Review where we left off 2 weeks ago:
1 CORINTHIANS 1:18
18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved. 19 For it is written,
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and I will set aside the intelligence of the intelligent.,
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish? 21 For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of what is preached. 22 For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. 24 Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, 25 because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.[1]
 
BOASTING ONLY IN THE LORD
26 Brothers and sisters, consider your calling: Not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth.

• God’s foolishness in His message of Christ parallels His choice of what, for the most part, were the poor and dispossessed of the first-century Roman Empire.[2]
• Calling is situational… will is spiritual
• Before his conversion, Paul had been very self-righteous; he had to give up his religion in order to go to heaven!
• The Corinthians were at the other end of the spectrum, and yet they were not too sinful for God to reach and save them.[3]

27 Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 28 God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, 29 so that no one may boast in his presence.

• Let’s look at this from the spiritual perspective.
• In today’s social networking world, it is about puffed up knowledge.
• Who knows more and can prove their “rightness” better than the other person.
• The message and miracle of God’s grace in Jesus Christ utterly confounds (“puts to shame”) the high and mighty people of this world.
• The wise of this world cannot understand how God changes sinners into saints, and the mighty of this world are helpless to duplicate the miracle.
• God’s “foolishness” confounds the wise; God’s “weakness” confounds the mighty![4]
• They can’t even see it… the goodness of God.
• So there is no point in arguing with them.
• Sometimes, your best evangelism method is to shut your mouth and serve them.
• Well how do you do that?

30 It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption 31 —in order that, as it is written: Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.[5]

• So Paul ends his statement with a quotation of Jeremiah 9:23 on how those who are wise or strong or rich by the world’s standards should not boast in those virtues or abilities or powers.
• Jeremiah 9:23-24 - “‘This is what the Lord says:

The wise person should not boast in his wisdom;
the strong should not boast in his strength;
the wealthy should not boast in his wealth.

• But the one who boasts should boast in this:

that he understands and knows me--
that I am the Lord, showing faithful love,
justice, and righteousness on the earth,
for I delight in these things.
This is the Lord’s declaration.[6]

• It’s not that there is no place for the rich or the strong—the high and mighty, as we would call them today—in God’s kingdom, but they must come with a very different attitude, recognizing that they are impoverished and entirely dependent, from God’s perspective, on Him in Christ.
• If one is boasting only in what the Lord has done for one and can do with one and through one, then one will not boast in what one has by worldly standard, or will not lament what they don’t have, but will have the right focus, a cross-centered focus.[7]
• Actually, the emphasis here is that God shows His wisdom by means of the righteousness, sanctification, and redemption that we have in Christ.
• Each of these theological words carries a special meaning for Christians.
• Righteousness has to do with our standing before God. We are justified: God declares us righteous in Jesus Christ.
• But we are also sanctified, set apart to belong to God and to serve Him.
• Redemption emphasizes the fact that we are set free because Jesus Christ paid the price for us on the cross. This will lead to complete redemption when Christ returns.
• So, in one sense, we have the three tenses of salvation given here: we have been saved from the penalty of sin (righteousness); we are being saved from the power of sin (sanctification); and we shall be saved from the presence of sin (redemption).
• And every believer has all of these blessings in Jesus Christ![8]

 
PAUL’S PROCLAMATION
1 CORITNTHIANS 2
1 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, announcing the mystery of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom. 2 I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.

• Paul rejects verbal bullying, which was a fair summary of much philosophical oratory in Corinth in the first century.
• He rejects verbal bullying in favor of a humble response to the awe-inspiring majesty of God.[9]
• If one does not know my God, why would I expect them to understand the ways of God?
• Paul desired his message to be one of power displayed by God rather than the humanity of his own word-crafting.
• Personally, I am not a great speaker. The honest truth is that I don’t even practice or educate myself on proper speaking technics.
• I don’t care… because I have been given enough ability to teach in a way that the Spirit takes my words (and actions) and teaches others.
• I have literally taken all that I have learned over the years in seminary, growing up in church, and participating in ministry and stripped it down as much as possible to do basically two things:
• 1) Build relationships
• 2) Talk about Jesus
• I don’t need lights, smoke, worship countdowns, a building, a budget, committees, meetings or eloquent verbiage.
• Just give me an open door, (maybe a meal) and some time.
• That means I have to make room in my calendar for the Lord to lead me on this unknown, crazy and unexpected adventure.
• A certain church had a beautiful stained-glass window just behind the pulpit. It depicted Jesus Christ on the cross. One Sunday there was a guest minister who was much smaller than the regular pastor. A little girl listened to the guest for a time, then turned to her mother and asked, “Where is the man who usually stands there so we can’t see Jesus?”[10]
• My prayer is that the things we do at Leavener point you to Jesus rather than distract or block you from Jesus.

 
SPIRITUAL WISDOM
6 We do, however, speak a wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 On the contrary, we speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, because if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written,
What no eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no human heart has conceived--
God has prepared these things for those who love him. (Isaiah 52:15 & 64:4)

• Isaiah 52:15 - so he will sprinkle many nations.,

Kings will shut their mouths because of him,
for they will see what had not been told them,
and they will understand what they had not heard.[11]
10 Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit,

• Paul previously described the things of God as foolishness which would lead one to believe that only the unwise could see the Truth.
• This is obviously not the case.
• Those who could get past the intellectualness of the Gospel would be able to see things from a spiritual perspective.
• They were given a spiritual wisdom vs earthly wisdom.
• How do we get this wisdom?
• It is not a fruit of the Spirit but it does come from the Spirit.
• Wisdom is a gift from God.
• God continually reveals spiritual wisdom to us.
• This is the sanctifying journey that we are on in our flesh season.
• Our time here on earth in these unredeemed physical bodies.

since the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except his spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God. 13 We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people.

• Cory, my son, is a broker at Charles Schwab.
• We talk about his work and how his day goes many times throughout our conversations.
• I can understand the emotions and experiences he comes across on a daily basis because he talks to people all day long.
• But when he starts talking stocks, markets, trading, etc. I get lost.
• That is not my world.
• If I asked Cory to explain it to me… he could and would.
• It is not any different in the Spiritual world.
• But we have to have ears to hear.

14 But the person without the Spirit does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually.

• The person without the Spirit does not accept the things of the Spirit, because he cannot understand them.
• Well, that doesn’t sound fair, until we realize that understanding, in this context, is not cognitive.
• I have met some non-Christians who can explain biblical truths better than some Christians can.
• They just don’t happen to believe them; they haven’t acted on them.
• The understanding here, as consistently in true biblical understanding, is volitional, acting on, a matter of the will, and not just mental or cognitive.

15 The spiritual person, however, can evaluate everything, and yet he himself cannot be evaluated by anyone. 16 For
who has known the Lord’s mind,
that he may instruct him? (Isaiah 40:13)
But we have the mind of Christ. [12]

• The mind of Christ is our processor… not our data.
• The mind is eternal.
• To “have the mind of Christ” means to look at life from the Savior’s point of view, having His values and desires in mind.
•  It means to think God’s thoughts and not think as the world thinks.[13]
• When we trust the Spirit in us we begin to understand and see the things in the Bible that don’t make sense to the world.
• The mind of Christ causes us to view things from a different perspective.
• The mind of Christ allows us to see the spiritual battle between good and evil.
• We can see that God is not responsible for the evil that happens when He placed in a world where we can choose either good or evil.
• Where we can choose to love God or reject God.
  ​
  

[1] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 1:18–25). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 571). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 571). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[5] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 1:1–31). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Je 9:23–24). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[8] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 572). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[9] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[10] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 573). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[11] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Is 52:15). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[12] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 2:1–16). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[13] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 577). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

• August 2 – Acts 18:1-11 – We talked about Paul’s ministry in Corinth on his 2nd missionary journey.
• Present in Corinth about 12 months in 51-52 AD
• Now Paul is in Ephesus on his 3rd Missionary Journey in 55 AD.

1 CORINTHIANS
GREETING
1 Paul, called as an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Sosthenes our brother:

• You didn’t have to wait until the end of the letter to see who this letter was from.
• God called Paul and it was God’s will
• The difference between call and will.
• One who was distinctly called out for a mission with a theological context.
• Apostles were typically directly connected to the life of Jesus on earth.
• Paul’s apostleship came as he was walking on the road to Damascus.
• Sosthenes was the synagogue leader in Corinth that believed in Jesus on Paul’s 1st trip to Corinth on his 2nd Missionary Journey.

2 To the church of God at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called as saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord—both their Lord and ours.

• To the believers in Christ Jesus.
• Not a body or small group that gathered in one home… but to all those who believed in Jesus.
• Sanctified – Set apart – past tense – already occurred.
• “Sanctified” is not considered present tense and in the process of “being sanctified”.
• Although both terms are Biblical, how do we reconcile the difference?
• Paul is talking about what has already occurred and this is what matters.
• Because of your belief, you have not only been sanctified (set apart) you are now a saint (holy one).

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

• Grace first – Grace in salvation, but more importantly, moment by moment grace.
• The ability to live life with God doing it through you.
• Living by grace then brings you real peace even in the midst of the chaos.
• Let His peace be your peace.

 
THANKSGIVING

• A Thanksgiving section was a common part of Paul’s letters.
• Rarely did he just get down to business without talking about his thankfulness.
• It also serves as a reminder and encouragement to keep doing what he knows they have already been doing.

4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus, 5 that you were enriched in him in every way, in all speech and all knowledge. 6 In this way, the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you, 7 so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

• Paul is thankful for their giftedness.
• He later has to instruct them on the misuse of these gifts in Chapters 12-14.
• Describe the difference between gifts and talents.
• What are some personal Leavener gifts?

8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

• We walk this earth in a flesh suit.
• We have already been made blameless by Christ’s sacrifice and blood poured out in the cross.
• There is nothing more that has to happen for forgiveness of all sin.
• No forgiveness, no confession, no repentance.
• Now forgiveness is a done deal on the cross.
• Confession is a done deal in terms of God/Jesus
• Confession is still encouraged as we walk in our flesh suits as a form of transparency and encouragement to one another.
• Dak Prescott – Skip Bayless – Shared vulnerability and was told it was an error.
• Repentance is a change of mind that comes from God and is still part of our walk as we live in this flesh suit.
• Someday, when Christ returns, we are done with this flesh suit and even our actions are made blameless.

9 God is faithful; you were called by him into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

• Fellowship is a word that we relate to one another as in community.
• Churches fight for good fellowship.
• If they just understood how to have good fellowship with Jesus Christ, they would have good fellowship with one another. Stay focused.
• In Paul’s thanksgiving section we can conclude 4 things:
• 1. He is, unlike so many teachers in his world, not concerned, first of all, with his own welfare.
• 2. He is not giving a message of human manufacture but emphasizing God’s grace.
• 3. He has what we might call an “eschatological perspective” on each event that he introduces; that is to say, he is looking at this life from its end goal and from God’s promises about the end of the world and human destiny.
• 4. And he does so all with a pastoral concern, not simply reflecting the philosophical and oratorical interest of so many in the Corinthian community.[1]

 
DIVISIONS AT CORINTH
10 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction.

• Again, unity comes from them being focused on what the content is rather than how the content is presented.
• Sometimes the interpretation is skewed.
• I’m going to teach it one way… others in our community will teach the same thing and use different terms/words.
• Go outside of our community and you hear a similar message but with slightly different understandings.
• Then sometimes you have to use the 66 book filter on other teachers of the Word.
• Jeff Pokone, is my counselor of choice.
• He is as close as it gets. But even then you have to filter.
• I will still use Jeff and trust the Spirit to work in the believers that attend Leavener.
• But the only way we stay unified is focus on the basics… Jesus Christ is the Son God, came to earth as a sacrifice for our sins and gives us the opportunity to be redeemed.
• The division comes when we try to learn how to live out of our new hearts.
• Because we have been taught differently.

11 For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters, by members of Chloe’s people, that there is rivalry among you. 12 What I am saying is this: One of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.”

• This week, I had a Zoom meeting with 5 other pastors in Fishers.
• Grace Church, Fishers (Kevin Roth)
• Northview, Fishers (John Smith)
• St. George Orthodox Church (Deacon Joseph)
• St. Louis De Montfort Catholic Church (Jeff Oelker)
• Cornerstone Lutheran Church (Scott Giger)
• These are my friends… we teach Jesus
• We teach Jesus with major different interpretations and practices…
• We have many different followers…
• but we believe he is the Son of God and our Savior.
• We are united in our faith in Jesus.

13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul’s name? 14 I thank God, that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. 16 I did, in fact, baptize the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t recall if I baptized anyone else.

• Paul can’t even remember who all he baptized.
• I wouldn’t either if there weren’t pictures.

17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ will not be emptied of its effect.

• Paul is not encouraging or referring to an unbaptized Christian, but if baptism will lead to the kind of divisions that the church in Corinth is experiencing, then he wants little to do with it.
• The key for Paul is preaching the gospel of Christ crucified. He says, literally, “Not in the wisdom of a word.” It’s not human love of word crafting.[2]

 
CHRIST THE POWER AND WISDOM OF GOD

• Verses 18–25 contrast what Paul calls the foolishness (by human standards) of the story of Jesus crucified with the so-called wisdom (the best that humans on their own can manufacture) of this world.[3]

18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved. 19 For it is written,
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and I will set aside the intelligence of the intelligent., (Isaiah 29:14)

• This is in reference to worldly wisdom, knowledge and experience.

20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish? 21 For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of what is preached.

• The key word in this paragraph is wisdom; it is used eight times.
• The key idea that Paul expressed is that we dare not mix man’s wisdom with God’s revealed message.
• The entire section on wisdom (1 Cor. 1:17–2:16) presents a number of contrasts between the revealed Word of God and the wisdom of men.[4]

22 For the Jews ask for signs

• This was the attitude of the Jews, because their emphasis is on miraculous signs and the cross appears to be weakness.
• Jewish history is filled with miraculous events, from the Exodus out of Egypt to the days of Elijah and Elisha.
• When Jesus was ministering on earth, the Jewish leaders repeatedly asked Him to perform a sign from heaven; but He refused.
• Because the Jews were looking for power and great glory, they stumbled at the weakness of the cross.
• How could anybody put faith in an unemployed carpenter from Nazareth who died the shameful death of a common criminal? But the Gospel of Jesus Christ is “the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16).
• Rather than a testimony of weakness, the cross is a tremendous instrument of power![5]

and the Greeks seek wisdom,

• The Greeks emphasized wisdom; we still study the profound writings of the Greek philosophers.
• But they saw no wisdom in the cross, for they looked at the cross from a human point of view.
• Had they seen it from God’s viewpoint, they would have discerned the wisdom of God’s great plan of salvation.
• Paul called on three men to bear witness: the wise (the expert), the scribe (the interpreter and writer), and the disputer (the philosopher and debater).
• He asked them one question: Through your studies into man’s wisdom, have you come to know God in a personal way?
• They all must answer no! The fact that they laugh at the cross and consider it foolishness is evidence that they are perishing.[6]

23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. 24 Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, 25 because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. [7]

• The things of God are not of this world.
• Whatever the world is doing… that is not of God.

What seems logical in debates… that is not of God.

[1] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[2] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[3] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[4] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 570). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[5] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 570–571). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[6] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 571). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[7] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 1:1–25). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

The following notes include excerpts from: Frank Viola’s “The Untold Story of the New Testament Church” 2004
 
October 13, 54
Emperor Claudius dies.

• His wife Agrippina poisons him with his favorite dish—mushrooms—so that her son, Nero, can become emperor.
• Nero’s first five years as emperor will be relatively moderate.
• But his pretense of morality and fairness will begin to run out in A.D. 59 when he has his mother killed.
• Nero’s madness was mostly kept in check by the guidance of philosopher Seneca and Burrus (head of the praetorian guard).
• In A.D. 62, Seneca retired and Burrus died, and the madness of Nero was fully unleashed.
• In A.D. 65, Nero ordered Seneca to commit suicide.

 
DEMONISM DEFEATED AT EPHESUS
11 God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands, 12 so that even facecloths or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them.

• While in Ephesus, Paul performs extraordinary miracles.
• Sweat-rags and aprons that have had contact with his body are taken from him and used to heal the sick and cast out demons.
• When our Lord performed miracles, He usually had at least three purposes in mind: (1) to show His compassion and meet human needs; (2) to teach a spiritual truth; and (3) to present His credentials as the Messiah.
• The Apostles followed this same pattern in their miracles. In fact, the ability to do miracles was one of the proofs of apostolic authority (Mark 16:20; Rom. 15:18–19; 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 2:1–4).
• Miracles of themselves do not save lost sinners (Luke 16:27–31; John 2:23–25). Miracles must be tied to the message of the Word of God.
• God enabled Paul to perform “special miracles” because Ephesus was a center for the occult (Acts 19:18–19), and Paul was demonstrating God’s power right in Satan’s territory.
• But keep in mind that wherever God’s people minister the truth, Satan sends a counterfeit to oppose the work.
• Jesus taught this truth in His Parable of the Tares (Matt. 13:24–30, 36–43); Peter experienced it in Samaria (Acts 8:9ff); and Paul experienced it at Paphos (Acts 13:4–12).

13 Now some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!”

• Satan imitates whatever God’s people are doing, because he knows that the unsaved world cannot tell the difference (2 Cor. 11:13–15).
• It was not unusual for Jewish priests to seek to cast out demons (Luke 11:19), but it was unusual for them to use the name of Jesus Christ.
• Since these men had no personal relationship with the Saviour, they had to invoke the name of Paul as well; but their scheme did not work.

14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this. 15 The evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul—but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they ran out of that house naked and wounded.

• Had this exorcism succeeded, it would have discredited the name of Jesus Christ and the ministry of the church in Ephesus. (Paul faced a similar situation in Philippi. See Acts 16:16ff.)
• However, God used the scheme to defeat Satan and to bring conviction to the believers who were still involved in magical arts.
• Two lessons emerge from the story.
• For one, Christianity has nothing to do with magic.
• The name of Jesus is no magical incantation.
• The power of Jesus drives out the demonic, and his Spirit only works through those who, like Paul, confess him and are committed to him.
• Second, the demon did confess the power of Jesus over him, “Jesus I know.”
• Compare Jas 2:19, “Even the demons believe and shudder.”
• The people of Ephesus recognized this and extolled the powerful name of Jesus as a result (v. 17).
• What was true for them is still true. In the name of Jesus is all the power needed to drive out the demonic forces in every age.[1]

17 When this became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, they became afraid, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high esteem.

• Instead of disgracing the name of Jesus, the event magnified His name and caused the Word of God to spread even more rapidly.

18 And many who had become believers came confessing and disclosing their practices,

• The tense of the verbs in Acts 19:18 indicates that the people “kept coming … kept confessing … kept showing.”

19 while many of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them in front of everyone. So they calculated their value and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.

• As a result, a great number of magicians repented of their practices.
• These believers apparently had not made a clean break with sin and were still practicing their magic, but the Lord had dealt with them.
• They burn their magical scrolls and dispel their secrets in public.
• The value of all the documents that go up in smoke amounts to 50,000 drachmas.
• The total value of the magical books and spells that they burned was equivalent to the total salaries of 150 men working for a whole year!

20 In this way the word of the Lord spread and prevailed.[2]

• These people did not count the cost but repented and turned from their sins.[3]

 
Crisis in Corinth

• Apollos returns to Ephesus from his visit to Corinth.
• He brings Sosthenes with him, the former ruler of the synagogue.
• Sosthenes has since become a Christian.
• Apollos meets with Paul and informs him about the problems the church is having.
• Apollos tells Paul that some in the Corinthian church are reverting back to their heathen lifestyles.
• They are committing fornication, worshipping idols, and stealing from one another.

 

• PAUL WRITES CORINTHIANS A
  (This letter is lost to us.)
• Year: A.D. 54
• From: Ephesus
• To: The church in Corinth (which is 4 years old)
• Provocation: Provoked by Apollos’ report, Paul urges the Corinthians to no longer keep company with fornicators, idolaters, and thieves in the church.
• He also explains to them his desire to have a Jerusalem relief fund.
• Finally, Paul tells the Corinthians that he will visit them after he leaves Ephesus.
• He will then visit the churches in Macedonia and return again to Corinth, after which he will take the relief fund to Jerusalem in Judea (see 2 Corinthians 1:15-16).

 

• Paul sends the letter with Titus.
• While in Corinth, Titus helps the Corinthian believers to begin collecting money for the Jerusalem relief fund. (2 Corinthians 8:6)
• Titus leaves and returns to Ephesus.
• The doctrine of Hellenistic dualism begins to gain ground in Corinth.
• According to this doctrine, if individuals have the Spirit of God, they live above the earthly plane and are unaffected by what they do with their bodies.
• The material world is temporary so it does not matter what kind of physical behavior in which a person engages.
• Thus sexual immorality is acceptable.
• Further, since God is not interested in the physical world, there will be no resurrection of the dead.

 
Spring 55

• Some Corinthian Christians who work for a business woman named Chloe pay a visit to Ephesus.
• Chloe’s people fill Paul’s ears with the horrors of the Corinthian church.
• They tell him the following:
• There is division, jealousy, and strife among the believers.
• The church is fracturing into four parties.
• 1) Some of the Greeks are showing exclusive loyalty to Apollos, saying “I follow Apollos.”
• They equate his Greek oratory style with “higher” wisdom and knowledge.
• 2) Some of the Jews are showing exclusive loyalty to Peter, saying “I follow Peter.”
• They are chasing after signs and wonders.
• 3) Still others are making the elitist claim that they exclusively follow Christ and have no need of any apostle.
• “I follow Christ” is their motto.
• 4) Finally, there are some who are boasting exclusive loyalty to Paul, pitting him in competition with the other workers saying, “I follow Paul.”
• Paul is disturbed by hearing this news, so he begins addressing the problems in a letter.
• When Paul finishes the letter, he is visited by three respected brothers from the church in Corinth—Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus.
• The three men singe Paul’s ears with more disturbing news about the Corinthian assembly.
• Paul had just finished writing 1 Corinthians 1-4 when the three Corinthian brothers abruptly visited him.
• The wording in Chapter 5:1 suggests that Paul had just received news about the illicit sexual relations in the church, and he responded to it immediately.
• They report to him the following:
• * A brother in the church is committing incest and the believers are ignoring it.
• Some are even boasting in their Christian liberty while this is going on.

 

• * Some of the brothers are taking one another to court.

 

• * Some of the brothers who have been influenced by Hellenistic dualism are visiting prostitutes and engaging in gluttony, thinking that what they do with their bodies has no bearing on their spirits.
• Their slogans are “everything is permissible (lawful) for me” and “food for the stomach and the stomach for food.”

 

• * A number of the believers are very sick.
• A few of them have died recently.
• The slaves work late and cannot make the church meetings on time.
• The well-to-do are not waiting for them, but are eating the Lord’s Supper ahead of their poor brethren. This was a full meal in those days.
• Still worse, the well-to-do are treating the Lord’s Supper as if it were a private dinner party.
• They are gorging themselves on the food and getting drunk on the wine.
• Corinthians (like Romans) ate on the couches (usually situated in a “U” shape called a triclinium).
• They leaned on their left elbows and ate with their right fingers.
• They were separated by social class:
• The wealthy (9-12 people) were inside and fed one kind of food while the poor and slaves sat outside and ate leftovers and less superior food.

 

• * There is quarreling over the issue of the marriage veil.
• Some of the wives are removing their marriage veils when they pray and prophesy in the church meetings.
• This has caused some who have visited them to accuse the wives of being immoral.
• The Greco-Roman world had an acute shortage of women. Roman women married in their early to mid-teens. (Men waited to marry until their mid-twenties.) The legal minimum age for marriage was twelve. Both Roman and Jewish marriages were typically arranged by the parents of the prospective spouses. When a woman married, she wore a veil in public. The veil was a social indicator that a woman was married. An unveiled woman signified to others that she was unmarried. Thus for married women to wear veils in public was a matter of decorum and supreme importance in Roman society. Married women who did not wear veils in public settings were viewed as shaming their husbands and portraying themselves as promiscuous wives, i.e. unashamed adulteresses. In 44 B.C., a “new” type of woman emerged in Rome. By the first century, these “new women” had spread throughout the Roman Empire. The “new women” were liberated married women who pursued their social lives at the expense of their families and who defied previously accepted norms of marriage fidelity and chastity. They were sexually promiscuous and dressed in a seductive manner. Because Paul was a liberator of women, it is not difficult to see that some Christian women associated his views on a woman’s freedom with the immoral ideals of the “new women.”
• Their husbands have asked them to wear the veil in the meetings, but the women are contentiously arguing that they are at liberty to do as they wish.

 

• Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus also hand Paul a letter from the church that is packed with questions.
• Here are some of the questions contained in that letter:
• * Didn’t you tell us not to associate with sexually immoral people in the world?
• How can we do that since most of the people we work with engage in sexual immorality?
• Some in the church who read your last letter about abstaining from sexual immorality are practicing sexual abstinence in their marriages.
• They have a saying among them which is: “It is not good for a man to touch a woman.” Do you agree with this?

 

• * Some of the believers have unsaved spouses. Should they divorce them or stay married?

 

• * Some of the brothers who are betrothed (engaged) to women in the church are not sure if they should pursue marriage. What is your opinion?

 

• * Is it wrong to buy meat that has been offered to idols at the pagan meat markets?
• Some are arguing that idols are just human sculptures and the gods that they represent do not exist.
• They believe it does not matter if one eats meat offered to idols.
• Others disagree with this position and feel eating such meat is sinful.

 

• * Is it wrong to dine in pagan temples?
• Some believe this is a social necessity and pagan gods do not exist anyway, so how could it be wrong?
• Those with a higher social status did not typically dine in the tabernae (taverns).
• They instead dined in pagan temples, which included dining with the pagan god itself.
• Sometimes a statue of the god would be placed on a separate couch as if he were dining with the feasters.
• And a prayer would be offered to the god before the meal.
• Others believe that the consecration to idols does something to the meat so they cannot eat with a clear conscience.

 

• * Some are critical of you, Paul, and are raising questions about the genuineness of your apostolic calling.
• They are asking why you do not take money as the other apostles do, like Peter and Apollos.
• Well-to-do Greeks despised common labor and looked down on those who engaged in it.
• This would include those who worked as leatherworkers and tentmakers.
• To such ones Paul lost credibility because he worked with his hands and did not take money for his teaching as the Sophists did.

 

• * The meetings of the church are chaotic.
• The gift of tongues is exalted by some because it is the language of the angels.
• Many are speaking in tongues at the same time during the meetings, and it is creating massive confusion.
• Further, some of the married women are challenging those who are prophesying with many questions.
• This is creating both confusion and disruption in our gatherings. What should we do about this?

 

• * Some in the church who have been influenced by Hellenistic dualism are denying a future resurrection. Can you address this?

 

• * Please go over your instructions concerning the Jerusalem relief fund.
• There is some confusion over it.

 

• Paul responds to what he has heard from Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus immediately, expanding the letter he had written after hearing the report from Chloe’s people.
• We will call this letter CORINTHIANS B.
• This is our 1 Corinthians.
• Paul asks Apollos to visit the church in Corinth with some others, but it turns out not to be the Lord’s will for Apollos to visit at this time.
• Timothy is not with Paul as he pens the letter.
• But Paul plans to send him to Corinth when he returns.
• He wants Timothy to encourage the church as well as to see how it receives the letter.

 

• PAUL WRITES CORINTHIANS B
  (This is our 1 Corinthians.)
  Year: Spring 55
  From: Ephesus
  To: The church in Corinth (which is about 5 years old)
  Provocation: In chapters 1–4, Paul addresses the report that he has heard from Chloe’s people.
• In chapters 5–6, Paul addresses the issues of sexual immorality and civil litigation.
• In chapters 7–15, he answers the church’s list of questions.
• In chapter 16, Paul goes over his instructions for collecting the Jerusalem relief fund.
• He then gives the church his new travel plans, which had changed from before.
• Instead of traveling from Ephesus to Corinth, then to Macedonia, and then back to Corinth as he first planned, he will travel from Ephesus to Macedonia and then make one long visit to Corinth.
• Paul closes the letter by commending Timothy, who will visit them shortly, and exhorting the church to yield to Stephanas and other workers during their present crisis.

He ends by sending greetings from the churches in Asia Minor, Priscilla, Aquila, the church in Ephesus (that meets in Priscilla and Aquila’s house), and the brothers whom Paul is training.

[1] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, pp. 404–405). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ac 19:1–20). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 481–482). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

ACTS 18
THE ELOQUENT APOLLOS

• Apollos In Ephesus, Priscilla and Aquila begin visiting the synagogue to locate any Jewish or God-fearing seekers.
• They follow up with those who were impressed with Paul’s message when he was there.
• Priscilla and Aquila share the gospel with a man named Epaenetus, and he receives it.
• Epaenetus becomes the first convert in Ephesus.
• Romans 16:5 - Greet also the church that meets in their home. Greet my dear friend Epaenetus, who is the first convert, to Christ from Asia.[1]

24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native Alexandrian, an eloquent man who was competent in the use of the Scriptures, arrived in Ephesus.

• Although he was Jewish, Apollos was probably knowledgeable in other customs since he came from a major Roman city where Jews were more influenced by Graeco-Roman culture than they were in Judaea and the nearby regions.[2]
• When Paul departed from Ephesus for Jerusalem, he left his friends Aquila and Priscilla behind to carry on the witness in the synagogue.
• Imagine their surprise one Sabbath to hear a visiting Jewish teacher named Apollos preach many of the truths that they themselves believed and taught!
• He came from Alexandria, the second most important city in the Roman Empire.
• A center for education and philosophy, the city was founded by (and named after) Alexander the Great, and it boasted a university with a library of almost 700,000 volumes.
• The population of Alexandria (about 600,000) was quite cosmopolitan, being made up of Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, and Jews. At least a quarter of the population was Jewish, and the Jewish community was very influential.

25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately about Jesus, although he knew only John’s baptism. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue.

• Apollos knew the Old Testament Scriptures well and was able to teach them with eloquence and power.
• He was fervent (“boiling”) in his spirit and diligent in his presentation of the message.
• He was bold enough to enter the synagogue and preach to the Jews.
• The only problem was that this enthusiastic man was declaring an incomplete Gospel.
• His message got as far as John the Baptist and then stopped!
• He knew nothing about Calvary, the resurrection of Christ, or the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. He had zeal, but he lacked spiritual knowledge (Rom. 10:1–4).[3]
• In the Gospels and Acts, it is precisely the Holy Spirit who distinguishes the baptism of John from that of Jesus (cf. Mark 1:8; Acts 1:5).[4]
• Apollos’ message was not inaccurate or insincere; it was just incomplete.

After Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more accurately. 27 When he wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers and sisters wrote to the disciples to welcome him. After he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28 For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating through the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.[5]

• Aquila and Priscilla did not instruct him in public because that would have only confused the Jews.
• They took him home to a Sabbath dinner and then told him about Jesus Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
• They led him into a deeper knowledge of Christ; and the next Sabbath, Apollos returned to the synagogue and gave the Jews the rest of the story!
• It is noteworthy that Priscilla took an equal role with her husband in further instructing Apollos.[6]
• In fact, so effective was his ministry that the believers in Ephesus highly recommended him to the churches in Achaia.
• The mention of the Ephesian brothers who provided a letter of recommendation for Apollos is significant because it is the first clear evidence that a church had by now been established in Ephesus.[7]
• Here Apollos not only strengthened the saints, but he also debated with the unbelieving Jews and convinced many of them that Jesus is the Messiah.[8]

 
ACTS 19
TWELVE DISCIPLES OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
SUMMER 54
1 While Apollos was in Corinth,

• When Apollos arrives in Corinth, he argues with and refutes the local Jews in the synagogue with his apologetic savvy, his logic, and his rhetoric.
• He also encourages the Corinthian believers who have believed by grace.
• The Corinthians are spellbound by Apollos’ masterful Greco-Roman oratory.
• As a result, some of the Corinthian believers, mostly made up of Greeks, begin to rally around Apollos.
• Because Apollos is so gifted a speaker, they begin to criticize Paul as a less capable orator and a less spiritual person.
• (1 Cor. 1:12; 3:4–6, 22; 4:6).
• It is unfortunate that a clique gathered around him and helped bring division to the church, because he was definitely one of Paul’s friends and a trusted helper (1 Cor. 16:12; Titus 3:13).[9]
• Evidently Apollos returned to Ephesus. When Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, probably in the latter part of his Ephesian ministry, Apollos was with him in Ephesus (1 Cor 16:12).[10]

Paul traveled through the interior regions and came to Ephesus.

• Show map of 3rd Missionary Journey
• When Apollos leaves, Barnabas pays a visit to Corinth to strengthen the church. (1 Corinthians 9:6 – Corinthians are familiar with Barnabas.)
• Peter and his wife also visit Corinth. (1 Corinthians 9:5)
• Peter is noted for his signs and wonders.
• As is his custom when visiting a church, Peter performs some healings in the city.
• As a consequence, a Corinthian party, mostly made up of Jews, develops around Peter. (1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:22; 9:5)
• The Jews are known for being awed by signs and wonders. (1 Corinthians 1:22 - For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom,[11])
• In reaction to the growing divisions, some of the Corinthians declare that Paul is their only apostle, while others are claiming that they exclusively follow Christ and not men.
• The church in Corinth is becoming fractured. Parties are developing around the different apostolic workers who have visited the church. (1 Corinthians 1:12-13. 3:4-9. 21-23)
• Paul leaves Antioch with Titus.
• The two men head up through Tarsus through the Cilician Gates to South Galatia.
• They visit and encourage all the Galatian churches, strengthening them in their faith.
• The Galatian churches have not seen Paul in four years!
• Paul gives each church instructions concerning the Jerusalem relief fund.
• From South Galatia, Paul picks up Gaius (from Derbe) and Timothy (from Lystra) to accompany him to Ephesus.
• Paul, Titus, Gaius, and Timothy take the upper country and make their way by land to Ephesus in Asia Minor.
• When they come to Ephesus, they meet three brothers whom Paul has sent for: Sopater (of Berea), Aristarchus, and Secundus (both of Thessalonica).
• Paul will train these six men in Ephesus for the work of planting churches.
• Their mission is to expand the community that God has purposed from the beginning so that His nature will be expressed throughout the earth.
• These men will also serve as delegates from their respective churches when delivering the relief fund to the church in Jerusalem.
• While Luke does not explicitly tell us that Paul picked these men up to go with him to Ephesus, we know they are there in Ephesus with him.
• The following passages of Scripture put all eight men in Ephesus during the time that Paul was there: Acts 19:22; 20:4; 21:29; 1 Corinthians 4:17; 16:10,20 (Paul wrote 1 Corinthians from Ephesus).
• One can infer that Titus is there since Luke never mentions him throughout Acts, yet we know he is present on many occasions from Paul’s letters.
• We learn from 2 Corinthians 8 that Titus represented Corinth for the Jerusalem relief fund, and it is clear from the letter to Titus that Paul trained him.

Sharpening the Focus:

• Ephesus is a free Greek city located at the mouth of the Cayster River, which flows into the Aegean Sea.
• It is the largest city in Asia Minor.
• The population of Ephesus is 225,000, and it has a large Jewish population.
• Ephesus is a seaport and is the first ranking city of Asia Minor in commerce, wealth, politics, and religion.
• It is the New York of the ancient world.
• The city has a central hub that connects the eastern world with the western world, making it a magnificent city of wealth.
• The city’s wealth is reflected everywhere, from its marble-paved main street to the mosaic floors in its aristocratic homes.
• One of the seven wonders of the world is also there: the great temple of Artemis (in Latin her name is Diana; she is a nature-fertility goddess).
• It took 220 years to build this temple. Built out of pure white marble, it is the largest building in existence at this time and is known worldwide.
• The temple is 220 feet by 425 feet. It is supported by 127 columns, each of them 60 feet high, and is adorned by some of the greatest sculptors of the age.
• In the temple resides a statue of Diana, which the Ephesians believe fell from the sky. Ephesus is also the center for magical arts and occult practices in Asia.

He found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

• For Paul a true disciple of John, a completed disciple of John, was a Christian. That is the whole point of the present narrative.[12]

“No,” they told him, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

• John’s disciples would surely have been acquainted with the Spirit and especially with his teaching that with the coming of the Messiah the Spirit would be poured out (cf. Luke 3:16).
• What they would not be aware of, if they had not heard of Jesus’ death and resurrection and of the event at Pentecost, was that this proclamation of John had been fulfilled in Christ.[13]

3 “Into what then were you baptized?” he asked them.
“Into John’s baptism,” they replied.
4 Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.”
5 When they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy. 7 Now there were about twelve men in all.

• These 12 men, along with Priscilla, Aquila and Epaenetus, form the nucleus of the Ephesian Church.
• Two other Greek converts are made and added to the church – Tychicus and Trophimus.
• The body of Christ is born in Asia!

 
IN THE LECTURE HALL OF TYRANNUS
8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, arguing and persuading them about the kingdom of God. 9 But when some became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he withdrew from them, taking the disciples, and conducted discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

• The Jews rejected Paul’s teachings.

10 This went on for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.

• hardness of heart set in (Heb. 3:7ff), so Paul left the synagogue and moved his ministry to a schoolroom, taking his disciples with him.
• He probably used the room during the “off hours” each day (11 a.m.to 4 p.m.), when many people would be resting.
• In the Greco-Roman world, the business day ended at 11 AM when most of the city ate a meal followed by a nap!
• Paul ministered in this way for about two years and “all they who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks”[14]
• Philemon owns a slave named Onesimus.
• Paul leads Philemon to Christ, and he becomes a help to Paul.
• After their short stay, Philemon and Onesimus head back to their home in Colosse.
• Around the same time , a man named Epaphras visits Ephesus. Epaphras is also from Colosse.
• Paul leads him to the Lord, and Epaphrus stays in Ephesus for a time to learn from Paul and the church.
• Epaphrus then heads back to Colosse.

[1] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ro 16:5). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ac 18:24). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 479). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 396). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ac 18:12–28). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 397). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[7] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 397). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[8] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 480). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[9] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 480). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[10] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 398). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[11] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 1:22). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[12] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 399). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[13] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 399). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[14] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 481). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

• We left off last week with Paul finishing his 2nd letter to the Church at Thessalonica.
• 2nd Missionary Journey Map
• The money that Silas brought to Paul from Philippi has run out.
• So Paul resumes his work as a tentmaker along with Priscilla and Aquila.
• Paul refuses to take money from the Corinthian believers, lest he be a burden on them.
• He stands by his conviction to offer his gospel free of charge.
• 1 Corinthians 9:12 - If others have this right to receive benefits from you, don’t we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right; instead, we endure everything so that we will not hinder the gospel of Christ. [1]

 
Acts 18
Summer 53
12 While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack against Paul and brought him to the tribunal.

• Lucius Junius Gallio, the governor (or proconsul) of Southern Greece
• Gallio was the older brother of Annaeus Seneca, the famous stoic philosopher and playwright who tutored Emperor Nero.
• Achaia, is one of the regional units of Greece.
• It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula.
• The capital is Patras which is the third largest city in Greece.

13 “This man,” they said, “is persuading people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.”

• The arrival of a new proconsul gave the unbelieving Jews hope that Rome might declare this new “Christian sect” illegal.
• They broke the law by attacking Paul and forcing him to go to court.
• This was not the first time that fanatical Jews had tried to prove that Paul was breaking the Roman law (Acts 16:19–24; 17:6–7).

14 As Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or of a serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you Jews. 15 But if these are questions about words, names, and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of such things.”

• Being a Roman citizen, Paul was prepared to defend himself; but this turned out to be unnecessary because Gallio defended Paul!
• The proconsul immediately saw that the real issue was not the application of the Roman law but the interpretation of the Jewish religion, so he refused to try the case![2]
• Political division and distraction tactics.

16 So he drove them from the tribunal. 17 And they all seized Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal, but none of these things mattered to Gallio.

• The Greeks who were witnessing the scene got hold of Sosthenes, the man who replaced Crispus as ruler of the synagogue, and beat him right before the eyes of the proconsul!
• It was certainly a flagrant display of anti-Semitism, but Gallio looked the other way.
• If this is the same Sosthenes mentioned by Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:1, then he too got converted; and the Jews had to find another ruler for their synagogue!
• It would be interesting to know exactly how it happened.
• Did Paul and some of the believers visit Sosthenes and minister to him?
• Perhaps his predecessor Crispus helped “wash the wounds” (Acts 16:33) and used this as an opportunity to share the love of Christ.
• How strange and wonderful are the providences of God!
• The Jews tried to force the Roman proconsul to declare the Christian faith illegal, but Gallio ended up doing just the opposite.
• By refusing to try the case, Gallio made it clear that Rome would not get involved in cases involving Jewish religious disputes.
• As far as he was concerned, Paul and his disciples had as much right as the Jews to practice their religion and share it with others.[3]

 
THE RETURN TRIP TO ANTIOCH
18 After staying for some time, Paul said farewell to the brothers and sisters and sailed away to Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken.

• After spending some more time in Corinth, Paul leaves and sets sail across the Aegean Sea to the city of Ephesus.
• He takes Priscilla and Aquila with him. On their way, they stop at a little town seven miles east of Corinth called Cenchrea.
• Cenchraea was the seaport for Corinth, and there was a Christian congregation there (Rom. 16:1 - I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church in Cenchreae.[4] ).
• Here Paul had his head shaved, “for he had a vow.”
• This probably refers to the Nazarite vow described in Numbers 6 – (1The Lord instructed Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When a man or woman makes a special vow, a Nazirite vow, to consecrate himself to the Lord, 3 he is to abstain from wine and beer. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or from beer. He must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. 4 He is not to eat anything produced by the grapevine, from seeds to skin, during the period of his consecration.
• “You must not cut his hair throughout the time of his vow of consecration. He may be holy until the time is completed during which he consecrates himself to the Lord; he is to let the hair of his head grow long. 6 He must not go near a dead body during the time he consecrates himself to the Lord. 7 He is not to defile himself for his father or mother, or his brother or sister, when they die, while the mark of consecration to his God is on his head. 8 He is holy to the Lord during the time of consecration.[5]).
• Since the Nazarite vow was purely voluntary, Paul was not abandoning grace for law when he undertook it.
• The vow was not a matter of salvation but of personal devotion to the Lord.
• He allowed his hair to grow for a specific length of time and then cut it when the vow was completed.
• He also abstained from using the fruit of the vine in any form.
• We are not told why Paul took this vow.
• Perhaps it was a part of his special dedication to God during the difficult days of the early ministry in Corinth.
• Or perhaps the vow was an expression of gratitude to God for all that He had done for him and his associates.
• According to Jewish law, the Nazarite vow had to be completed in Jerusalem with the offering of the proper sacrifices.
• The hair was shorn at the completion of the vow, not at the beginning; and it was not necessary for one to be in Jerusalem to make the vow.[6]

19 When they reached Ephesus he left them there, but he himself entered the synagogue and debated with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he declined, 21 but he said farewell and added, “I’ll come back to you again, if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.

• Paul, Priscilla, and Aquila set sail to the city of Ephesus in Asia Minor.
• Priscilla and Aquila settle there and set up their tentmaking business.
• Paul goes to the synagogue briefly and preaches to the Jews.
• The Jews ask him to stay longer, but he cannot. He tells them that he plans to return, God willing.

22 On landing at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church, then went down to Antioch.

• Paul sails to Caesarea and from there he visits the church in Jerusalem.
• He greets the Jerusalem church and returns to his home base in Antioch of Syria where he rests.
• Silas heads back to Jerusalem and Timothy returns to Lystra.
• 2nd Missionary Journey Map
• 2nd Missionary Journey Map – From Corinth to Ephesus
• 2nd Missionary Journey Map

 
Spring 54
23 After spending some time there, he set out, traveling through one place after another in the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

• 3rd Missionary Journey Map - Beginning
• 3rd Missionary Journey Map
• While in Antioch, Syria, Paul plots three things.
• They will set the course for the rest of his ministry until his death:
• 1) He decides to begin the Jerusalem relief fund. This is a collection campaign taken from among all of the Gentile churches that Paul planted to relieve the chronic poverty of the Jerusalem Christians.
• Paul does this to mend the rift between the Hebrew and Gentile believers.
• He sends a letter to the churches in Galatia, telling them about the relief fund and gives them specific instructions on how to begin collecting for it.
• 1 Corinthians 16:1 - Now about the collection for the saints: Do the same as I instructed the Galatian churches.[7]
• We do not have this letter, nor do we know exactly when Paul told the Galatians about the relief fund.
• 2) Paul is approximately 50 years old. He is an old man according to first-century standards.
• So he decides to train apostolic workers in Ephesus in the same way that Jesus Christ trained the twelve apostles in Galilee.
• The men Paul trains are Gentiles and will represent the Gentile churches when they deliver the relief fund to Jerusalem.
• 3) Paul has a desire to take the gospel to Rome and then to Spain. He plans to accomplish this on his fourth journey, after he plants the church in Ephesus and brings the relief fund to Jerusalem.

Romans 15:23-24 - I have strongly desired for many years to come to you 24 whenever I travel to Spain. For I hope to see you when I pass through and to be assisted by you for my journey there, once I have first enjoyed your company for a while.[8]

[1] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 9:12). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 477). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 477–478). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ro 16:1). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Nu 6:1–8). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 478). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[7] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 16:1). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[8] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ro 15:23–24). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.