Call to Commitment

 

Medieval wall of Thessalonica to Aegean Sea

 

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

2.     Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 

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." 

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. 

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. 

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. 

7.     Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king—Jesus." 

8.     And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things. 

9.     So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. 

 The last time that Luke mentions his part in this story, is in Philippi in Hechos 16:10-17. Apparently, he remained in that city, because he does not say that he was with them, when they departed. From Philippi, they went through two cities of Macedonia, Amphipolis and Apollonia. Amphipolis is 33 miles southwest of Philippi, on the northern coast of the Aegean Sea. Apollonia is another 30 miles southwest of Amphipolis, but the exact site is unknown. Thessalonica is 37 miles due west of Apollonia (v. 1).

 We come to understand, in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, the general reception of the word there. “For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance… And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit” (1 Th. 1: 6-7). I will only add a small phrase from verse 9: “… you turned to God from idols…” In Acts, we get more details.

 Although Paul is the apostle to the Gentiles, it is always his custom to preach to the Jews first. This is done according to divine principle, because of God’s election of the Jews since the very beginning. Let us take verse 2 and Paul’s custom as an opportunity to go into the principle in more depth, because some Christians ignore it. God called Abram out of the world, precisely out of Ur of the Chaldeans to make a nation from his offspring. Isaac followed and then Jacob. We have the history of their nation and prophets throughout the Old Testament. We have their literature from Job to Ecclesiastes and the promises given to them specifically.

 

Ruins of ancient Corinth (my personal photos)

Greeting and Introduction

       1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the                                        church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia: 

2.     Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

 A. R. Faucett of Jamieson, Faucett, Brown comments: “The Time of Writing was after Pentecost, a.d. 57, when Paul left Ephesus for Troas. Having stayed in the latter place for some time preaching the Gospel with effect (2 Co_2:12), he went on to Macedonia, He wrote this Second Epistle, and then went on to Greece, where he abode for three months. Macedonia was the place from which it was written (2 Co_9:2) where the present tense, “I boast,” or “am boasting,” implies his presence then in Macedonia. Philippi, as being the chief town of the province, was probably the place to which all the collections of the churches were sent. Ancient tradition, too (as appears from the subscription to this epistle), favors the view that Philippi was the place from which this Epistle was sent by the hands of Titus who received, besides, a charge to prosecute at Corinth the collection which he had begun at his first visit (2Co_8:6). Paul sent Titus back forthwith with this Second Epistle, which is addressed, not to Corinth only (1Co_1:2), but to all the churches also in Achaia (2Co_1:1).

 Paul knows a divine calling, according to the will of God, to be an apostle of Jeus Christ. What is happening in his life has been born in eternity above any importance that men could be planning in any high government congress, to take place on this earth. This calling is according to the purpose of God to touch the heart of men with the power that there is in the message of the gospel, which transforms lives and prepares them for eternity.  This is with which God was concerned and with which He continues to be concerned in this century. For this reason, He sends missionaries out, as he sent Paul.

 Timothy is with Paul, since Paul desired him to leave his own city and dedicate his life to the gospel. He has joined the great family of God and is a brother of all who will read Paul’s letter. In a special and personal way, he is Paul’s spiritual son, because the seed of the gospel was sown by the apostle in him. John Wesley wrote: “Timotheus our brother - St. Paul writing to Timotheus styled him his son; writing OF HIM, his brother.” It was a mighty work, even more real than the physical seed, which brings babies into the world. It is forming the spiritual family of God and an eternal brotherhood.

 Paul addresses the church in Corinth, which is the entity that is near to the heart of God and with which He is creating a bride for His Son. From this one principal church, many others have formed all over the territory of ancient Acaia.

 

How can I be saved?

 

Timothy of Derbe

1.     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. 

2.     He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium. 

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. 

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. 

5.     So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily. 

 We learned of Derbe and Lystra in chapter 14, where Paul and Barnabas traveled on their first missionary trip. Now Paul, on his second journey, is with Silas, as they revisit the believers, won on the former visit throughout the region. In these cities, they hear of a young man named Timothy of Derbe (some think he was from Lystra). His grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice, believed before him, but, even before their conversion to Christianity, it would seem, as Jews they taught Timothy the Scriptures.  See what Paul writes him in 2 Timothy 3:15: “From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” The Old Testament was instrumental in giving Timothy wisdom to find faith in Christ. The probability of his conversion was when Paul came to Derbe and there was a better response to the gospel than in the other cities in the region. Timothy’s father was Greek (v. 1).

 Apparently, he had become an outstanding disciple, and was recognized by the local believers beyond Derbe, in the neighboring cities of Lystra and Iconium (v. 2). Paul was always careful to remove unnecessary offences to Jew and Gentile and, because his father was Greek, Timothy had not been circumcised. Paul saw the potential in this young man and wanted him to join their team, but he first circumcised him. This was to avoid causing trouble in the Jewish community, where they knew his father was Greek. Otherwise in evangelization, which Paul instructed this disciple to observe (2 T. 4:5), Timothy would never be able to converse with a Jew, if they knew he was not circumcised (v. 3).

 It is obvious from Paul’s writings, that this was not a necessary Christian requirement, in fact, he told the Galatians, “in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation (Gal. 6:15). He called the Jews “false brethren”, who taught that a Gentile believer should be circumcised (Gal. 2:4).

 

The Jerusalem Council

1.     And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." 

2.     Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question. 

3.     So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren. 

4.     And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them. 

5.     But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses." 

6.     Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. 

7.     And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: "Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 

8.     So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 

9.     and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 

10.  Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 

11.  But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they." 

12.  Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles. 

 In chapter 11, Peter was challenged by a Jewish party in the Jerusalem church, because he entered a Gentile house and ate with Gentile people, something prohibited by Jewish law. Peter explained the total account, concerning a vision of a sheet let down from heaven, containing all kinds of reptiles, birds and animals, unclean according to the law. A voice instructed him to kill and eat, but Peter refused to do so, after which he was commanded not to call anything, which God had cleansed, unclean. There were two elements in this vision, which indicated that it was from God. First, it came down from heaven and then returned three times, demonstrating the heavenly source of the vision. Then, there was a three-fold confirmation of the vision, showing a divine principle… God always confirms His word.

 At the end of the vision, Gentile men, sent from the Roman centurion, Cornelius in Caesarea, buhi arrived at the door of the house in Joppa, where Peter was lodging. Peter immediately concluded that God was sending him to a Gentile house to preach the gospel. It was in obedience to the Lord’s commandment, “What God has cleansed you must not call common,” that he went with confidence, Jews from Joppa accompanying him. Then he told of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Gentiles, in the same fashion, as he came upon the Jews on the day of Pentecost.  After this, the church of Jerusalem glorified God, seeing that He was granting repentance and eternal life to the Gentiles.

 

 Paul and Barnabas at Iconium

     1.      Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed. 

           2.  But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren. 

3.     Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. 

4.     But the multitude of the city was divided: part sided with the Jews, and part with the apostles. 

5.     And when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to abuse and stone them, 

6.     they became aware of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding region. 

7.     And they were preaching the gospel there. 

 Already in 13:51, Luke told us that Paul and Barnabas went down to Iconium. They would have travelled along the Roman road, la Via Sebaste. They entered the Jewish synagogue in that city, very likely on a Saturday and, as in Antioch, the Jewish leaders gave them an opportunity to speak.  Apparently, both Paul and Barbabas spoke, and then we should take notice of three words… so spoke that… suggesting that they spoke with divine enabling, which penetrated the hearts of Jews and proselytes. In the book of Acts, the preachers spoke under Holy Spirit-anointing and a great multitude in the synagogue believed (v. 1).

 The Jews divided… some, along with Gentiles, heard with ears of the heart and received faith, while others resisted and remained in unbelief. No one was neutral, nor can anyone be neutral, upon hearing an anointed gospel. The unbelievers mounted opposition against Paul and Barnabas and their response was also powerful. It produced a demonic poison in the minds of the non-Jewish population (v. 2).

 The apostles met the challenge and battled valiantly for a long time, pitting truth against the poisonous lies of the enemy. As in the closing verse of the book of Mark, it was the Lord, Who entered on the side of truth, bringing in supernatural power, working through Paul and Barnabas with signs of heavenly support and awesome miracles (v. 3):  They went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen (Mk. 16:20). And Jesus made it known, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword (Mt. 10:34). He said that the result would be; “A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THOSE OF HIS OWN HOUSEHOLD” (Mt. 10:36, quoting Mic. 7:6). The sharp sword of God will always bring division (v. 4).