Acts 18: 1-17

(Acts 18: 1-17)

After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers. And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man's house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.  And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.  Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:  For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.  And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.  And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,  Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.  And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you:  But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters. And he drave them from the judgment seat.  Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.

 

Corinth is located in the lower part connecting mainland Greece with the Peloponnese. Due to this geographic location, Corinth became a center of trade and commerce connecting North and South and East and West at the same time. Since it was the most prosperous trading city of Greek cities, Corinth enjoyed enormous wealth and the cultural luxuries that deserve it. However, in the midst of economic prosperity and cultural luxuries, Corinth walked on a path of extreme depravity, and eventually Corinth fell into a word that meant sexual deterioration.

Paul entered such Corinth. And there he preached the gospel for 1 year and 6 months. In his first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul expressed his heart for the Corinthian church this way. In 1 Corinthians 4:15, ``For though ye have ten thousand instructers in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 』
For Paul, the Corinthian Church was a child born of tears and pain. It was a city synonymous with sexual disturbance and depravity, but in such a city Paul lived as a man of God, preached the gospel, and founded the Church of God there. And, referring to the church, Paul defines it this way.

In 1 Corinthians 1:2, 『Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs. and ours: 』Man is a being that cannot be sanctified before God. But if you are in Christ, God recognizes you as holy. So, the holy one becomes a saint. In order to enter Christ, we must deny ourselves before the Word of God.

『And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers. 』
Emperor Claudius ordered the Jews to be deported when the Jews in Rome rioted. Aquila and Priscilla were those who left Rome and settled in Corinth at this time. These, like Paul, were tent makers. Paul lived in the couple's house together, making tents on weekdays and preaching the gospel in synagogues on the Sabbath.

Because of these couples, Paul was able to preach the gospel in Corinth for a long time. These were not the only co-workers for Paul. Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia to Corinth and joined them. 『And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. 』

Since Paul was preaching in Berea and hastily descended to Athens to escape the persecution of the Jews, Paul willingly sent Silas and Timothy to the churches in Macedonia. When Silas and Timothy looked back to the brothers in the Macedonian region, and when they rejoined Paul, it would have been a feeling that Paul had gained a thousand armies. Their joining allowed Paul to focus more and more on preaching the Word, and the Bible expressed that Paul was caught up in the Word of God.

Even in Corinth, the Jews opposed Paul. Then he arrested Paul and brought him back to court, and Gallio, who was governor of the Achaia region, was in charge of the trial. Gallio's answer, upon hearing all the malicious accusations of the Jews, was, “I know what you mean, but you take care of your own law. I won't care about this.”