The Way of the Lord
Acts 18:1-27
Introduction:
One of the fun things that kids like to do is to hide from their friends and their parents. They like to hide behind the curtains, or the couch, or the door. Sometimes they like to build those little tents, with a sheet and a couple of chairs so that they can hide from the outside.
Why do you think that we have this innate, or in-born desire to hide? Because we are all sinners, and our sin-nature desires that we hide our actions from others.
God does not desire to hide Himself from you. He desires the way to Him to be simple and easy to follow. God does not desire to hide His purpose for your life. He desires the way to be simple and easy to follow.
God’s way’s are:
I. For His Purpose (vv. 1-6)
II. For His People (vv. 7-11)
III. For His Reasons (vv. 12-17)
IV. For His Gospel (18-23)
V. For His Knowledge (24-28)
Conclusion: For His Glory
I. For His Purpose (1-6)
18:1 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. 5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 6 But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."
After his small success in Athens, Paul traveled to Corinth. Corinth was a very prominent port city for hundreds of years, until it was destroyed for rebelling against the Roman government in 146 B.C. A hundred years later, Caesar declared Corinth a Roman colony and the city was rebuilt and repopulated with freed slaves and poor people from all over the known Roman world. The city regained its popularity and became the capital city of Achaia and grew to enormous proportions.
Corinth, with its past history of refugees, was the place to go when Claudius began expelling Jews from Rome. Thus, we see the that Aquila and Priscilla were there.
Without this history of Corinth, and, without Claudius expelling the Jews from Rome, Aquila and Priscilla would never have met Paul! God knew beforehand how He would arrange to have Aquila and Priscilla meet Paul. Romans 8:28 tells us,
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
God can use every event, every circumstance to His advantage. At just the right moment, He’ll step in with the Spirit and use a circumstance to give someone the opportunity to come to know Him. Many Jewish people came to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior because Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome.
If God can bring these three people together by working in time and history, what can He do for you and your life?
Jeremiah 29:11 tells us,
““For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.””
Do you believe that? Do you believe that God has a plan for you? Do you believe that God has a future for you? Again, let’s call on James, chapter 1:5-8,
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Paul expressly believed that everything he said and did had its basis in Christ Jesus. Can you say that? Why do I say that about Paul? Because he had a solid assurance that Jesus Christ and Christianity were real. We need to have that same assurance, or, we will be tossed back and forth with every little thing that comes along.
We may not have had the same conversion experience that Paul had, but we can experience through the Word the same conversion experience that Paul had. In Acts, chapter nine:
9:1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" 5 "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. 6 "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
Now, not only did Paul have an exceptional conversion, but there’s more:
2 Corinthians 12:2-4
2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know--God knows. 3 And I know that this man--whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows--4 was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.
Paul was used by God for God’s purpose. From the moment that Paul met Jesus Christ, he preached Jesus and Him crucified. What about you? Are you letting God lead you down the purpose-driven path? He wil, if you let Him. He will for you are His People.
II. For His People (vv. 7-11)
7 Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. 8 Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized. 9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city." 11 So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.
Isn’t that great? It tells us that God is with us and is there for us always! Paul has been brought by the Spirit to Corinth to establish a church there. For what? He was brought to Corinth to meet the believers of God and to introduce them to Jesus Christ. And, while Paul was there he received assurance from the Spirit that he was doing the right thing.
God works in the lives of His people for His glory and for His people. That is an important thing to remember! Never forget that God is there, in your life, waiting to help you every step of the way. Would you like for the Spirit to say to you, “don’t be afraid; keep on doing what you’re doing, because I’m with you”? He can and will, if you yield to His leading for you. God is there for His people for His reasons.
III. For His Reasons (vv. 12-17)
12 While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him into court. 13 "This man," they charged, "is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law." 14 Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, "If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. 15 But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law--settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things." 16 So he had them ejected from the court. 17 Then they all turned on Sosthenes the synagogue ruler and beat him in front of the court. But Gallio showed no concern whatever.
Gallio was right in his determination that he was not the one to decide on matters of religion. Further, his ruling basically kept the Jews from harming Paul. For God’s reasons only, Paul was allowed a free reign in Corinth. Free to work and preach the Gospel.
God’s reasons are always above our reasons. God desired that the word get out in Corinth and He made Paul available to put it out. God will go to great lengths for His Gospel.
IV. For His Gospel (18-23)
18 Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken. 19 They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. 21 But as he left, he promised, "I will come back if it is God’s will." Then he set sail from Ephesus. 22 When he landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch. 23 After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
We know that Paul stayed almost two years in Corinth, maybe longer. And, we can be assured that many people were afforded the opportunity to hear the Gospel of Grace. These verses indicate that Paul was not bothered by the Jews anymore in Corinth, and, he enjoyed virtually no hindrances in ministering to those at Ephesus, Caesarea, Antioch, and the remaining regions.
Sometimes the winds of God’s helping hands are powerful and behind us all the way, making all things easy. Yet sometimes it seems He declines His help, as if to say, “There’s a lesson in this struggle for you.”
But all in all, it is for His Gospel that God works all things, as He reconciles man to himself. As it says in:
2 Corinthians 5:18~19
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
That message of reconciliation is contained in His Gospel message that we, like Paul, must continue to bring to people around the world.
Do you live everyday For His Gospel? To what lengths do you go For His Gospel?
Do you bring people into church For His Gospel so that He can present them His Knowledge? For the Gospel you bring people in, but do you take people aside and minister to them For His Knowledge?
V. For His Knowledge (24-28)
24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately. 27 When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28 For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
This Apollos person must have been a dynamic individual. And, the reason we say that is because Paul places Apollos on a level with himself in 1 Corinthians 4:6, and in 1 Corinthians 16:12, he considers him on the same team as Timothy and Silas. But, none of this could have taken place until he had been filled with the knowledge of the mystery of Christ which is found in Colossians 2:2-3,
My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Apollos knew the Old Testament scriptures, and he knew the Gospel up until the time of John the Baptist. He was preaching the same Gospel that John the Baptist was preaching, which was just short of proclaiming that Jesus had come in the flesh and gave His life as a ransom for the world. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they knew that this man would be open to the Christ, and would take up the cross and follow Jesus, if he had the knowledge.
So they took him aside and explained the Gospel to him and the Spirit filled him and he became an on-fire preacher for Jesus. But, the knowledge came first. The way of God is for the knowledge of God. The wisdom of God is that you know Him, and His Son that died for you. That is what Apollos found out, and that is what Apollos began shouting from the mountaintops.
The way of God is for the knowledge of God, the intelligent worship of a God that knows all there is to know about you. Don’t you figure you need to find out about the God that you worship? Apollos did.
Conclusion: For His Glory
God does not desire to hide Himself from you. He desires the way to Him to be simple and easy to follow. God does not desire to hide His purpose for your life. He desires the way to be simple and easy to follow.
God’s way’s are:
For His Purpose
For His People
For His Reasons
For His Gospel
For His Knowledge
And, these are all FOR HIS GLORY.
