Daily Thoughts from Acts: Guidance on the Path (Acts 18:1-11)

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.

   When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.  And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.  (Acts 18:1-11 ESV)

Athens is not the most fruitful ministry in Greece, but Corinth turns out to be very fruitful.  It is also the beginning of a very fruitful partnership between Paul and a Jewish couple named Aquila and Priscilla.  They are in Corinth because Caesar has required all Jews to leave Rome in one of several persecutions of Jews that took place in that era.  Here we find that Paul is a tentmaker and, in Corinth, rather than live on the donations of those who come to Christ, he earns a living from his trade. 

Paul must actually defend this decision and does so in 1 Corinthians 9.  It seems that critics of Paul in that church interpreted his not taking a salary from the church as him not being worth being paid.  Paul’s interpretation is completely different.  He wanted no one to say he preached the gospel for personal gain.  Paul had taken offerings in other cities but he knew something about the Corinthians that told him he could not or should not do so there.

There isn’t much personal gain spiritually from Paul’s preaching in the synagogue of Corinth.  Though the ruler of the synagogue and Titius Justus, a Jew and a Gentile convert to Judaism respectively, do come to the faith, as a whole the Jews oppose Paul.  So as Jesus taught, he shakes the dust off his shoes, absolving himself of responsibility for their rejection, and moves to the home of another person of peace, a supporter of the gospel.

Many Corinthians come to the faith.  But the circumstances are fearful.  We know this because the Lord Jesus speaks to Paul in a vision one night and tells him not be afraid and that he will protect Paul and has many people who will yet come to him in faith.  Why couldn’t Paul simply “hear” God from the pages of Old Testament Scripture about fear and find comfort there alone?  Why does the Lord Jesus feel it is important to give Paul a personal word on this matter?  A better question would be, “Why do we evangelicals keep saying the only way God speaks to us is through Scripture?”

Paul ends up staying in Corinth longer than almost anywhere he ministered.  He is doing this at the direction of the Holy Spirit.  That is still the standard for how we should conduct our ministries, and we all have ministries.  We must listen to the Spirit, be open to direction from the Lord, rather than determining ourselves how to minister.

Elizabeth Elliot tells of two adventurers who stopped by to see her, all loaded with equipment for the rain forest east of the Andes. They sought no advice, just a few phrases to converse with the Indians. She writes: “Sometimes we come to God as the two adventurers came to me — confident and, we think, well-informed and well equipped. But has it occurred to us that with all our accumulation of stuff, something is missing?

She suggests that we often ask God for too little. We know what we need–a yes or no answer, please, to a simple question. Or perhaps a road sign. Something quick and easy to point the way. What we really ought to have is the Guide himself. Maps, road signs, a few useful phrases are things, but infinitely better is someone who has been there before and knows the way.

Elizabeth Elliot tells, A Slow and Certain Light.