Discipleship Is A Process Series

Caleb Greggsen pastors an English-speaking church in Central Asia. Recently, he wrote an intriguing article called Friendship: The Foundation of Paul’s Global Ministry in which he wrote: “One of Paul’s most consistent values may surprise us: friendship…consider how in nearly every letter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, he devotes space to greeting specific believers [by name].”

This caused me to dig a little deeper into Paul’s partnerships.

• Christianity is a team sport. Are you aware Paul mentions over 100 people by name in his New Testament letters? In Romans 16 alone, he lists 26 people. If you’re using the Edgewood Bible Reading Plan, on Friday you read these final words of Paul, written right before he died in 2 Timothy 4:19-21: “Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorous. Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers.” Paul was not a lone ranger but was part of a team. Without supportive friends and partners throughout the world, the gospel would not have spread as quickly as it did.

• Friendship is a key part of discipleship. Our sanctification should extend to all our relationships. As we live out the supremacy of Christ in our lives, it will affect our interaction with others. Proverbs 27:17: “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” The church was created to be a community of interdependent people.

• Friendships develop through shared experiences. Most of Paul’s relationships were nurtured in the crucible of ministry partnerships. Some of the best friends you will ever find are those you meet as you minister together. If you’re relatively new to Edgewood, and haven’t met many people yet, attend a ministry event, or look for a way to serve.

• People are more important than programs. It’s important to remember ministry always flows along relational rivers. Every name matters to God and must matter to us because you will never look into the eyes of someone God does not love.

• It’s beneficial to have friends who are different from us. Included among Paul’s friends were a doctor and a runaway slave. He had friends who were Jewish in background and others who didn’t know who Abraham was. He hung out with guys and had rapport with women. He was closer to some than others. Many were givers, a few were goers, several were old, and a handful were young. Most were faithful but some were fickle.

As we’ve been traveling verse-by-verse through the Book of Acts, I’ve been struck by how the gospel turned the world upside down. We’ve traced the explosion of evangelism from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and to the ends of the earth. We’ve looked at Paul’s methods and pondered ways we can apply principles and practices to our church and to our lives.

Last weekend we established this truth from Acts 17: “If we’re going to reach unbelievers with the gospel, we must build bridges, not barriers.” In Acts 18, we’ll see how God providentially works through people in process to accomplish His purposes.

We’ll begin by reading a larger chunk of Scripture than we normally do. We’re simply following the admonition found in 1 Timothy 4:13: “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.”

I counted 11 different names in this chapter which I’ll emphasize while reading. We’ll circle back around for some exhortation and teaching.

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 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, 3 and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.

5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. 6 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.” 7 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. 8 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. 9 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 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.” 11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.