Study #57: The Lord blessed Paul’s missionary efforts in the Greek city of Corinth for eighteen months (Acts 18:1

Study #57: The Lord blessed Paul’s missionary efforts in the Greek city of Corinth for eighteen months (Acts 18:1 - 11)

Acts, Chapter 2.2: The Gentiles and Jews of Greece violently opposed the efforts of Paul and Silas to plant churches (15:36 - 18:22)

§Unique Introduction: The missionary ministry of Paul is transformed with a new partner, Silas, and a new helper, Timothy (15:36 - 16:5)

¶Opposite Paul and Barnabas go their separate ways because of a disagreement over John Mark (15:36 - 41)

¶Opposite Paul, Silas, and Timothy delivered the decrees of the assembly at Jerusalem to the new Gentile assemblies (16:1 - 5)

§Complement Body: Paul and his missionary team were imprisoned in Philippi and barely escaped a riot in Thessalonica (16:6 - 17:34)

¶Unique The Holy Spirit opened a door to establish a new assembly in Philippi of Greece (16:6 - 15)

¶Complement Paul and Silas were imprisoned by the Roman authorities in Philippi over a false charge (16:16 - 40)

¶Complement The Jews of Thessalonica disrupted the church-planting efforts of Paul and Silas in Thessalonica with a riot (17:1 - 9)

¶Opposite Many of the noble Jews of Berea believed in Christ (17:10 - 15)

¶Opposite Few of the pagan Greeks of Athens believed in Christ (17:16 - 34)

§Complement Conclusion: The Lord opened a door for Paul in Corinth; and another in Ephesus, on his way home to Antioch (18:1 - 22)

¶Complement The Lord blessed Paul’s missionary efforts in the Greek city of Corinth for eighteen months (18:1 - 11)

¶Complement Paul returned to the assembly at Antioch after stopping at a synagogue in Ephesus (18:12 - 22)

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We continue our study of Acts Chapter 2.2 with the first paragraph of the Conclusion Section.

§Complement Conclusion: The Lord opened a door for Paul in Corinth; and another in Ephesus, on his way home to Antioch (18:1 - 22)

¶Complement The Lord blessed Paul’s missionary efforts in the Greek city of Corinth for eighteen months (18:1 - 11)

Opposite After these things Paul left Athens, and came to Corinth; and he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them. And because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them, and worked: for by their occupation they were tentmakers. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.

Opposite And when Silas and Timotheus came from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. But when they rebelled, and blasphemed, he shook his garments, and said to them, “Your blood is upon your own heads. I am clean; from henceforth I will go to the Gentiles.”

Complement And he left there, and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshiped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household; and many of the Corinthians hearing the Gospel, believed, and were baptized.

Complement Then the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, saying, “Be not afraid, but speak; and hold not your peace: for I am with you. And no man shall set on you to hurt you: for I have many people in this city.”

Unique And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the Word of God among them.

Comments: Now, when Paul came to Corinth, the Lord opened a door for him to win many souls in the city: “Then the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, saying, “Be not afraid, but speak; and hold not your peace: for I am with you. And no man shall set on you to hurt you: for I have many people in this city.”” Acts 18:9-10

In other words, God knew who would be saved in the future through the ministry of Paul and the seeds of the Gospel that he was planting in the lives of the people that he met in the synagogues and in the street. That should be a great encouragement to you pastors who are trying to start a church! All God needs is for us to be faithful to Him and continue the work of preaching the Gospel in person, with gospel tracts, or door to door; or all three at once. God will bless the seeds of the Gospel if we are faithful and obedient to his Spirit each day.

Later, Paul wrote two Scripture letters to the members of the church that he had planted there: 1 and 2 Corinthians. God used Paul to build an important church in the capital city of Greece of that day. It is gone now, but today, we enjoy the lessons that Paul taught that church through his letters, which are all about spiritual maturity through glorifying God in the Assembly, and spiritual maturity through glorifying God in your spirit.

Paul was a missionary. The focus of his entire life was to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and bring souls to Him to be saved. Nothing else mattered to him.

He made tents as a means of supporting himself financially, so that he would not have to ask for money from anyone; and then he would be free to preach the Bible as God wanted him to preach it. Paul didn’t have to worry about rich people in his churches who could control him with their money; he also didn’t have to worry about the Apostles in Jerusalem trying to control his message, because they recognized that he was a man of God on a mission to do the will of God, no matter what; he was an Independent, Fundamental, Baptist!

This is the Biblical pattern for this ministry: I am not a pastor of any church, but a missionary. I have a full time job as an engineer; my income provides the money needed to pay for the ads on Facebook to spread the Gospel message around the world, as well as distribute the Kingdom Study Bible version in PDF for free. I don’t ask for any money, and I don’t have any advertisements in my messages or on my website, because I don’t want anyone to say that I am only doing this to get rich; this is very important to understand. My entire life is focused on getting the Gospel and the Kingdom Study Bible with the Golden Ratio design to the entire world, if possible. God has blessed me with a good income so that I can serve Him without the hindrance of asking for money from anyone.

Now this kind of ministry is not always possible. A pastor of a church cannot work a full-time job and do the work of a pastor at the same time. I know some pastors who do that, but it is a hindrance to their ministry. A pastor needs the financial support of his church members to fulfill the call of God on his life, to serve them, and to reach his community, his city, and beyond, with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The pastor of a church needs a good income; but he must live as frugally as possible and set a good example for his flock; otherwise, he becomes a bad testimony for the Gospel of Christ, because many will see his prosperity as proof that the pastor only cares about money, and not about souls.

“But they [pastors] that want to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition: for the love of money is the root of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have wandered from the Faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

But you, O man of God, flee these things! And follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on Eternal Life, to which you are also called, and have professed a good profession before many witnesses.” I Timothy 6:9-12

That doesn’t mean that a pastor and his wife must wear ragged clothes and drive an old car; but it does mean that he must keep focused on serving Christ instead of wanting to drive an expensive car, live in a mansion, or wear the most expensive suits. A modest car (new is okay) that gives him and his family good service is good enough. Good quality clothes that are clean are good enough. Good food without excess is enough.

I Timothy 6:6-8: “But godliness with contentment is great gain: for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out; and having food and clothing, let us be content with these things.”

Church members: take good care of your pastor and his family, but do not make him into a king! He is a servant of the Lord, and a servant of your church; but you need to help him set the example for others in your church and the community. He does not need gold, silver, diamonds, a mansion, and a limousine! That is for pimps, not a man of God.

Instead, help him pay off his mortgage; ensure that he and his family have medical and dental insurance; help him repair his home and his car; ensure that he and his family always have food to eat; give him a salary that will meet his needs and allow him to save a little money. These are the things that will help him to serve the Lord without worry about material things; but yet not make him into a king. We don’t need those kind of preachers in our churches!

Personally, I don’t trust any preacher who thinks more of diamonds, gold, and silver than the Kingdom of God. This kind of preacher wears a big smile and a fancy suit (or a robe), drives a fancy car, and flies in an expensive private jet; but doesn’t truly care about sinners going to Hell. That is not right. These kind of preachers are not preaching the Gospel of Christ from the Bible! You know who I am talking about: Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, the popes, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and the list is very long. Every part of the world has their own false prophets that only they know, but God knows all about them, and God will deal with them in his own way.

Do not let these false prophets deter you from following Jesus Christ!

Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man comes to the Father, but by me” John 14:6.

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the Light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of Life.” John 8:12

Pastor friend, do not follow the evil examples of Benny Hinn and Kenneth Copeland the Billionaire! Live modestly and within your means as an example of godliness for your church. You are called to be an under-shepherd to Jesus Christ, not a lord over the heritage of God!

1 Peter 5:1-4: “The elders which are among you I exhort (who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed): shepherd the flock of God which is among you; overseeing them not by compulsion, but willingly; not for dishonest gain, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive an enduring crown of glory.”

Friend, if you would like to know the one true God, and you want to go to Heaven instead of Hell when you die, then you must first know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior from sin.

If you know that you are a sinner; and you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and was crucified on a cross to pay for your sins; and that He was buried and rose again from the dead on the third day, victorious over sin, Hell, and the grave, here is a prayer that you can use to be born again and become a child of the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ:

“Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned against YOU. I am no good, and you are righteous! You are my only hope for salvation! I believe that you died on the cross for my sins, you were buried, and you rose again from the dead on the third day. I want you to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Please come into my heart right now. Forgive me for all my sins, and save my soul. In the mighty Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!”

If you have turned from your sins and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and only Savior from sin, please message me through Facebook and let me know that you have done that, so that I can pray for you and rejoice with you in what God has done in your life. Amen.

“Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned against YOU. I am no good, and you are righteous! I believe that you died on the cross for my sins, were buried, and rose again from the dead on the third day. I want you to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Please come into my heart right now. Forgive me for all my sins, and save my soul. In the mighty Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!”