Lesson 375

(Lesson 375)(08-24-12) Acts 13:1-12, "Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister. And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus: Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord."

In this lesson, Saul, (who is now called Paul), and Barnabus, were called out by the Holy Ghost and sent on a mission to Cyprus. There, they were to preach the gospel to Sergius Paulus, the "deputy" or governing official of Cyprus. As they were trying to approach him a sorcerer named Elymus, who didn't want Sergius Paulus, a Jew, to convert to Christianity, tried to stop them. Paul, through the power of the Holy Ghost, performed his first miracle by causing Elymus to go blind. After seeing the miracle and learning the gospel of Jesus Christ, Sergius Paulus was saved.

It should be noted that Sergius Paulus neither asked for, nor was he subjected to water baptism.~