18:9-10). I. INTRODUCTION.

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1 Sunday, November 29, 2015 Lesson: Acts 18:1-11; Time of Action: A.D.; Place of Action: Corinth Golden Text: Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city (Acts 18:9-10). I. INTRODUCTION. We often make distinctions between preaching and teaching. We consider preaching to be what the pastor does in declaring the gospel in order to win souls to Christ. We consider teaching, or educational ministries as what teachers do to help believers know more about the Bible. While this distinction is partly true, we need to also recognize the value of teaching ministries as a means of spreading the gospel. In this week s lesson we will see how the Lord can use teaching ministries to communicate the gospel to people. II. BACKGROUND FOR THE LESSON. Paul had quite an experience while in Athens, Greece. When he entered the city, he noticed that there were more idols there than he had seen anywhere else (see Acts 17:16). However, while there as part of his second missionary journey, he preached a sermon on Mars Hill. The theme of that message was the certain judgment that the resurrected Christ would bring. When Paul mentioned the resurrection, the crowd reacted. Some mocked, or made fun of Paul while others wanted to hear

2 more. A few believed on Jesus as the Saviour (see Acts 17:22-34). Apparently Paul decided that he would make the best use of his time by going somewhere else, so he left Athens. This is where our lesson begins. III. PAUL FINDS NEW FRIENDS IN CORINTH (Acts 18:1-3) A. Persecuted refugees (Acts 18:1-2). 1. (vs. 1). Our first verse says After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth. The phrase After these things refers to Paul s message on Mars Hill in Athens and the mixed response he received (see Acts 17:32-34). He then departed from Athens, and came to Corinth. Paul left Athens and went to Corinth which was the capital of the region of Achaia, the rich and important southern part of Greece. Athens was also in Achaia, but just as it was considered the intellectual capital of Greece, Corinth was considered the commercial capital. Since Corinth was a seaport city, it was one of the most immoral cities in that area. Both wealth and wickedness abounded there. 2. (vs. 2). This verse goes on to say And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. Once in Corinth, Paul found a certain Jew named Aquila. The Greek word for found can signify finding someone either by accident or after a search. It s quite possible that Paul found and became acquainted with this Jew named Aquila in the Jewish synagogue. Luke also writes that Aquila was born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla. The city of Pontus was a province in northern Asia Minor or modern day Turkey. The phrase lately

3 come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla means that Aquila and his wife Priscilla had recently come to Corinth from Italy. They probably arrived just before Paul did. Aquila is Latin indicating that he was a Roman citizen. Priscilla is a form of her real name Prisca which Paul used (see II Timothy 4:19). Since Luke doesn t say anything about when this couple was converted to Christianity, they were probably already saved when Paul came unto them. There were Jews from many places including Pontus and Rome (see Acts 2:9-10) in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, so it s possible that Aquila and Priscilla were among the three thousand converts who were saved that day (see Acts 2:41). However, they could ve received Christ at some other time. The reason that this couple had recently come to Corinth was (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:). Aquila and Priscilla were indeed persecuted refugees from Rome, Italy who settled in Corinth. Note: In the ninth year of Emperor Claudius (who ruled from A.D.), which was about 50 A.D., he issued an edict expelling all Jews from Rome. Before Aquila and Priscilla met Paul they were living in Rome and may have been among the Jews who were expelled by Claudius. The Roman historian, Suetonius wrote about this some 70 years later saying As the Jews were indulging in constant riots at the instigation of Chrestus, he banished them from Rome. Apparently, the name Chrestus was a misunderstanding of the Greek word Christos, for Christ. Of course, the introduction of the gospel among Jews usually caused disturbances, so instead of dealing with this religious issue, Claudius, the emperor, had all Jews put out of Rome. B. Profitable association (Acts 18:3). This verse says And because

4 he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers. The word he refers to Paul. Since he and Aquila were of the same craft, meaning that they had the same trade, Paul abode with them, and wrought. In other words, he stayed with Aquila and Priscilla and worked in his trade, the meaning of the word wrought. Luke tells us that the trade or occupation of both Aquila and Paul was tentmakers. Note: The Jewish rabbis taught that all fathers should teach their sons a trade, whether or not they were to become teachers of the law. Paul s father had evidently followed this good counsel. In ancient cities there were usually great markets, organized by a person s craft or occupation. Those who had the same craft would live and work in a specific area. Usually the living quarters were connected either behind or above the market place. So, when Paul found Aquila and Priscilla, they opened their home and shop to him, and they all worked together. The word tentmakers speaks of a trade that was closely related with the chief manufacture of Paul s home of Cilicia called cilicium which was a cloth made of goat s hair. Paul and Aquila therefore, made tents from this rough cloth. Paul was a self-supporting missionary who used his skills to provide for his material needs. Note: While Paul did receive some financial support on occasion (see II Corinthians 11:8; Philippians 4:15-19), he usually supported himself financially in his preaching ministry (see Acts 20:34; II Thessalonians 3:6-10). For sure, Paul and other Christian workers had the right to be supported financially by other believers (see Luke 10:7; I Corinthians 9:1-15; I Timothy 5:17-18), but he chose not to accept payment for his preaching. IV. PAUL FINDS NEW OPPORTUNITIES (Acts 18:4-6) A. Paul reasons in the synagogue (Acts 18:4-5).

5 1. (vs. 4). This verse says, And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. In addition to his daily work and sharing his message in the marketplace, Paul reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. The Greek word translated reasoned means to converse with or to discuss and our word dialogue (a two-way conversation) comes from it. The basic idea of the Greek word for reasoned is to examine the facts reasonably. Therefore, we could conclude that Paul presented arguments that challenged the Jews to examine the Old Testament Scriptures to see whether his interpretation was the correct one or not. That Paul reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath indicates that every Sabbath Day Paul ministered for Christ in the Jewish place of worship in Corinth. In the synagogue he persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. The word persuaded means to seek to convince someone of a particular argument, causing them to believe that argument. Paul was convincing both the Jews and the Greeks to put their trust in Jesus Christ whom he proclaimed through the gospel. Of course, we cannot neglect the fact that as Paul succeeded in persuading both unbelieving Jews and Greeks, it was the Holy Spirit of God who used him to open their sin-blinded eyes (see II Corinthians 4:3-6). 2. (vs. 5). This verse says And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. When the unbelieving Jews in Thessalonica heard that Paul, Silas and Timothy were preaching in Berea, they went there and stirred up the people (see Acts 17:10-13). Some believers in Berea accompanied Paul to Athens, but Silas and Timothy remained in Berea to encourage the new believers there. Once in Athens, Paul told those who had come with him to return to Berea and tell Silas and Timothy to come to him quickly (see Acts 17:14-15). Paul soon left Athens and went to Corinth where he was reunited with Silas and Timotheus (who) were come from Macedonia. Having received Paul s message from the returning Bereans, Silas and Timothy left Berea in Macedonia and met Paul in Corinth. Luke

6 then tells us that Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. The arrival of Silas and Timothy encouraged Paul even more in his missionary activity, causing him to intensify his preaching efforts. Note: The arrival of Silas and Timothy in Corinth was a welcomed sight for Paul. It s also probable that they brought needed funds so that Paul could devote himself to preaching without having to worry about making tents (see Philippians 4:15-16). In addition, his companions could also assist him in preaching the gospel in both the city and the synagogue. Luke also writes that Paul was pressed in the spirit meaning that he was constrained or burdened by the infidelity of his countrymen the Jews, causing him to be more intent than ever to seek their conversion. The ministry of the gospel, especially to the Jews weighed heavily upon Paul s mind. Therefore, he testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. No doubt he testified to the Jews by spending considerable time discussing Old Testament passages concerning the coming Messiah. They needed to hear it again and again that Jesus of Nazareth was the long promised Messiah, and the Jews needed to accept Him as the Christ, the Messiah. B. Rejection and blasphemy of the Jews (Acts 18:6). In this verse, Luke writes And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean; from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. Upon hearing Paul declare that Jesus was the Messiah in the previous verse, the unbelieving Jews became irate and came against him and what he preached. The phrase they opposed themselves most likely means that the Jews were hurting themselves by rejecting the gospel message Paul preached. Not only had the Jews opposed themselves, but they made matters worse as they also blasphemed which refers to speaking evil of someone including using abusive language. No doubt the blasphemy the Jews were guilty of included hurling insults at Paul and Jesus Christ. Note: These unbelieving Jews persisted in their opposition to the gospel of Christ, and would not

7 accept Paul s strongest arguments, or his most winning persuasions. They set themselves in battle against the gospel, joining hand in hand to stop the progress of it. They resolved that they would not believe it themselves, and would do all they could to keep others from believing it. Since they couldn t really argue against the gospel, they turned to foul language as they blasphemed or spoke evil of Christ, and of God himself demonstrating that they were indeed lost, which was their true spiritual condition. Later in his first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul wrote Therefore I want you to know that no one speaking by the (power and influence of the) Spirit of God can say, Jesus be cursed, and no one can say, Jesus is (my) Lord, except by (the power and influence of) the Holy Spirit (see I Corinthians 12:3, The Amplified Bible). The opposition of these unbelieving Jews to the gospel was so strong that Paul had no recourse but to leave the synagogue as he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads. The phrase shook his raiment was a symbol of shaking the dust off his clothing similar to what he and Barnabas had done in Antioch in Pisidia on their first missionary journey when the Jews there contradicted and blasphemed Paul and Barnabas while stirring up the people against them. As a result, Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet, as Jesus had commanded His disciples ((see Luke 10:10-12) and they went to Iconium. Paul s symbolic gesture of shaking the dust from his clothes showed that he would have nothing more to do with the Jews who opposed him in Corinth. In addition, it indicated that he was free from any responsibility for their decision to reject the gospel. The shaking of the garment also indicated that God would reject these unbelieving Jews because without Christ they were condemned (see John 3:18-19). Paul also told these Jews that Your blood be upon your own heads. With this statement Paul was telling the Jews that they must bear full responsibility for rejecting Christ, because Paul had done what he was supposed to do, preach the gospel (see Ezekiel 3:16-21; 33:7-9). Their decision to reject the gospel could be considered spiritual suicide (see Romans 11:7, 20). Rejecting Christ and His messenger would mean the removal of the gospel message. These

8 unbelieving Jews would bear the penalty of their decision, even as their Jewish brethren bore the penalty of their decision when they asked for Jesus blood and the release of Barabbas (see Matthew 27:25). Finally, Paul said to the Jews I am clean; from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. Paul, recognizing that he had done all he could do, with the words I am clean he did as he had done in Antioch in Pisidia (see Acts 13:46). When he realized that these Jews had determined to remain blind regarding Christ, he turned his attention to the Gentiles who would listen with ears of faith (see Acts 28:28). In his letter to the church at Rome, Paul later wrote I do not want you, believers, to be unaware of this mystery (God s previously hidden plan), so that you will not be wise in your own opinion that a partial hardening has (temporarily) happened to Israel (to last) until the full number of the Gentiles has come in (see Romans 11:25, The Amplified Bible). V. PAUL FINDS NEW CONVERTS (Acts 18:7-11) A. Salvation of some in Corinth (Acts 18:7-8). 1. (vs. 7). This verse says And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. After leaving the synagogue, Paul did exactly as he said he would, he entered into a certain man s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God. Paul went to the home of a Gentile named Justus who is described as one that worshipped God. This means that Justus was probably an informal Jewish proselyte, meaning that he worshiped the God of Israel in the Jewish synagogue, but didn t adhere to their laws. These Gentile God-worshipers were often among the first to receive Christ after hearing the gospel as were Cornelius (see Acts 10:2) and Lydia (see Acts 16:14). Luke notes that Justus house joined hard to the synagogue meaning it was very close to the synagogue or as we would say next door. Apparently, Justus home became Paul, Silas and Timothy s headquarters as they preached the gospel to the Gentiles. The fact

9 that it was next door to the Jewish synagogue with its unbelieving Jews, didn t bother Paul at all. 2. (vs. 8). This verse goes on to say And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized. At this point, Luke introduces Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue meaning that he was the leader in the synagogue, and would oversee the worship activities. This is important because he believed on the Lord with all his house. Crispus and all his house had been converted to Christianity. While every conversion is important, some converts may have a greater influence than others. Because of his position in the synagogue, his conversion led to others being saved. The power of the gospel certainly was evident in this wicked city of Corinth as many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized. This should serve as encouragement to us that no person or city is so wicked that the saving grace of God cannot change that person or city. Note: It was common in New Testament times for new converts to be baptized immediately after they came to faith in Christ. Water baptism was a public display of the believers identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. It s the same for us today. The water does not unite the sinner with the Saviour, but it does show that the union has already taken place (see Romans 6:3-5). It should also be noted that Crispus was one of the few believers that Paul personally baptized (see I Corinthians 1:14, 16). It appears that Paul passed the act of baptizing new converts to his co-workers, or to the local church leaders. No doubt he did this in order to keep any one from assuming that he was trying to gain a following for himself (see I Corinthians 1:14-17). B. A message from the Lord (Acts 18:9-10).

10 1. (vs. 9). This verse says Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace. God spoke to Paul in the night by a vision. We might wonder why the vision came to Paul at this particular time. Undoubtedly, the apostle must ve been fearful, or at the very least discouraged at the extreme opposition he was facing. He was probably fearful of further rejection and physical abuse. It s clear that in His omniscience and wisdom, God knew Paul needed encouragement at this time (see I Corinthians 2:3). It s very true that at times it s easy for almost anyone to wonder if what they are doing for God is really worthwhile. In the vision, God first assured His servant saying Be not afraid. Whatever dangers he was facing were not going to result in any harm to him. Paul may have thought that because of the opposition he was experiencing in Corinth, he needed to move on to another place. It seems that God was using the vision to keep Paul at Corinth for a longer period of time. So God went on to say but speak, and hold not thy peace. Paul was not to let hostile Jews or pagan Gentiles keep him from proclaiming God s Word. There may be a time for silence, but this was not that time (see Proverbs 3:7). 2. (vs. 10). In this verse God continued to say to Paul in the vision, For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. Not only did God assure Paul that he had nothing to fear by staying in Corinth, but He also explained why he was to stay. The Lord gave three reasons why Paul was to remain in Corinth and not to be afraid. First, God assured Paul of His presence by saying For I am with thee. Surely, Paul knew this truth (see Matthew 28:20), but like most of us, he probably forgot about it in hard times. But he needed to be reminded of God s presence. Second, God told him that no man shall set on thee to hurt thee. What a promise that was! This was not an assurance that there would be no opposition, but a promise that the opposition would be unsuccessful in destroying him. Although the King James translation says no man, the translation could also be no one implying that neither human nor spirit enemies could pierce the protection that the Lord provides. The Greek

11 word translated set on thee in this context means to attack. The Lord never promised that there would be no attacks, but that the attacks would not result in any harm. Third, God assured Paul saying for I have much people in this city. God was not only talking about those who were already saved, but was including those who were yet to be saved. There were, and would be more believers to support Paul as he preached in Corinth. While Paul didn t know who all these people were, God certainly did (see Acts 13:48; Romans 8:29-30; II Timothy 2:19). What Paul needed to realize was that God was still working to bring more people in the city to saving faith through the gospel. He wanted to continue to use Paul in doing that work. Preaching the gospel would awaken unbelievers to their need for Christ (see Romans 10:13-17). C. The obedience of Paul (Acts 18:11). In our final verse, Luke writes And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. In obedience to the Lord, Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and six months or eighteen months. Usually, Paul didn t stay long in one place during his missionary journeys. He did stay two years in Ephesus (see Acts 19:8-10), but that was unusual. However, the eighteen months he stayed in Corinth was his longest continuous stay in one place on his missionary journeys up to this point. Surely the Lord was directing Paul and he was obedient to that direction. The Lord s guidance of Paul indicates that He fulfills promises to lead His own (see Psalms 32:8; 37:23; Proverbs 16:9; Jeremiah 10:23). The last phrase of this verse tells us what Paul did during the eighteen months in Corinth. He was teaching the word of God among them. Paul didn t teach his own philosophy, or anyone else s. The truth of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ was the subject matter that he taught the people in Corinth. Note: After people receive Christ as Lord and Saviour, they need to be taught how to live the Christian life and serve the Lord. Paul certainly wasn t a fly-by-night evangelist. He

12 stayed in places long enough to see people come to the Lord and then continued teaching them the Word of God. It s important for us to understand that Christian workers not only teach converts or new believers, but they also train and teach others to teach as well (see II Timothy 2:2; Titus 1:9). VI. Conclusion. God showed the Apostle Paul that there is a time to travel and preach the gospel widely, and a time to settle in one place and teach the Word. His ministry in Corinth became an occasion to stay for an extended time in one city and strengthen the church he established there. It s easy to imagine that Paul was discouraged. He had met violent opposition again and again, and few people in Athens had showed interest in his message. Then, at Corinth, God uplifted him enabling him to continue his ministry boldly.