Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye. Then he said, "You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord?"
In today's world where
it is common to question authority, we can often wonder if there is any true and trustworthy authority. The apostles' authority did not come from position, name, rank, or even reputation:
It came from the Holy Spirit of God who operated through them. In the Old Testament, the prophets spoke with confidence:
They were filled with the Spirit of God and spoke the words of God (
2 Peter 1:19-21). Speaking through the Spirit was true as well of Jesus' messengers. While all true followers of Jesus have the Holy Spirit (
Romans 8:9), the apostles spoke with a unique authority directly related to the work of the Holy Spirit through them. Jesus built his church on their testimony and authority, and we ignore their teaching at our own peril and rebellious risk (
Ephesians 2:19-20;
1 Thessalonians 4:8).
O Father, I thank you for speaking authoritatively through your servants, the prophets. I thank you for speaking authoritatively through both Jesus and his apostles. Now I ask, dear Father, that I can take what they have spoken and apply it in my life with the guidance and conviction that the Holy Spirit brings. I want my life to bring you honor as the Spirit conforms me to be like Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.
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