Here is a teaching on chapter 18 of the book of Acts. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added into that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.
First I want to say a quick prayer... Lord I pray that you lift up every single person reading this right now. Please open up our eyes, our ears, our mind, and our hearts to you Lord. Please give us knowledge and understanding to know exactly what it is that we're reading and the wisdom to implement it in our daily lives and to make an impact in other people's lives. Lord please help us to see the truth, know the truth, discern the truth, and live by the truth. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Acts Chapter 18:
1 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 6 But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."
So in verses 1-4 Paul had met Aquilla and Priscilla in Corinth and they had recently come from Italy because Claudius, which was the Roman emperor, ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul stayed and worked with them, because he was also a tentmaker as were they. So even though Paul worked spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, he also had a trade that he did, which was to make tents. He was a tent maker, and so he would do that also while spreading the gospel, and on every Sabbath he went and discussed in the synagogue, trying to persuade the Jews and Greeks and tell them about the good news of Jesus.
Then we see here in verses 5-6 that when Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, then Paul devoted himself only to preaching and testifying about the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul knew that the most important work that we could ever do is working for Jesus, spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, and letting other people know about him in hopes that they may be saved. So he devoted all of his time exclusively to this when Silas and Timothy came. In verse 6, these Jews had hatred in their heart and they didn't want to believe in Jesus. Paul knew that he had a responsibility to spread the gospel of Jesus and he also knew that the Gentiles would be more receptive than these stubborn Jews. Paul thought that his responsibility was to preach to the Jews first, but they rejected so he said from then on he would go to the Gentiles (the Gentiles are anyone that are not Jewish.)
7 Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. 8 Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.
9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city." 11 So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.
12 While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him into court. 13 "This man," they charged, "is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law."
14 Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, "If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. 15 But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law--settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things." 16 So he had them ejected from the court. 17 Then they all turned on Sosthenes the synagogue ruler and beat him in front of the court. But Gallio showed no concern whatever.
In verses 9-10 we see that the Lord came to Paul in a vision and told him not to be afraid and to keep speaking. The Lord said that he is with Paul and that no one is going to attack or harm him because he has many people in the city. We see in the verses above, in verses 7-8, that Paul had went to a worshiper of God named Titius Justus and then also Crispus (which was the synagogue ruler) and his entire household believed in the Lord. Many Corinthians who heard Crispus believed and were baptized. So there were a lot of people in that city that did believe in the Lord, and so in that vision the Lord told him to not be afraid and to keep spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. In verse 11 we see that Paul stayed for a year and a half and he taught the word of God. This is why it's so important for us to spread the gospel, even in places where a lot of people believe in Jesus Christ, and in places where no one believes in Jesus or very few people believe in Jesus. There's always room for more people to believe and it is our duty and our responsibility as Christians to spread the gospel of Jesus. We can't let fear get in the way, we have to always stand firm in our faith, spread the gospel, and know that God is always right here with us no matter what.
In verses 12-13 the Jews made an attack on Paul and brought him into the court when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia. They said that he was persuading people to worship God in the ways that were opposite of their law or not in the same direction as their law. In verses 14-15 Gallio said to the Jews that they can settle the matter themselves because they weren't making a complaint about a crime, but it involved questions about words and names and their law, and he wasn't going to judge those things. So in verse 16 we see that Gallio had these Jews ejected from the court. These Jews were so full of hate and they were angry that they were being taken out of the court and they weren't being listened to, so they turned on the synagogue ruler and they beat him in front of the court. But this didn't concern Gallio, and he wasn't going to let that affect him. They were just acting out to get his attention and he wasn't letting that happen.
18 Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken. 19 They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. 21 But as he left, he promised, "I will come back if it is God's will." Then he set sail from Ephesus. 22 When he landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch.
23 After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.
27 When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28 For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
Alright so those are all the verses of chapter 18 of the book of Acts, but I'm going to discuss these verses with you guys here. In verses 18-19 we see that Paul had went to different places spreading the gospel, Priscilla and Aquilla were with him in Ephesus, and he spread the gospel of Jesus in the synagogue in Ephesus. Then in verses 20-21 when these Jews asked him to spend some time with them he declined. Paul let the Holy Spirit guide him and he was on a mission to spread the gospel and let as many people know about Jesus as possible. He didn't let other people affect what he was going to do or affect how long he was going to stay at one place. He was guided by the Holy Spirit and whenever he felt that it was time to go to a different place to preach the gospel, he didn't hesitate. Paul said in verse 21 that if it was God's will for him to come back, then he would. So this shows that Paul was fully submitted to the will of God and he didn't let anything get in the way of him letting the Holy Spirit guide him and going wherever he felt that he needed to go. So then Paul went on from Ephesus to different places spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In verses 24-28, while Paul was out at different places spreading the gospel there was a Jew named Apollos that came to Ephesus. Apollos had knowledge of the scriptures, he had been taught in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor (intense and passionate in the spirit.) The way that Apollos taught about Jesus was accurate, but he only knew about John's baptism. He didn't know all about Jesus Christ, the resurrection, crucifixion, and all of that. So in verse 26, whenever Priscilla and Aquila had heard him they invited him to their house and explained the way of God more adequately to him. Priscilla and Aquila had spent a lot of time with Paul so they knew everything about Jesus Christ, about the crucifixion, resurrection, and all of that, so they explained it to Apollos. In verses 27-28 the brothers encouraged Apollos when he wanted to go to Achaia and they wrote to the disciples that were in Achaia to welcome him. So he went there and he was a great help to them. Apollos debated with the Jews in public and proved from the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
So Paul knew that he was guided by the Holy Spirit to go somewhere else other than Ephesus and spread the gospel, then Apollos came to Ephesus and spread the gospel. This just goes to show that sometimes we go to places that the gospel does need to be spread, and maybe we're not going to be the one to stay there and preach it, but we can still make an impact in the lives of other people and help them to get closer to Christ. So we have to make sure that we're staying fully submitted to the will of God, letting the Holy Spirit guide us, and not hesitating anytime we feel that tug to go somewhere. Even if other people are trying to get us to stay at the place that we're at, we have to make sure we're constantly going where the Holy Spirit guides us. We can have hope in knowing that God's got us, he's in complete control, and he will send the people to the places that they need to go to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and to help other people know about Jesus so that they may be saved.
Acts Ch 18 Study Guide
What kind of work did Paul do?
Why do you think that Paul devoted himself entirely to preaching and testifying about Jesus once Timothy and Silas came to Corinth?
In verse 6, what was the responsibility that Paul was speaking of?
Why did Paul stay in Corinth for a year and a half?
In verse 17, why did these Jews turn on the synagogue ruler?
In verse 20, why did Paul decline when they asked him to spend more time with them?
Why is it so important for us to let the Holy Spirit guide us and to stay fully submitted to the will of God?
What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible study?
So that concludes this Bible study on chapter 18 of the book of Acts. Next week we're going to go into chapter 19, so make sure you stay tuned for that.
I love you guys so much.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
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