Acts 13:4-12 NIV
4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7 who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10 “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”
Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
1. Sent on their way by the Holy Spirit:
Paul and Barnabas were sent by the commissioning and leadership of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1, 14, 18; Acts 16:6-10).
2. The Word of God:
God put His Word in Paul and Barnabas and made them His instruments for the spread of His Word (Isaiah 51:16; 55:8-9; Jeremiah 1:9-12; 20:9; Acts 4:31; 6:2, 7; 8:14; 12:24; 13:46; 17:13; 18:11; 20:32).
3. False prophet:
Elymas is identified as a false prophet to connect him the false prophets of old who claimed to have the Word of God, but prophesied their own delusions. False prophets like Elymas functionally oppose the Word of God even as they claim to speak it (Jeremiah 14:14ff; 23:16ff; Ezekiel 13; Matthew 17:15-20; 24:24; 2 Peter 2; 1 John 4:1-3; Revelation 13:11-18; 16:12-14 ).
4. Filled with the Holy Spirit:
Believers may be repeatedly “filled with the Spirit” as the situation calls for it. Paul was filled with the Spirit in order that he may destroy the works of Satan. It was as though the Spirit of the Lord, through Paul, disarmed the “strong man” at work in Elymas (Deuteronomy 34:9; Micah 3:8; Luke 1:15, 41, 67; Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 13:52; Ephesians 5:8).
5. You are a child of the devil:
Paul’s words were descriptive of one who is directly under satanic influence or who follows in the devil’s lying and murderous ways (John 8:44-48). Believers do not need to pull punches when dealing with false prophets and all who do the devil’s work to lead the world astray.
6. The hand of the Lord is against you:
Paul pronounces judgment on Elymas. When God’s hand is against someone, they can only expect failure, defeat and calamity as God will not allow them to prosper (Exodus 7:5; 14:31; Deuteronomy 2:15; Judges 2:15). Elymas being stricken with blindness is an example of a miracle where God exacts judgment on the wicked (Acts 5:1-11; 12:21-23).
7. He believed:
The spell of Elymas was broken, allowing the Proconsul to receive the Word of God (2 Corinthians 4:4; 10:3-5).