In the previous chapter, we left the apostle Paul boldly preaching in Christ’s Name to the so-called wise men of Athens. And as usual, we found those who were convinced and believed that God was the creator of all things, and we also found those who weren’t convinced and didn’t believe.
Luke didn’t explain why Paul left Athens or how he journeyed to Corinth. Maybe Paul had grown weary of the so-called intellectuals of Athens who continually wanted to hear more but refused to obey.
But the journey of some forty miles could have been made in two days on foot or one day if one sailed, but whichever route they took, the final destination was the city of Corinth, Acts 18:1.
When we think of the city of Corinth, honesty is not the word that most people would use. Corinth was the capital and chief city of Achaia, which is in the area we would now call Greece.
And Corinth became such an important city because of its location just one and a half miles south of the Isthmus of Corinth. It was able to control that four-mile-wide neck of land.
The city also commanded the eastern port of that peninsula, Cenchreae, Acts 18:18, and so to save time and avoid the one hundred and fifty miles of dangerous waters around the tip of Greece, ships would unload their goods on one side of the peninsula and have them carried to the other side. Some smaller ships were even pulled across and placed in the water on the other side. Therefore, Corinth was a trading centre by land and sea.
But it was also strategic, militarily speaking. The Roman minority in Corinth was a strong force in the population, as this was one of the colonies established by Julius Caesar.
The commercial prospects caused a large group of Jews to settle in the city, but Greeks also played a great role. Because of the seaport and commerce, many other nationalities mixed with the above-mentioned major groups. But if Corinth was well known for anything, it was well known for its corruption.
Charles Pfeiffer, in Baker’s Bible Atlas, writes the following.
‘Greeks, Romans, Jews and adventurers from the entire Mediterranean world came to Corinth for trade and vice in all its forms. ‘To live like a Corinthian’ became synonymous with a life of luxury and licentiousness.’
The immoral nature of the city was added to by the temple of Aphrodite, goddess of love, which was located in Corinth. A thousand priestesses of the goddess served as prostitutes who were available for the free use of temple visitors. So that’s the background to the city of Corinth, and I think that’s important for us to understand because it helps us understand what Paul is about to face.
Morgan, in his commentary, says the following.
‘It is significant that it was from this city that Paul wrote his Roman letter; and when one reads his description of Gentile corruption in that Roman letter, one has almost certainly a mirror of what he found in Corinth, Romans 1:22-32.’
Constable, in his commentary, gives the following useful timeline.
‘Silas and Timothy had evidently re-joined Paul in Athens, 1 Thessalonians 3:1. Before leaving Athens, Paul sent Timothy back to Thessalonica, 1 Thessalonians 3:2, and Silas back to somewhere in Macedonia, Acts 18:5, perhaps Philippi, Philippians 4:16. Paul entered Corinth without these brethren, but they joined him in Corinth later, Acts 18:5 / 1 Thessalonians 3:6.’
In Corinth, Paul found two Jews, Aquila, who was from Pontus, which was a province between Bithynia and Armenia, and his wife Priscilla, Acts 18:2, who was also known as Prisca, 2 Timothy 4:19 / Romans 16:3-4. Luke reports they, and all other Jews, were driven out of Rome by Emperor Claudius, which one commentator suggests was around AD 49, Acts 18:2.
We can only imagine Paul arriving in Corinth, alone and with little or nothing to eat, but like all good Jews, Paul had been taught a trade, tent making, and immediately found two Jews, Aquila and Priscilla, who had the same occupation, with whom he could live and work, Acts 18:2-3 / 1 Corinthians 16:19.
We should note that Paul certainly had the right to receive some support from the churches, 1 Corinthians 9:7-14. However, there were times he supported himself through tent-making because he didn’t want people to accuse him of profiting from preaching the Gospel, 1 Corinthians 9:15-18.
Bruce, in his commentary, says the following.
‘In Judaism, it was not considered proper for a scribe or a rabbi to receive payment for his teaching, so many of them practised a trade in addition to their study and teaching of the law.’
Whether his fellow leatherworkers were Christians as of yet is not known, and I say leather workers because tent-making included any type of leatherwork in Paul’s day. Paul’s later writings do make it clear that these two became special friends and allies of the apostle as he preached the Gospel of peace, Romans 16:3.
Whatever God asks us to do, wherever God asks us to go, we need to have the same mindset as Paul when he looked at Corinth and thought to himself, ‘I am afraid of this place, I am afraid of these people but I will go and trust God,’ 1 Corinthians 2:3. ‘After all, what can mortal man do to me?’ Psalm 118:6.
God understands fear, and He will help us and protect us when we trust Him, but when God takes us to frightening places or situations, we need to trust that God will give us anything we need for His purpose, Psalm 23:1-4. God has set the stage for the next part of Paul’s journey and the preaching in Corinth.
As we have seen time and again, Paul first preached in the synagogue in Corinth, 1 Corinthians 2:1-16, and it was during this time that Silas and Timothy once again joined his company, Acts 18:4.
It appears that Silas may have come from Berea, while Timothy more than likely arrived from Thessalonica, Acts 18:5 / 1 Thessalonians 3:1-2 / 1 Thessalonians 3:6-10. It is also during this time that the church in Philippi sent Paul some funds to support him in his preaching ministry, 2 Corinthians 11:8-9.
It was around the time of their arrival when Paul became fully occupied in telling the Jews that Jesus was the Christ, Acts 18:5. And when the Jews rejected the truth, Ezekiel 33:1-9 / Luke 7:30, and started to abuse Paul verbally, Acts 18:5.
Paul shook out his clothes in protest, Acts 13:51, and told them, ‘Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it,’ Acts 18:6. He tells them he will go on to preach to the Gentiles, Acts 18:6 / Matthew 7:6 / Acts 13:7-11 / Acts 13:46 / Acts 14:2-6 / Acts 17:5 / Acts 19:8-9 / Acts 28:23-28 / Romans 1:16.
And so off he went to the house of Justus, which was next door to the synagogue where Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed and was baptised by the apostle’s own hands, Acts 18:7-8 / 1 Corinthians 1:14.
But it wasn’t only Crispus who believed and was baptised; those in Crispus’ family and many other Corinthians also believed and were baptised, Acts 18:8 / Matthew 28:19-20 / 1 Corinthians 1:26.
I can’t for the life of me work out how anyone can study the Book of Acts and not understand the importance of baptism. It’s all over the book; we can’t miss it unless, of course, we don’t understand its importance.
Have you ever been to a place that just frightens you? Corinth was a place just like that. Corinth must have been a frightening place to go, even for Paul, 1 Corinthians 2:3. The apostle Paul, as great as he was, was not without his periods of despondency.
In the Greek New Testament, it literally reads, ‘stop being afraid’, 1 Corinthians 2:3. The implication clearly is that Paul was struggling with his spirit at this time, and the Saviour came to his aid, Psalm 56:4.
Hughes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘There had been culture shock in Athens, and now Paul experienced moral shock in Corinth. Its sweat and perfume and grit smothered Paul’s righteous soul, and he became depressed.’
Fear is a very real feeling, but God does understand. He understands when we are frightened, and He certainly understood when the apostle Paul was afraid in Corinth. In fact, God was so aware of Paul’s fear that He spoke to him through a vision.
Luke says that God was aware of Paul’s fear and so He reassured him, in a vision, and encouraged him to continue preaching in Corinth, Acts 18:9 / Psalm 27:1 / Hebrews 13:5 / 2 Timothy 1:12.
He promised that Paul would not be harmed and assured him that there were many more who would obey the Gospel, Acts 18:10 / Isaiah 57:13 / Philippians 4:19 / 2 Timothy 1:7.
Paul trusted God to help him overcome that fear during his time in Corinth. And so, with the promise from God, Paul continued preaching in Corinth, Acts 18:11, probably staying at Priscilla and Aquilla’s house, 1 Corinthians 16:19, but as we are about to read, his trials are far from over.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Paul’s year and a half stay in Corinth probably dates from the fall of 50 to the spring of A.D. 52.’
Luke tells us that the Jews brought Paul to the judgment seat, 2 Corinthians 5:10 / Matthew 27:19, before Gallio, when he was proconsul of Achaia, Acts 18:12. They accused Paul of preaching contrary to Moses’ law, Acts 18:13, as others had done before, Acts 16:21 / Acts 17:6-7 / Acts 17:13, but Gallio drove them out without trying the case because it did not have anything to do with Roman law, Acts 18:14-16.
Longenecker, in his commentary, says the following.
‘If Gallio had accepted the Jewish charge and found Paul guilty of the alleged offence, provincial governors everywhere would have had a precedent, and Paul’s ministry would have been severely restricted. As it was, Gallio’s refusal to act in the matter was tantamount to the recognition of Christianity as a religio licita.’
Some of the Greeks seized Sosthenes, the new ruler of the synagogue, beat him up before Gallio’s judgment seat without the proconsul taking any notice, Acts 18:17. At some point, Sosthenes also became a Christian, 1 Corinthians 1:1.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Gallio’s decision resulted in the official toleration of Christianity that continued in the empire until A.D. 64, when Nero blamed the Christians for burning Rome. It may also have encouraged Paul to appeal to Caesar when he felt the Jews in Palestine were influencing the Palestinian Roman officials against him too much, Acts 25:11.’
Despite all those beatings and difficult times for Paul, he continued to work in Corinth for some time before leaving the brethren and sailing for Syria with Priscilla and Aquila, Acts 18:18. Paul obviously wasn’t afraid anymore because he knew the Lord was with him, Acts 18:9-10.
Luke also tells us that Paul took a vow in Cenchrea, Acts 10:1 / Romans 16:1, and had his hair cut off, Acts 18:18. Why? It probably relates to a form of what the Bible calls the Nazirite vow, Numbers 6:1-21.
This vow was practised among the early Christians, and we’re going to read about it again in Acts 21 when we get there. But why did Paul take this vow and shave his head? It was offered in gratefulness for deliverance from danger.
Remember that Paul was afraid, terribly afraid, hence why the Lord spoke to him in a vision, Acts 18:9-10. Paul trusted God to be with him, and when God delivered him from all the events of Corinth, Paul was grateful. And he expressed his gratefulness to God by making a vow which consisted of shaving off his hair.
Barclay, in his commentary, says the following.
‘No doubt Paul was thinking of all God’s goodness to him in Corinth and took this vow to show his gratitude.’
Paul, after showing his gratitude to God, moves away from Corinth, stops at Ephesus and returns to Antioch.
It was around two years ago that Paul wanted to preach in Asia Minor, but was prevented from doing so by the Holy Spirit, Acts 16:6. Now we find him preaching in the very places he wanted to in the first place.
It appears from our text that Paul spent a short time preaching in the synagogue in Ephesus, and he promised to return if it was God’s will, and so left Priscilla and Aquila and sailed on to Caesarea, Acts 18:19-21.
When Paul said to the Ephesians, ‘if it is God’s will, I will return’, Acts 18:21, he understood who was directing His life. Too many times, I hear Christians making decisions for themselves in life because that is the way they are determined to go. Too many times, I hear Christians making plans without even considering if this is God’s will for them or not.
Every decision, big or small, we make needs to be made with the question, ‘Is this God’s will?’ Because, like Paul, we need to remind ourselves of whom exactly it is that is directing our lives, Luke 12:16-21 / James 4:13-15. Everything we do as Christians should be directed by the will of God.
He made a quick trip to Jerusalem, Acts 18:22, and then went to Antioch, Acts 18:22, and after some time, he went on to strengthen the churches in Galatia and Phrygia, Acts 18:23.
From Acts 18-21, we read about Paul’s third missionary journey. Paul likely left for his third missionary journey in the spring of 54 A.D. This third missionary journey was probably more than four years long and ended with Paul in Jerusalem in 58 A.D.
Beginning in Antioch, he travelled to Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, Ephesus, Macedonia, Troas, Assos, Mitylene, Miletus, Kos, Rhodes, Patara, Phoenicia, Tyre, Ptolemais, Caesarea, and Jerusalem. Paul is off encouraging the churches elsewhere, but Luke goes on and introduces us to a man named Apollos.
Luke tells us that at Ephesus, an Alexandrian Jew named Apollos, who was an eloquent speaker, began to preach about Jesus. Apollos was knowledgeable in the scriptures and very accurate in his teachings about Jesus, Acts 18:24-25. But notice Luke says that Apollos only knew about John’s baptism, Acts 18:25/ Acts 19:1-5.
Boice, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Apollos was a well-educated and also a well-travelled man. We can imagine that in his youth he had gone to Jerusalem, especially if he had an interest in the Old Testament, and while there had come under the influence of the preaching of John the Baptist.’
Apollos began to boldly preach in the synagogue, Acts 18:26. Apparently, Priscilla and Aquila, Acts 18:3 / Acts 18:18-22, heard him there and recognised his inadequate understanding of baptism, so they took him aside privately to more fully instruct him in the ways of the Lord, Acts 18:26 / Acts 19:1-5.
Harrison, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Quite likely, Apollos was now baptised by Aquila in the name of Christ.’
Apollos then decided to go into Achaia, and the brethren wrote him a letter of recommendation, Acts 18:27. And it was in Achaia that he was able to give great assistance to the brethren through using powerful arguments from God’s word to show Jesus was the Christ, Acts 18:27-28 / Acts 18:24-25 / Ephesians 2:8-9.
It appears that some of the Christians in Corinth started to follow Apollos, 1 Corinthians 1:12 / 1 Corinthians 3:4, but I doubt if he himself encouraged this because Paul saw him as someone he could trust, 1 Corinthians 3:5-7 / 1 Corinthians 16:12.
Apollos serves as a good example of a preacher and teacher of the Word of God who means well and is very sincere, but was wrong. When Apollos travelled to Ephesus and began speaking ‘boldly in the synagogue’, Aquila and Priscilla heard him and realised that he still was advocating the baptism of John the Baptist as it looked forward to the coming of Christ, Acts 18:25-26.
Obviously, Aquila and Priscilla knew that John’s baptism was no longer valid because it had been supplanted by the baptism commemorating Christ’s death and burial.
Apollos was sincere, but he was sincerely wrong. That’s why Aquila and Priscilla ‘invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately’, Acts 18:26.
And when his error was pointed out, he corrected it and subsequently continued with his preaching and teaching about Christ, apparently with much success, since, upon his arrival in Achaia, Acts 18:27.
In other words, Apollos was a good teacher, but nevertheless, he taught error. When he was shown his mistake, he possessed an attitude of humility and a love for the Truth that caused him to make the necessary correction.
That’s a wonderful example for all who would be teachers of God’s Word. Does the fact that he taught an error necessarily make him a false teacher? No, I don’t believe it does. Apollos wasn’t a false teacher because when he learned of his mistake, he changed his teachings accordingly.
Although the text doesn’t tell us about his baptism ‘into Christ’, Matthew 28:19-20 / Romans 6:1-3, we know it must have happened because Luke tells us about another group of people in Ephesus who had only received John’s baptism in the very next chapter, Acts 19:1-5.