Title Strongly bound by grace (Acts 20:22)
Contents
Be bound by grace (Acts 20:22)
Acts 20:22 “Behold, now I am bound in spirit to go to Jerusalem, and I do not know what I will meet there.”
Ⅰ. Text Commentary
II. “What will you meet?”
A. The Incarnation of Jesus
This duality of the believer's life was actually foreseen through Jesus. Although Jesus had the power of God Himself, when He suffered, His appearance was completely human. On the one hand, the incarnate Jesus showed the power of God as God, but on the other hand, as a human being, He had the weakness of a human being. In this way, in order to have compassion and love for us, Jesus obeyed God by personally bearing the pain.
As believers, we can experience the power of God in grace, but also experience the life of obedience in the face of suffering. Those who experience the power of the Holy Spirit in grace are very strong. It is manifested in full faith, in strong grace, in strong conviction, in unshakable fortitude. This perseverance is not discouraged even in the face of difficulties. The hope of that place was not recognized by people from the beginning, so even when difficulties come, you can stand firm thinking about the reason God has planted it there.
However, the saints do not only live in the midst of this power of grace, but rather feel how fragile we are. When you are full of grace and love and have amazing power, God also lets you see how weak you are.
B. The weakness of the Apostle Paul
III. “Born to the Heart”
Then what made the apostle go to Jerusalem? The reason he went down that road again was because he was “bound in the spirit.” Here, binding means “forced”. When the apostle said these words, he was thinking about the sale of slaves at that time.
Ⅲ. concluding remarks
The history of the church can be seen as the history of suffering of those who are so strongly bound by grace. Those who were not favored were able to do things that were incomprehensible to those who were favored. Pray that we may have this strong bond of grace within us. In order to be able to go on a path that cannot be taken without the strength of grace, so that we can go on the path that the Lord wants us to go.