It's All About the Name

Acts 19:17b: "And the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor."

There were some incredible events that occurred during the early decades of the early church, as God used men of faith to draw men into intimate fellowship with Him. One such amazing account is found in Acts 19:11-12: "God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them." These events occurred while Paul was serving the Lord in Ephesus over a two-year period.

What is important is to know the spiritual disposition of Paul during this period of ministry. By looking at the first book of Corinthians (which Paul likely wrote while in Ephesus), we gain a better understanding of Paul's mindset during his missionary efforts then. One of the first things that one finds in I Corinthians is that Paul was driven by the praise and glory of the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and not by his own quest for personal accolades from his audiences. In 1 Corinthians 1:2, Paul says that the believer's sanctification comes to those who "call on the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ." He continues by saying that the enrichment of the believer is all because of Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 1:5) . . . so that all boasting should be for the Lord (1:31).

Thus, we see that the power made manifest through Paul occurred in his life because he had a reverential appreciation for the power and majesty of God. Paul was not conceited by thinking that the miracles that happened were on account of his superior knowledge or privileged position; rather, Paul knew that the power of God was being accomplished for the glory of God alone.

In contrast, we find that seven sons of Sceva (a Jewish chief priest) attempted to "invoke the name of the Lord Jesus Christ" so that they might impress their audience with their supernatural accomplishments and thus win the applause of men. The Scripture says that as they were attempting to use the Name of Christ to drive an evil spirit from a possessed man, the evil spirit responded to the men saying, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" (Acts 19:15). In an instant, the evil spirit used the possessed man to beat up the seven sons, leaving them bruised, naked, an bleeding.

God used this experience to gain the attention of the Greeks in Ephesus, for many of them were "seized with fear . . . (and) the Name of the Lord was held in high honor" (19:17). Many of these Greeks openly confessed their sins on account of the Name and destroyed their sorcery scrolls totalling about 50,000 days worth of wages . . . an incredible monetary sum. As a result of this mass act of repentance of the people, "the Word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power."

We must remember that the power of God is made manifest so that people might glorify the Lord and respond to His offering of grace with repentance and submission. God will use believers to demonstrate His power to the world; still, we must remember that the power of God is demonstrated for His glory, not our own. And the more that we are focused on glorifying the Lord, the more He is able to demonstrate His power through us so that men might respond to Him in faith.