Acts
Chapter
18
1~~After
these things
Paul
departed under conditions of resentment
from
Athens,
and
came to Corinth.
{Note: Paul encountered mostly negative volition in Athens so Paul moved on.}
2~~And
found a certain Jew named Aquila,
born
in Pontus, lately come from Italy,
with
his wife Priscilla
(because
that Claudius had commanded all Jews
to
depart from Rome)
and
came unto them.
{Note: Quite a lot here really. Aquila was a great businessman - first a trader in Pontus on the Black Sea. He went to Rome where he was very successful again and married a Noble woman - Priscilla from a great Roman family. Claudius was the Emperor and got tired of the Jews arguing over a man named 'Crestus' which most likely was Christ. He banished all Jews from Rome and Aquila and Priscilla went to Corinth. Both became believers. Priscilla became very doctrinally oriented and actually is mentioned as having a Church in her house in two cities - Rome (in Romans) and in Ephesus (per I Corinthians).}
{Note: Corinth was on an Isthmus. It was only a few miles between Seas so they built a wooden pathway with great rollers and ships were rolled from one sea to the other. Corinth was sacked by the Romans in 146 BC. Julius Caesar rebuilt the city 100 years before Paul's visit. Corinth was famous as the "Las Vegas' of the ancient world - with great excesses in all forms of lasciviousness! It was also famous for sports - the Isthmus Games. These games were as famous as the Olympic Games of the day.}
3~~And
because he {Paul}
was
of the same craft
{Paul was a tentmaker},
he
abode with them,
and
produced for them
for
by their occupation
they
were tentmakers.
{Note: Actually Aquila and Priscilla had a great tent making business. Paul did not want to cloud the issue with the Corinthians. They thought all 'preachers' were hucksters looking for a buck. So under the Law of Expediency Paul did NOT accept any money from his evangelistic activities. He WORKED for a living making tents. This made it difficult to study and teach so his ministry was 'cut-back' until Timothy and Silas showed up with financial support.}
4~~And
he {Paul} debated
{categories of Old Testament scripture}
in
a dialectic fashion
in
the synagogue every Sabbath,
and
persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.
5~~And
when Silas and Timothy
were
come from Macedonia,
Paul
was constantly influenced by the Word,
and
communicated vigorously to the Jews
that
Jesus was Christ.
6~~And when they formed an organized opposition against him, and maligned, he shook his raiment {Jewish formal act to flap the robes - to Hell with you!}, and said unto them, "Your blood be upon your own heads, I am clean. From henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles."
{Note: Paul is 'washing his hands' of the Jews. From this point on, he becomes the Apostle to the Gentiles . . . and his effect is tremendous - this WAS the will of God for his life!}
7~~And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man's house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house shared the property line with the synagogue.
8~~And
Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord at a
point in time that was perpetuated forever {eternal security} with
his entire house. And many of the Corinthians
hearing
. . . believed, and were baptized.
{Note: Crispus' testimony would demonstrate the 'easy way to be saved. Sit in a pew, hear the gospel, and personally believe - salvation!}
9~~Then spoke the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, "Be not afraid, but keep on communicating, and hold not your peace."
{Note: Paul was facing a lot of resistance. So much he gave up on the Jews (verse 6 above). Paul is probably considering now if it is God's will for him to move on, but God lets him know the ground is fertile here - stay - teach - and don't be intimidated by the legalists.}
10~~"For I am with you, and no man shall assault you and hurt you for I have many people in this city.
11~~ And he {Paul} continued there a year and six months, keeping on teaching the word of God among them.
12-13~~And when Gallio was the Proconsul of Achaia, the Jews developed a mob against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat 13~~ and kept on saying {a summary}, "This fellow persuaded men to worship God contrary to the {Roman} law."
{Note: A Proconsul is sent directly by the Roman Senate with total control of that Roman province. Gallio's brother (Senica (sic) was an advisor to Claudius and was a very brilliant fair-minded law abiding man though as far as we know an unbeliever.}
14~~And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, "If it were a matter of a civil incitement or a criminal act, you as Jews according to your reason, then I would put up with you."
15~~"But if it be a question of words and names, and of your system of doctrine, look you to it. For I will be no judge of such matters."
{Note: Gallio would not let the Roman law be corrupted to satisfy a mob. Separation of Church and State.}
16~~ And he drove them from the judgment seat. {Case dismissed}
17~~ Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and kept on beating him before the judgment seat. And, Gallio cared for none of those things {not a matter of Roman law}.
{Note: The mob is unthinking and upset. They beat up the unbelieving leader of the synagogue. But this becomes Sosthenes' testimonial. He found Christ the hard way! He took a beating and woke up. Sosthenes was trying to have Paul convicted and killed. Later he becomes a great believer and part of the Pauline Missionary Team - see I Corinthians 1:2}.
18~~And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence toward Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila . . . having shorn his {Aquila's} head in Cenchrea for he had a vow.
{Note: Paul and Priscilla and Aquila go to Ephesus. Paul goes on to Antioch of Syria. From Roman 16, we know they were saved from a serious crisis. To honor the grace of God, the Jews would let their hair grow for a certain period of time - say 60 days. When that period was over, they would shave their head bald to demonstrate to everyone again the grace of God.}
19~~And
he {Paul} came to Ephesus,
and
left them {Aquila and Priscilla} there.
But
he himself entered into the synagogue,
and
had categorical dialogs {reasoned} with the Jews.
20~~When
they begged him to tarry longer time with them,
{would include new believers and Priscilla and Aquila}
he
refused to do so.
{Note: Paul knew it was not the will of God for him to linger in Ephesus at this time. He had to go back to Antioch in Syria and later would return for a three-year ministry.}
21~~But
he bade them farewell, saying,
"I
must by all means keep this feast
that
comes in Jerusalem {the Pentecost}.
But
I will return again unto you, God being willing.
And
he sailed from Ephesus.
22~~And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up, and saluted the church {Jerusalem}, he went down to Antioch.
23~~And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order to strengthen all the disciples.
24~~And
a certain Jew named Apollos,
born
at Alexandria,
an
"elegant speaker skilled in literature and the arts" [logios]
honorable
man [aner]
{a man who received a degree in Hellenistic culture},
and
mighty/"with great power"/excelling [dunatos]
in
the scriptures,
came
to Ephesus.
{Note:
Apollos and Paul were two geniuses of the early Church. Apollos was
educated in Alexandria where there was a great university - in
conjunction with the fantastic library of Alexandria. Apollos was
well trained in the Old Testament Scriptures and in Greek with
fantastic oratory skills. Apollos is one of two believers that very
well may have written Hebrews - Barnabas may also have been the
author of Hebrews. Not that it matters - it is the Word that matters
not the human author! Apollos had a following that threatened to
divide the Church - similar to denominations today - see I
Corinthians 1:12.}
25~~This
man {Apollos} was instructed
in
the Way of the Lord
{the righteous Way of God - it will become for him the More
Excellent Way of Jesus Christ in a few verses down - living the
righteous life guided by Doctrine in the soul and God the Holy
Spirit - as prototyped by the Lord Jesus Christ in His 1st Advent}.
And
being zealous in the spirit,
he
spoke and taught diligently
the
things of the Lord . . .
knowing
only the baptism of John.
{Note: This means that Apollos was probably evangelized by John the Baptist or his disciples. Apollos was fantastically trained in the Old Testament but, since the mysteries of the Church Age were not revealed to John the Baptist, Apollos did not know things like dispensations, etc.}
{Note: John the Baptist did teach 1) behold the lamb of God - person of Christ 2) Relationship with the Lord - he must increase, I must decrease 3) Repent - change your mind about Christ 4) Accurate in mechanics of salvation - believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.}
26~~And
he {Apollos}
began
to speak with confidence
in
the synagogue.
Whom
when Aquila and Priscilla had heard,
they
took him unto them,
and
expounded unto him
the
way of God more accurately.
{Note: Notice the timing of God. If Paul was present, Apollos may not have spoken only listening to Paul instead. Aquila and Priscilla taught Apollos the Church Age doctrines that Paul had taught them.}
27~~And
when he {Apollos}
was
disposed to pass into Achaia {Southern Greece},
the
brethren wrote,
exhorting
the disciples to receive him.
Who
{Apollos},
when
he was come,
helped
them greatly . . .
who
had believed through grace.
{Note: Paul established the Church in Corinth. Apollos now becomes their minister.}
28~~For
he {Apollos}
mightily
convinced the Jews . . .
{dialectically taught using the Old Testament Scriptures -
very convincingly}
and
that publicly . . .
showing
by means of the scriptures
that
Jesus kept on being The Christ.
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