The Spiritual, the Supernatural, and the Natural
W. Clarkson Acts 19:8-17 And he went into the synagogue, and spoke boldly for the space of three months… The faithful labors of Paul in the synagogue of the Jews and the room of Tyrannus, the unusually extensive employment of the miraculous, and the discomfiture of the exorcists suggest to us - I. THAT THE SUPERNATURAL IS TO BE SUBORDINATED TO THE SPIRITUAL. (Vers. 8-12.) We remember how our Lord refused to gratify the unworthy craving for signs and wonders in his day: "There shall no sign be given to this generation" (Mark 8:12); repeatedly he discouraged the demand for the miraculous, because it interfered with the teaching of truth, and so with the furtherance of his spiritual work. We find Paul making comparatively little of these great "gifts;" his chronicler does not enlarge on them, but disposes of them in very few words, no doubt reproducing and reflecting thus the mind of the apostle; he himself does not make a single allusion to them in his address to the eiders at Miletus (Acts 20.); he disparages rather than magnifies their importance in his Epistles (2 Corinthians 13., 14.). We are led to feel that the "special miracles wrought by the hands of Paul" are of very secondary value, as compared (ver. 11) with his diligence in persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God" (ver. 8), and with his enterprise and zeal in so acting that "all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks" (ver. 10). We need not sigh for departed times when the gospel had some sanctions and supports which it has not now. All that is of first importance, all that is truly redemptive and Divine, abides with the Church of Christ, and will remain for ever. 1. The knowledge of the living and saving truth. 2. The love of it, and joy in it. 3. The privilege of making it known. 4. The accessibility of those heavenly influences which make it powerful and efficacious to our own hearts and to the souls of those whom we address. II. THAT THE NATURAL CANNOT DO THE SPECIAL WORK or THE SPIRITUAL. These exorcists (ver. 13) had probably been so far successful that they had induced their fellow-citizens to believe that in them resided a strange power over the insane or the possessed. But when they used the name of Jesus in order to effect their object, they failed signally and disgracefully. In this respect they are types of those who attempt to do God's work without Divine weapons. Only the spiritual can do spiritual work. It is true that unspiritual men may (1) understand much of the Divine thought; (2) speak what they know with skill and force; (3) assume a sacred tone and spirit, and may affect men by that assumption; (4) maintain for years a reputation for devotion and usefulness. But it is also true that (1) if any spiritual result should follow, it will be through the overruling power of God, - it will not be their work, in any true sense; (2) no considerable or permanent results will follow, - such unreal conditions will not stand the test of time; (3) there will come exposure and humiliation, either here or hereafter. Wherefore let us honor the spiritual as that which is the one true, abiding Divine power. Let us: (1) Welcome to our heart the first teachings and leadings of the Divine Spirit. (2) Establish our whole life on the basis of the spiritual; live and walk "in the Spirit," as those who realize that outward shows are as nothing to the great spiritual realities. (3) Do the work of God with spiritual weapons; not attempting to build up the kingdom of God by bodily benefits, political economies, or human philosophies. These have their place and their work, as handmaids and auxiliaries, and are by no means to be despised. But the Christian minister must make men "hear the words of the Lord Jesus," must speak of those things which distinctively "concern the kingdom of God;" he must utter specially Christian doctrine, and look for positively Divine influence. - C. Parallel Verses KJV: And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. WEB: He entered into the synagogue, and spoke boldly for a period of three months, reasoning and persuading about the things concerning the Kingdom of God.