Acts 18:1-11

                                                             Acts 18:1-11

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

 

It is unusual for Paul to enter a city, be able to stay for a significant period of time, and not be persecuted.  On the other hand, the church would be rather problematic so perhaps all this evens out.  It is interesting to see the roles different people play in the establishment of a church in this city.  There was much to be done in this city and God was at work to bring many to himself.

 

PAUL ENJOYS PARTNERSHPS: Aquila and Priscilla are introduced for the first time in this passage.  The apparently are believers who have fled to Corinth from the persecution in Rome.  Upon their arrival, they meet Paul who is preaching in the city.  What a blessing it must have been for them to find a new church starting in their new place of residence.  What a blessing it must have been to Paul to have mature believers to help him with the work.  They must have been amazed when they first discovered that they were both tent makers.  God had arranged all this and knew that these partners in ministry needed one another at this point in time.  Silas and Timothy were also able to rejoin the team once again.  The body of Christ is such a blessing to be a part of.  Christ is the head of this body and provides for us all in so many ways.  It is important for us to cooperate with one another and not allow competition to thwart our effectiveness and love for each member.

 

PUAL FOCUSES ON PREACHING: Paul had to make tents to support himself in the ministry, but his focus was never to become a successful businessman.  His focus was always on the preaching of the Gospel.  When the Jews were gathered at the synagogue, he was there to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus to them.  Once Timothy and Silas arrived, he was able to focus exclusively on the preaching of the Word.  Initially, his focus was on the Jews but he eventually changed that focus to the Gentiles and experienced successful results.  The leader of the synagogue trusted Christ along with his entire house as well as a Gentile named Titus who lived next door to the synagogue.  This is not the same Titus that Paul writes a letter to in Crete because he was already with Paul in Acts 15 at the Jerusalem counsel.  The preaching of the Gospel produces fruit to the glory of God.  

 

PAUL REBUKES PEOPLE: The focus of Paul’s message was that Jesus was the Messiah and that salvation was not through the obedience of the Law of Moses but through faith in Jesus.  Salvation has never been possible through the Law since nobody could keep it and because all men are born in sin.  Unfortunately, Judaism had devolved into a works-based religion that believed they could earn salvation through the works of the Law.  When Paul confronts this teaching and presents Jesus as the promised Messiah that the Jews had rejected, many were deeply offended by this teaching.  Those who rejected Christ began to revile Paul as the teacher of Christ.  When this happens, Paul symbolically shakes the dust of his garments off and lets them know that their blood in no longer on his hands since they are responsible for rejecting Christ.  As believers, we have the responsibility to proclaim the message of Christ to people.  It is not our responsibility if they reject our teaching.  However, if we remain quiet about the Gospel and do not proclaim it to the unbelievers that are around us, we will be held responsible for our negligence when we give an account of our lives before God.

 

PAUL RECIEVES A PROMISE: God promises that Paul will be able to spend a significant amount of time in Corinth because of the great number of people He was calling to Himself.  God also promises that he will not be attacked by the people there as he had been in so many of the other places he had been.  It must have been a relief to know that he would be safe and could preach the Word of God without fear of persecution.  He was able to spend an entire year and a half working in the same place.  This must have been a refreshing and fruitful time of ministry for Paul and his co-workers.  Paul was able to write the letters of 1 & 2 Thessalonians during this time as well as start the church in this city.  While a year and a half in one place was significant by Paul’s standards, it is still a very short amount of time for him to be able to start a church by today’s standards.  Paul’s commitment to preaching the Gospel and focus on discipleship is an example from which every church planting missionary should learn.

 

APPLICATION: The advance of the Gospel requires partnerships, so we need to be helping, serving, and encouraging one another for that purpose.  Work is important but the purpose of work is God’s glory and the advancement of the kingdom, not the building of our own.  We are responsible to proclaim the Gospel.  Our hearers are responsible to believe the Gospel.  God is responsible to bring people to Himself.  Whatever we believe about any particular branch of theology must accommodate those three truths.