Return to Antioch and departure for the third journey - Acts 18:18-23 - N. T. -

After staying on for some time, Paul took leave of the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut off, because of a vow he had made.

When they reached Ephesus, he left them, but first he went alone to the synagogue to debate with the Jews. They asked him to stay longer but he declined, though when he left he said, 'I will come back another time, God willing'. Then he sailed from Ephesus.

He landed at Caesarea, and went up to greet the church. Then he came down to Antioch where he spent a short time before continuing his journey through the Galatian country and then through Phrygia, encouraging all the followers.

Cf. - Romans 16:1 - N. T. - I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deaconess of the church at Cenchreae.

Cf. - Acts 21:23; 13:5+; 10:48 - 

Cf. - James 4:15 - N. T. - The most you should ever say is: 'If it is the Lord's will, we shall still be alive to do this or that'.

Cf. - Acts 16:6+; 14:22+ - 

Apollos - Acts 18:24-28 - N. T. - Cf. - Acts 19:1 -

An Alexandrian Jew named Apollos now arrived in Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, with a sound knowledge of the scriptures, and yet, though he had been given instruction in the Way of the Lord and preached with great spiritual earnestness and was accurate in all the details he taught about Jesus, he had only experienced the baptism of John. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him speak boldly in the synagogue, they took an interest in him and gave him further instruction about the Way.

When Apollos thought of crossing over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote asking the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived there he was able by God's grace to help the believers considerably by the energetic way he refuted the Jews in public and demonstrated from the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

Cf. - 1 Corinthians 1:12; 16:12 - N. T. - What I mean are all these slogans that you have, like: 'I am for Paul', 'I am for Cephas', 'I am for Christ'. As for our brother Apollos, I begged him to come to you with the brothers but he was quite firm that he did not want to go yet and he will come as soon as he can.

Cf. - Titus 3:13 - N. T. - See to all the travelling arrangements for Zenas the lawyer and Apollos, and make sure they have everything they need.

Cf. - Acts 9:2+; 19:3-5; 13:46+ - 

Cf. - Romans 16:3-4 - N. T. - My greetings to Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked death to save my life: I am not the only one to owe them a debt of gratitude, all the churches among the pagans do as well.

Cf. - 2 Corinthians 3:1-2 - N. T. - Does this sound like a new attempt to commend ourselves to you? Unlike other people, we need no letters of recommendation either to you or from you, because you are yourselves our letter, written in our hearts, that anybody can see and read, and it is plain that you are a letter from Christ.

Cf. - Acts 9:22; 18:5+ - 

The disciples of John at Ephesus - Acts 19:1-7 - N. T. - 

While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul made his way overland as far as Ephesus, where he found a number of disciples. When he asked, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?' they answered, 'No, we were never even told there was such a thing as a Holy Spirit'. 'Then how were you baptised?' he asked. 'With John's baptism' they replied. 'John's baptism' said Paul 'was a baptism of repentance; but he insisted that the people should believe in the one who was to come after him - in other words Jesus.' When they heard this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus, and the moment Paul had laid hands on them the Holy Spirit came down on them, and they began to speak with tongues and to prophesy. There were about twelve of these men.

Cf. - Acts 18:24; 8:15-17 - 

Cf. - John 7:39 - N. T. - He was speaking of the Spirit which those who believed in him were to receive; for there was no Spirit as yet because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Cf. - Matthew 3:5-9 - N. T. - Then Jerusalem and all Judaea and the whole Jordan district made their way to him, and as they were baptised by John the Baptist in the river Jordan they confessed their sins. But when he saw a number of Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism he said to them, 'Brood of vipers, who warned you to fly from the retribution that is coming? But if you are repentant, produce the appropriate fruit, and do not presume to tell yourselves, "We have Abraham for our father", because, I tell you, God can raise children for Abraham from these stones.

Cf. - Acts 1:5+; 2:38+; 13:24-25+; 1:5+; 8:15-17+ - 

Cf. - 1 Timothy 4:14+ - N. T. - You have in you a spiritual gift which was given to you when the prophets spoke and the body of elders laid their hands on you; do not let it lie unused.

Cf. - Acts 2:4+; 11:27+ -                                                                                                                                                                                       -  PAGE  129  -

Foundation of the church of Ephesus

He began by going to the....                 -  PAGE  130  -

 -     WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY     - 

Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -

Your generous contribution and support is profoundly cherish. I sincerely pray that: God blessing be upon you, always. Amen! Bank transfer: Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah - Public Bank Berhad account no. 4076577113 - Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  

Foundation of the church of Corinth - Acts 18:1-11 - N. T. -

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth, where he met a Jew called Aquila whose family came from Pontus. He and his wife Priscilla had recently left Italy because an edict of Claudius had expelled all the Jews from Rome. Paul went to visit them, and when he found they were tentmakers, of the same trade as himself, he lodged with them, and they worked together. Every Sabbath he used to hold debates in the synagogues, trying to convert Jews as well as Greeks.

After Silas and Timothy had arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted all his time to preaching, declaring to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. When they turned against him and started to insult him, he took his cloak and shook it out in front of them, saying, 'Your blood be on your own heads; from now on I can go to the pagans with a clear conscience'. Then he left the synagogue and moved to the house next door that belonged to a worshipper of God called Justus. Crispus, president of the synagogue, and his whole household, all became believers in the Lord. A great many Corinthians who had heard him became believers and were baptised. One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, 'Do not be afraid to speak out, nor allow yourself to be silenced: I am with you. I have so many people on my side in this city that no one will even attempt to hurt you.' So Paul stayed there preaching the word of God among them for eighteen months.

Cf. - Romans 16:3 - N. T. - My greetings to Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked death to save my life.

Cf. - 1 Corinthians 16:19 - N. T. - All the churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, with the church that meets at their house, send you their warmest wishes, in the Lord.

Cf. - 2 Timothy 4:19 - N. T. - Greetings to Prisca and Aquila, and the family of Onesiphorus.

Cf. - Acts 20:33-35 - 

Cf. - 1 Corinthians 4:12 - N. T. - We are beaten and have no homes; we work for our living with our own hands.

Cf. - Acts 13:5+; 17:15 - 

Cf. - 1 Thessalonians 3:5-7 - N. T. - That is why, when I could not stand waiting any longer, I sent to assure myself of your faith: I was afraid the Tempter might have tried you too hard, and all our work might have been wasted. However, Timothy is now back from you and has given us good news of your faith and your love, telling us that you always remember us with pleasure and want to see us quite as much as we want to see you. And so, my brothers, your faith has been a great comfort to us in the middle of our own troubles and sorrows; now we can breathe again, as you are still holding firm in the Lord.

Cf. - Acts 5:42; 8:5; 9:22; 13:51 - 

Cf. - Matthew 27:24-25 - N. T. - Then Pilate saw that he was making no impression, that in fact a riot was imminent. So he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd and said, 'I am innocent of this man's blood. It is your concern. And the people, to a man, shouted back. 'His blood be on us and on our children!'

Cf. - Acts 13:5+; 13:46-47, 51+; 20:26; 28:28 - 

Cf. - 1 Corinthians 1:14-15 - N. T. - I am thankful that I never baptised any of you after Crispus and Gaius so none of you can say he was baptised in my name.

Cf. - Acts 1:5+; 23:11 - 

Cf. - Jeremiah 1:8 - O. T. - Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to protect you - it is Yahweh who speaks!

Cf. - 1 Corinthians 2:3 - N. T. - Far from relying on any power of my own, I came among you in great 'fear and trembling'.

Cf. - John 10:16 - N. T. - And there are other sheep I have that are not of this fold, and these I have to lead as well. They too will listen to my voice, and there will be only one flock, and one shepherd.

The Jews take Paul to court - Acts 18:12-17 - N. T. -

But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a concerted attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal. 'We accuse this man' they said 'of persuading people to worship God in a way that breaks the Law. Before Paul could open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, 'Listen, you Jews. If this were a misdemeanour or a crime, I would not hesitate to attend to you; but if it is only quibbles about words and names, and about your Law, then you must deal with it yourselves - I have no intention of making legal decisions about things like that.' Then he sent them out of the court, and at once they all turned on Sosthenes, the synagogue president, and beat him in front of the court house. Gallio refused to take any notice at all.

Cf. - 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 - N. T. - For you, my brothers, have been like the churches of God in Christ Jesus which are in Judaea, in suffering the same treatment from your own countrymen as they have suffered from the Jews, the people who put the Lord Jesus to death, and the prophets too. And now they have been persecuting us, and acting in a way that cannot please God and makes them the enemies of the whole human race because they are hindering us from preaching to the pagans and trying to save them. They never stop trying to finish off the sins they have begun, but retribution is overtaking them at last.

Cf. - Acts 21:27-28; 23:29; 25:18-19 - 

Cf. - John 18:31 - N. T. - Pilate said, 'Take him yourselves, and try him by your own Law'. The Jews answered, 'We are not allowed to put a man to death'. 

                                                              -  PAGE  128  -

Return to Antioch and departure for the third journey

After staying on for some time, Paul...

                                                             -  PAGE  129  -

 -     WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY     - 

Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -

Your generous contribution and support is profoundly cherish. I sincerely pray that: God blessing be upon you, always. Amen! Bank transfer: Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah - Public Bank Berhad account no. 4076577113 - Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

 

Paul at Athens - Acts 17:16-22 - N. T. - 

Paul waited for them in Athens and there his whole soul was revolted at the sight of a city given to idolatry. In the synagogue he held debates with the Jews and the God-fearing, but in the market place he had debates everyday with anyone who would face him. Even a few Epicurean and Stoic philosophers argued with him. Some said, 'Does this parrot know what he's talking about?' And, because he was preaching about Jesus and the resurrection, others said, 'He sound like a propagandist for some outlandish gods'.

They invited him to accompany them to the Council of the Areopagus, where they said to him, 'How much of this new teaching you were speaking about are we allowed to know? Some of the things you said seemed startling to us and we would like to find out what they mean.' The one amusement the Athenians and the foreigners living there seem to have, apart from discussing the latest ideas, is listening to lectures about them.

So Paul stood before the whole Council of the Areopagus and made this speech:

Paul's speech before the Council of the Areopagus - Acts 17:23-34 - N. T. -

'Men of Athens, I have seen for myself how extremely scrupulous you are in all religious matters, because I noticed, as I strolled round admiring your sacred monuments, that you had an altar inscribed: To An Unknown God. Well, the God whom I proclaim is in fact the one whom you already worship without knowing it.'

Since the God who made the world and everything in it is himself Lord of heaven and earth, he does not make his home in shrines made by human hands. Nor is he dependent on anything that human hands can do for him, since he can never be in need of anything; on the contrary, it is he who gives everything - including life and breath - to everyone. From one single stock he not only created the whole human race so that they could occupy the entire earth, but he decreed how long each nation should flourish and what the boundaries of its territory should be. And he did this so that all nations might seek the deity and, by feeling their way towards him, succeed in finding him. Yet in fact he is not far from any of us, since it is him that we live, and move, and exists, as indeed some of your own writers have said:                              "We are all his children". 

Since we are the children of God, we have no excuse for thinking that the deity looks like anything in gold, silver or stone that has been carved and designed by a man. 

'God overlooked that sort of thing when men were ignorant, but now he is telling everyone everywhere that they must repent, because he has fixed a day when the whole world will be judged, and judged in righteousness, and he has appointed a man to be the judge. And God has publicly proved this by raising this man from the dead.' 

At this mention of rising from the dead, some of them burst out laughing; others said, 'We would like to hear you talk about this again'. After that Paul left them, but there were some who attached themselves to him and became believers, among the Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman called Damaris, and others besides.

Cf. - Acts 13:5+; 10:2+ - 

Cf. - 1 Corinthians 1:22 - N. T. - And so, while the Jews demand miracles and the Greeks look for wisdom, here are we preaching a crucified Christ.

Cf. - 2 Timothy 3:7 - N. T. - In the attempt to educate themselves, but can never come to knowledge of the truth.

Cf. - 1 Kings 8:27 - O. T. - Why, the heavens and their own heavens cannot contain you. How much less this house that I built!

Cf. - Isaiah 42:5 - O. T. - Thus says God, Yahweh, he who created the heavens and spread them out, who gave shape to the earth and what comes from it, who gave breath to its people and life to the creatures that move in it.

Cf. - Acts 14:15+; 7:48-50 - 

Cf. - 2 Maccabees 7:23; 14:35 - O. T. - It is the creator of the world, ordaining the process of man's birth and presiding over the origin of all things, who in his mercy will most surely give you back both breath and life, seeing that you now despise your own existence for the sake of his laws. 'O Lord, you who stand in need of nothing at all, it has pleased you that there should be in our midst a Temple for your dwelling place. 

Cf. - Psalms 50:12; 145:18 - O. T. - If I were hungry, I should not tell you, since the world and all it holds is mine. Standing close to all who invoke him, close to all who invoke Yahweh faithfully.

Cf. - Genesis 10:1-32 - O. T. - The peopling of the earth - These are the descendants of ....... From these came the dispersal of the nations over the earth, after the flood.

Cf. - Deuteronomy 32:8; 4:29 - O. T. - When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided the sons of men, he fixed their bounds according to the number of the sons of God. But you will seek Yahweh your God from there, and if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul, you shall find him.

Cf. - Job 12:23 - O. T. - He builds a nation up, then strikes it down, or makes a people grow, and then destroys it.

Cf. - Wisdom 13:6 - O. T. - Small blame, however, attaches to these men, for perhaps they only go astray in their search for God and their eagerness to find him.

Cf. - Isaiah 55:6 - O. T. - Seek Yahweh while he is still to be found, call to him while he is still near. 

Cf. - Romans 1:19 - N. T. - For what can be known about God is perfectly plain to them since God himself has made it plain.

Cf. - Psalms 104:1-35 - O. T. - Bless Yahweh, my soul. Yahweh my God, how great you are! Clothed in majesty and glory........... Bless Yahweh, my soul.

Cf. - 2 Peters 1:4 - N. T. - From Simeon Peter, servant and apostle of Jesus Christ; to all who treasure the same faith as ourselves, given through the righteousness of our God and saviour Jesus Christ. May you have more and more grace and peace as you come to know our Lord more and more. By his divine power, he has given us all the things that we need for life and for true devotion, bringing us to know God himself, who has called us by his own glory and goodness. In making these gifts, he has given us the guarantee of something very great and wonderful to come: through them you will be able to share the divine nature and to escape corruption in a world that is sunk in vice.

Cf. - Acts 2:38+ - 

Cf. - Luke 24:46-48 - N. T. - So you see how it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this.

Cf. - Acts 10:42+; 24:25 -                                                                                                                                                                                      -  PAGE  127  -

Foundation of the church of Corinth

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth,.......

                                                              -  PAGE  128  -

 -     WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY     - 

Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -

Your generous contribution and support is profoundly cherish. I sincerely pray that: God blessing be upon you, always. Amen! Bank transfer: Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah - Public Bank Berhad account no. 4076577113 - Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.