Acts 18:1-17 Giving Meaning to Life
The big questions of life are always present but are seldom addressed. What is the point of life? Why are we here?
Jean-Paul Sartre, the French philosopher, stated,
“Human life is meaningless without an infinite reference point.”
Sartre is saying that there must be someone or something beyond our finite world if there is to be a real meaning in life. As he believed there is no God, he concluded that there cannot be a reference point, so he deduced that we have to accept that life is meaningless. The problem is that the vast majority instinctively think that life has a meaning.
The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900) predicted:
“God is dead. We have killed him and the stench will be over Europe.”
The consequences of not believing there is a right and wrong have been seen in the last 125 years. Society has eaten of ‘the tree of knowledge of good and evil’, rulers now make the rules according to what they think is best for them and their society without reference to God, with disastrous consequences.
C.S. Lewis gave a talk on the concept of meaning in the universe, contrasting this with atheism saying:
“If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning. Very well then, atheism is too simple."
He argues that the very act of recognising that the universe might lack meaning implies a standard or a framework of meaning against which it is judged. This standard, he suggests, points to something beyond the purely material or naturalistic explanation of the universe.
The Scottish theologian, James Denney, has said,
“Where the human mind is concerned, it is idle to speak of an authority that can simply be imposed, the real question is whether there is an authority that can impose itself, which can freely win the recognition and surrender of the mind and heart of man.”
The Bible stresses that there is such an authority who eventually will always achieve his own ends. It teaches that this authority is the eternal Son of God.
This is a totally different world view to that accepted by most people, giving radically different priorities and values. The Bible gives us a perspective of an eternal kingdom that is not of this world. Those accepted into this kingdom have their entire lives transformed. Their purpose of life and the experiences of those in God’s kingdom are very different to those whose priority is a worldly kingdom. This radical change in how Christians’ think and behave is the ultimate reality. For two thousand years this worldview has been spreading throughout the world. It is always resisted because it proclaims the sovereign rule of the eternal God above all other petty rivals. It presents and seeks to persuade people of a coherent worldview that gives meaning and purpose. What Jesus and his apostles taught makes sense of all we face in a way that no other outlook can.
Corinth
In Acts 18 we are told how the apostle Paul left the intellectual centre of the ancient world, Athens, to go to Corinth which was then the most prosperous commercial centre of the world with everything that goes with that. The city was built on an isthmus and had two ports, one in the west facing the Adriatic Sea and the other in the east, Cenchraea, facing the Aegean sea. The city had been founded by Julius Caesar in 46BC but a hundred years later it was still called ‘New Corinth’ Archeology has revealed that this city had streets lined with splendid buildings and it is easy to imagine these streets being thronged with cosmopolitan crowds from all around the Mediterranean. It had international games that were only second to the Olympic Games held on Mount Olympus. As so often happens in a prosperous city, with many visiting sailors and business men, sexual immorality was rife. To be a Corinthian meant to be an immoral person and ‘to Corinthianise’ was to go with a prostitute.
Paul’s strategy
Paul arrived at Corinth in 50AD. It was a tough challenge for a solitary Christian missionary. What should his strategy be? How can the gospel be made known? He gives us the answer to this in his first letter to the Corinthian church:
“When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
He did not use underhand publicity stunts to get noticed, he just talked to people about Jesus. Churches today need to rediscover what Paul had learned. The power of God is essentially released when the message about Jesus is clearly what the church is proclaiming. Today many churches run food banks, mother and toddler groups and youth activities in which the message of Jesus is right in the background, if there at all.
Paul arrived in this great metropolis in weakness. How could the message of Jesus reach such a city? No wonder he ‘trembled’. He knew that his only hope was to keep preaching the good news about Jesus, God’s Christ, who had died to pay the price for our sin and who rose to prove his claim. He relied not on clever rhetoric or healing campaigns but in sharing a message about Jesus and then people would see the changed lives of those who come under his authority. His confidence was not in himself but in the proclamation of the Word of God, the message from God. Paul reminded the young Corinthian church in the beginning of his first letter to them that his essential message was to tell them about Jesus and his death on a cross to pay for the sins of all who follow Jesus:
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18
Paul’s usual approach was to visit the local synagogue every Sabbath where the Scriptures were revered and, being a rabbi he taught how the Jewish Scriptures proclaimed the coming of God’s Messiah and this enabled him to try and persuade them about Jesus. His evangelism was convincing and persuasive and was all about Jesus.
Paul needed to support himself financially . All rabbis had a trade and Paul went to meet other tent-makers so he could earn his living. It was in this grouping that he met Aquila and Priscilla. Although Corinth was a prosperous city he wanted to present the gospel free of charge so all could see that he was not in the ministry for himself. What a tragedy it is when Christian ministers are seduced into seeking a high income, living in the best five star hotels, owning multiple mansions and even aeroplanes. As Marshall McEwan said,
“The medium is the message”
No-one could say that he was in the ministry for what he could get out of it. Paul did later recognise that in a church setting:
”Those who preach the gospel should get their living by the gospel" 1 Corinthians 9:14,
Here Paul argues that those who lead churches have a right to be supported by the community they serve. This is based on the principle that those Levites who worked in the temple or offer sacrifices are supported by the temple and offerings. However he also recognised that ministers who are active in evangelism can do great harm to the message by the way they live.
Aquila and Priscilla
Aquila and Priscilla were a Jewish couple who had recently been expelled from Rome. The Roman historian, Suetonius mentions this expulsion of Jews from Rome in 49 AD. He attributes the expulsion to disturbances caused by "Chrestus" (likely a misspelling of "Christus" or Christ). The expulsion was probably due to conflicts between Jewish factions and the emerging Christian movement within the Jewish community in Rome.
Their common interest in Judaism, in Jesus, in tent-making and in evangelism resulted in these two becoming some of Paul’s closest friends and helpers. It is notable that God often divinely orchestrates such relationships to further the spread of the gospel. As Paul arrived in Corinth in 50AD they could only have been there for much less than a year.
The hostile reaction in Rome could be so destructive for gospel ministry but it meant that the Gentile Christians in Rome had to take leadership roles and those who were scattered were able to take the gospel to new areas. God had permitted a similar persecution in Jerusalem just as the gospel was getting established there:
“On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. . . Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there.” Acts 8:1-5
What a wonderful example these illustrations give us of a church that was on fire for the Lord Jesus. In the 1950’s western missionaries were expelled from China as there was horrific opposition from the Communist authorities; many feared for the life of the churches there. However the church continued to grow as individuals passionately shared the gospel about Jesus to friends and family. Now members of the churches in china are far more numerous than members of the Communist party.
God’s plan are always better than ours. It is the mark of Christian maturity to live in the light of this realisation. Soon Paul was working alongside Priscilla and Aquila, he lived with them but keep on teaching in the synagogue. Using reason was his method. People need to become followers of Jesus because of the evidence; he really is the Christ, he really did die for our sin and he did rise from the dead to prove his claim. This rational evidence-based method of evangelism was Paul’s approach,
“Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.” Acts 18:4
When Paul had visited Thessalonica, prior to going to Athens and then Corinth his approach had been rational:
“As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.” Acts 17:2-4
His approach in the next town, Berea, had been similar:
“On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up Acts 17:10-13
Paul had no doubt that God used the Scriptures to convince people about their need for Jesus.
William Cowper (1731 – 1800)
William Cowper was a poet and hymn writer who suffered form recurrent severe depression. However he understood the grace of God. The phrase "Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace" is a line from his hymn, "God Moves in a Mysterious Way". This poem explores the idea that God's actions may seem unclear or even unfavourable at times, but we can trust in God’s ultimate goodness and wisdom. This hymn encourages faith, a reliance on God's grace, even when faced with difficult circumstances. The full stanza from the hymn reads:
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence,
He hides a smiling face.
This stanza emphasises that human understanding is limited and that God's ways are often hidden from us. It suggests that apparent hardship or negative events (the "frowning providence") may be part of God's larger plan, which ultimately leads to blessings (the "smiling face"). The poem also includes the lines:
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
These lines reinforce the idea that God's plans unfold over time, and even things that seem unpleasant in the present will ultimately reveal a positive outcome.
The final stanza of the hymn is:
Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.
This hymn suggests that while we may not always understand God's actions, He will eventually reveal His purposes and make things clear. It is a powerful expression of faith in the face of adversity and a reminder to trust in God's sovereignty and grace, even when things seem difficult or confusing.
Change of tactics
Paul continued working in this way until Timothy and Silas arrive from Berea.
The churches in Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea had sent Paul a gift so he could work full-time for the gospel.
“When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.” Acts 18:5
Today this is still the best approach. All Christians should be in ministry, testifying by word and action that Jesus is God’s Messiah. If a person’s gift for leading or for evangelism is recognised and people want to support him to go full time teaching of the Word, this is great. If this method, with ministers and missionaries first proving their worth and effectiveness, was widely adopted it would prevent there being many full-time ministers who appear to have lost their zeal for leading people to trust in the Lord Jesus, if they ever had it!
What a great example the churches in Macedonia are, they go out of their way to support Paul and his ministry.
This freeing up of Paul to promote Jesus as the Messiah did cause problems, just as any active evangelism does today.
“But when they opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” Acts 18:6
This symbolic act of shaking out his clothes in protest marked a profound shift in strategy. The Jews in Corinth had made a decision and so the time had come for the church to leave them to the judgment they had chosen. In the first decade of his ministry Paul had focused on teaching Jews and God-fearers in the synagogues. This approach had resulted in him being beaten in the synagogues five times. This was the last straw. He does just what Jesus had told his disciples on their first trainee short mission when he instructed his disciples to "shake the dust off their feet" when leaving a town that had rejected them and their message. This action, described in all three synoptic gospels (Matthew 10:14, Mark 6:11, and Luke 9:5), symbolised a warning of God’s judgment. It also meant that the disciples were to move on from those who refused to listen and find others who would receive their message.
Paul was saying in effect:
“If you reject the Lord, Jesus Christ, your fate is in your own hands. I am innocent as I have shared the message with you.”
The next verses are significant as they emphasise this change in direction to evangelising Gentiles:
“Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptised.” Acts 18:7-8
The focus of the church in Corinth now moved to a home, that of Titius Justus who significantly lived next door to the synagogue. Today effective home groups are the mainstay of most vibrant gospel churches. Another who joined the young church was Crispus. He had a Roman name but presumably he came from a Jewish family as he had been the ruler of the Synagogue. He also understood that the time had come for a radical change.
Faith in Jesus is not just an individual experience, people of all nationalities and creeds who have recognised Jesus also recognise the vital role of working together in his local church.
Divine intervention
Then came a most unexpected encouragement, Paul was given a vision:
“One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision:
“Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.”
So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.” Acts 18:9-11
There are some people who claim they regularly receive ‘visions’ from God. They are the sort of people who frequently say ‘God told me that . . .’ Such claims need testing! The book of Acts tells us that even Paul only had a few direct words from God and these were all at crucial crossroads in his ministry. At this time in Corinth the opposition from the Jewish authorities was mounting and doubtless Paul could well remember what had happened to him in Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea as a result of Jewish opposition. A flogging was very painful as well as humiliating and riots did not help with the promotion of the gospel. However the Lord now encouraged him to stay put and not just to make it a short visit as had been his usual practice in cities up till then. Here he was told to stay put as God has many who would come to openly confess Christ in that city. It was not God’s plan for him to move on. Consequently he stayed there for 18 months, teaching the Scriptures, the Word of God to the people of Corinth. This was a new strategy, a Gentile/Jewish Christian church was founded, based in a home, and the Lord himself had guaranteed their safety.
This promise was demonstrated when Gallio was appointed to the role of Proconsul of the whole of Greece, south of Macedonia. Gallio was the brother of Seneca, the Roman philosopher in Rome. It is likely that he came straight from Rome, remember this was where Claudius had had problems over Jewish antagonism to the Christians and riots had been the result. The Jews wasted no time in trying to have Paul, a Roman citizen expelled from Corinth. Paul was accused on a technicality and Gallio obviously did not want the Roman authorities to become involved in this dispute in Corinth.
“While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul and brought him to the place of judgment. “This man,” they charged, “is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.” Acts 18:12-13
They accused Paul of promoting a ‘religio illicita’. Paul was teaching that the Christian gospel was the fulfilment of Judaism, a religion approved by Rome yet the Jews accused him of promoting a new religion. Gallio clearly understood that this was an internal theological matter and not one he wanted to be involved withn. It would be good to know how much Gallio understood about the gospel and the evidence for it. Paul was about to defend these charges when Gallio intervened. He was not going to give in to the Jews and so gave a firm reply:
“Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to them, “If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanour or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law—settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things.” So he drove them off.” Acts 18:14-16
It would appear that there was already some anti-semitic feeling in Corinth, this was not uncommon in Roman cities at the time. As soon as this case was thrown out a crowd attacked the ruler of the synagogue and Gallio showed no sympathy.
“Then the crowd there turned on Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the proconsul; and Gallio showed no concern whatever.” Acts 18:17
Gallio’s decree that Christianity was part of Judaism gave gospel workers protection for the next 10 years. This explains why Paul was so ready to appeal to Caesar when the Jews in Israel tried to have him killed.
Paul had no doubt where authority really rested. God had promised, ‘No-one will harm you’ and this proved to be true. However the gospel must continue to be taught. On his way back to Israel he visited Ephesus with Priscilla and Aquila. They stayed there to prepare the ground for Paul’s subsequent long visit on his third missionary journey while Paul returned to Antioch.
Application
What confidence we can also have that the Lord is sovereign and he is in control.
“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” Proverbs 16:9
Sometimes events do not work out as we would like them to but Paul was later to affirm:
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
Calvin commented on this verse:
“If all things are for our good, then what is left to work for our ill?”
That is a mature Christian view. We are not Pauls and we are not in Corinth but Paul’s God is our God. He will keep us and use us. He will never let his people down. We, like all Christians are to both live the faith and find ways to teach teach it to others. We have the same mighty God.
The 17th century Christian missionary, William Carey, advised all Christians:
“Attempt great things for God because we expect great things of God.”
It comes back to the question of authority:
“Who is in control of my life?”
BVP
This article has been posted on the website www.bvpalmer.com where there are many other helpful articles and videos.
Christchurch Baldock is a Bible teaching gospel centred local church. More details can be found on its website. It meets every Sunday morning at 10.30 am in Knights Templar School, Baldock
Bernard can be contacted at berniepalmer1@sky.com
