Transfiguring Faith

Fervency In Supplication (vv 10-12)

This part of the passage deals with another man of faith.

Ananias, while Saul waited, blinded and fasting thinking deeply about what had happened. God was calling on this man.

Most likely he was one of the spiritual leaders in Damascus Acts 22:12

Acts 22:12 ESV

12 “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,

With Ananias being a spiritual leader in the community it was likely that he was one of the targets of Saul’s Mission.

It was not just Saul’s faith that was being tested, Ananias did not know of the conversion yet because the Lord did not reveal it to him.

What is revealed to him is that Saul was praying.

Prayer should be as natural to a Christian as breathing.

We all should be lost in the wonder and beauity of our salvation and spend time in prayer joyfully thanking God for that Salvation.

Faithfulness In Service (vv 13-17a)

Since the word from the believers in Jerusalem had arrived before Saul, the church at Damascus knew he was coming and why.

So Ananias said in effect, “Lord, do You know what You are asking?”

The request no doubt appeared to him to be suicidal.

His life was at stake, and so was the ministry he had in the church.

He was asking if the Lord really meant to end both.

The call to ministry is not based on the whims of men but on the sovereign choice of God.

Ananias understood that truth clearly and so did Saul. Gal 1:1

Galatians 1:1 ESV

1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—

The stories of both Ananias and Saul illustrate the truth that the transformed life demands service to Christ.

The Filling of the Spirit (v 17b)

Ananias was the bearer of far more important news to Saul than that he would regain his sight.

Far more wonderfully, he would also be filled with the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit was already active in Saul’s life:

convicting him of sin,

convincing him of the lordship of Jesus,

converting him,

placing him into Christ’s body, the church,

and indwelling him permanently.

Beyond all that, he was to be filled with the Spirit in a way that uniquely empowered him for service.

The Spirit transformed Saul in two fundamental ways.

First, He took Saul’s natural strengths and refined them.

Saul was a gifted natural leader, with strong will power.

He was a man of strong convictions, a self-starter, bold, a master at using his time and talents, a motivated individual, and a profoundly gifted thinker and speaker.

Second The Holy Spirit also eliminated undesirable characteristics and replaced them with desirable ones.

He replaced Saul’s cruel hatred with love; his restless, aggressive spirit with peace; his rough, hard-nosed treatment of people with gentleness; his pride with humility.

Only the Spirit of God can so thoroughly sanctify a life.

Saul later expressed that truth to the Corinthians 2 Cor 3:18

2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV

18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Fellowship with the Saint (vv 18-19)

In response to Ananias’s exhortation, Saul arose and was baptized.

By that act he openly united with the very people he had hated and persecuted.

His hated enemies became his friends, while his former friends instantly became his enemies.

In keeping with the consistent pattern of believers’ testimonies in Acts, Saul’s baptism followed his conversion.

One mark of a transformed life is the desire to be with fellow Christians. 1 John 3:14

1 John 3:14 ESV

14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.