Luke the beloved physician wrote, “while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were you baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spoke with tongues, and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve”, and in chapter nineteen and verse eight of the book of Acts Luke shared Paul, “went into the synagogue, and spoke boldly for the space of three months” where we read:
And he went into the synagogue, and spoke boldly for the space of three months,
disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.
The verse begins, “And he went into the synagogue, and spoke boldly for the space of three months,”: Luke began with the words, “and he went into the synagogue” which means “and Paul entered the sacred worship place where Jews were assembled who were formally gathered together to offer prayers and listen to the reading and expositions of the scriptures”, “and spoke boldly” or “and uttered, declared and made proclamations freely, confidently and assuredly” “for the space of three months” which means “for the length three months time”. Luke shared how “Paul” continued in “Ephesus” for “three more months” “speaking” within the “sacred worship place” of the Jews.
The verse goes on to say, “disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.” Luke continued with the words, “disputing and persuading” or “pondering, resolving, having discourses and arguing as well as conciliating and assuring” “the things concerning” which means “the matters and words about” “the kingdom of God” or “the royal power, kingship, dominion, rule and authority pertaining to the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit”. Luke shared how “Paul” was “holding discourses” and assuring the Jews about the matters within God's Kingdom and rule.
When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we learn how “Paul” continued with the “Ephesians” for “three months” and was teaching the Jewish people about the “Kingdom of God”. We can imagine how difficult it was for some Jewish people to understand how Jesus coming changed the way a person relates to God, but when the scriptures are carefully examined and understood, believing in Him becomes the wisest thing a person can do. God loves people, and He sent His Son Jesus into the world to save people from their sins. When they yield themselves to Him, He will forgive their sins and grant them everlasting life in Heaven. Let all who read these words surrender to Jesus and live within the Kingdom of God.
Next time Luke shares how, “divers were hardened, and believed not”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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