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  -

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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 -

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