Acts 19:5-8 – When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Now the men were about twelve in all. And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God.
If anyone was a student of the word of God it was the Apostle Paul. Paul was trained at the feet of the famous teacher Gamaliel from his youth. He was a Pharisee, known for their diligence in studying the scripture. When Paul had the encounter with Jesus on the Road to Damascus and was baptized in the Holy Spirit he immediately began to teach and preach that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah.
In today’s scripture we see a great example of what happens when you combine the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. In this passage we see Paul starting the great church of Ephesus. His pattern needs our attention. The first thing he did was make sure the believers there were baptized in the Holy Spirit. He then began daily meetings that went on for two years at the School of Tyrannus. The results of these meetings are a demonstration of the word and the Spirit. First we see unusual miracles taking place, pieces of Paul’s clothing were sent out to the sick and the tormented. The result, people were healed and demons came out. We also hear that the entire province of Asia heard the word of God in those two years. God’s word was said to be prevailing to such an extent that there was widespread repentance marked by the burning of occult paraphernalia. The church in Ephesus became a hub of Christianity for several hundred years as a result of this ministry.
So what does all of this mean for us today? This should show us the power of the word of God and the Spirit when they are both emphasized in our lives and ministry. God’s word is powerful, when it is stored up in our hearts it becomes a great weapon in and through us for years to come. But we must remember this, Paul was full of the Word of God before he met Jesus. The word was activated in Paul after the Spirit came upon him. We can never minimize the importance of the anointing in our lives. We must be filled and filled again with the Spirit; when that happens the word becomes a powerful sword in our hands.