About Him

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

ABOUT HIM

Acts 14:11-13

11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

NIV

 How easy it is for some people to become so enthralled with a speaker of the truth, especially when he does miraculous signs and wonders. It is no wonder why some men today try to created signs and wonders in order to gather large crowds so they can fleece them of their hard earned money for personal gain. False prophets will always be among us, but here we see Paul and Barnabas, not as false prophets but as true men of God, yet these people were so enchanted they actually though Paul and Barnabas were gods who had come down to earth. We will see the response to this kind of thinking from Paul and Barnabas, in fact we should simply include it here, because there is the two truths we should take away from this scripture.

Acts 14:14-15

14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.

NIV

First we should not be fooled by men who are not true men of God, even if they appear to be who they are not, even signs and wonders do not make them gods. No man should be put on a pedestal. But it is the second truth we must ensure we do not fall victim to. We should never think more highly of ourselves then we should. We all, that means us, are but sinners saved by the grace of God. There is no man greater then another, which includes ourselves. Although is it true some people appear to be more intelligent or able to retain more knowledge then others and some people have skills of talents that others may not be able to master, we are all created by God. Some people might have a greater drive for whatever it is they are attempting to achieve then others, but the fact remains we are all equal in the sight of God. There is not a single one of us who should ever accept praise in any many from any other man.  But the point here is that we should not endeavor to make ourselves appear to be worthy of praise. Paul and Barnabas were only doing what they were called to do, bring the good news, telling them to turn from worthless things to the living God. It was God who empowered them with signs and wonders in order to draw men to their message about him. All that we do, all that we say should not be about us, but about him. It is always about him.