A big city in need of God
May 22, 2009 (Friday)
We are studying the life of the Apostle Paul at our church, and I have been writing about it in each Friday blog. This week we watched the dedicated apostle arrive in the great city of Corinth (Acts 18).
Situated at an Isthmus, Corinth had two ports, and thrived on commerce from the east and the west. It was the capitol city of Achaia, and was the headquarters of the Roman proconsul. It was almost as important in the promotion of literature and philosophy as Athens, and was also a center of idolatry, with a Temple to Aphrodite and 1000 priestesses, who had sexual intercourse with worshipers.
A synagogue was there, and Paul went to it on each Sabbath, reasoning with the people that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. While Paul was there, Silas arrived with an offering from the church at Philippi, and Timothy came with a letter from the church at Thessalonica. The offering was comforting and very helpful, but the letter was disturbing. Paul answered it immediately. Timothy delivered it, then returned with another letter that upset Paul, who dispatched a second letter to the Thessalonians. It was evident from the exchange of letters that the Macedonian mission could not be resumed yet, so Paul remained in Corinth for one and one-half years, building a church with his new friends, Aquila and Priscilla, believers from Italy. The church grew.
At the conclusion of his mission in Corinth, Paul boarded a ship to return to his home base, Antioch of Syria. The ship adjusted its cargo at Ephesus, docked in port long enough for the missionaries to witness there. Aquila and Priscilla decided to stay in Ephesus and work with the new believers, and Timothy was sent through Galatia so that he could report on the churches there when he would later reunite with Paul at Antioch. Silas remained at Paul’s side after they disembarked at Caesarea. Paul then visited the believers at nearby Jerusalem and went to the Temple to fulfill a Nazirite vow. He and Silas then journeyed north to Antioch of Syria. While there, he wrote the letter to the Galatians, in response to Timothy’s arrival with news of the spread of legalism in those churches. Soon Paul, with Silas and Timothy, embarked on his third missionary journey.