What is bound in the Spirit?

In Acts 20:22, Paul was at a critical phase of his public ministry toward the end of his third journey. Traveling with a group of eight companions including Luke, he was carrying the collection from Gentile believers to Christians in Jerusalem. 

At Miletus Paul summoned the Ephesian elders, and there he delivered the speech found in Acts 20:18–35. In the midst of his speech we find a verse that the NIV translates: “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem” (v. 22); the NLT translates the first clause, “And now, as a captive to the Spirit.…” Both the Louw and Nida and the Thayer lexicons suggest “compel” as a legitimate translation for δέω, thus giving a metaphorical sense to the verb.

The verb δέω in its literal sense continues as an important catchword in Acts. In 21:11 the prophet Agabus came down from Jerusalem to Caesarea to meet Paul. Binding (δήσας) his own hands and feet with Paul’s belt, he declared, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind [δήσουσιν] the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’ ” 

This prophetic act coupled with a prophetic word confirmed what the Holy Spirit had spoken to Paul along the journey (see 20:23). At Tyre believers had urged Paul through the Spirit not to visit Jerusalem (21:4). Nevertheless, after Agabus’s warning, the apostle reiterated his determination to continue: “I am ready not only to be bound [δεθῆναι], but also to die in Jerusalem” (21:13).

In Jerusalem Paul soon found himself in trouble with a crowd at the temple. The Roman commander arrested him and had him “bound” (δεθῆναι) with two chains (Acts 21:33). In his speech before the crowd Paul noted the irony of his situation. Some two decades before he was the one intending to bring “bound” (δεδεμένους) believers from Damascus to Jerusalem for punishment (22:5). 

As the Roman commander was interviewing Paul, he realized he had violated Roman law because he had “bound” (δεδεκώς) a Roman citizen (22:29). Later in Caesarea, Paul was “bound” (δεδεμένον) as a prisoner of the Roman governor Festus (24:27).

Somewhere along his journey, perhaps on the solitary walk to Assos (Acts 20:13–14), Paul had submitted himself to God’s will for whatever lay ahead. Thus he was bound in the Spirit long before anyone bound him in Jerusalem and Caesarea. The guidance of the Holy Spirit is a pervasive theme throughout Acts, and it reminds us that we can never be successful in life or ministry without his direction.

But, like Paul, we can look back and see how the Holy Spirit directed us to take that each step in life. There is peace and comfort in knowing that it was God’s Spirit who bound us in our task of advancing the kingdom.

Author: Wilson, M. W. (2012). Paul: Bound in the Spirit for Jerusalem (Acts 20:22).