Review of Acts 18

by Pastor Temilolu Oluwasijuwomi

Chapter so loaded!

Vs 5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul gave his whole time to preaching the message, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah.

Paul was so passionate about the gospel that he devoted his whole time preaching Jesus Christ. He had a strong desire for them Romans 10:1. How compassionate are we for those who are not saved?

Vs 9-10 One night Paul had a vision in which the Lord said to him, “Do not be afraid, but keep on speaking and do not give up, 10 for I am with you. No one will be able to harm you, for many in this city are my people.”

As long as you are doing God’s will He will definitely back you up.

Vs 28 for with his strong arguments he defeated the Jews in public debates by proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.

If there is anything to commit oneself to as a disciple of Christ is keep on sharing the good news to liberate men from the bondage of law.

It is a day of stability for us

Souls are won into the kingdom

Utterances given as we preach the gospel

We are more passionate about the gospel

People in the Northern part of Nigeria are preserved in God’s hand and the gospel is rooted in the heart of men.

We pray for missionaries for strength, courage, revival of your word and wisdom. 

Countries in the 10/40 window the Lord flood their hearts with His word

Every restrictions placed on the gospel is lifted and there is access for the gospel across the globe in Jesus Holy name!

Amen!

I have streamlined the study today to character study.

We will be examining the ministry of PRISCILLA AND AQUILA. A very prominent couple in the early church.

We will be looking at them

1. Being Helpers in Christ to Paul and the entire gentile church in their region.

2. Their hospitality and some lessons we can learn

3. Their DISCIPLESHIP and due diligence to rightly dividing the word of truth

PRISCILLA AND AQUILA: HELPERS IN CHRIST

Rom 16:3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:

Everyone needs an helper in Christ. (Financially, relationally, emotionally, spiritually, etc)

“in spreading the Gospel, and promoting the kingdom, honour, and interest of Christ; for though they did not publicly preach, at least not Priscilla, yet they were very useful in their private conferences and instructions, both to ministers of the Gospel, as in the case of Apollos, and to young Christians: as the apostle, wherever he went, was instrument of the conversion of many souls; these were helpful privately in encouraging the young converts, comforting them with their own experiences and thereby helped them forward, instructed, strengthened, and established them; and so were greatly assistant to the apostle in the work of the Lord Jesus .” Gills commentary

Besides Mary and Joseph, one of the most prominent Couples in the New Testament were Priscilla and Aquila. They served the Lord with everything they had even to the point of willingly risking their neck to rescue Paul from imminent danger.

They obviously had the pride of place in Paul’s heart.

When saluting them in the book of Romans, Corinthians and Timothy, Paul would give them the pride of place. Either as the first to be mentioned on two instances or the last but not the least in one. They were too close and too valuable to the work of the Gospel to be overlooked. No other couple in the New Testament comes close to them in the work of the ministry. We don’t know if they had children, but they definitely put everything on the line for the sake of the Gospel.

Their impact in the early church portrays an example for Christian couples as partners and labourers together with Christ. As well as willingly and jointly making every resource available for the furtherance of the Gospel

PRISCILLA AND AQUILA: HOSPITALITY

Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have *entertained angels* without realizing it! Heb. 13: 2.

Paul lived with Priscilla and Aquila for approximately 18 months!!! 18 months!!! Imagine having a stranger in your house for 18 months. During that time, Paul must have exposed them to deep Bible study. He didn’t just live with them, he wasn’t a burden to them. He must have warmed up to them being a tent maker like they were.

God will most likely use somebody to be a blessing to you or open doors you never thought possible.

Like the above verse, some people have missed their helpers just because they overlooked a stranger who could have brought massive blessings to their lives.

We live in dangerous times, yes! Because, being hospitable may come with a dangers. However, we may lose more when we don’t show hospitality. When occasion demands, we could make our homes available for the work of the Gospel. It may not necessarily be pastors or the likes. It may be the child of a relative that you can assist with schooling or housing while such is recently employed etc. Rarely was there anyone in the Bible who was hospitable that did not receive miracles and blessings.

Abraham and Sarah, Gen 18,

The widow of Zarephath, 1Kings 17.

The Shunemite Woman 2 Kings 4 & 8.

Paul mentioned many times in the Epistles how believers must be given to hospitality. Howbeit with one goal: the Gospel. The furtherance of the Gospel should be the goal of hospitality. This may not be comfortable and easy, but if need be that we entertain someone, prayerfully do it and God will bless you in return. A few things to note though.

1. Being hospitable doesn’t mean you allow people to be lazy, irresponsible and reckless around your house. Paul wasn’t lazy, neither was he reckless.

2. We must be sensitive in welcoming strangers. The strangers that Abraham welcomed brought blessings and not problems.

3. While being hospitable, those we welcome into our homes shouldn’t drive a wedge in between us and our spouses. The angels that visited Abraham made their marriage blossoms with children. The marriage of Aquila and Priscilla also blossomed as a result of their hospitality to Paul and not otherwise.

4. When problems arise, as a result of our hospitality, it is better to let the stranger leave immediately rather than linger. Lot and Abraham, Sarah and Hagar.

May we receive wisdom to carry this out if the need arises.

PRISCILLA AND AQUILA: DISCIPLESHIP AND RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH

Priscilla and Aquila are described in the New Testament as providing a presence that strengthened the early Christian churches. Together, they are credited with instructing Apollos, a major evangelist of the first century, and “[explaining] to him the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:26).

Acts 18: 26 when Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately.

Another notable thing about this couple was that they were both sound in the word. So sound that the writer acknowledged them to have both schooled brother Apollo. Nothing beats accuracy in delivery of the word. Boldness or eloquence is nothing compared being accurate in the delivery of God’s word.

2Tim. 2:15 be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth

Apollo was sincere but sincerely wrong. There are many bold, eloquent, but inaccurate preachers. Such need the ministry of Priscilla and Aquila of our time to explain the word accurately. They were able to disciple a bold and eloquent preacher without denting his image or shaming him publicly. They schooled him to the point that Paul refereed to him as the waterer of the Gospel he planted in the hearts of the Corinthian church.

1Cor. 3:6 I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.

While we seek to correct those who have not gotten a firm grip on the Gospel, we must learn to do so with patience and love and so, making them grounded and rooted in the word of truth.

Remain stable.

Be blessed

QUESTION

Acts 18:18 talked about a vow… what’s the significance of making a vow or covenant in the New Testament?

ANSWER

Please note that Paul was simply doing stuffs to convince the Jews he had not come to scatter their foundational doctrine.

The NLT puts the verse more clearly:

…There he shaved his head ACCORDING TO JEWISH CUSTOM, marking the end of a vow… (Acts 18:18)

Interestingly, this aspect of hair shaving is not in the Mosaic Law. It was a ritual and tradition accepted among the Jews. (Remember Jesus saying these guys have made their traditions make the word of God of no effect?) Mk. 7:13

The easy way to understand what’s going on here is to take a peep on Acts 21:21-25…where James who was still holding on to the law, said to Paul at a point…

…24. Go with them to the Temple and join them in the purification ceremony, paying for them to have THEIR HEADS RITUALLY SHAVED. Then everyone will KNOW that the rumors are all false and that you YOURSELF OBSERVE the JEWISH laws…

But as for vows and the New Testament, It is unnecessary. We simply know our responsibilities as believers and do it cheerfully …not of compulsion or necessity (these points to vowing too). We can pledge…but all must be done in the spirit of Grace, not to twist God’s hands to do stuffs for us. Vowing is not necessary in the New Testament.

We can have a nudge within us to do something for God’s Gospel work or for his minister(s)…and we commit to doing it. That’s cool and rewardable. That’s being responsible.

But vowing has this demand about it. It carries the spirit of ritual performance. As though a requirement for answered prayers or something serious. That was old covenant. In the New Testament, the emphasis is always freely! (Kindly refer to the GOG benediction)

Amen.