Day 12 of 14
Corinth, Ephesus, and the Third Journey
Churches Planted, Disciples Made, Opposition Endured
Scripture Readings
Today's Reading
Read Acts 18:1-11. Paul arrives in Corinth, works as a tentmaker with Aquila and Priscilla, and preaches in the synagogue. When opposed, he turns to the Gentiles. The Lord speaks to him in a night vision: "Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people." Paul stays eighteen months.
Reflection
By the time Paul reaches Corinth, he has been beaten in Philippi, chased out of Thessalonica, smuggled out of Berea, and largely ignored in Athens. He arrives in Corinth alone and, it seems, discouraged. Corinth was a notoriously immoral city, a Roman colony bursting with commerce, vice, and religious pluralism. It was the last place anyone would expect a church to thrive.
Stott highlights the significance of God's vision to Paul: "Do not be afraid, but go on speaking." The command to persevere rests on the promise of God's presence. Paul is not told that ministry will be easy or that opposition will cease. He is told that God is with him and that God has people in this city. The church in Corinth will become one of the most important (and most troubled) in the New Testament -- the community to whom Paul later writes two extended letters.
Paul stays in Corinth for a year and a half, an unusually long time for his typical pattern. Then, during the third missionary journey, he spends nearly three years in Ephesus (19:8-10), the major city of the province of Asia. From Ephesus, "all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord" (19:10). Paul's strategy is not to visit every town personally but to plant a church in a strategic center and let the gospel radiate outward.
On his way back to Jerusalem, Paul stops at Miletus and summons the Ephesian elders for a farewell speech (20:17-35). Wright calls this one of the most personal and moving passages in Acts. Paul recounts his ministry among them -- teaching publicly and from house to house, testifying of repentance toward God and faith in Christ, serving with tears and trials. He tells them he is heading to Jerusalem, knowing that imprisonment and afflictions await. Then he says the words that define his life: "I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God" (20:24).
Going Deeper
Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders reveals a man who measured success not by comfort or acclaim but by faithfulness. He had finished the race in Ephesus. He would finish it in Rome. What would it mean for you to care more about finishing faithfully than about finishing successfully by the world's standards?
Key Quotes
“In Corinth, the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: 'Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you.' This is what every Christian worker needs to hear: the command to persevere rests on the promise of God's presence.”
“Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders is one of the most personal and moving passages in Acts. Here we see the pastor's heart beneath the apostle's armor — a man who taught publicly and from house to house, who served with tears and trials.”
Prayer Focus
Ask God to give you Paul's resilience -- the ability to keep going, keep speaking, and keep loving even when the work is difficult and the opposition is fierce.
Meditation
Paul told the Ephesian elders, 'I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course.' What would it mean for you to hold your life with that kind of open-handed devotion?
Question for Discussion
Paul stayed in Corinth for eighteen months and in Ephesus for nearly three years. In an age that values novelty and movement, what is the power of simply staying put and investing deeply in one place?