W. Reid Hankins

Acts 18:1-11

09/16/07

 

“Jesus Encourages Paul to Boldly Continue the Corinthian Ministry”

 

As I know many of you noticed in the bulletin last week, Pastor had this sermon titled as my “farewell sermon”.  Lord willing, this will be my last sermon here at New Life before I take up ministry in Novato, CA, with the OPC.  Though of course Kim and I are very excited about this call to the ministry which the Lord has provided, we also are so very sad to say goodbye to this church and all our friends here.  Looking back at the almost nine years that I have been here, I realize now, maybe more than ever, that I have been part of a ministry.  And I say that, not in light of me being an intern, but in light of me being a member of this church.  For our membership in the church is membership in a ministry.  We all are here together for a common cause.  And as our church comes up on its 13th anniversary, I think it is fitting and appropriate that we remember that this church is a ministry.  And that means that we have the obligation and privilege as members to be a part of that ministry. 

 

During my time serving here as a part of this ministry, I have seen the Lord at work in our church.  I have seen him sustain this church through various circumstances.  We’ve encountered various difficulties and obstacles over the years.  Many of these obstacles the Lord has allowed us to overcome.  And yet there is still much work to be done, and certainly many more obstacles are still to be tackled.  I think especially of the outreach of this church – the Lord continues to bless us and encourage us by bringing us new members, repeatedly from places we would have never expected, often in spite of all our outreach efforts, not necessarily because of them.  We recognize the difficulty we continue to face in trying to reach out to this local community of La Jolla.  And yet we know that, at least for now, God has placed us here in La Jolla, as a light to the gospel in this place.  We have been called to a ministry that exists here in La Jolla.  We are called to grow his church, even amidst this difficult ground here in La Jolla.

 

And as we look today at Acts 18, we are reminded that our situation here in La Jolla is not unique.  Jesus is always about the business of growing his church, even amidst obstacle and hardship.  And as we look at Paul’s mission to the Corinthians here in Acts 18, we see Jesus at work.  The climax of this passage comes in verses 9-10 where Jesus encourages, and commands, Paul to boldly continue the Corinthian ministry, despite Paul’s various fears and concerns.  Jesus commands Paul saying, “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking; do not be silent.  For he tells Paul, “I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.”  And so as we consider this morning how Jesus was work in Corinth through the Apostle Paul, we are reminded that Jesus is also at work here in our midst.

 

And so turning then to Acts 18 -- In verse 1 we read that Paul had arrived in Corinth from Athens.  This verse sets an important context for this passage.  Corinth was not Paul’s only mission work.  Paul was on his second missionary journey and he had already visited a number of places before arriving here at Corinth.  And yet in the last few cities where he had attempted to preach, he had been met with much difficulty and opposition.  In chapter 16 of Acts we see Paul, along with Silas, beaten and thrown into prison at Philippi.  In Chapter 17, we see a mob started by Jews in Thessalonica in response to Paul’s preaching in the synagogue.  After Paul and Silas escape by night from Thessalonica to Berea, Paul has to escape again from Berea, when another uproar begins there.  Paul then arrived at Athens, where his attempts to proclaim the gospel resulted in enough mocking to warrant his leaving that city as well and heading to Corinth, quite possibly because he feared that another sort of mob or incident might arise at Athens.

 

And so when Paul had arrived in Corinth he must have been very weary from all these troubles he had recently encountered.  He must have been alert and on guard for more opposition.  Corinth was an influential place, a city with two key harbors, and thus a key spot on various trade routes.  Surely the Roman government would not tolerate any disturbances.  And yet this place desperately needed the gospel.  It was a place known especially for its sexual immorality, as the home of the Temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love.  In fact the word “corinthianize” began to be used popularly to refer to the practice of sexual immorality and the phrase “Corinthian girl” was used to refer to a prostitute.  And so the immorality of Corinth was obviously well known throughout the surrounding areas.  This was clearly a place that needed the gospel.

 

And so when Paul first arrived in Corinth, it says in verses 2-3 that he stayed with Aquila and Priscilla, who were fellow tentmakers and likely already Christians.  While staying with them, Paul was able to engage in his tentmaking profession during the week, while still preaching on the Sabbath at the local synagogue.  This was following his normal practice where we typically see Paul begin his preaching first to the Jews at the synagogue.  It seems that his tentmaking and Sabbath preaching continued at Corinth until Silas and Timothy arrived.

 

And when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia in verse 5, it seems that they were a great encouragement and help to Paul in several ways.  This is particularly seen when we analyze this passage in Acts in light of information we get out of Paul’s Epistles.  First, when we cross reference this passage in Acts with the Epistles of 2 Cor and Phil (2 Cor 11:9 & Phil 4:14-15), it appears that Silas and Timothy had brought a financial gift for Paul, likely from the Philippian church.  This financial gift was significant to Paul’s ministry at Corinth.  You see the way that the Greek text is worded here in verse 5 suggests that upon the arrival of Silas and Timothy, Paul was then able to fully occupy himself with the preaching ministry, and so no longer needed, at least for now, to be tentmaking during the week.  The NIV brings this out in the translation well, saying “When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.”  And so it seems that this financial gift that was brought to Paul allowed him to fully devote himself to the ministry.

 

A second encouragement by the arrival of Silas and Timothy was that of good news.  In 1 Thess 3:7 we see that Timothy had brought back good news with him from the church at Thessalonica about their growing faith.  Since this was one of the areas where Paul had recently encountered persecution, I’m sure this was an encouragement for him that there was continued fruit there despite the opposition he had encountered.  And so the arrival of Silas and Timothy seems to have been a great encouragement to Paul amidst his difficult ministry at Corinth.

 

And it did seem to be a difficult ministry in Corinth.  In verse 6 we see that the Corinthian Jews responded to his preaching by opposing him and reviling him!  This initial response was so severe that we see Paul in verse 6 shaking out his garments (Neh 6:13) at the synagogue. This was a testimony against them for their unbelief and rebellion against God and his Christ.  Paul vowed instead to go to the Corinthian Gentiles with the gospel in light of this Jewish rejection.

 

And though we do begin to see some success in his ministry according to verses 7-8, this must have been a frightening time nonetheless for Paul.  For this sort of situation probably seemed all too familiar to him.  Though some people were beginning to believe, the strong Jewish opposition, as his past experiences had shown, could cause the situation to explode quickly.  The repeated hostilities and opposition that he faced in the last few cities, surely would have haunted him.  He must have been ready to flee at a moment’s notice as he had done in the past.  And please don’t understand this as some sort of cowardice that I am imputing on Paul.  Rather, his being on guard and ready to flee at any time, probably shows how important he saw the gospel ministry and his role as an apostle.  The message of the gospel was so important that he had to be extra careful to guard his life, so that the ministry would go forth and the gospel proclamation would continue!

 

And yet this fear and apprehension by Paul would nonetheless have had an effect on him.  In his letter that he would later write to the Corinthians, we see him even recognize this.  In 1 Cor 2:3, Paul says, “And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling.”  In other words, I think that the Lord’s words of encouragement in our passage are very timely.  Paul was definitely blessed to have had several revelations from our risen Lord Jesus, and yet these things also didn’t happen every day for him.  But in a very timely manner, Jesus said here to Paul, “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.  For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.”

 

Jesus’ command, “Do not be afraid”, confirms what we have been already been describing.  The combination of the tense and mood of this verb in Greek communicates that Paul was already in a state of fear.  Jesus calls Paul away from fear to something positive: to continue on the ministry of proclaiming the gospel.  Jesus makes this call clear by repeating the same thing in two different ways.  He says “keep on speaking” and “do not be silent”.  The Greek verb to “keep on speaking” also infers that Paul was already speaking, and so here Jesus is telling Paul that he needs to keep it up.  And the Greek phrase for the command to not be silent does not suggest that Paul was already silent, but instead that he should not start to be silent.  And so Jesus is commanding Paul to boldly continue proclaiming the gospel among the Corinthians.

 

Jesus then gives two reasons for these commands.  The first reason Jesus says, “For I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you.”  Jesus assures Paul of his safety in this city.  This was more than just divine insight and foreknowledge – it was Jesus’ promised protection of Paul in Corinth.  And Jesus seems to be promising to Paul more than simply a spiritual protection, but even a physical protection.  Clearly this is not a promise given to all missionaries at all times, for even Paul himself faced physical afflictions both before and after this ministry in Corinth.  But here Jesus wants to assure Paul of his safety because Jesus had a great harvest to be done in Corinth.  This is the second reason that Jesus gave for his commands; Jesus says, “For I have many in this city who are my people.”  And so Jesus is not saying that Paul will be free from any opposition in Corinth, but that in light of God’s eternal election, in light of the fact that God has many people in this city who are his own, his own chosen people, that Jesus would protect Paul in order for him to bring the gospel to all the elect.  Jesus would use Paul as the means for the gospel to go forth to all his chosen people, that they would hear the good news that Jesus died for their sins, so that they would come to Christ for their salvation.

 

And Jesus’ encouragement and exhortation to Paul was effective.  We see that Paul obeyed Jesus and stayed a year and a half in Corinth, teaching the Word of God to the people.  So through Paul, we see Jesus begin his church at Corinth.  And we also see Jesus’ promised protection being fulfilled.  What immediately follows our passage, in Acts 18:12-17, shows that the Jews did end up opposing Paul, making a united legal attack on him, bringing him before the Roman Proconsul Gallio.  And yet, despite this opposition, we see Jesus’ protection of Paul, as the Proconsul ends up dismissing the case.  And though Acts doesn’t describe too many further details of the growth of the Corinthian church, the epistles of 1st and 2nd Corinthians show that a church was successfully established there by Paul.  And even later in this chapter in Acts 18, we see Jesus’ continued provision for this young church at Corinth.  Acts 18 shows that after Paul left Corinth, he brought another person, Apollos, to continue the ministry in Corinth.  As Paul would later write in 1 Cor 3, God used Paul to establish a foundation for the church at Corinth, and then used Apollos in its ongoing nurture.  And so the letters of 1st and 2nd Corinthians are an ongoing legacy that shows the fruit of Paul’s labor in Corinth.  Jesus indeed used Paul to establish his church at Corinth.  The point is that Jesus’ words to Paul in Acts 18 were effective in accomplishing Christ’s plan for building his church at Corinth.

 

And so in our remaining time today, I would like us to consider a little further the importance of Jesus’ words to Paul, especially when Jesus tells Paul, “I am with you”.  “I am with you” – what a great word to hear from our Lord and Savior.  There is an aspect of these words that are specific to the situation at Corinth, but also a more general aspect that I would especially like us to consider with relationship to our ministry here in La Jolla.  Specific to Corinth, we see Jesus’ words in verses 9-10 charging Paul to continue his Corinthian ministry, despite the threat of persecution.  These words of Jesus serve to comfort Paul that he does not need to fear physical harm from the Corinthians.  Instead Jesus tells Paul that he is with him, especially to serve as a guarantee of his safety.  And so the words “I am with you” in this passage, are especially connected with Jesus’ promise of Paul’s personal safety.  Christ’s presence is promised in a special way so as to guarantee Paul’s protection.  And this promise of personal safety is to serve Jesus’ bigger goal to use Paul in a great harvest at Corinth.

 

And so, though Jesus’ words serve a very specific purpose here for Paul’s Corinthian ministry, we recognize the larger significance of these words.  These words of Jesus transcend this immediate context.  For we have heard such words, “I am with you,” or even “fear not, for I am with you,” throughout the Bible.  These are the words that God has spoken time and time again to his covenant people and to his covenant representatives to encourage and assure them. 

 

To Isaac, in Gen 26:24, God says, “Fear not for I am with you.” God was promising his provision for Isaac amidst famine in the Promised Land.  To Jacob, in Gen 28:15, God says, “I am with you.” God was promising to preserve Jacob as he fled in fear from Esau, assuring him of his eventual return to the Promised Land.  To Moses, in Ex 3:12, God says, “I will be with you.” God was promising at the burning bush to be with Moses as he commissioned him to lead God’s people out of Egypt.  To Joshua, in Josh 1:9, God says, “Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you.”  God was promising to use Joshua in the mighty conquest of the Promised Land.  To the prophet Jeremiah, in Jer 1:8, God says, “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you.”  God was promising to be with Jeremiah as he commissioned him to be a prophet.

 

And God gave this same promise to his people, even through the prophets.  Through the prophet Isaiah God spoke to his people, in Is 49:10 saying, “Fear not, for I am with you.”  God was promising restoration of his people after receiving their judgment of exile.  Through other prophets such as Jeremiah and Haggai we also see similar repeated statements of God’s promise to be with his people amidst restoration in the Promised Land.

 

And all these are just a few of the references in Scripture where God promises to be with us!  And so throughout the Old Testament, we see God’s repeated charge to cast off any fears or concerns in light of God’s promised presence.  God’s promise to be with his people, with the leaders he chose for them, and with their prophets, was God’s encouragement that he is in control of human history.  It was God’s encouragement that he was working out his plan to bless his people, to redeem them from the bondage of their enemies, and to preserve them in the Promised Land, until that day when the Messiah would come to bring them the ultimate blessings, the ultimate redemption, and to bring them into the ultimate Promised Land.

 

Of course Jesus did this by his life, death, and resurrection, where he redeemed us from our bondage to sin and death, blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, and brought us into the kingdom of heaven, where we look forward to the final consummation of that kingdom when he returns.  Christ, as God-incarnate, was himself God-with-us while here on earth.  And in the Great Commission he promised his continued presence with us, by his Spirit, saying, “lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

And so Jesus’ promise to Paul here in Acts 18 that he is with Paul, is a reaffirmation of this promise in the Great Commission that Christ would build his church.  Christ’s presence is tied to the success of the church’s ministry.  This is why Jesus’ words to Paul of “do not fear for I am with you” are joined together with this call to “keep on speaking and do not be silent”.  The ministry of the church, which is so centered around the spoken word, is ultimately founded upon Christ and his presence with the church.  The ministry of the word performed by each of the apostles at the beginning of the church, and even by every pastor today, is ultimately effective b/c Christ is with us.  Christ is with his church, by His Spirit.  It is his presence that gives us an infallible assurance that God’s plans for his church will not fail.  Christ is working through his people to build up his church, because it is ultimately Christ who is building his church.  We see Christ building his church throughout Acts, and especially here in Acts 18, through Paul in Corinth.  And we continue to see Jesus at work today, throughout his church universal, and even in this local congregation here in La Jolla.

And so as we consider Jesus’ words to Paul this morning, we acknowledge the extraordinary character of them.  We know that the church is not given today these sorts of specific prophecies to tell us which ministries will bear fruit, and which ones won’t.  We are no longer given specific divine promises of physical protection in ministry.  And yet we have been given the Great Commission in Scripture, that tell us Christ’s will for his church.  We have been told to go!  To go forth to all the nations with the gospel… and that includes La Jolla. 

And that age-long promise of “I am with you” continues even today.  We don’t know if the Lord will grant us physical help and rescue as we engage in ministry, as he promised Paul specifically at Corinth.  Even Paul didn’t have that promise throughout his entire ministry.  Yet, what is clear – Christ’s promise to be with us, in all the ministry of the church, is a certain promise.  And if God is with us, then surely he will use our faithful labors for his glory and to the purposes that he has planned for his church.  What great confidence this should give us!  And what a great delight it is to serve our Lord even by participating in the work of the church.

And so brothers and sisters, I would like to close today by exhorting two groups of people.  The first group is to the pastors of the church, who Lord willing will include myself here shortly.  This passage today reminds pastors of the importance of the ministry of the Word.  The pastors of the church are especially entrusted with the faithful preaching of the gospel.  And so when Jesus tells Paul to not be afraid, but to go on speaking and to not be silent, we are reminded of the importance of the spoken word.  God in his wisdom has especially set apart the preaching of the word as a means of grace.  And so Jesus’ words to Paul stand as an enduring call to every pastor to boldly proclaim the Word.  It is a call to every minister to speak forth the message of reconciliation – “that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them.”  And so New Life Mission Church, you as a congregation have the right and the privilege to demand that your pastor preaches the Word, week in and week out!  And of course, I know we are all thankful that we indeed have such a pastor in Pastor James.  By Jesus help, by Jesus being with Pastor James, I pray that the proclamation of his Word would continue to have its intended effects in this congregation!

And the second group I would like to exhort today is this church as a whole.  New Life Mission Church, you have up to this point already endured much hardship and opposition as a church.  And it’s my prayer today that Jesus’ words to Paul would serve to both encourage and exhort you as well.  You must see yourself as part of this ministry of this church.  God has placed you, with the gifts he has given you, here at New Life.  He has called you to serve here in this ministry in La Jolla!  And so as we continue to see all the ways in which God is sustaining this church, we are reminded that Jesus is with us.  He is with his church, and that means he is with all of you who are his people.  He is with us as we seek to further the ministry here in La Jolla, and even throughout San Diego County.

And so I strongly believe that just as Paul was called to continue his ministry in Corinth, we too have been given the call to “continue”; to “keep on” in this ministry in La Jolla.  And we have been given a pattern for how we are to go about this ministry – not through fancy gimmicks or with the wisdom of the world, but by speaking, by bold proclamation of the gospel.  We are called to grow by the ordinary means of grace, which especially includes preaching.  Whatever sort of outreach we may attempt to do, we must realize that God has called his church to grow by these ordinary means of grace: the word of God, the sacraments, and prayer.  And so our outreach must always seek to bring people into contact with these things.  Our goal of outreach should especially be to get people to come out to our worship service, especially to hear the preached word.  If Christ is really the one who is with us and who is the one ultimately responsible for growing his church, then we must seek to continue this ministry according to the model he has given us.

And may this passage encourage us, that while Christ is building his church, the results of it are according to divine election.  He told Paul that he had many people in Corinth that were his own.  Though God has not told us explicitly who in La Jolla are his elect, we have been given the mandate to go to all the nations.  We don’t know exactly how many people in La Jolla are God’s elect.  Yet, we do know that La Jolla has many people.  Though we do not know how many of these are elect, I do not believe we can ignore the opportunity.  There are many people in this city who I’m sure have never heard the gospel.  We must bring that gospel to them and call them to respond.  As we strive to be faithful to that task which Christ has given us, I’m confident that the Lord will continue to bless our labors and encourage us as well.

None of us knows how long we will be here at New Life, or how long we’ll be given the opportunity to be a part of this ministry here.  As Kim and I look at moving on, we realize this all the more.  And so, I plead with you all, make the most of your time here.  Invest yourselves into this ministry.  Jesus’ call to Paul is a call to all of us, to be about the ministry of the church!

And so may we be encouraged, even with our 13th anniversary coming up, that God has already blessed us so richly as a church.  He has not left us alone, but has continued to be with us and sustain over all these years.  And so let us continue in this ministry to La Jolla which he has entrusted to us.  Let us keep speaking; Let us keep on sending forth his word, until that day when his promise of “I am with you” will be fully realized.  We see the fulfillment of this promise pictured in Rev 21:3 which says, speaking of the New Heavens and the New Earth, “Behold the dwelling place of God is with man”.  That is our hope.  Christ’s spiritual presence with us today is building his church, so that when his church is fully built, he can usher in the consummated kingdom.  In that kingdom, he no longer will be with us only by his Spirit, but even physically as we are given our new resurrection bodies!  May this hope encourage us as we keep spreading the gospel to the world.  Amen.

 

“Paul Encouraged at Corinth”

Acts 18:1-11

 

 

I.    Introduction

 

II.   Narrative Analysis

 

A.    Background of Paul’s Latest Missionary Work

 

B.    Background of Corinth

 

C.    Arrival of Paul in Corinth

 

D.    Arrival of Silas and Timothy

 

E.    Initial Results

 

F.    Jesus Speaks to Paul by a Vision

 

i.    Three Commands

 

1.    Do not fear

 

2.    Keep speaking

 

3.    Do not be silent

 

ii.   Two Reasons

 

1.    I am with you and no one will harm you

 

2.    Because I have many people in this city

 

G.    Jesus’ Words are Effective

 

III.  Further Analysis of Jesus’ Words in 9-11

 

A.    Specific to the Corinthian Ministry

 

B.    In the Bigger Picture of Redemptive History

 

IV.   Exhortation