Acts 15:36-18:22

(taught on August 3, 2008)

C. Paul's second missionary journey (15:36 thru 18:22)

1. Paul and Barnabas disagree over John Mark and part company (15:36-41)

2. Paul and Silas journey to Lystra, where Timothy is circumcised and

joins the missionary group (16:1-5)

3. The Macedonian call (16:6-10)

4. Preaching in Philippi; Lydia and her household taught and baptized;

evil spirit cast out of a maiden; Paul and Silas accused, beaten and

imprisoned (16:11-24)

5. A midnight earthquake got the attention of Paul's jailer and he and

his family were taught and baptized the same hour of the night, and

rejoiced greatly (16:25-34)

6. Paul, Silas and Timothy depart from Philippi (16:35-40)

7. Preaching and persecution in Thessalonica (17:1-9)

8. Paul and Silas go to Borea (17:10,11)

9. Leaving Silas and Timothy in the region of Thessalonica and Berea,

Paul journeys to Athens, where he preaches (Acts 17:12-34)

10. Paul travels to Corinth, where he teaches and preaches and meets

Priscilla and Acquila, and where a great church is established

(18:1-17)

11. Paul, Acquila and Priscilla go to Ephesus (18:18-20)

12. Paul leaves Ephesus, intending to return at a later time, and goes to

Antioch of Syria to report and preach (18:21-22)

(Acts 15:36) Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing."

(Acts 15:37) Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark.

(Acts 15:38) But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.

(Acts 15:39) Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus;

(Acts 15:40) but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.

(Acts 15:41) And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

· Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek.

· It is during Paul's second missionary journey that he and Silas meet Timothy. Paul's first missionary journey did not venture into Europe, but only went to Antioch, in modern day Turkey, considered part of Aisa.

· Paul was impressed by Timothy's faith (as were others - verse 2), and wanted Timothy to travel with him (verse 3).

(Acts 16:2) He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium.

(Acts 16:3) Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek.

· His mother (2 Tim 1:5) had a strong influence on him, despite the fact that his father was probably not a believer. This shows that when you are a parent with a non-believing spouse, you can still bring up your child in the way which they should go (Prov 22:6).

(Acts 16:4) And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem.

(Acts 16:5) So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.

(Acts 16:6) Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.

· Paul had been traveling with Silas. At Lystra Timothy had joined them (see verse 1). Then, in Troas, it appears Luke joins them (see comments on verse 10).

(Acts 16:7) After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.

(Acts 16:8) So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.

(Acts 16:9) And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."

· Macedonia was the northernmost province in Greece. Three centuries earlier it ruled one of the world's great empires, that of Alexander the Great. One aspect of that empire involved its zeal to spread Greek culture throughout the world. While its empire no longer existed, the Greek culture they disseminated remained. The Mediterranean world of the first century was Hellenistic (refers to the spreading of Greek culture over the non-Greek peoples that were conquered by Alexander the Great). The Greek language was spoken throughout much of the known world. Greek architecture shaped most of the public structures. The Greek style of clothing could be seen everywhere. While the names for the gods may have assumed Latin forms or local identity, temples to the Greek pantheon stood from Britain to Persia. The ancient province responsible for the Hellenization of the world now beckoned Paul. Despite the virtue of their cultural achievements, the Macedonians still needed to learn the truth about God.

(Acts 16:10) Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

· This was during the second missionary journey of Paul. Luke must have joined the party at this point (in Troas), because he starts here to refer to the party as "we". This would make it 4 people - Paul, Silas, Timothy, and now Luke. See comments on verses 1 and 6.

· The decision of the 4 of them to go to Macedonia was momentous. They would be among the earliest Christians in Europe. The Roman emperor had recently expelled all Jews from Rome, apparently because of arguments over Christ. A Christian couple name Aquila and Priscilla moved to Corinth after this edict. A few weeks after Paul arrived in Europe, they would befriend him and provide the lonely missionary with an opportunity to remain in Corinth.

· The Macedonians were non-Jews, so they were unaware of the one true God.

· Interesting that God selected Macedonia as the first place to preach the gospel in Europe. Why not Athens, or Greece, or even Rome itself? God may lead us where we would not have thought he would, based on our knowledge and understanding. Where did Jesus choose to enter into the world? The little town of Bethlehem. Whatever the reasons, from it the history of Europe was forever changed.

(Acts 16:11) Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis,

(Acts 16:12) and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days.

· Neapolis was the port city, and Philippi was 10 miles inland.

· Philippi was located in a key pass through a chain of mountains and hills on one of the most important and famous roads of ancient history -- the Via Egnatia. It was the main commercial and military road in Greece. Built by the Romans in 130 B.C., it ran across Greece, from the Adratic Sea on the west to the Aegean Sea on the east. It was an extension of the famous Italian road, the Via Appia. Built originally to serve as a military road, it quickly became "the international commercial and migratory route between Asia and Europe."

· A few years after the city was founded in 360 B.C., Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, renamed the city for himself.

· Philip II fortified the city in order to control the gold and silver mines in the area. By Paul's time these mines were unworked, but their impact had developed Philippi into a great commercial center.

· What was meant by the "foremost city"? It probably referred to its commercial impact, since Amphipolis was the capital city of the district, and Thessalonica was the capital of the province.

(Acts 16:13) And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.

· This was the first time that the Gospel of Christ was preached in Europe, a momentous event in the history of Christianity. It was clearly God's will (verses 9-10).

· There probably was no Jewish synagogue in Philippi, for Paul preached to women instead of at the place where men would have met, and there is no mention of a synagogue, and Philippi was a Roman colony, which probably did not allow a synagogue there. But there are indications there may have been a Jewish community with a synagogue, based on inscriptions found.

· While Paul's primary audience may have been fellow Jews, he did convert some Gentiles (like the jailor and his family in verses 27-34).

(Acts 16:14) Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.

· Lydia was from Thyatira, a city over 200 miles southeast of Philippi. In God's plan somehow, maybe by marriage or by trade, she settled in Philippi. But all in God's perfect plan, as Philippi is where she converted, being the first convert in Europe, ministering to the Christians there, and also being remembered forever by name.

· Lydia had a honest calling, selling either purple dye or linen, not being idle and gossips like Paul condemned that some women were (1 Tim 5:11-13). This is similar to the godly woman described in Proverbs 31:21-24.

· Lydia was one of the women that would meet by the riverside for prayer (vs 13). We see in her any example of how we are to be in that she had a profession yet still found it important to take the time to worship God. May our occupation never prevent us from worshipping God.

· Note that it is not enough to be a worshipper, but you must be a believer of Jesus Christ, as Lydia found out that day. And, she responded to the gospel message, as the Lord opened her heart.

· But, she responded because she heard the message. But, what if the message was not preached? (Rom 10:13-14)

· The Lord opened her heart. Conversion-work is God's work, "for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Phil 2:13). Not as if we had nothing to do, but of ourselves, without God's grace, we can do nothing. The salvation of those that are saved must be wholly ascribed to Him.

· Note we may understand with the mind, but it is with the heart that we must believe. That is why we are told to love Him (Deut 6:5) and serve Him (Josh 22:5) with all our heart.

(Acts 16:15) And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." So she persuaded us.

· This shows the effects of her conversion - she was ready to serve and to fellowship and to worship together.

· They returned to Lydia's house after they were set free from prison, before they had to leave Philippi (vs 40).

(Acts 16:16) Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling.

(Acts 16:17) This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation."

(Acts 16:18) And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out that very hour.

(Acts 16:19) But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.

(Acts 16:20) And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, "These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city;

(Acts 16:21) "and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe."

(Acts 16:22) Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods.

(Acts 16:23) And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely.

(Acts 16:24) Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

(Acts 16:25) But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

(Acts 16:26) Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed.

(Acts 16:27) And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.

(Acts 16:28) But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here."

(Acts 16:29) Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.

(Acts 16:30) And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

(Acts 16:31) So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household."

(Acts 16:32) Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.

(Acts 16:33) And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.

(Acts 16:34) Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

(Acts 16:35) And when it was day, the magistrates sent the officers, saying, "Let those men go."

(Acts 16:36) So the keeper of the prison reported these words to Paul, saying, "The magistrates have sent to let you go. Now therefore depart, and go in peace."

(Acts 16:37) But Paul said to them, "They have beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out."

(Acts 16:38) And the officers told these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans.

(Acts 16:39) Then they came and pleaded with them and brought them out, and asked them to depart from the city.

(Acts 16:40) So they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.

(Acts 17:1) Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

· This was on Paul's second missionary journey.

(Acts 17:2) Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

(Acts 17:3) explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ."

(Acts 17:4) And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.

(Acts 17:5) But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

(Acts 17:6) But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, "These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.

(Acts 17:7) "Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king; Jesus."

(Acts 17:8) And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things.

(Acts 17:9) So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

(Acts 17:10) Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.

· Since Paul has spent so little time in Thessalonica, he was obviously concerned they did not grasp the depth of the gospel, and that their lives were not fashioned as they should be to these principles. Paul sent Timothy later to check on them (1 Thess 3:1-5), and they brought back a mostly good report. They were suffering some tribulations. And, we see in 1 Thess 4:11, 5:14 that there was some trouble.

(Acts 17:11) These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

(Acts 17:12) Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.

(Acts 17:13) But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds.

(Acts 17:14) Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away, to go to the sea; but both Silas and Timothy remained there.

(Acts 17:15) So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed.

(Acts 17:16) Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.

· Athens was the world's most famous intellectual center of thinking. Many scholars would come to Athens to enjoy the mental stimulation of the Athenian learning and philosophy explorations. Paul, though bred a scholar, and an ingenious thinker, does not make this any of his business at Athens. He has called this a vain thing (Col 2:8, see also Eccl 12:12). Many people in our day study and become skilled at many things, like computers, drafting, the sciences, law, medicine, photography, etc. But that is in vain if it is the main thing. We need to remember that knowing God and His Word is the main and glorious area for in depth study. We each can be a scholar in a particular area, but we all must be a scholar in His Word.

· The philosophers explored many different potential worldviews, even as they do today. They discuss various versions of reality. Yet, professing to be wise, they became fools (Rom 1:22) - there is only one correct worldview, one they didn't even consider. On their own, they can never come up with the correct view (1 Cor 1:21). God had to come tell us what truth is. And many don't want to hear it - it doesn't tickle their ears, maybe because it tells them they are sinners and are guilty before God.

· Paul's purpose is not to explore the various worldviews, but to show them the correct worldview, and the errors in their views.

· Questions a worldview must answer -

- Who am I?

- Where did I come from?

- Why am I here?

- Where am I going when I die?

· Is our worldview correct? How do we get our worldview? All observation and judgment of facts are tainted by our prejudices (including science). Our worldview comes from the Bible. We are interested in, a) what it says -- or observation; b). what it means -- or interpretation; and, c) how to apply it -- or application. (Biblical Hermeneutics is the science of the interpretation of the Scriptures.) But how we do each of these is influenced by our prejudices. The more we study God's Word, the more our prejudices are aligned with God's wisdom and the true worldview.

· There were more idols in Athens than all the rest of Greece put together. Anytime someone introduced a new god in Athens, they accepted the god, and built it an altar. There were almost as many Gods as men in Athens. This city continued to be given to idols, even years later when Christianity became the official religion of Rome. It remained that way until the city was destroyed by the Goths around 395 AD..

· As Paul traveled the streets of the city, he saw how the city was overtaken by idols, and was very disturbed in his spirit. "Provoked" here is the same word as in Acts 15:39, meaning "great contention". What he saw was people lost, moving in a direction against the teachings of God. Jack Lup stood in Athens, staring at the same idols Paul stared at, questioning his own reactions to them compared to Paul's. How is our spirit stirred when we see things like this in our city? Have our hearts become hardened, where we don't notice it anymore, or do we notice and ignore it? Or, are our hearts stirred in the same way's Paul's was?

· The large number of idols just shows man's yearning to find and worship God.

(Acts 17:17) Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.

· Paul sought first to teach to the Jews first, as he had in Thessalonica (Acts 17:1).

· Paul realized he had large audiences of vastly different backgrounds and beliefs, so he went to both the Jews in the synagogues and the Gentiles in the marketplace. But he certainly could not present the same sermon in both places. Note that presentations of the gospel may start at many and various places, but all must conclude at the same place. You have to bring the person from where they are to where they need to be. As Paul did, you have to know your audience, otherwise in your attempt to bring them to where they need to be, you've missed some critical steps and lost them.

· Note that Paul went day after day presenting his teachings. It is difficult to picture how he went about beginning his teaching - did he select an appropriate place, and just start preaching to whoever happened to be close by? However, it seemed commonplace in this area for people to teach there from the street corners.

· Typically, in these marketplaces, the trading would take place in the morning to make time for teaching and discussions in the afternoon.

(Acts 17:18) Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, "What does this babbler want to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods," because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection.

· Epicurean philosophers were those who embraced the teachings of Epicurus, 342-270 BC. They held that pleasure is the highest end to living, i.e. "eat, drink, and be merry". They denied the immortality of the soul, and therefore the consequences. They also denied the gods had control in human affairs.

· Stoic philosophers followed what was originally taught by Zeno of Cyprus (died 264 BC at the age of 96). "Stoic" means "porch", because that is from where Zeno often taught. This philosophy was well-known in Tarsus, so Paul was probably very familiar with it. They taught the world was created by Zeus, that all were subject to the "Fates", and that self-denial led to the highest end in life. Passions and affections were to be restrained. They denied the immortality of the soul, believing it would be destroyed at the end of the earth of be absorbed in the deity.

· These philosophies were attempts to explain the great questions of life.

· A babbler, literally a "seed-picker."

" Applied by the Greeks to the poor people who, after a harvest, would collect the seeds that were left in the fields, and then to the men who hung around the shops and the markets, picking up scraps, which fell from the loads of food, and living off them.

" It was also a name given to a little bird who hopped here & there picking up the scattered kernels of grain.

" The word then came to be applied to men who picked up scraps of information here and there and then tried to palm them off as their own.

" They were dismissing Paul as a man who had picked up bits of philosophy here & there, and was proclaiming merely a syncretistic philosophy.

· "Babbler" means one who speaks excessively without much meaning.

· The terms for gods means deities, or "demons" superior to men, but inferior to the gods. These demons were men who became exalted to this superior place after being heroes or distinguished men in this life.

· They referred to "gods" as plural, some say because they thought he was talking about 2 gods, Jesus and Resurrection (for they had the gods Pity, Piety, Modesty, Harmony, Shame, Famine, and Desire).

(Acts 17:19) And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak?

· The Areopagus (also called Mars Hill) is the hill where the supreme court of Athens often held its meetings. It was a place where they could listen to Paul without distractions. In attendance were the Areopagites, which were probably the judges themselves - one was converted (verse 34). Paul may have actually been brought there for a preliminary hearing of the court.

(Acts 17:20) "For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean."

· This was about 50-53 AD, about 20 years after the resurrection of Christ. It is odd that they had not heard of Jesus by then. Amazingly, this appears to be the first anyone brought Christianity to this area. What an affect Paul had on the world for Christ! He was not afraid to tell anyone about Christ, yet he always spoke to them where they were at.

(Acts 17:21) For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.

(Acts 17:22) Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious;

· Note the approach Paul takes - he addresses them properly, knowing that he can lose an audience in the first few minutes. Again, he knew the audience, and knew how to step into their world to bring them into his.

· This is one reason why you can't just bring a person to church to hear the gospel, because what is presented there may not be where (spiritually) you need to start with a person to get them to listen.

· It seems like preaching to these folks would be much more difficult than preaching to the Jews, because you could tell the Jews this Jesus is your Messiah. But with these folks, there is no frame of reference to start from, except (verse 23) the unknown god that they have been serving. There is a lot more to communicate here.

· "Very religious" might be translated now to "very spiritual", as seen by these instances of what has been described as "spiritual". "Spiritual" can mean affecting the spirit.

- On a CD there was "very spiritual but electrifying flute playing".

- "One of the things that I run into a lot, is the confusion between Spirituality and Religion. These are definitely two very different things. One can be very spiritual and not religious. One can also be very religious, but not very spiritual. One can be neither, or both... I prefer to think in terms of Spirituality. To me, this means my own relationship with Spirit/God/Goddess/All That Is. The way I live my life comes from that relationship. This does not necessitate a religion in the traditional organized sense. People were very spiritual long before there were religious... To me, Light & Love are the foundation. The energy of which everything is comprised. The way back to the One."

- "Witches, Wiccans and Pagans... The Glory of the Pagan Festival... Workshops, Drumming til dawn, Vendors, camping, lots of magic and the simple life. The third annual Gaea Goddess Gathering "Share the Wisdom and Pass the Lore" (festival) ... The Goddess blessed us with over 200 Women and Children in attendance from all walks of life. The Goddess also blessed us, with a very spiritual and soul building weekend. The first spiritual event was driving through the Front Gate of Gaea and being met by Mother Nature herself and knowing that I had a full four days of being with her and enjoying her beauty in every thing around me. The annual opening wind chime ritual in Venus Mound was the first Spiritual Involvement that we all enjoyed together as a group. The inspiring ritual was followed by a very informative workshop presented by Barbara Criswell owner of Aquarius on the "Mystical Magick in Stones."

- "Elizabeth is a wonderful example of someone who through her practice of Kriya Yoga today leads a very busy life and yet remains calm and peaceful. The Kriya Yoga technique will teach you how to maintain peace within, at all times, while dealing with the turmoil of the world around you! She shares with her students the benefits of Kriya Yoga, which can be practiced by all people of all religions. Kriya is the simple and practical scientific technique that will accelerate your spiritual development beyond imagination."

(Acts 17:23) "for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:

· THE UNKNOWN GOD - some say this referred to the time when Epimenides of Crete, a great prophet, came to Athens when the city was suffering from an epidemic. He turned sheep loose into the city & wherever the sheep happened to stop, there they were sacrificed. If no altar was near, the Athenians sacrificed to the unknown god who should be worshipped there, & who they thought had the power to stop the plague if he would just get over being angry with the Athenians.

· He says they have worshipped the true One, for if they had worshipped anything real, it had to be the one true God.

· "I proclaim to you" -- he is not borrowing from others, but is presenting something new to them, in an organized fashion, discounting the earlier came of him as a "babbler" (verse 18).

(Acts 17:24) "God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.

· Paul had to take them from the point of idol worship to what it really means to worship God. So he had to refer to their worship of idols.

- The God who made the world & everything in it.

o God - singular

o Creator - they thought matter as eternal or Zeus was the creator

- Is Lord of heaven & earth

o "Is" implies natural Lord of heaven & earth. He is actively controlling this universe

o Stoics believed that Fates governed everything

o Epicureans believed that gods weren't interested in the everyday affairs of men & nations.

- Does not dwell in temples made with hands-

o Infinitely above the gods who dwelled in little temples & limited to small space

o Not even the Jerusalem temple could contain God - 2 Chron. 2:6

o Paul says God doesn't live in buildings like these.

(Acts 17:25) "Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.

- Neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything-

o Worshippers used to leave food before the idols of the gods thinking they would come & eat & be satisfied.

o Jehovah God does not need the assistance of men to exist!

o Paul has struck at the false theory of the value of temples & a false theory of religion

o These pagan religions emphasized what the worshipper must do for the god

o Christianity is distinctive in that it emphasizes what God has done & continues to do for the worshipper - Acts. 14:16

- Since He Himself gives to all life & break and all things

o Jehovah is the source of life, & therefore cannot be dependent on that life.

o God is preserver, sustainer as well as creator.

(Acts 17:26) "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,

- He made from one every nation of mankind

o This was in direct opposition to the Athenians notion that their origin was different from that of other men.

o This national pride of their origins were superior to other men's & their gods better than others led to a haughty attitude toward foreigners & cruelty toward slaves.

o Paul says The God who cannot be housed in buildings made by men's hands & who is Lord of heaven & earth, created every nation equal & made them all from one man & guides the destinies of all.

- Having determined their appointed times and boundaries

o Nations have risen & fallen not because of chance or survival of the fittest- but because God's hand was in it.

o There is definitely a divine philosophy of history. (ex. Alexander the Great)

o God determines how far a nation's boundaries shall spread

(Acts 17:27) "so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

- that they should seek God

o The reason why God does this is so that man may seek God. (Sept. 11)

o The greatest good is not pleasure (Epicureans) or apathy (Stoics) but in seeking God!

o God planned that men would long for more knowledge of His existence & character

- If perhaps they might grope for Him & find Him

o "Perhaps" implies that it is possible to find God but by nature but it is only a partial knowledge since the only way to really know God is through His revelation of Himself in Jesus & the Word.

o "Grope" pictures one groping in the dark (which is the way it is form men without the revelation in Jesus the Word to aid them)

o Men will long for Him as they contemplate His works, but it will not be a saving knowledge.

- Though He is not far from each one of us

o Epicurus taught that the gods, were too far off from man to trouble themselves about his needs.

(Acts 17:28) "for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.'

- In Him we live & move & exist

o He is concerned about each individual person in His world.

o His providential sustenance and provision.

- As some of your poets have said

o Quoting from these heathen poets would have quickly gotten their attention

o He quotes from Aratus (270 bc) & Cleanthes (300-220 bc)

o This was not an illiterate Jew, but a man of culture, acquainted with the thoughts of their own great poets.

(Acts 17:29) "Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising.

- Being then the offspring of God

" Children resemble their parents (Gen. 1:26-27)

" You are not a stick or stone, where did you get the idea that God (your father) is?

(Acts 17:30) "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,

- having overlooked the times of ignorance

" The long period before the preaching of the Gospel, when men were ignorant of the true God

" Because they had no written revelation

" Overlooked = looked beyond

o God, when He was giving partial revelation (OT) to the Jews only, looked beyond to the time when the revelation of His will would be complete (NT) and be made to all (Gentiles & Jews)

o Instead of wiping out all sinners, God patiently worked toward the time when there would be full revelation of His will.

o That time is now!

- God is declaring to men that all everywhere should repent

Why? Men will be judged (verse 31)

(Acts 17:31) "because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."

- Man is going to be judged!

" Fixed a day - God has absolutely determined there will be a consummation of history including a judgment day.

" The proof - the resurrection was proof that Jesus would be judge.

Just as sure as Jesus was raised from the dead, there will be a universal judgment!

(Acts 17:32) And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, "We will hear you again on this matter."

- some began to sneer

" Greeks - believed body was a prison house for the soul, they looked forward to getting rid of the body. A resurrection where people got their bodies back didn't fit their thinking to well.

- others said, we shall hear you again

" Maybe a polite way of reject or a true desire to know more

" Paul was offering a way to free these people of their fear of the 'many demons' they were in bondage to.

(Acts 17:33) So Paul departed from among them.

(Acts 17:34) However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

· There was not a large number of people converted, as might be expected from this audience. Amazingly, one was a judge, an Areopagite. Dionysius wound up becoming First Bishop of Athens and also a Martyr. He was sainted by the Catholic church.

(Acts 18:1) After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth.

· It seems that the stronger the Jewish influences, the more persecution Paul received. He did not receive much persecution in Athens, but he did receive a cold reception there, will little prospect of doing good, so he left there and came to Corinth. In Athens he left the care of those there who believed with Dionysius (17:34).

· This is during Paul's second missionary journey, and his first time in Corinth. Paul became instrumental in planting the church there which became considerable. Corinth was the chief city of Achaia, now a province of the empire, a rich and splendid city. It was a strategic city located on important land & sea trade routes. It was a center for pagan worship & immorality. It was the Hollywood and the Las Vegas of the Roman Empire -- it was probably the most wicked city of that day. There, the Temple contained thousands of prostitutes dedicated to the worship of the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite. Sex was its religion.

(Acts 18:2) And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them.

· Aquila and Priscilla were a godly couple that opened their house to Christian worship and ministry, even in at least 3 different cities (Corinth, Rome (Rom 1:7, 16:3), and Ephesus (Acts 18:24-26)). They ministered to people as a family -- they were all involved in ministering to others. And, they ministered wherever they went.

· Aquila was a Jew, born in Pontus (the area just south of the Black Sea, and northeast of Galatia). Many of the Jews of the dispersion were settled in that country, as we see in 1 Peter 1:1.

· Aquila and Priscilla had just come from Rome, because of a recent edict from the emperor Claudius Caesar that all Jews are to be banished from Rome (approx 50 A.D.). The Jews were generally hated there, and the Romans took every occasion to put hardship and disgrace upon them. Interesting that they had been banished because they were Jews, not because they were Christians. Often Gentiles in those days could not distinguish between the two. The Romans complained that the Jews were a turbulent people, and the conflict between the Jews and Christians only made their perception worse.

· It is good to be in company and to have regular conversation with those that will improve our knowledge of Christ, and to put ourselves under the influence of those who are resolved to serve the Lord. Are some of the people you spend time with those that draw you closer, or do most draw you away? How about you -- do you draw others closer to Christ or have no impact for Christ in their lives?

(Acts 18:3) So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers.

· Though Paul was bred a scholar, he we see he also had a handicraft skill. It was the custom of the Jews to bring up their children to some trade, even though they gave them learning or estates. Rabbi Judah says, "He that teaches not his son a trade is as if he taught him to be a thief." Paul, though a Pharisee, and bred up at the feet of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3), yet, having in his youth learned to make tents, did not by disuse lose the art. An honest trade, by which a man may earn a living, is not to be looked upon with contempt.

· Tents at that time were usually made of leather or animal skins, as was the outer covering of the tabernacle (Num 4:4-6).

· Paul, the hardworking preacher and scholar, was not above also spending time in his trade, and being a hardworker with his hands. He was willing to provide for himself with his own labour, that he might not make the gospel of Christ burdensome - 2 Cor 11:7, 2 Thess 3:8-9. He didn't have the attitude that all funds should be gifts to him. This shows he focused more on how he could minister, rather than be ministered to. How many of those who attend church are ministered to week after week, but are never willing to "make tents", to minister to others? How can you minister to others? How about gifts, meals, phone calls, letters of appreciation, prayer, babysitting, mowing yards, encouraging words?

· How would you describe today's families? Busy? What activities did you do this week together as a family?

· Whenever Aquila & Priscilla are mentioned in the Scripture, they are mentioned together. God desires families to serve Him together. Why?

· Notice the hospitality of Aquila and Priscilla. One of the greatest ways to serve God as a family is invite people to your home.

· The difference between entertaining and practicing hospitality - Entertaining focuses on YOU, while hospitality focuses on THEM. Our homes are a sacred place to us. When we share them with others they feel very honored & special. See also notes on 2 Kings 4:8, John 13:2, 1 Pet 4:9.

· Their hospitality had to have been an encouragement to Paul. Paul's ministry had to have met many challenges. It must have been a great blessing for him to return in the evenings to eat, fellowship, and pray with Aquila & Priscilla. This couple was an essential part of the successful establishment of a church in this wicked city.

· Christian leaders today need encouragement! They need emotional, physical and spiritual support from Christian families.

· Imagine the benefits that this couple received by having Paul stay with them. (learning under one of the greatest leaders). Those who give of themselves also receive a great blessing in return.

(Acts 18:4) And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.

· Note that both Jews and Greeks were allowed in the synagogue. Note also that Paul was at this point preaching to both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles), but soon would only be preaching to the Gentiles (verse 6).

· He only preached in the synagogue once a week. It wasn't every day. He must have been earning his living during the week, and preaching on the weekends.

· See how the apostles propagated the gospel - not by force and violence, not by fire and sword, not by demanding a consent, but by fair and persuasive reasoning, enough that some came to faith by his words.

(Acts 18:5) When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.

· As much as Paul was compelled by the Spirit to testify (verse 5), he was even more so now. He was probably encouraged by the word he heard about the churches in Macedonia.

(Acts 18:6) But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, "Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."

(Acts 18:7) And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.

(Acts 18:8) Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.

· Even though Crispus believed, many of the Jews did not, for after about 18 months they rose up against Paul (verse 12).

(Acts 18:9) Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent;

(Acts 18:10) "for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city."

(Acts 18:11) And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

(Acts 18:12) When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat,

· Gallio was in office for only one year, starting in either AD 51 or AD 52. Therefore Paul was in Corinth from about last AD 51 until early AD 53.

(Acts 18:13) saying, "This fellow persuades men to worship God contrary to the law."

(Acts 18:14) And when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, "If it were a matter of wrongdoing or wicked crimes, O Jews, there would be reason why I should bear with you.

(Acts 18:15) "But if it is a question of words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves; for I do not want to be a judge of such matters."

(Acts 18:16) And he drove them from the judgment seat.

(Acts 18:17) Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. But Gallio took no notice of these things.

· Either Sosthenes was the same as Crispus (vs 18:8), or in the year and a half since then he had succeeded him in that office. If not the same man, then both had become believers (see 1 Cor. 1:1).

(Acts 18:18) So Paul still remained a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow.

(Acts 18:19) And he came to Ephesus, and left them there; but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.

(Acts 18:20) When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent,

(Acts 18:21) but took leave of them, saying, "I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing." And he sailed from Ephesus.

(Acts 18:22) And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch.