Acts 18:1-11 Paul in Corinth

Corinth, a commercial center, was known for her sexual immorality.  Since 27 B.C. it was made the capital city of Achaia. After so much had happened to him, Paul left Athens and went there. In Corinth he found Aquila, a Jew from Pontus, who came recently to Corinth from Italy with his wife, Pricilla. The reason this couple were in Corinth was because Emperor Claudius ordered all Jews to leave Rome. The banishment of Jews from Rome took place about A.D. 49. This action was taken probably because of a dispute between the Christian and non-Christian Jews there. So Paul met the couple because Aquila shared the same trade as he. And they both made tents to sell. In Corinth, Paul would go to the synagogue every Sabbath trying to convince both Jews and Greek.

When Silas and Timothy came to him from Macedonia, it was a critical point here. It marked the moment Paul gave up his work, working with Aquila and Pricilla, to devote his time completely to the ministry of the word. And he was relentlessly testifying to the Jews that this Jesus was the Christ. When the Jews resisted strongly and even blasphemed, Paul would have nothing to do with them. He would also warned them solemnly saying, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

Paul was telling the Jews that if they were condemned by their decision it was their own making. It had nothing to do with him for he had duly discharged his responsibility in declaring the Word to them. From now on he was going to reach the Gentiles. With that, Paul went to a Titius Justus, a worshipper of God, whose house was next to the synagogue.

In the process of time, Paul’s message made impact. In verse 8 we are introduced to Crispus, a leader of the synagogue. He and his household came to believe in Christ. Besides, many of the Corinthians were also coming to the faith and they were being baptized.

To encourage Paul, the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him to keep on speaking and not to be intimidated. The Lord further assured Paul of His presence with him, and told him that He had many people in the city who would protect Paul. Hence, he could be assured that no one would be able to harm him. So Paul remained in Corinth for one and a half year, teaching the Word of God among them.

There are two things that we can glean from these 11 verses. Firstly, like Paul, we need to exercise wise stewardship of our lives. While we work to support ourselves, we must also be committed to serve in the ministry which God had gifted us. We should not be upended by people who may not see eye to eye with us, like Paul, we can always seek new ground to serve God.

Secondly, we need to know that the Lord is near to His people. He will protect us and keep us safe as we diligently serve Him. There will always be people whom God will send our way to help us in the task.