Acts 18

CHAPTER 18THEME: The second missionary journey of Paul continued (Paul in Corinth; Apollos in Ephesus)We are still on the second missionary journey of Paul. He is in Athens alone waiting for Timothy and Silas to come and join him and to bring reports from the churches in Berea and in Thessalonica. After his missionary thrust in Athens Paul goes on his journey to Corinth.

Acts 18:1

THE MINISTRY OF PAUL AT CORINTHI have made the trip from Athens to Corinth by bus. Paul probably walked it. It would take a long time to walk that distance although it would be a beautiful walk. I enjoyed the scenery more since I was riding than I would have if I had been walking, I assure you. It goes past the site where the Battle of Salamis was fought at sea. This is where the Persian fleet was destroyed. There are other historical places along that way before you arrive at Corinth. In our study of the Epistle to the Corinthians, we will see the reason Paul wrote as he did to the believers at Corinth. For now let me say that the city of Corinth was probably the most wicked city of that day. It was the Hollywood and the Las Vegas of the Roman Empire. It was the place where you could go to live it up. Sex and drink and all other sensual pleasures were there. In Corinth today one can see the remains of a great Roman bath. That is where they went to sober up. In the distance is the temple that was dedicated to Aphrodite (or Venus) in which there were a thousand so-called vestal virgins. They were anything but virgins; they were prostitutessex was a religion. Corinth was one of the most wicked cities of the day. Also there were two tremendous theatres there. People came from all over the empire to the city of Corinth. Paul came to Corinth on his second missionary journey and again on his third journey. I believe it was here where Paul had one of his most effective ministries. It is my judgment that in Corinth and Ephesus Paul had his greatest ministries. Ephesus was a religious center; Corinth was a sin center. Both cities were great commercial centers. Now notice what Paul does on his first visit to Corinth.

Acts 18:2

In the city of Corinth he found this Jewish couple, recently come from Rome. The reason they left Rome was because of anti-Semitism which had rolled like a wave over the earth. During the days of the Roman Empire this happened several times. At this time Claudius commanded all Jews to leave Rome. Among those who got out of Rome was a very wonderful couple, Aquila and Priscilla.

Acts 18:3

Aquila had come there because they were in business. They opened up their shop, and one day there came to their shop a little Jew who had traveled all the way from Antioch. They got acquainted and they invited Paul to stay with them. What do you suppose they talked about? Well, Paul led them to the Lord. In the synagogue there were others who also turned to the Lord. However, there was also great opposition against Paul among the Jews.

Acts 18:4

Paul had waited in Athens for Timothy and Silas to come, but they didn’t show up. Now they come to him in Corinth and bring the report from the churches in Macedonia. When we get to the first Thessalonian Epistle, we will find that Paul wrote it during this period, after he had received Timothy’s report. Now he feels that he must speak out, and he testifies that Jesus is the Messiah.

Acts 18:6

Apparently it was at this time that Paul made the break that took him to the gentile world. It would seem that from this point Paul’s ministry was largely to the Gentiles. We will find that true in Ephesus and less obviously in Rome.

Acts 18:7

Paul spent about eighteen months in the city of Corinth where he had a tremendous ministry. When the Jews oppose him, he turns to the Gentiles. We find now that the Lord speaks to Paul because he is coming into a great new dimension of his missionary endeavor.

Acts 18:9

Corinth was about the last place that you would expect the Lord to “have much people.” I have been through Las Vegas quite a few times. I’ll be honest with youwhen I look at that crowd, I wouldn’t get the impression that the Lord might have people there. If the Lord were to say to me, “I have much people in this city,” I wouldn’t question the Lord, but it surely would be the opposite from my own impression. Paul had already been in Corinth for quite a while, and I am sure that he was wondering about that city. I’m of the opinion that when he received this opposition, he was ready to leave and go somewhere else. However, the Lord Himself steps in and detains Paul. He tells him, “I have much people in this city.”

Acts 18:11

After Paul has had several months of ministry in Corinth, again opposition will arise.

Acts 18:12

This “judgment seat” is the Bema seat. It is the Bema that Paul talks about in the Epistle to the Corinthians. I have been there and I have sat on the ruins of the Bema seat in Corinth. They brought Paul to the Bema seat, the judgment seat, and there they brought the charge against him.

Acts 18:13

They didn’t mean contrary to the law of the Roman Empire or contrary to the law of Corinth. They meant contrary to the law of the Mosaic system.

Acts 18:14

I have read and heard Bible expositors condemn this man Gallio in no uncertain terms. He is pictured as an unfeeling typical judge of that day. I want to say something for the defense of Gallio. I thank God for him, and I personally think that he took the right position. I’ll tell you what I mean by that. He is probably the first person who made a decision between church and state.

Gallio said that if the matter was concerning religion or about some religious thing, then they should take it and handle it themselves. He was a Roman magistrate and he was concerned with enforcing Roman law. But when the case did not involve Roman law, he would not interfere. He told them to handle religious matters themselves. He adopted a “hands off” policy. I like Gallio.

He separated church and state. He would not interfere with Paul preaching in the city of Corinth. Corinth was a city of freedom, including religious freedom. Since the issue had to do with religion, he asked them to settle it themselves. Now I want to say this: I wish the Supreme Court of the United States would adopt the same policy. I wish they would adopt a “hands off” policy when it comes to matters of religion. What right does a group of secular men have to come along and make a decision that you can’t have prayer in the schools? If a community wants prayer in their school, then they should have prayer in their school. If they are not having prayer in school, then the state should not force prayer in school. We claim to have freedom of speech and freedom of religion in our land.

The unfortunate thing is that our freedoms are often curtained. They are abused and misdirected. Under the guise of separating church and state, the freedom of religion is actually curtained. If we are going to separate church and state, then the state should keep its nose out of that which refers to the church. If this man Gallio were running for office, I would vote for him. I think we need men with this kind of vision. It says Gallio cared for none of those things. Of course not! He is a secular magistrate. He is not going to try to settle an argument about differences in doctrine. That’s not his business, and he’ll stay out of it. I would vote for him.

Acts 18:18

PAUL SAILS FOR ANTIOCHThere are a great many folk who find fault with Paul because he made a vow. They say that this is a man who preached that we are not under law but we are under grace, and so he should not have made a vow. Anyone who says this about Paul is actually making a little law for Paul. Such folk are saying that Paul is to do things their way. Under grace, friend, if you want to make a vow, you can make it. And if you do not want to make a vow, you don’t have to. Paul didn’t force anyone else to make a vow. In fact, he said emphatically that no one has to do that. But if Paul wants to make a vow, that is his business. That is the marvelous freedom that we have in the grace of God today. There are some super-saints who form little cliques and make laws for the Christian. They say we can’t do this and we can’t do that. May I say to you very candidly that our relationship is to the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is a love affair. If we love Him, of course we will not do anything that will break our fellowship with Him. Don’t insist that I go through your little wicket gate; I am to follow Him. He shows me what I can and cannot do in order to maintain fellowship with Him. If one wishes to eat meat, there is freedom to eat meat. If one wishes to observe a certain day, there is freedom to observe it. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1Co_10:31). The important thing is to do all to the glory of God. Eating meat will not commend you to God and neither will abstaining from meat commend you to God. Let’s not find fault with Paul here. Poor Gallio and Paul surely do get in trouble with their critics right in this particular passage. I want to defend both of them. Paul is now returning from his second missionary journey and now he is going back to Antioch. He sails from Cenchrea, which is the seaport over on the east side. There is a canal through the Corinthian peninsula today, but there was none in that day. They would actually pull the boats overland. I have a picture taken to show the rocks that are worn by the boats which were pulled over the isthmus to the other side. Cenchrea was the port of Corinth on the eastward side. Paul goes there with Aquila and Priscilla, and they take ship there. He is not going westward any farther; he is sailing for home.

Acts 18:19

You remember that when he came out on this second journey, the Spirit of God would not allow him to come down to Ephesus. Now, on his way back, he stops at Ephesus, but he does not stay there very long.

Acts 18:20

Again someone may ask what business Paul has in keeping feasts. Remember his background. He is a Jew like Simon Peter. He has the background of the Mosaic system. He knows a lot of his friends will be in Jerusalem for the feast. He wants to go up to witness to them. He feels that he must by all means keep this feast that is coming in Jerusalem. He is under grace. If he wants to do that, that is his business. However, he did see that there was a great door open in Ephesus. He has the heart of a missionary, and he wants to return to them. Ephesus was one of the great cities of the Roman Empire.

Acts 18:22

He landed at Caesarea. Caesarea and Joppa were the ports from which one could go up to Jerusalem. He went to Jerusalem and gave his report there. Then he went back up north to his home church, which was in Antioch. This concludes the second missionary journey of Paul. Notice that it isn’t long before he starts out on his third journey.

Acts 18:23

This is now his third trip through the Galatian country. We will find that he will go to Ephesus on his third missionary journey. He is going to have a great ministry there. But right now someone else has come into Ephesus. He is Apollos, another great preacher in the early church. He is not as well known as Paul, but we can learn a great deal about him.

Acts 18:24

APOLLOS IN EPHESUSApollos was a Jew, which meant the had the background of the Mosaic Law. His name, Apollos, is Greek. So he was a Hellenist of the Diaspora. He hadn’t been born in Greece or in that area of Macedonia; he was born at Alexandria in North Africa. Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great, was one of the great centers of Greek culture. A great university was there and it had one of the finest libraries in the world.

It was there that a Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, was made. There was a Jewish temple in Alexandria. The great center of the early church moved from Jerusalem and Antioch to Alexandria, and it remained important for several centuries of early church history. Athanasius, Tertullian, and Augustine, three great men of the early church, came from there. Philo, a contemporary of Apollos, mingled Greek philosophy with Judaism. This combined Platonism and Judaism.

Apollos was obviously influenced by this background. We are told that he was “an eloquent man,” a great preacher. Also he was “mighty in the scriptures,” which means he was well trained in the Old Testament.

Acts 18:25

That he had been “instructed in the way of the Lord” means he had an education by word of mouth not by revelation. And he was “fervent in the spirit"not the Holy Spirit. He had a passion for the things of God. This is the Holy Spirit’s testimony about him. Frankly, friend, he was a great man, an outstanding man. Apollos spoke and taught “diligently the things of the Lord.” He taught everything that he had learned, but he knew only about the baptism of John. He couldn’t go any further than that. He had not heard of Jesus.

Acts 18:26

They invited Apollos home for dinner after the service. They realized that his information was very limited; so they told him about Jesus.

Acts 18:27

Apollos was a brilliant man, but up until the time Aquila and Priscilla took him home for dinner, he didn’t know the gospel of the grace of God. Here is a case where a woman helped a preacher a great deal. She taught him something that he didn’t know.

Acts 18:28

“He mightily convinced” the Jews, showing them by the Scriptures that Jesus was Christ. He had taught zealously the things of the Old Testament up through the ministry of John the Baptist. He knew nothing beyond the baptism of John. Aquila and Priscilla had the privilege of bringing him up to date and also to conversion. He then went to Achaia, visiting the churches in Greece, including Corinth and Athens, preaching Jesus as the Messiah and Savior.