Paul’s ministry at Corinth and third missionary journey to
Ephesus (Acts 18)
By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce
Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts & Gospel music
Scriptures
reading (Acts 18)
The
ministry at Corinth (8:1-17)
1 After this, Paul left Athens and went
to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus,
who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had
ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and
because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4
Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
5 When Silas and Timothy came from
Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the
Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 6 But when the Jews opposed Paul and
became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “ Your
blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will
go to the Gentiles.”
7 Then Paul left the synagogue and went
next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. 8
Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord;
and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.
9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” 11 So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.
12 While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made
a united attack on Paul and brought him into court. 13 “This man,”
they charged, “is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the
law.”
14 Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the
Jews, “If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious
crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. 15 But since
it involves questions about words and names and your own law-settle the matter
yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things.” 16 So he had them
ejected from the court. 17 Then they all furned on Sosthenes the
synagogue ruler and beat him in front of the court. But Gallio showed no
concern whatever.
The
Journey completed (18:18-22)
18 Paul stayed on the Corinth for some time. Then he
left the Crothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila.
Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had
taken. 19 They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and
Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20
When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. 21
But as he left, he promised, “ I will come back if it is God’s will.” Then he
set sail from Ephesus. 22 When he landed at Caesarea, he went up and
greeted the church and then went down to Antioch.
The
Third Missionary Journey: Ephesus: the power of the word
23 After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out
from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia
and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of
Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of
the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord,
and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he
knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the
synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home
and explained to him the way of God more adequately.
27 When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers
encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he
was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28 For he
vigorously refused the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that
Jesus was the Christ.
Verse 2
Aquila…his wife Priscilla. See Rom.16:3;1Cor.16:19;2Tim.4:19. Because Claudius
had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. This imperial edict was issued in
A.D.49 or 50. Claudius is a Caesar of
the Roman Empire. What he did here was used by the Lord for the carrying out of
His ministry of the building up of His ministry of the building up of His
church, just as what Caesar Augustus did was used by God for the fulfillment of
the prophecy concerning the birthplace of Christ (Luke2:1-7).
Verse
3 a tentmaker. Jewish fathers were urged to teach their sons a trade, and Paul
learned tentmaking, an important industry in Tarsus.
Verse
5 It was at this time in Corinth that Paul wrote his first Epistle to the
church in Thessalonica (1Thes. 1:1) after Silas and Timothy had come from
Macedonia with information concerning the church there (1Thes.3:6).
Verse
12 Proconsul. Gallio was proconsul of Achaia in 51. He was characterized by
contemporaries as an amiable, witty, and lovable person.
Verse
14-16 Judaism was a “licensed religion” under Roman law. Christianity could
take advantage of this protection as long as it sheltered itself under the tent
of Judaism. The Jews must have complained that these Christians were not a
division or sect of Judaism, and Gallio refuses to see it their way. He says,
in effect, “ settle your own religious squabbles yourselves.” This ruling was
probably important for the spread of the gospel.
Verse
18 he had his hair cut off. The sign of the conclusion of a Nazirite vow. Just
why he took the vow is not known. Aprivate vow for thanksgiving performed in
any place by the Jews, with the shearing of the hair. It differed from the
Nazarite vow, which had to be carried out in Jerusalem with the shaving of the
head (21:24;Num.6:1-5,18; 1 Cor.11:6, where it is shown that there is a
difference between shearing and shaving). Paul was a Jew and kept the vow, but
he would not and did not impose it on the Gentiles. According to the principle
of his teaching concerning God’s New Testament economy, Paul should have given
up all the Jewish practices, which belonged to the Old Testament dispensation .
However, he still had this vow, and it seems that God tolerated it, probably
because it was a vow carried out in private outside Jerusalem and would not
have had much effect on the believers. Cenchrea. The eastern port of Corinth.
Verse 25 This indicates that Apollos did not have a
complete revelation of God’s New Testament economy, although he ahd been
instructed in the way of the Lord. Hence, there was a deficiency in the result
of his ministry (19:2).
Verse 27 Lit., the grace; indicating the particular
grace which Apollos enjoyed in the Lord. This grace is just God Himself in
Christ as the portion to the believers in Christ.
Bibliography,
King James, The
Holy Bible (KJV), Cleveland, OH: The world publishing company
Ryrie, Charles
C. The Ryrie study Bible(NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible
Institute, 1986
Lee, Witness. The
New Testament (R.V.) Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.
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