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"Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, 'Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent.'"
(Acts 18:9)
In Acts 18:1, God led Paul to the city of Corinth. Corinth was 50 miles west of Paul's last stop on his journey, the city of Athens. Corinth was a strategic city for trade purposes located on a main north-south route by land and a key east-west route by sea. Most of the traffic from northern to southern Greece passed through Corinth. It was a 200-mile sail around the peninsula, so sailors would put their ships on rollers and pull them across the 4-mile bridge of land.
Corinth was known primarily for its depraved sexual climate. Each night, 1,000 temple prostitutes would descend from the temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and practice their trade (John MacArthur, MacArthur New Testament Commentary, p. 145-46). Corinth was destroyed by Rome for its revolt in 144 B.C. but rebuilt in 44 B.C. by Julius Caesar and given the status of a Roman colony (F.F. Bruce, NIC on the New Testament, p. 345). As Athens was a prodigious philosophical challenge for Paul, Corinth was a moral challenge to him as he proclaimed the gospel. Athens took its toll on Paul, and he again found himself in another hard city but without his traveling companions: Luke, Silas, and Timothy. He desperately needed a reprieve, a blessing, and a word of encouragement.
Paul was a weary warrior, and you too may be weary, fearful, and in need of the Lord's blessing and encouragement. Let us look at the four ways God intervened in the life of His child, Paul, and gave him the courage and hope He needed. First, God sent Paul some great friends.
Luke introduces us to some people that will be lifelong friends of Paul: Aquila and Priscilla. They had fled from Rome because of Emperor Claudius's decree for all the Jews to leave Rome. This husband and wife were followers of Christ, and there is good evidence that part of the reason for the expulsion of Jews from Rome was because of this new group called Christians formed out of Judaism (see Bruce, p. 347). The three became fast friends, and Paul later wrote that Aquila and Priscilla were his fellow workers in Christ, and they had risked their lives for him (Romans 16:3-4). They proved to be twin towers of strength and stability for one wobbly Apostle (Hughes, The Church Afire, p. 238).
Acts 18:5 reveals that more reinforcements were on the way; this time, God sent not new friends, but cherished old ones in Silas, Timothy, and most likely Luke too. (In Acts 18:7, we read of his relationship with Justus, also known as Gaius.) Two things these men do are, 1. bring a great report about the church at Thessalonica, and 2. bring Paul a financial gift from the church at Philippi that will enable him to focus more on preaching the Word of God (see Hughes, p. 239). It is interesting to note that right after they return to Paul, Paul is compelled by the Spirit; he is an energized man. It is also interesting to note that the word translated "compelled" is synecho, which literally means to hold together. We all need friends like this who help keep us together when we feel we are falling apart.
I heard recently that when you encourage someone, you literally give them courage, but when you discourage someone, you take courage from them. May God give you friends who help you overcome fear and doubt and soar in your walk with God.
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