word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they had also John as their assistant.

Comments: The Golden Ratio design of the subparagraphs for paragraph 1 is “UCC-OO”: one unique, two complements, two opposite.

This is a text that teaches Believers in Christ something very important:

1) If you want God to use you in his service, you need to make yourself AVAILABLE to God for service. The Bible says, “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said...” In other words, Saul and Barnabas (along with the others in the Assembly at Antioch) were seeking the will of God for their life through fasting and prayer.

No doubt this included much involvement in the work of the Gospel among the Assembly and in the population in and around Antioch, knocking on doors and sharing the Gospel with the Lost, that they might be saved.

Also, there is no doubt that God had been working in their hearts for many months, perhaps many years, about the needs of the Lost in foreign lands, who had never heard the name of Jesus Christ and needed to be saved, if they were to have any opportunity to go to heaven when they died.

If you have no concern about the souls of others who are going to an Eternal HELL, then it could just be that YOU are going there too, because you don’t understand the Gospel and the urgency of the Great Commission. Certainly God will never use you in his ministry, because He cannot trust you to obey Him and follow his Word.

So again, if you want God to use you to grow his Kingdom and magnify his Name, you must first commit yourself totally and completely to the will of God and the control of the Holy Spirit in your life.

God can use anyone, even those without an education; however, if God has called you into his ministry as a pastor, missionary, or evangelist, first you need to be trained to use the Word of God correctly, because if the Word of God is handled improperly, it can do a lot of harm, both to your hearers and to yourself, when you stand before God to give an account of your ministry.

I recommend a minimum of two years of Bible college for anyone in full time service for the Lord; and four years for pastors and Bible teachers. You cannot teach others what you do not know yourself.

“And when he had called the people to him with his disciples also, he said to them, “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me: for whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the Gospel’s, the same shall save it.” Mark 8:34-35

Secondly, notice that the entire Assembly at Antioch recognized the call of God upon Saul and Barnabas to go to the mission field to preach the Gospel and plant churches. They fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them (as a sign that they approved of their calling), and sent them away, no doubt with money and supplies to support their work.

Not all ministries need to be recognized by a church to be a true ministry of the Lord; but, church-planting missionaries in particular should be recognized by at least one church or even a group of churches before going out in this particular kind of ministry, because they will need financial support and the prayers of the church(es) to back them up as they travel to foreign lands, risking their lives and their bodies to bring the Gospel to people who have never heard it before.

I believe that this is a major reason why the Lord included this story as part of the Book of Acts, to teach us this lesson.

The Golden Ratio outline of paragraph 2 with the Bible text:

¶Opposite Paul destroyed the spiritual influence of a false prophet on the Roman governor of Cyprus (13:6 - 12)

Opposite And when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus, who was with the governor of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man, who called for Barnabas and Saul, and sought to hear the Word of God.

Opposite But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by translation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the governor from the Faith.

Complement Then Saul (who also is called Paul), filled with the Holy Spirit, set his eyes on him, and said, “O full of all subtlety and all mischief, you son of the devil, enemy of all righteousness: will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

Complement And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a season.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell on him; and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

Unique Then the governor, when he saw what was done, believed in Christ, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

Comments: The Golden Ratio design of the subparagraphs for paragraph 2 is “OO-CCU”: two opposite, two complements, and one unique: the opposite of paragraph 1.

The Introduction Section is the same design in every large Book in the Bible: “UCC-OO | OO-CCU”.

Now notice that Saul and Barnabas encountered a demonic man, a sorcerer who was a Jew and a false prophet. This was an early test of Saul (now Paul) and his walk with the Lord. If Paul had been like most Christians today who rarely read the Bible except in their Sunday school lesson (if that), he would have been totally helpless against this servant of the devil.

But instead, Paul instantly recognized his arch-enemy and the evil power that was in him, and dealt with the sorcerer according to the wisdom that his constant study of the Bible and seeking the Lord daily through prayer had given him.

“O full of all subtlety and all mischief, you son of the devil, enemy of all righteousness: will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a season.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell on him; and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.”

“Through your Precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.” Psalm 119:104

So instead of defeat, Paul emerged as the victor in this spiritual battle with the servant of Satan, BECAUSE Paul was spiritually and doctrinally prepared to face evil and deal with it according to the power of God instead of the flesh. No one can defeat Satan or his servants with the power of the flesh! The kingdom of Satan consists of arrogance, pride, physical strength, and the power of evil spirits; but the power of God lies in submission to the Lord and having access to HIS power, which is Almighty! Jesus is the Most High God and cannot be defeated by any power of Satan.

The secret of a powerful ministry for God is in total submission to the Lord Jesus Christ and his will for your life; and along with that, constant prayer and daily feeding of your soul on the Word of God. This will result in an active ministry of witnessing for Christ in some form. Not everyone is called to be a pastor, missionary, or Bible teacher; but all Believers can share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in some way: by spoken word, by Gospel tracts, or by internet witnessing on places like Facebook.

Paul recognized Elymas as a man who was much like himself in his previous life as a persecutor of Christians. Saul of Tarsus had also been a son of the devil and an enemy of all righteousness; but the Lord Jesus Christ showed great mercy upon Saul and saved his soul; and then called him into his service.

“Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard by many of this man: how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on your Name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go your way: for he is a chosen vessel to me, to bear my Name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: for I will show him what great things he must suffer for my Name’s sake.” Acts 9:13 - 16

The transforming power of the Blood of Jesus cleansed Saul of his sins and set him free from slavery to his former master, Satan. And then, over time, as Saul fasted and prayed and sought the Lord through his Word, he grew in grace day by day, month by month, year by year, until God was able to use him as his greatest Apostle, church planter, and inspired writer of Holy Scripture.

Dear friend, the Lord Jesus Christ can save you from your sins in the same way that He saved Saul of Tarsus; and then He can make you into something wonderful for the glory of God, just as He did for Saul, who became Paul the Apostle.

The Gospel (or, the Good News) is the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day. If you repent of your sins and believe on Jesus Christ, that He died on the cross for your sins and rose again on the third day; and then ask Him to come into your heart to save you, because He paid for all of your sins on the cross of Calvary, then you will be saved and go to Heaven when you die!

I urge you to trust in Jesus Christ right now! Here is a prayer that you can use to repent and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior right now, because you may not live to get saved tomorrow:

Here is a prayer that you may use. Find a place to pray where you are alone with God, and pray these words with all of your heart:

“Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned against YOU. I am no good, and you are righteous! I believe that you died on the cross for my sins, were buried, and rose again from the dead on the third day. I want you to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Please come into my heart right now. Forgive me for all my sins, and save my soul. In the mighty Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!”

If you have turned from your sins and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and only Savior from sin, please message me through Facebook or email me at editor@phibible.org and let me know that you have done that, so that I can pray for you and rejoice with you in what God has done in your life. Amen.