Acts 14:8-10

Acts 14:8

And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked:

a. This was a hard case. It wasn’t that he hurt his foot yesterday and was beginning to limp. No this guy had never walked in his life. The whole town knew it.

Acts 14:9

The same heard Paul speak: who steadfastly beholding him and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,

1.”The same heard Paul speak…”

a. Paul was preaching the gospel and this man heard him. Paul was preaching the word.

1). 2 Timothy 4:2 “Preach the word…”

b. Paul was preaching faith.

1). Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

2. “…who steadfastly beholding him and perceiving that he had faith to be healed…”

a. steadfastly beholding [816 * atenizo] [Zodhiates: to look fixedly, gaze intently.]

b. Paul was staring at this man. Why? Because the Holy Ghost was telling Paul about this man. The Spirit of God was telling Paul this man had faith to be healed. Paul was preaching faith, that healing was part of the Covenant.

c. perceiving [1492 * eido] [Zodhiates: the tenses derived from the meaning of eido form two families, one of which is ‘to see’, the other ‘to know’.

1). Matthew 9:4 “And Jesus knowing their thoughts…”

2). Matthew 12:25 “And Jesus knew their thoughts…”

3). Mark 12:15 “But he, knowing their hypocrisy…”

d. healed [4982 * sozo] [Zodhiates: to save, deliver, make whole, preserve safe from danger, loss, destruction.] [D.C. And of course heal!]

e. This was no doubt an example of the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit, not the healing of the man, for that was by simply hearing the word of faith. It was the ‘perception’ or ‘knowledge’ that this man had faith to be healed. This was the manifestation of the word of wisdom or the word of knowledge, perhaps both.

1). 1 Corinthians 12:8 “For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit.”

2). The word of wisdom was the perception of his condition, “he had faith to be healed”. The word of knowledge was what to do with it.

Acts 14:10

Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.

a. There are a few very powerful elements of the New Covenant at work in this passage which cannot be denied.

1). Paul was preaching the gospel which included healing.

2). Faith comes by hearing faith. Paul was preaching faith.

3). The man in the crowd heard the gospel, the word of faith, that God wants us healed.

4). The Holy Ghost told Paul about it, and the rest is history. Praise God!