Acts 18: 18-28

(Acts 18: 18-28)

『And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.  And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.  When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not;  But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.  And when he had landed at Cæsarea, and gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch.  And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.  And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.  This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.  And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.  And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ. 』

 

Paul's evangelistic journey, which strengthened all the disciples, is recorded as a journey of farewell and departure. He said goodbye to Corinth, where he stayed for a year and a half, and in Ephesus he left after saying goodbye to those who wished to stay longer. He asked hello at Caesarea and went down to Annioc, and after a while he left to go to Galatians and the land of Phrogia. Although the entire process of Paul's farewell and departure from each region is not shown in detail, the words Paul left when he said goodbye in Ephesus are recorded. 『I will return again unto you, if God will』. Paul left Ephesus according to God's will, but did not know if he would come back in the distant future.

Priscilla and Aquila were people who lived according to the will of God, who illuminates a step in their lives. They couldn't know how the future path of life would unfold, but they took a step according to God's will. Of course, it wasn't a way of life that had been familiar to them before, but their couple stayed with Paul in Corinth, left for Syria, and reached Ephesus. Then he met a Jew named Apollos at Ephesus. Priscilla and Aquila, who quietly listened to him, who was fluent in speaking and fluent in the Bible, learned and preached the way of the Lord, and they learned that although he was fluent in the Bible, he only knew John's baptism about Jesus.

So, the couple told Aquila to more accurately unlock the way of God. Through Priscilla and Aquila, Apollos learned the exact way of God, and afterwards, Apollos gave many benefits to those who believed in Achaia, and witnessed Jesus as Christ in public. Through Apollos, the believers in Achaiah benefited, and the gospel that Jesus is the Christ was able to be preached because Priscilla and Aquila had taken a step according to the will of God.

The couple who arrived in Ephesus saw Apollos and preached the way according to God's will with the belief that they came here for this time, and after seeing the field of history that took place through Apollos, their faith in God would have strengthened.

For Paul, God's will was to say goodbye to the people and leave in Corinth, where he stayed for one year and six months. It was to argue with the Jews in the Ephesus synagogue, to leave Ephesus again with the people's request, and to ask the church's regards. For Priscilla and Aquila, God's will was to accompany Paul on his journey, to stay in Ephesus, to approach Apollos and to present God's way accurately.

 

Paul went to the synagogue for three months to preach about the kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. In Mark 1:15, ``And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 』The kingdom of God comes to those who repent on this earth. The kingdom of God does not come except those who are united with Jesus Christ, who died on the cross. To those who are united with Jesus, who died on the cross, God showed the resurrection and become born again. So, in Christ, the saints are sitting at the right hand of God's throne.