Acts 18 - Let's Not Forget to Preach the Gospel!

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In Corinth

Corinth is called an "isthmus", which is a five sided island. Because of it's location with its many sea ports, there were lots of sailors and traders that frequented the island. 

In Paul’s day, Corinth was already an ancient city. It was a commercial center with two harbors and had long been a rival to its northern neighbor, Athens. Corinth was a city with a remarkable reputation for loose living and especially sexual immorality. In classical Greek, to act like a Corinthian meant to practice fornication, and a Corinthian companion meant a prostitute. This sexual immorality was permitted under the widely popular worship of Aphrodite (also known as Venus, the goddess of fertility and sexuality). - Guzik

Paul met a Jewish couple named Aquila and Priscilla, who were exiled from Rome to Corinth. He worked as a tentmaker there to help pay for his living expenses. 

Paul’s tentmaking was an important part of his ministry. Though he recognized his right to be supported by those he ministered to (1 Corinthians 9:7-14), he voluntarily supported himself in his missionary and preaching work so that no one could accuse him of seeking converts for the sake of enriching himself (1 Corinthians 9:15-18). In the modern missions movement, people call any work that a missionary does to support himself on the mission field tentmaking. - Guzik

As usual Paul went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day and "reasoned" with the Jews and Gentiles, trying once again to persuade them that Jesus was the Messiah. Timothy and Silas rejoined Paul coming from Macedomia, and Paul started using his time exclusively for preaching the gospel. He realized his time was short so he wanted to get the Good News out to as many as people as possible. 

Sometimes in the church we get caught up in many seemingly important things but they may not be the preaching the gospel. The gospel needs to be front and center in everything we do and say. We can even get caught up in all the issues of the world and become debaters of politics and social issues, but if we are not careful it can become more important to us than the gospel. 

How can you know if you are still focused on the gospel? A simple question. When is the last time you shared the gospel with someone? As I said, we can do lots of good things for people which reflect Jesus, but if we don't share the gospel, we will fall short of what Jesus called us to do!

At this point the Jews started harassing and abusing Paul, and he had enough. He declared that now he was exclusively focusing his missionary efforts on the Gentiles. As it turns out shortly thereafter that Crispus the synagogue leaders came to faith in Jesus, and he had his household were baptized along with many other Jews who came to Christ. 

Though Paul was tempted to leave Corinth, the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him not to leave. He would be with Paul, and also told Paul He had people in every part of the city the Lord wanted him to minister to. So rather than leaving, Paul spent a year and a half in Corinth, more than the amount of time he spent in any other city. 

Paul was in Corinth a year and a half, which seems to be longer than in any other city where he founded a church. His ministry at Corinth is described simply: teaching the word of God among them. The duration of Paul’s stay in Corinth shows where his heart was in ministry. He was no “in and out” evangelist, but a man committed to making disciples. - Guzik

Priscilla, Aquilla, and Apollos

Paul left Corinth with Priscilla and Aquilla and went to Ephesus to resume preaching in the synagogue. Paul stayed in Ephesus briefly, but then felt called to go back to Jerusalem even though the Ephesians wanted him to stay.  Priscilla and Aquilla stayed in Ephesus presumably to help continue to build the church there.

You can see how many times Paul had to be obedient to leave at the Spirit's prompting. Paul was seemingly always saying goodbye to people he had grown to love. As Paul says in one of his letter, "I want to go where the gospel has not yet been planted." Though Paul did return to the churches he planted, his heart was always to reach those who did not know Jesus. 

Then, we meet Apollos, who came from Alexandria, Egypt. He was a gifted teacher and preacher with great knowledge of the scriptures.  He had been instructed in the way of Jesus, but it doesn't appear he had been converted yet and hadn't been baptized. He continued to preach in the synagogue and also spent time in the house of Aquilla and Priscilla, who explained the way of God to him more adequately. I..e They discipled him. Perhaps this is why they were called to stay at Ephesus. 

God then told Apollos to go to Corinth, where he used his giftedness in teaching and instructing the Corinthians. He also proved to be a powerful debater in the marketplace proving why Jesus was the Messiah. 

Aquila and Priscilla did something valuable for God’s kingdom. They helped someone who had a passion for God and at least some power in serving Him; yet he had limited knowledge and therefore limited resources for truly effective ministry. - Guzik

Who have you been called alongside to encourage, strengthen, and more adequately explain the way of God. Perhaps like Apollos they will have a major role to play in expanding the kingdom!