Hand It Over

Acts 13:9 “But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked at him and said…”

This little verse in Acts 13 is loaded with significance for several reasons:

1)     This is the first time we see Paul’s name changed noted. Luke, the writer of the Book of Acts, called him Saul in every occasion before this verse and never again calls him Saul after this. The most influential apostle and writer in the New Testament gets a new identity.

2)   Paul became the leader. Barnabas appears to be the team leader in all of their join activities before this. Barnabas took initiative to explain Paul’s conversion to the Jerusalem church (Acts 9:27). Barnabas went to Tarsus to get Paul to bring him to Antioch to help that growing church (Acts 11:25-26). Barnabas led the team to Jerusalem with a relief offering (Acts 11:30). The Holy Spirit even called Barnabas’ name first at their commissioning during the Antioch Church’s prayer meeting (Acts 13:2). Yet, leadership swaps here, again by the work of the Holy Spirit, who fills Paul with the word and anointing for the miracle needed at the moment. Luke subtly shows this leadership transition a few verses later with the team now noted as “Paul and his companions” (Acts 13:13). As far as we can tell, Barnabas never voiced objection or resentment. He was happy to see his protégé go to a greater level of influence than he ever would.

3)   One previously filled with the Holy Spirit was filled again for a specific situation. Luke’s wording here expressly refutes a doctrine that would claim a Christian will receive all of the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation that person will ever receive. Paul received the Holy Spirit shortly after first meeting Jesus on the Road to Damascus when Ananias laid his hands on him (Acts 9:17). Yet, Luke expressly adds the words “filled with the Spirit” here to indicate a fresh work of the Holy Spirit that enabled Paul to understand what Elymas was up to and how to respond to it. Paul’s bold initiative led to a miracle clearly visible to all.

4)   The region’s most influential leader became a Christian. As proconsul, Sergius Paulus was the highest ranking Roman ruler on the island of Cyprus, the third largest in the Mediterranean Sea. He would have been, by far, the most influential Christian anywhere to that point. Paul’s decisive, Spirit-led action help launch a strong Cyprian church still in existence today and took his own career to a new level that eventually led to Paul’s preeminence in early Christianity.

As a professor at two different universities, I have had the privilege of teaching hundreds of people called into God’s ministry. Many of them have gone on to far greater positions of influence than I will ever know. Can I be like Barnabas and willingly hand over that leadership and recognition? The Kingdom of God is best served when we each fulfill our part in that process and remember we are all working together for Jesus’ glory, not our own.