From Deception to Discernment: The Holy Spirit Path to Freedom 08/23/2026

In chapter twelve, we read that following earnest prayer by the church, Peter is miraculously broken out of prison by an angel. Then, chapter thirteen opens with the church in Antioch praying and fasting. They anticipate that God has work for them to do, and they are waiting as the first believers waited for Pentecost. As they pray, fast, and wait, the Holy Spirit gives them direction. They discern Him saying, “Send Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2). Today’s verses pick up from there, and we get a first-row seat to the first story in Saul’s first missionary adventure. 

In this portion of Acts, Saul (also called Paul), Barnabas, and John Mark set out for the island of Cyprus. While on the island, they will be summoned by Sergius Paulus, the proconsul, who wants to hear their message concerning Jesus. Paul, being filled with the Holy Spirit, will discern the intention of a false prophet to distort the message of the gospel, and he will curse him with temporary blindness for trying to deceive the proconsul. As a result, this Roman governor will be struck by the power of the teaching about the Lord and believe. We will see that deception is spiritual darkness. Just as the Holy Spirit fills Paul and enables him to recognize the deceptive schemes of Bar-Jesus and to resist the work of God, so the Holy Spirit brings light to our own darkened thinking through discernment, showing us where we are resisting God's work. This passage shows us that deception seeks to thwart the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit to convey the good news that, in Christ, we have been set free from the power of sin and death. There is no real freedom from darkness without the light of truth found in Christ. The Holy Spirit gives us discernment so we can identify deceived thinking and be set free from our bondages.