Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 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 Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. But when they 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 innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized.
One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.
While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul and brought him to the place of judgment. “This man,” they charged, “is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.”
Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to them, “If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. 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.” So he drove them off. Then the crowd there turned on Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the proconsul; and Gallio showed no concern whatever.
Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. But as he left, he promised, “I will come back if it is God’s will.” Then he set sail from Ephesus. When he landed at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch.
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.
Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 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. 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.
When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.

• Acts 18:1-28

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Acts 18 ‘Overview’: “Luke offers us no set pattern for the way in which people come, step by step, into full membership in the Christian family and full participation in all the possibilities that are thereby open to them. Sometimes it happens this way, sometimes that. just as humans grow to maturity at different paces, and some make great strides in one area while others have to catch up later, so it seems to be in the church. What matters is that we are open, ready to learn even from unlikely sources, and prepared for whatever God has to reveal to us through the Scriptures, the apostolic teaching and the ongoing and always unpredictable common life of the believing family.”

• N. T. Wright, Acts (from the For Everyone Bible Study Series)

Acts 18:1 ‘Corinth’: “The leading political and commercial center in Greece. It was located at a strategic point on the isthmus of Corinth, which connected the Peloponnesian peninsula with the rest of Greece. Virtually all traffic between northern and southern Greece had to pass through the city. Because Corinth was a trade center and host to all sorts of travelers, it had an unsettled population that was extremely debauched. It also housed the temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. One thousand temple priestesses, who were ritual prostitutes, came each evening into the city to practice their trade.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Acts 18:2 ‘Aquila … Priscilla’: “This husband and wife team were to become Paul’s close friends who even risked their lives for him (Rom. 16:3, 4). The remaining five times they are mentioned in Scripture, Priscilla is listed first (four times in the best Greek manuscripts), which could imply she had a higher social rank than Aquila or that she was the more prominent of the two in the church. They probably were Christians when Paul met them, having come from Rome where a church already existed (Rom. 1:7, 8). Claudius. See … 11:28. commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. The decree that forced Priscilla and Aquila to leave Rome about A.D. 49 (see … 16:20).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Acts 18:5 ‘Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia’: “As Paul desired, Silas and Timothy joined him in Athens (17:15). From there, he sent Timothy back to Thessalonica (1 Thess. 3:1—6). Paul evidently sent Silas somewhere in Macedonia, possibly Philippi (cf. 2 Cor. 11:9; Phil. 4:15), since he returned to Corinth from that province.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Acts 18:7 ‘house of … Justus’: “A Gentile who showed interest in the God of Israel and was associated with the synagogue next door. His name indicates he was a Roman, and since Romans usually had three names, his may have been Gaius Titius Justus, meaning he was the same Gaius mentioned in Romans 16:23 and 1 Corinthians 1:14.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Acts 18:9-10 ‘a vision to stay’: “Whereas the last vision Paul had was of someone telling him to go somewhere he hadn’t expected (Acts 16:9), in Corinth he has a vision telling him to stay put (Acts 18:9-10). Presumably Paul needed that encouragement. Visions, both in the New Testament and in much later experience, are not normally granted just for the sake of it. One of the many lessons Acts teaches quietly, as it goes along, is that you tend to get the guidance you need when you need it, not before, and not in too much detail.”

• N. T. Wright, Acts (from the For Everyone Bible Study Series)

Acts 18:10 ‘God with us’: “The apostle Paul was about to be placed in imminent peril. He was to be brought before the Roman governor, Gallio. The Jews were hopeful that they would get him condemned to death. In this threatening crisis the Lord Jesus would give him a word of comfort to strengthen him, that his courage might not fail. The best, the most assuring word the Savior could speak to his servant was this: ‘I am with you.’ Nothing in heaven or earth could be more fitted to cheer his tried spirit. To know that Jesus was with him, approving, supporting, defending him, was a safeguard against fear. It implies the Lord’s presence. That would not be enough—a person is not with us if he is merely in the same place as a spectator. ‘I am with you’ expresses the Lord’s sympathy.  He is not here as a stranger, but he is here feeling for us, acting with compassion. It also has an even deeper significance. It involves support. He is working with us—on the same side—exerting his power in connection with ours.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

Acts 18:12-13 ‘Roman officials help’: “At least since the time of Julius Caesar, Jews had been allowed to practice their own religion and were not forced to worship the Roman gods. The question dangling over the young church at several points in Luke’s narrative is this: does being a Christian mean you are acting illegally according to Roman law and custom? Or is the community of Jesus’ followers rather to be seen simply as a variant of Judaism and therefore to be permitted? Gallio, who has presumably taken the trouble to inform himself both about the relevant laws and about what the new religion is up to, dismisses the charge. It is an internal matter within Judaism, not something that Roman law need bother about. Sometimes, as Luke no doubt wants us to remark once more, even pagan officials do things which genuinely and thoroughly advance the cause of the kingdom of God.”

• N. T. Wright, Acts (from the For Everyone Bible Study Series)

Acts 18:12 ‘When was Paul’s ministry?’: “Figuring out how to date Paul’s life and journeys has been a notorious puzzle for many generations of scholars. Then archaeologists turned up an inscription in Delphi, a few miles northwest of Corinth. Gallio, who was the younger brother of the famous philosopher Seneca (who was himself tutor to the Emperor Nero), was proconsul of Achaea (Greece) in the second half of 51 and on into early 52, before leaving through ill health. Scholars are now more or less agreed that Paul must have appeared before him some time in late 51. The reference to Gallio has become the peg on which a good deal of the rest of Paul’s chronology can hang.”

• N. T. Wright, Acts (from the For Everyone Bible Study Series)

Acts 18:17 ‘Sosthenes … beat him’: “The Greeks had reasons for being hostile to Sosthenes; they were venting general hostility toward Jews on him, or they may have been angry with his unsuccessful attempt, as leader of the Jews, at prosecuting the case against Paul. Since he was the ruler of the synagogue, he would have presented the case to Gallio. Later, he converted to Christ (1 Cor. 1:1).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Acts 18:18 ‘Why the haircut?’: “Luke does not explain why Paul had his hair cut. Perhaps, as is often the case in ancient history, there is an explanation which would be apparent to people at the time but which has long since ceased to be obvious to us. Perhaps Paul wanted to mark himself as clearly devout to forestall challenges from the Jews. Sometimes in Paul’s world, people would make a special promise as a sign and reminder to themselves of solemn prayers and undertakings they had given to God. Perhaps, when the Lord told Paul to remain in Corinth (18:9-11), he decided to mark the moment by not having his hair cut again until he left the area. Cenchreae, where he had it cut, is the eastern port of Corinth. Since he was leaving Corinthian soil to go back to Jerusalem, now would be the appropriate time to have it cut.”

• N. T. Wright, Acts (from the For Everyone Bible Study Series)

Acts 18:19 ‘Ephesus’: “The most important city in Asia Minor … left them there. Priscilla and Aquila remained in Ephesus to establish their business. Apparently, they lived in Ephesus for several years—a church met in their home (1 Cor. 16:19)—before they returned to Rome (16:3-5).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Acts 18:24 ‘Apollos’: “An OT saint and follower of John the Baptist (v. 25). After further instruction by Aquila and Priscilla (v. 26), he became a powerful Christian preacher. His ministry profoundly influenced the Corinthians (cf. 1 Cor. 1:12). Alexandria. An important city in Egypt located near the mouth of the Nile River. In the first century, it had a large Jewish population. Thus, Apollos, though born outside of Israel, was reared in a Jewish cultural setting. mighty in the Scriptures. Used only here, this phrase refers to Apollos’s knowledge of the OT Scriptures. That knowledge, combined with his eloquence, allowed him to crush his Jewish opponents in debate (v. 28).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Acts 18:25 ‘the way of the Lord’: “This did not include the Christian faith (cf. v. 26). The OT uses the phrase to describe the spiritual and moral standards God required His people to observe (Gen. 18:19; Judg. 2:22; 1 Sam. 12:23; 2 Sam. 22:22; 2 Kin. 21:22; 2 Chr. 17:6; Pss. 18:21; 25:8, 9; 138:5; Prov. 10:29; Jer. 5:4, 5; Ezek. 18:25, 29; 33:17, 20; Hos. 14:9). baptism of John. Despite his knowledge of the OT, Apollos did not fully understand Christian truth. John’s baptism was to prepare Israel for the Messiah’s arrival (cf. Luke 1:16, 17; see notes on 2:38; Matt. 3:6). Apollos accepted that message, even acknowledging that Jesus of Nazareth was Israel’s Messiah. He did not, however, understand such basic Christian truths as the significance of Christ’s death and Resurrection, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the church as God’s new witness people. He was a redeemed OT believer (v. 24).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Acts 18:27-28 ‘Apollos’: “Apollos was clearly a follower of Jesus but was deficient in certain respects. The heart of what was missing for Apollos seems to be something about Christian baptism in the name of Jesus and about baptism in the Holy Spirit. Though he knows a lot about Jesus and presumably already regards him as the Messiah, he knows only John’s baptism. Nobody has told him that from the Day of Pentecost onward the church had welcomed people into its full fellowship through baptism in the name of Jesus (or, as it quickly developed, in the name of the Trinity, as in Matthew 28:19).”

• N. T. Wright, Acts (from the For Everyone Bible Study Series)

Acts 18:27 ‘We cannot be worthy of God’s Gift’: “We take our free gift of salvation and try to earn it or diagnose it or pay for it instead of simply saying ‘thank you’ and accepting it.
“Ironic as it may appear, one of the hardest things to do is to be saved by grace. There’s something in us that reacts to God’s free gift. We have some weird compulsion to create laws, systems, and regulations that will make us ‘worthy’ of our gift.
“Why do we do that? The only reason I can figure is pride. To accept grace means to accept its necessity, and most folks don’t like to do that. To accept grace also means that one realizes his despair, and most people aren’t too keen on doing that either.”

• Max Lucado, No Wonder They Call Him the Savior

Acts 18:27 ‘Ruin, redemption, and Regeneration’: “What Apollos did afterwards, we do not know. His work was not a superfluous one, or it would not have been mentioned here with commendation. In what respects do those who have believed through grace need help? Most new believers need help in further instruction, and Apollos ‘was competent in the use of the Scriptures’(v. 24). Further, he was ‘fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately about Jesus’ (v. 25). Young Christians cannot be supposed to know much when they first come to Christ, but they come to be disciples—that is, to be learners. They know the three Rs—Ruin, Redemption, and Regeneration; and that is by no means a small part of spiritual education. But they do not know these elementary truths of God as fully as they might know them—and even about these things they will be the better for more teaching. Often they need somebody to open up passages of Scripture, to expound to them the faith, and to help them to compare spiritual things with spiritual.
“Apollos also helped them by defending them against opponents. We find that ‘he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating through the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah’ (v. 28). In doing this, he screened believing Gentiles from many a rude assault. He disputed with all his might and with great fervor of spirit against those who tried to subvert the faith of the new Christians.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

Acts 18 ‘Challenges’: “If even three hundred of God’s people became that serious, our world would never hear the last of it! They would influence the news. Their message would go everywhere like birds on the wing. They would set off a great revival of New Testament faith and witness. God wants to deliver us from the easygoing, smooth and silky, fat and comfortable Christianity so fashionable today. l hope we are willing to let the truth get hold of us, even at the cost of rejection or embarrassment.”

• A. W. Tozer, Jesus is Victor!

 

My Thoughts

Paul went from Athens to Corinth.  Athens was the center of philosophy, but Corinth was the commercial center of Achaia (modern Greece).  Paul met Priscilla and Aquila, who had left Rome when the Jews were kicked out of Rome.  They were tentmakers, so Paul, a tentmaker himself joined them.  He preached in the synagogue, but the Corinthian Jews rejected his message.  Paul shook the dust from his clothing and swore to take the message of Christ to the Gentiles.  The Lord spoke to Paul in a dream and Paul remained in Corinth for a year and a half.  As God had said in the vision, many Corinthians were among His elect (or would be His followers, if you prefer).

The Jewish opponents were still not satisfied, they brought Paul’s teachings before Gallio, the local proconsul.  Gallio stopped Paul before he could say anything in his defense.  Gallio ruled that the matter was a Jewish matter about Jewish law and had no place in a Roman court.  The Jews beat Sosthenes and Gallio ignored the assault.

God telling Paul that He was with him is an important lesson for us. I have been in many tight situations. I found it easier to handle, and less unnerving when I realized God was with me and I quit trying to go it alone.

Then Paul went with Priscilla and Aquila to Ephesus.  Priscilla and Aquila stayed in Ephesus, but Paul went on to Jerusalem, back to Antioch, and then to the churches throughout Galatia and Phrygia.  Note: Galatia and Phrygia are major regions in Asia Minor, each with several churches.

In the meantime, Apollos appeared in Ephesus.  He was from Alexandria in Egypt.  He was well educated in the Old Testament Scriptures, and he preached about Jesus, but he only knew the baptism of John the Baptist.  Priscilla and Aquila taught him the gaps in his education.  He felt the call to go to Achaia and the Ephesus church sent him on his way with their blessings.  Apollos, being a great orator and debater, was a defender of the faith in Achaia.

God can use each of us.  Priscilla and Aquila started their tentmaking business in Ephesus and helped a great orator with gaps in his teaching, having not heard about Jesus or the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Ordinary people doing ordinary things, but doing it boldly, with extraordinary results.

Some Serendipitous Reflections

Acts 18:1-17 In Corinth 1. With what missions or missionaries have you entered into financial partnership? If you were called to the foreign mission field, would you seek such partners, or would you become a ‘tentmaker’? Why?
“2. How could your present job be ‘tentmaking’ to support your family while you engaged in God‘s kingdom work?
Acts 18:18-28 Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos 1. Who was very helpful to you when you were young and enthusiastic about the faith? How did this person help? Who could you be helping now? How?
“2. Where do you sense God has equipped you to serve? How can you do so this week?
“3. How does your church balance evangelism with the strengthening and equipping of believers?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

There are two sets of questions as shown above for Acts 18.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

If you like these Thursday morning Bible studies, but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Thursday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.