1 Corinthians 3:1-9 – The attitude between immaturity and maturity

In the previous chapter, Paul spoke about the natural man and how a person like that would be unreceptive to spiritual things. It must have set the Christians in Corinth thinking. They must be thinking that they could not possibly be whom Paul was describing; oblivious that he was describing them. Since they were blinded concerning themselves, Paul became more blatant in his description of them. He began by addressing them as brethren and then changed to calling them as men of the flesh and infants. In so doing, he was differentiating between their status and their conducts. While they had accepted Christ as Lord, and were brethren in Him, but in conduct they were still living in their past lifestyle and hence were spiritual infants and not mature yet.

 

As immature infant, they could only stomach milk and not solid food. Hence Paul could not speak to them as spiritual people. While Paul was capable of imparting solid stuff, he was sure that the Corinthians weren’t accustomed to that kind of spiritual stuff. Hence he had to resort to giving them baby food. While it is alright to start as infants in Christ, it is certainly not alright to remain that way all of the Christian life.    

 

In verses 3-4 Paul showed them the reason for his conclusion that they were still babies and not mature adults. He said that it was clearly written in their attitudes and activities. They were brought together in Christ to have fellowship in Him, but in reality they were practicing dissension and being cliquish. Envy, strife, jealousy and infighting were their common activities. These were clear marks of immaturity. They had also so evidently championed for their respective leaders. They did it to a point where someone who followed another leader would not be regarded as a fellow believer in Christ.  That’s immaturity.   

 

In contrast Paul showed them in verses 5-9 what maturity would look like as a model for the Corinthians to strive toward. Whether it was Apollos or himself, Paul wanted them to see that they were only servants and channels through whom God had used to minister to them. Their ultimate allegiance should be in Christ. An attitude a mature believer should have, would be to see that all God’s servants as complementary. While Paul planted, and Apollos watered, it was up to God to bring the growth. Neither the process of planting nor watering determines the growth. God alone determines the growth. Paul then asserted that every role a person played in the ministry was significant and each would be rewarded accordingly. With that he came back to the point he had made to the Corinthians, whether it’s him or Apollos, Paul said, they both work for a common cause, because they both belong to God. In much the same way all believers in Corinth also belong to God. They were not only God’s field but also God’s building. He introduced the church as God’s building to set in motion what he would pick up in his discussion in the next few verses. 

 

What can we take away from these verses? Realize that we all come into Christ as babes and Christianity is a lifetime of growth. So we evaluate and find out where we are in terms of our growth in Christ. Then determine to make time to grow to the next level. As we do it, we must realize that we need the help of others in our growth toward Christlikeness.

1 Corinthians 2:10-16 – God is the source of true wisdom

In 1 Corinthians 2:6-9 Paul showed us the characteristics of the wisdom of God as opposed to worldly philosophies. Now in verses 10-16, he would reveal the source of such wisdom.
 

God’s wisdom comes through revelation by the Spirit. God first revealed His wisdom to the apostles and prophets who communicated the word of God. Then today, the Holy Spirit through their writings reveals God’s wisdom to us believers. In saying that it’s the Spirit who reveals God’s wisdom, Paul was suggesting that Apollos, Cephas or himself, only received God’s wisdom through the Spirit. Hence the people who followed them should not pit them against each other. He stressed that the reason the Holy Spirit is the source of the wisdom of God is because the Spirit knows all things, even the very depth of God.
 

No human could truly know another person’s thoughts except that person himself. So also it is with God. Only the Spirit of God knows everything about God.  Paul’s point is this, just as no one knows the thoughts of another person, but the man himself, similarly, no one knows the thoughts of God except God Himself. And just as everyman knows his own thoughts so also the Spirit of God knows God’s thoughts.
 

In verse 12, Paul stressed that the source of what he and the leaders taught were not derived from human reasoning, but given by the Spirit of God. Each of them were subjected to the influence of the Holy Spirit who had given them the ability to understand the things of God. So Paul wanted them to know that whatever he taught was not human wisdom, but those that the Holy Spirit had imparted. What he had imparted he did so with a combination of spiritual wisdom and spiritual words.
 

In verse 14 Paul then refers to certain people who had rejected the Spirit-given truths that he had imparted. He called those people the natural man, meaning people who did not have any spiritual inclination. Their priorities and concepts of life were only of this world. They could only view it from human perspective. Hence spiritual things were insipid, even stupid to them because spiritual thing can only be understood with the help of the Spirit. And because they were not open to the influence of the Spirit of God, they could never understand spiritual truths. In contrast to the natural man, everyone who is subjected to the influence of His Spirit would be able to discern, appreciate and make sound judgment concerning spiritual things. Paul would not be subjected to the judgment of people who are not spiritually discerning. In verse 16, Paul went on to affirm what he had just said. He maintained that no natural man can judge a spiritual person or instruct him because they did not have the competence. Whereas Paul had the mind of Christ.  
 

When we believers are on our knees, we can see spiritual truth further and deeper than a philosopher with all his earthly learning. Why? Because the best spiritual receptiveness is found in a mind that is open to and prepared by the Spirit of God. The best way to understand spiritual truth is to surrender to the Author of that truth. So let’s find time to yield to the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:6-9 – The power of true wisdom

From the first five verses of this chapter, we saw how effective Paul was as a communicator of the Gospel. He went about the task passionately. Why? It’s because the message is powerful. So from verses 6-9, he shows us the fabric of this powerful message of God.

Firstly, this message Paul spoke was the wisdom of God, a wisdom not of this world. Neither did that wisdom come from influential people. This kind of wisdom of the Lord is permanent. It is not for time on earth only, it is also for eternity. It is a wisdom for everyone, everywhere and applicable for all ages.

Secondly, Paul dealt with the logic of the wisdom of God. Paul called the wisdom a mystery. It’s not the kind of mystery as we understand it to be. Mystery suggests that it’s something no one knows. But to Paul it is something clearly revealed. It’s like a completed zigzaw puzzle where every piece is in place, and the whole picture becomes complete and identifiable. Paul’s implication is that God’s wisdom puts everything in life in the right place, to make a complete sense out of it. Lasting answers on the origin of man, the ultimate end of man and many questions of life are found in God’s wisdom. It’s a strategy of God which he had planned beforehand for our glory. This wisdom of God was understood by none of the rulers of this age. If they had understood they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. The truth that Paul preached is something only God alone could think of. Verse 9 puts it plainly. It simply means that what Paul preached were truth undiscovered by human reasoning.  

As Christians, we are privileged and have been given the ability to accept this mystery Paul spoke about. Since we are citizens of the Kingdom of God, let us act and live as one.  

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 – Paul, the effective Gospel communicator

Human philosophies have no lasting solution to the problem of sin. That was why Paul would not seek to outdo them with his eloquence or any worldly subjects of interest. He chose instead to stick to preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This did not diminish his effectiveness in communicating the Gospel. In fact, in these five verses he demonstrated what an effective communicator of the Gospel he was. He observed several important elements that made his effective. It had to do with the focus of his message, the attitude he brought into his preaching, the source that gave power to his message and the purpose of his preaching.  

 

To communicate the Gospel effectively, Paul’s top priority was to share Jesus Christ and what He had accomplished on the cross. Not that Paul had little knowledge of other things but that he had chosen not to major on them. His primary focus was on Jesus Christ and His crucifixion. He knew Christ. And knowing Christ is different from knowing about Him. One is in the realm of experience and the other only rest in the realm of the mind. His message was the outflow of His personal knowledge gained through experience with Christ.   

 

In verse 3 Paul shared about the attitude he brought to his preaching. He did not assume a superior attitude. He knew the seriousness of the message because of the impact it could make. So he approached it gingerly knowing that it was not him but the Lord. He acknowledged his human frailty because he was subjected to physical weakness as others. His feeling of weakness was also an indication of his dependence on the Lord for strength. In saying that he came to them in fear and trembling, he was probably recollecting the incidence in Corinth, recorded in Acts 18:9-10. He was anxious as he ministered to the people there. Then in a vision, the Lord spoke to him to encourage him. He was told not to be afraid but to go on preaching. The Lord also promised to be with him and that no one would harm him. Paul rightly estimated himself, he knew as a human how frail and fragile he could be without the Lord. But in the Lord, he found strength.

 

In verse 4 Paul revealed that the power in communicating the Gospel was not in his words but in the power provided by the Spirit. His words only had impact because the Spirit carried the words and gave it the transforming power. Thus the impact of his message was not in the words he spoke but in the transformation of lives brought about by the Spirit. This is the demonstration of God’s power. However, we need to know that to rely on the Spirit did not mean that there was no self-preparation.

 

In his preaching, Paul’s primary purpose was to have faith rested on the power of God. He didn’t want himself or his persuasiveness to be the object of faith. Jesus is the power of God to save, hence he would make Him the object of faith. As a preacher, he was only the channel whereas Jesus Christ was truly the content.

Let’s not forget that a message is truly good only when the Holy Spirit works with the preacher and his sermon, and bring about amazing transformations in lives. The purpose of that message must be to bring faith in Christ and changed lives. It must not done to draw attention to the preacher to demonstrate the preacher’s ability. For sermon samplers it’s time to evaluate sermons not based on the eloquence of the preacher, but on the truth and intention of God and His Word, through that preacher’s message.   

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 - Right perspective concerning self

Paul urged the believers to examine their calling in life to help them see where they came from. He was sure they would discover that not many of them were great or significant people prior to being grafted by God into His movement. This is proof enough that God does work in the lives of people. An analysis of the apostles would reveal that they were mostly untrained, unschooled people from the angle of the world. Yet they all made it into God’s list of who’s who.

Paul says that “not many of you were wise or significant.” He did not say “not any of you.” God has His reason for not using the many wise or significant. And it’s because they would be tripped by their own system and unreceptive to God’s ways.

Those used of God are those who had responded to God’s call. And they are the ones He had chosen to use in substantial ways. The people God calls into His Kingdom to serve him are not necessarily the intellect, the influential, the powerful or the noble. For sure God did not exclude them, but these people themselves had chosen not to respond to God’s invitation. Therefore it’s not a surprise to discover that God would use the least expected people to impact the world.

Regarding the usefulness of people and things, Paul maintained that God evaluates differently. People whom the world regarded as foolish and weak and things that they regarded as lowly, God saw otherwise. He demonstrated His wisdom and strength through these people who are connected to Him. He chose to use the lowly and despised thing to cancel out the value of the thing they were using for their boasting.  In this way no one could boast any longer.

God had effectively dealt with the whole span of man’s life, past, present and future in the way He did things. In Christ Jesus, believers’ past are forgiven. He became their righteousness. Their present is equipped for a new and living way. He made them holy. Their future is secured – He became their redemption price. Paul then turned to urge them to boast in the Lord instead who had become their wisdom from God, their righteousness, sanctification and redemption.

When we look away from ourselves to Christ, we would begin to see fellow believers not as competitors but fellow servants of God. We will realize that God uses the unexpected to do His supernatural work. We are significant not because of who we are but because of Christ Who dwells in us. Let our boasting be in Him!

1 Corinthians 1:18-25 – The cross vs human wisdom

The city of Corinth had many philosophical schools that were divided among each other. And students would champion for their philosophers or teachers. One student would say I belong to the Epicurean and another might say I follow the school of Philo, and still another would say I follow the Stoic, and so on. This attitude had invaded the church. These were the making of human cleverness.

Paul wanting to dissociate himself from their thinking, started verse 17 by saying he would not rely on that human cleverness or so called wisdom. And then went on to elaborate in verse 18. He contrasted the message of the cross with human wisdom. Human wisdom was just a word of wisdom but the cross was the message. Notice the definite article for the message of the cross.

Some Corinthians in Corinth evidently preferred wisdom of men over the message of Christ. Paul emphasized that the cross might not seem logical to the perishing and would be considered foolishness by them, but to those being saved this message is God’s power to save. The fact remains that some people do think that they are wiser than God. And this is not an exaggeration. To illustrate that, Paul quoted from Isaiah 29:14. The context was when Israel relied on their own wisdom went and allied themselves with Egypt to help them fight the enemy, they had rejected God’s plan. And they were nowhere closer to a solution. In fact they went into exile because of that.

In verse 20, Paul then went on to ask, “Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?”  The philosophers, the scholars and the debaters may argue and debate about the answers to the problem that plagued mankind. Yet they are also nowhere close to providing an everlasting solution to the problem of sin that is still plaguing mankind. In fact Paul said, the intellectuals of this world had been proven foolish time and again, whereas God’s wisdom had been upheld all the time.     

Paul then showed how futile the wisdom of this age is in verse 21. For through human wisdom none came close to knowing God. None had been saved and none could be saved through it. So God chose the message of the cross, which is foolishness to the world, to save those who believe its content.

From verses 22-25, Paul shows that God’s way is far more superior then man’s way. It’s always a temptation to pander to what man wants to hear. Paul did not preach to the Jews or Greek what they wanted to hear. He preached what they needed to hear, Christ crucified. To the Jews their coming messiah would be a reigning messiah, how could a messiah suffer and die. The message of the cross jarred with their beliefs. To the Greeks the cross was totally irrational. How could a savior die in order to save? Hence to the Jews the cross was a stumbling block and to the Greek it was foolishness. But to Jews or Greek or anyone, when they believe the message of the cross, it would be God’s power and wisdom. He is the power of God because He did what man’s philosophy could never have done, i.e. to change man from inside. Christ is also God’s wisdom because when Christ speaks, God speaks. And when He speaks, there would always be eternal effects. Therefore the cross which unbelieving men consider as foolishness of God, is much wiser than them, and what they thought is God’s weakness is much stronger than them.

Worldly philosophy can be very appealing but it may not have lasting value for eternity. Whereas the Word of God reveals Christ to us in all His fullness. Let’s not spend too much time being consumed with the quest of acquiring what would not impact our life forever. Go for the Word of God. No wonder Paul said to the elders of Ephesus in Acts 20:32, “…I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”

1 Corinthians 1:13-17 – The Basis for unity in the Body of Christ

When believers are united with Christ, they belong to His Body and are also united to each other. In these verses Paul identified several unifying factors for the church. They are: Christ, His crucifixion, our baptism and the Gospel. When we believers choose not to stay united, we would infringe on these factors. 

When Paul asked “Had Christ been divided?” He wanted the Corinthians to know that by being divisive, they have acted as if Christ was cut up into several pieces and every group in the fellowship gets a part of Him. The point of Paul is this: Christ is not divided into several parts and distributed to different groups in the fellowship. Christ is either totally in a fellowship as a whole or He is not there at all. And since Christ is present in a fellowship, everyone in the fellowship belong to each other. Everyone belong to the same body and should remain in unity.

In Paul’s second question, he could have particularly targeted at the group that says “I belong to Paul.” When he asked, “Paul was not crucified for you, was he?”  This question presupposes no for an answer. His implication was that He was not crucified for them but Christ was. And Christ’s crucifixion should unite the church and not divide it. Hence, a divisive fellowship would contradict the effect of His crucifixion.  

Christian Baptism is another unifying factor. In baptism, believers are united with Christ, hence to one another. Paul here implied that: it’s important to know that in baptism a believer is united to Christ and not to the one who does the baptizing. It was obvious that some of them were championing for the leader who baptized them. So Paul was glad that in Corinth, he only baptized the household of Stephanas. He couldn’t recall baptizing anyone else. By not being too involved in baptizing others, Paul was not saying that baptism is unimportant. But that it’s not his primary role. His calling and role was to preach the Gospel.

The Gospel is another unifying factor for the Body. In the preaching of the Gospel, Paul did not rely on his eloquence. He wanted to amplify the effect of Christ’s death on the cross. He didn’t want to dilute what is spiritual and render it powerless by his human effort.         

When we choose to live in discord with other believers, we violate the purpose and meaning of Christ, His crucifixion, our baptism, and the preaching of the Gospel. What we say we stand for and how we act must be congruent. We need to reaffirm the four cardinal factors Paul brought up in these verses by realigning our attitudes towards other Christians who have a different opinion from us. Let’s recommit ourselves to the purpose of Christ, His crucifixion, our baptism and the proclamation of the Gospel. Recognize that there will always be differences in personalities, abilities, and functions. Let’s go for unity and not total conformity. Let’s seek unity in variety.

1 Corinthians 1:10-12 - Warning Against Disunity

Having described God’s faithfulness in calling the believing Corinthians into fellowship, Paul launched immediately into calling for unity. Obviously, there was schism among the believers in Corinth. One common feature of ancient Greek was their infighting. They couldn’t get along with each other, so one city would fight against another. The church in Corinth was like that. Similar to the Greeks, believers in Corinth had lots of disagreement that were threatening their unity. As an apostle, Paul could have demanded unity. Knowing that it could not be legislated that way, he chose a softer approach. He appealed to them as fellow brethren in the Lord, as one who with them was in fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. In calling them to be in the same mind and in the same judgment, Paul was in effect urging them to be in agreement and to operate in the same mind and judgment as Christ. He was not calling for total conformity because there would be differences in opinion. And problems only arise when one uses a personal view to judge other believers, to exclude them from fellowship in Christ. Christians may have differences without animosity.

Paul wanted them to know that his information about their division came from some people whom he trusted. They told him that there were rivalry among them.  

In verse 12 the serious threat to the fellowship is highlighted. The believers in Corinth were rallying different leaders. In so doing they had excluded one leader from another, as well as the followers of one group from the followers of another. In actuality, the fellowship was cut up into camps. Some claimed to be in Paul’s camp, some in Apollo’s’, others in Peter’s and still others claimed to belong to Christ. This kind of disunity have devastating effects:

(1)          It causes one to think that some Christians don’t belong to Christ.

(2)          It redirects our energy to fight each other rather than the forces of darkness.  

(3)          It creates hate for another rather than loving them in Christ.

(4)          It gives us the wrong picture of seeing Christ as divided.

(5)          It reduces the effectiveness of the church.

(6)          It develops the false idea of one’s importance over another.

(7)          It stops us from relating with other believers with different opinions.  

 

The immaturity of the Corinthians made them acted the way they did. But Christ had united us in Him. We are all in the different stages of growth in Him Let’s be of one mind and heart and “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”  

1 Corinthians 1:4-9 – Thanksgiving for God’s grace

Paul’s life epitomizes gratitude. He had cultivated a life of thanks-living. Here he gave thanks for the Corinthians, not so much for the things that they had done but more for the things that God had done for them. They were recipients of the grace of God given in Christ Jesus. And due to their relationship with the Lord Jesus, they experienced the abundant grace of God. So Paul gave thanks to God for them, not just once but always.

Wanting the Corinthians to see that their past was forgiven because of God’s grace, everything was put in the past tense. The grace was given, they were enriched and their testimony in Christ was confirmed. Having experienced the forgiveness of sin was not the only thing for them, they were also enriched in Him in both their speech and knowledge. Their testimony of the truth concerning Christ was confirmed in the forgiveness of their sin and the new life they had in Christ. In I Corinthians 6:9-11, Paul described them as former fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, drunkards, rabble-rousers, and swindlers, until the grace of God in Christ sanctified and justified them. 

Despite their past, the Corinthians had the potential to advance. Why?  It’s because their past was forgiven in God’s grace and they were not lacking any gift for the present. Besides, they also had hope in the future. For they were eagerly awaiting the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the blessed hope. In the absence of this hope, there would be no motivation. Life today would be meaningless and futile.

In this letter Paul would be dealing with some of the sinful lifestyles of the Corinthians. Not wanting to discourage them in the process, he began by assuring them of God’s keeping grace. He wanted them to know that God would keep them blameless to the very end when the Lord Jesus would come to bring believers to the reckoning. The negative practices of the Corinthians did not indicate that they were not saved. They merely revealed their immaturity and were still in God’s sanctifying process.   

The Corinthians might not be a trustworthy lot, God, on the other hand, had always been trustworthy. He had been and will always be faithful. Their hope as well as our hope rest in the faithfulness of God. Here, God’s faithfulness is seen in Paul’s letter to them. God did not abandon and leave them to their destructive sins. Paul’s letter to them now was the intervention of God’s grace in their lives. And despite their negative state, Paul wanted them to know that they were still in fellowship with Jesus. They were in partnership with Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

What about us? We may find ourselves living in some problems of the past and are stuck in them. Let’s stop rationalizing and finding excuses to continue to live in them! Release them! Our forgiven past cannot continue to dominate us now if we refuse to give it the power that had held us. Let’s abandon ourselves in total surrender to our faithful God!

1 Corinthians 1:1-3 – Salutation

Recipients of a letter in the days of the New Testament knew who had sent it in the opening line of the letter. That’s the pattern of most New Testament letters. A writer would always identify himself and his credential first. So following the known pattern then, Paul began by identifying himself and his credential in his first letter to the Corinthians. In this opening verse, Paul made known who he was and then revealed his credentials. He was an apostle who belonged to Jesus Christ. He did not become an apostle by personal design but was called into that role. It was God who had desired it, hence he said his calling was God’s will. 

As an apostle, he was sent out by someone with higher authority and in his case, that someone was Jesus Christ.  He functioned with the full authority of Jesus Christ, who had sent him. The message of his mission was not his own but the message of Jesus Christ and it would only be a message outlined by Him. Evidently, Paul had to establish his credential because of the presence of false apostles in the church in Corinth, and some people there had come against him. In this letter to the Corinthians, he included Sosthenes, a brother in the Lord. Who was this Sosthenes? According to Acts 18:17 he was a chief leader of the synagogue in Corinth. He obviously became a Christian and a close friend to Paul. Being a respected man he would help Paul to break down some barriers the Corinthians had against Paul. Sosthenes was a brother as far as Paul was concerned. His apostleship did not isolate him from those he came to serve.       

Having established who he was and who he represented, Paul described his recipients. He said several things about them:

Firstly, they were collectively known as the church of God. Despite the colorful infamous activities among them which we will discuss later, Paul called them the church of God. In calling them the church of God, Paul was not addressing individuals but the whole assembly.

Secondly, the church was located in Corinth. A local assembly would never be unconnected from the locality she is situated in. The people who came into the church in that particular locale would bring with them their attitudes and activities they had developed living in that city.

Thirdly, the believers were described as “…sanctified in Christ.” Words like saints or holy are used in place of the phrase, “…sanctified in Christ” in other translations. It simply meant that the Corinthians had identified themselves with Christ and had set apart themselves to Him. Notice that they were not saints because of their conduct but because of their calling. They became saints because they responded to the call of Jesus Christ through the Gospel.

Fourthly, the Christians in Corinth were connected “…with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” The church of Jesus Christ is never just a local concern. It is global. Whatever happens in one congregation affects the whole universal Church of Jesus Christ. The church as a whole reveals Christ’s Lordship.

Fifthly, when Paul said “…their Lord and ours,” he was linking them with all others who acknowledged the Lordship of Christ. People who call upon Him in prayer and worship. It is He who unites the believers, not the leaders nor the church name, nor the church structure. If Jesus is both their Lord and ours also, then there should be a commonality with other believers. We are partners and fellow servants of His, regardless of status or position. 

In verse 3, Paul then went on to pray briefly for the Corinthian believers to have grace and peace. The source of both the grace and peace, he said, come from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace refers to what God had done for our good. Grace received must also be shared and imparted.  Peace comes as a result of grace. These grace and peace come from one divine source i.e. from God and Jesus Christ as a unit.

In three verses Paul told the Corinthians not only about himself but also whose they were and what God had given them. As fellow believers with the Corinthians, the message to them also applies to us since we are linked to the same Lord.  We belong to the Lord and what they received are ours as well. Think of the richness of relating to the Lord. We are set apart for Him. So let’s live a life truly set apart for Him. Let’s experience His grace and peace together!       

Acts 28:23-31 – The result of Paul’s meeting with the Jews in Rome

Since he was under house arrest, the Jews set a day where they came to Paul’s quarter to hear him out. Verse 23 tells us that a large number of them came to him and he explained and solemnly testified to them about the Kingdom of God. Using the Old Testament (Law of Moses and the Prophets), Paul was seeking to persuade them concerning Jesus. He did not just share a brief sermonette, he kept at it from morning to evening. Of course the result was like everywhere he went. Some were persuaded and believed, while others simply wouldn’t believe. When the unbelieving Jews were leaving, Paul quoted from Isaiah 6:9-10, the same passage that Jesus quoted in Matthew 13:13-15, where He described His hearers’ hardened hearts that made them unreceptive to the teaching from the parables He taught.

 

In Isaiah, the quotation was spoken by God after the prophet had the vision of the Lord and was cleansed and sent to speak to the people. As the ancient Israelites who hardened their hearts toward Isaiah’s preaching, similarly, those unbelieving Jews in Rome were hardening their hearts against Paul’s teaching. Paul’s approach had always been to reach the Jews first before he went to the Gentiles. Since many of the Jews in Rome had closed themselves up towards the Gospel, they had inadvertently opened the door for the Gentiles to be reached. For sure Paul would also continue to minister to those Jews who had responded to his teaching, although Luke remained silent concerning this.    

 

The last two verses of Acts simply mention Paul’s ministry for two years. The brevity of the account did not mean that Paul was inactive. In fact these two years were eventful for Paul. He was allowed to live in his own rented house where he ministered to all who came to him. While he would be guarded by a soldier, he had the liberty to move freely about. We are not told the outcome of these two years of Paul’s life. He could have been set free after the two years because the charges brought against him were baseless. It could also be that he was freed because no formal charge was brought against him in that period. Some believe that Theophilus could have concluded his treatise before a final decision was made against Paul. Others had suggested that Paul was martyred after the two years and Luke couldn’t bring himself to write it. Any conclusion at best would only be a postulation.       

However, we know that Paul was not curtailed by the fact that he could not go to the synagogue or the temple for worship. He did not allow the restriction to keep him from preaching and teaching. We are told that a steady stream of people came to his quarter frequently and he preached and taught them. He brought the salvation message in his preaching and in his teaching he built their lives in Christ. And from his letter to the Philippians we also learnt that he had opportunities to preach to every soldier sent to guard him. He had in fact impacted the whole Praetorian Guard.   

 

Paul did not just minister through preaching and teaching, he also ministered through his writings. During those two years, he wrote the Prison Epistles - Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and the Pastoral Epistles - 1 & 2 Timothy and Philemon. During this period Paul also shared with Onesimus, the runaway slave and sent him back to Philemon, his master.

 

Acts closes with this statement about Paul, “…preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered”. What an appropriate caption for Paul’s epitaph! In fact this should be the caption of every believer’s life.   

 

What an enriching life Paul had. He not only lived for the Lord, he gave all to serve Him. The last verse of Acts is indeed an appropriate caption for his tombstone. What about us? If there must be a statement that sums up our life and walk with Christ, what would it be? We know that it can be written by how we live and serve the Lord now. Why not start right away?   

Acts 28:17-22 – Paul meeting with the Jews in Rome

Having met with the brethren Paul now turned to the leaders of the Jews. This took place three days later. In his ministry, Paul had always gone to the Jews first before he turned to the Gentiles. Here he felt that it was needful to let the Jews know about his predicament. He maintained his innocence. Although he did nothing wrong to the Jewish law or customs, yet they laid hold of him in Jerusalem, as if he was a prisoner, and handed him to the Romans. Paul did not include the part that they tried to stone him to death to avoid being critical of the Jews.

He asserted that the Roman authorities who examined him, all found him not guilty of the accusations brought against him. When they wanted to release him, the Jews objected. They were resolved not to release him but instead sought to bring him from Caesarea to Jerusalem for trial. Knowing their intention to kill him, Paul then used his Roman citizenship and appealed to Caesar. Having revealed his reason for being in Rome in chains, the apostle went on to point out the chains and bonds he bore was for the sake of the true hope of Israel. Paul was referring to Jesus of Nazareth, Israel’s promised Messiah and His fulfilment of their true hope. 

The Jews in Rome, however, responded by saying that they did not receive any news about Paul. They did not have any letter sent from Jerusalem with negative report about him. And neither did they received any one from Jerusalem conveying undesirable news about him. So they wanted to hear Paul out to know his view. They were familiar with Christianity as a sect that was spoken against everywhere. So they appointed a day to hear him out.

Despite all that Paul went through, he bore no grudge against the Jews. He was not interested in arguments, he was more concerned about the hope of Israel. He set his mind on the course and his eyes on the mission. It must be noted that Paul did not do what he did to prove his heroism. Whatever he went through he only wanted to show God’s faithfulness and His fidelity to all that He had promised. It is this same faithful God whom we serve today. Therefore, with Paul, let us live our lives by the integrity and faithfulness of Him who loves us and gave Himself for us.

Acts 28:11-16 – Paul’s arrival in Rome

Paul and the whole group remained at Malta for three months due to the winter. There was another ship that was there, probably sheltering from the same storm that Paul underwent. This ship was from Alexandria and had also spent the winter there. Since it was another grain ship at the disposal of the Roman government, the centurion could use it to help convey him, the soldiers and prisoners to Rome. Interestingly we are told that it bore the figurehead of the twin Castor and Pollux. These were the patron gods for the sailors. The mention of these gods reveals that the Christians then were also confronted by the insignia of pagan faith   

The whole entourage set sail on the Alexandrian ship and arrived at Syracuse and spent three days there. They could have stopped there to wait for favourable wind condition. From there they sailed around to Rhegium. The word around may suggest that they took a more roundabout route. A day later a south wind sprang up and made it easy to sail. So on the following day they arrived at Puteoli.

At Puteoli they found some brethren and were invited to stay with them for seven days. We do not know how the Christian brethren came to be there. It could well be that Christian businessmen could have brought the Gospel to Puteoli. They were able to stay with those Christians probably due to the considerateness of the centurion. He must have delayed the travel for a week to accommodate Paul. After seven days they resumed their journey on foot to Rome.   

The delay at Puteoli gave the brethren the opportunity to send advance words to Rome of Paul’s expected arrival there.  Not wanting to wait, the brethren at Rome set out to meet him and his team at the Market of Appius. Others met them at the Three Inns. Prior to the meet up, Paul must have been apprehensive about the brethren at Rome, how they would receive him. With such reception, every bit of apprehension was dismissed. So Paul gave thanks to God, was energized and found courage.  

In Rome, Paul was only placed on house arrest and given freedom to stay by himself in his own quarter, with only the soldier guarding him. He was allowed to meet friends whom he had known. A long list of them were mentioned in his epistle to the Romans. He had great opportunity to fulfil his desire to proclaim the Word at the very heart of the Roman Empire.

Why did Paul get such liberty? Here is one simple reason. His life was lived in such a way for the Lord that it impacted the people around him. He proved himself to be trustworthy. To Julius, the centurion, he must surely be a prisoner turned into a friend. The former would have come to the point that he knew he could consult Paul on the matters of life. How about us? Have we been able to leave a lasting impact in the lives of others? Living a life for Christ is the key to a trustworthy life.       

Acts 28:1-10 - Paul's miracle and ministry at Malta

As foretold by Paul, every one of them managed to make it to the land safely and realized that the island was Malta. This was indeed God’s providential care on display. And through the extreme kindness of the islanders, they were received and cared for sympathetically. Being wet and cold from the water of the sea and rain, the islanders built a fire to warm and dry them.

Paul was not known for being an idle, he didn’t take the hospitality of the Maltese for granted. He helped to keep the fire going. While gathering a bundle of sticks to stroke the fire, a viper hooked itself on his hand. He was bitten by it and the fangs of the snake must have sunk deeply into his hand and fastened itself there. The viper was a poisonous snake and everyone must have expected a severe outcome for him. The Maltese conclusion on seeing the snake hanging on Paul’s hand was that he must be a vicious murderer. And although he survived the seas he could not run away from justice.

What happened next was remarkable! Paul just shook the snake and flung it into the fire and suffered no harm. All those who saw the viper’s attack on Paul was expecting to see Paul suffering some effects of the snake’s bite. They expected him to either drop dead or have a swollen arm at the least. But they waited and waited for a long time and nothing happened. So they had a change of mind and mistakenly deduced that Paul must be a god. 

Verse 7 introduces us to Publius, the chief official of the island. He was said to own parcels of land around the vicinity where the survivors were. Publius took both Paul and his party and entertained them for three days. It so happened that his father was seriously ill. He was bedridden because of a high fever and dysentery. So Paul visited this man, prayed and then laid hand on him and instantly he was healed. As a result, Paul had a healing campaign, all the sick and diseased in the island came to Paul and were healed. They also highly respected Paul and his team, probably speaking well of them. But most of all, they came with provision for all their needs when they were about to set sail.  

This account tells us how needful it is to heed the proverb that urges us not to judge a book by its cover. The Maltese’s conclusion that Paul was a vicious murderer stands as an example. But like Paul, wherever we may be, we are Christ’s representatives. We are divine channels and conduits. Regardless of where the waves of life may bring us, each of us can be a catalyst that releases God’s presence and blessings.

Acts 28:1-10 - Paul's miracle and ministry at Malta

As foretold by Paul, every one of them managed to make it to the land safely and realized that the island was Malta. This was indeed God’s providential care on display. And through the extreme kindness of the islanders, they were received and cared for sympathetically. Being wet and cold from the water of the sea and rain, the islanders built a fire to warm and dry them.

Paul was not known for being an idle, he didn’t take the hospitality of the Maltese for granted. He helped to keep the fire going. While gathering a bundle of sticks to stroke the fire, a viper hooked itself on his hand. He was bitten by it and the fangs of the snake must have sunk deeply into his hand and fastened itself there. The viper was a poisonous snake and everyone must have expected a severe outcome for him. The Maltese conclusion on seeing the snake hanging on Paul’s hand was that he must be a vicious murderer. And although he survived the seas he could not run away from justice.

What happened next was remarkable! Paul just shook the snake and flung it into the fire and suffered no harm. All those who saw the viper’s attack on Paul was expecting to see Paul suffering some effects of the snake’s bite. They expected him to either drop dead or have a swollen arm at the least. But they waited and waited for a long time and nothing happened. So they had a change of mind and mistakenly deduced that Paul must be a god. 

Verse 7 introduces us to Publius, the chief official of the island. He was said to own parcels of lands around the vicinity where the survivors were. Publius took both Paul and his party and entertained them for three days. It so happened that his father was seriously ill. He was bedridden because of a high fever and dysentery. So Paul visited this man, prayed and then laid hand on him and instantly he was healed. As a result, Paul had a healing campaign, all the sick and diseased in the island came to Paul and were healed. They also highly respected Paul and his team, probably speaking well of them. But most of all, they came with provision for all their needs when they were about to set sail.  

This account tells us how needful it is to heed the proverb that urges us not to judge a book by its cover. The Maltese’s conclusion that Paul was a vicious murderer stands as an example. But like Paul, wherever we may be, we are Christ’s representative. We are divine channels and conduits. Regardless of where the waves of life may bring us, each of us can be a catalyst that releases God’s presence and blessings.

Acts 27:39-44 – Paul safely on shore

When daylight broke through, they saw a land which they could not recognize. All they could tell was that it seemed like a bay with a beach that presented them with the best chance to run the ship aground. So they made up their minds to do it. To accomplish their intention, they cut loose the four anchors that they had earlier dropped from the stern. At the same time they also untied the ropes that held the rudders and hoisted the foresail which was used primarily to steer the ship under normal conditions. This was used to thrust the ship forward at low speed that was manageable. It was a good plan and the ship went forward and struck a bank or a sandbar and went aground. The prow of the ship was stuck in the sandbar but the back of the ship was exposed to the pounding waves and began to break up by the waves.

Not wanting any of the prisoners to escape, the soldiers intended to kill every one of them to prevent them from swimming ashore. To them this was necessary for if any of the prisoners had escaped the solder in charge would have to take his place. However, the centurion wanted to keep Paul alive, and so prevented them from carrying out their intention. Evidently, he had grown to respect Paul, knowing also that he had not been convicted of any crime. So he commanded that those who could swim to jump overboard and swim to the land. Those who could not swim would float on planks and other parts of the already broken up ship to get to shore. So every one of them reached shore safely.

Imagine what one calm person could do in a seemingly chaotic situation! Paul’s life demonstrated it eloquently. Being in touch with the Lord releases the Sovereign Lord to take control in both the congenial or not so congenial circumstances of lives. In good times or bad, we know that God will see us through when we put our trust in Him. Needless to say, like Paul, we should rest in the Lord, hold on to Him unwaveringly. He always brings about the best possible outcome. God never disappoints! For Paul and also for us who love Him and are called for His purpose!   

Acts 27:27-38 – Paul’s tumultuous journey

The ship had borne the harsh storm for 14 days, being tossed and driven across the Adriatic Sea, the stretch of Mediterranean between Crete and Sicily. At this point, which was about midnight, the sailors had a feeling that they were nearing land. Though they could not see the land, they were able to hear the waves in the distance. Immediately they measured the depth of the water, doing it twice over a short period of time. The first time the depth of the water was found to be 120 feet deep and the second time was 90 feet deep.  With that information, they realized that they were approaching land rapidly and became fearful that the ship could strike the rocky shore and go aground. They began to drop four anchors from the stern instead of the prow of the ship. They did this with the hope that the wind would swing the stern around. They knew that if they were to run into the land it would be better for the prow to hit it first.  After doing that they prayed for daylight.

Meanwhile some sailors, for fear of their own safety, attempted to escape from the ship using the life boat. They let the boat down, under the pretext that they wanted to lay out the anchor from the bow of the ship. When Paul saw what was happening he alerted the centurion. His exclamation to Julius implied that the skillful hands of the sailors were needed at a time like this if they hope to reach land. The soldiers then quickly took action and cut the rope that held the life boat and let it drop into the water. The reason the life boat was never brought back was probably to prevent any of the sailors from falling into the temptation of abandoning the ship again.  

When it was about daybreak, Paul again offered a word of advice. For the past two weeks they had been watching the situation and hardly ate, so Paul urged them to eat something for their own preservation. This time around, the people were more ready to listen to him. By his courage and his comforting word, he had won the admiration and respect of both the soldiers and sailors. Paul then set the example by taking some bread, gave thanks to God, then broke and ate it. They followed suit and ate food. Verse 37 tells us that all together there were 276 people on board. Perhaps there was a head count to ensure that they had enough food for everyone. After that we are told that they threw away all the wheat into the sea. This was done to lighten the ship. 

When we are sure of God’s purpose and direction for our life, we are less likely to abandon a sinking ship. This lesson is taken from the way Paul held himself through his tumultuous journey. Amidst the threat of the stormy sea and a sinking ship, he stayed true to his course. What about us? Are we the type who will get going even when the time is tough! Remember this: Tough times don’t last, but tough people do! 

Acts 27:14-26 – Shipwrecked but assured

Deceived by the gentle southerly wind, Julius, the centurion, his prisoners and the whole entourage set sail, thinking that they could make the journey to Phoenix safely. Shortly and without warning, the wind situation changed. They encountered Euraquilo, a tempestuous wind. The ship was caught up in the gale and lost control. They were helpless and had no way of making it to Phoenix. The wind took them to a small island of Cauda. Even under the shelter of the small island they had great difficulty securing the lifeboat. This was a small open boat towed behind the ship during calm weather. When they were struck by hurricane Euraquilo and water had probably filled the boat, making it difficult for them to bring the lifeboat on board.

Their problem was far from over, even with the life boat hoisted on board. For when they passed Cauda their ship was once again driven by the storm. They had to strengthen and fasten the hull of the ship with ropes to give additional support to the timber that was being pounded by the rough waves. Then they next had to worry about the shallow water at Syrtis. There the water would be shallow and full of dangerous changing sandbars. Ships caught in them would be broken to pieces. The sailors lowered the sea anchor to prevent it from driven into that direction. Their hope was for the storm to halt before they had reached the dreaded Syrtis.

What they did was only of little help. To further protect the ship that had been so severely battered by the storm, they discarded their spare cargo that was on board on the next day. These were probably the heavy cargo on the top deck. They, however, did not throw the grain which was only dumped just before the ship went aground in Acts 27:38. Even with that move the situation did not improve. So on the third day, they began to throw some of the ship’s equipment overboard.

But the heavy storm continued to assail them. And dark clouds were masking the light of the sun and the stars, so they were engulfed by darkness for many days. They were at the mercy of the storm being tossed and driven, not knowing where they were. So eventually they abandoned all hope of being saved. The pronoun “we” indicate that Luke also concurred with the pessimism of the other passengers. 

In battling the storm, many of them went on without food for a long sustained period of time. In their desperation, Paul stood up to encourage them. He recalled the advice he gave them at Crete. He recounted this not to make them feel guilty for not listening to him then, but to enforce what he was soon going to say. In despairing moments like this, Paul knew he needed to be more positive to lift up their low spirit. He also needed them to be able to accept his encouragement. Hence he brought back what he said before they set out from Crete to lend credibility. 

His opening word to them was to take courage. This was precisely what they needed in a situation where morale was at its lowest ebb. Remember, they went on for a long time without food. They were probably also tired and weak. This encouragement would spur them to act at the crunch time. Paul’s first piece of good news was that none of them would lose their lives. He told them that only the ship and all the cargo would be gone. Paul assured them that what he said was not just a wild, hopeful, optimistic statement. He had a visitation from an angel sent by the God he served. That angel stood beside him and assured him that he would stand trial before Caesar. Furthermore God promised him that all who were with him in the ship would be spared. What he said must have greatly assured them. The only bit of bad news was that the ship would be aground on a certain island.   

 

There’s a great tendency in tough moments for people, even seasoned Christians, to have a sinking morale, and become depressed and discouraged. We need to be assured that God has a great destiny for us. Like Paul, God’s plans for our lives can never be thwarted. However, on our journey with Him, we may need to jettison the spare and less important things of life. It may be painful as we discard them but it is needful to do so in order for us to reach our destiny.

Acts 27:9-13 – Paul’s warning ignored

The time for them to set sail again was near. The journey they were about to embark looked hazardous. The “fast” here was referring to the Day of Atonement that had passed. It appears as if there was a consultation at Fair Havens. Paul possibly could have participated and gave his view. He cautioned them, warning of impending dangers. They were well into the dangerous season and traveling was risky. Earlier they had already encountered opposing wind. Furthermore, Paul was speaking through experience (2 Corinthians 11:25). His advice could be a combination of prophetic element as well as a judgment from past experience. His prediction was that there would be great damage and loss of cargo, the ship and even lives. Although ultimately no life was lost, Paul’s foreboding was proven to be true. Evidently that was why later on in Acts 27:3, the centurion would consider Paul’s view seriously.

At this point in time, Julius the centurion, did not take Paul’s view seriously.  The decision was up to the centurion to make and he was more inclined to go with the pilot and captain of the ship. They felt that the harbor was not suitable to spend winter. So they reached a decision to pull out to sea. They were hoping to reach Phoenix, a harbor in Crete which appeared more conducive for the winter. As a gentle southerly wind began to blow, the sailors felt certain that it was favorable for the journey to Phoenix. It was all that they needed as a confirmation that it was safe, so they weighed anchor and set sail along the coast of Crete toward a typhoon, unsuspectingly.

If they had listened to Paul, a calamity would have been averted. Julius was probably in haste to make journey. But in decision making, we must learn to listen carefully. The best advice do not always seem acceptable on the surface. We need to listen discerningly to any advice, always keeping our ears open to the Lord. The decision of a majority is not always right.