The conversion of Crispus, an important Jewish leader, opened up more opportunities for evangelism and brought more opposition from the enemy! The Jewish community in Corinth was no doubt furious at Paul’s success and did everything possible to silence him and get rid of him. Dr. Luke does not give us the details, but I get the impression that between Acts 18: and 9, the situation became especially difficult and dangerous. Paul may have been thinking about leaving the city when the Lord came to him and gave him the assurance that he needed.
It is just like our Lord to speak to us when we need Him the most. His tender “Fear not!” can calm the storm in our hearts regardless of the circumstances around us. This is the way He assured Abraham (Gen. 15:1), Isaac (Gen. 26:24), and Jacob (Gen. 46:3), as well as Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 20:15–17), Daniel (Dan. 10:12, 19), Mary (Luke 1:30), and Peter (Luke 5:10). The next time you feel alone and defeated, meditate on Hebrews 13: and Isaiah 41: and 43:1–7, and claim by faith the presence of the Lord. He is with you!
When he was a young man, the famous British preacher G. Campbell Morgan used to read the Bible each week to two elderly women. One evening, when he finished reading the closing words of Matthew 28, Morgan said to the ladies, “Isn’t that a wonderful promise!” and one of them replied, “Young man, that is not a promise—it is a fact!”
Jesus had already appeared to Paul on the Damascus road (Acts 9:1–6; 26:12–18) and also in the temple (Acts 22:17–18). Paul would be encouraged by Him again when he was imprisoned in Jerusalem (Acts 23:11) and later in Rome (2 Tim. 4:16–17). Our Lord’s angel would also appear to Paul in the midst of the storm and give him a word of assurance for the passengers and crew (Acts 27:23–25). One of our Lord’s names is “Emmanuel—God with us” (Matt. 1:23), and He lives up to His name.
Paul was encouraged not only by the presence of the Lord, but also by His promises. Jesus assured Paul that no one would hurt him and that he would bring many sinners to the Savior. The statement “I have many people in this city” implies the doctrine of divine election, for “the Lord knows those who are His” (2 Tim. 2: nkjv). God’s church is made up of people who were “chosen … in him [Christ] before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4; and see Acts 13:48).
Please note that divine sovereignty in election is not a deterrent to human responsibility in evangelism. Quite the opposite is true! Divine election is one of the greatest encouragements to the preaching of the gospel. Because Paul knew that God already had people set apart for salvation, he stayed where he was and preached the gospel with faith and courage. Paul’s responsibility was to obey the commission; God’s responsibility was to save sinners. If salvation depends on sinful man, then all of our efforts are futile, but if “salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9), then we can expect Him to bless His Word and save souls.
“Scripture nowhere dispels the mystery of election,” writes John Stott in God’s New Society (InterVarsity, 37), “and we should beware of any who try to systematize it too precisely or rigidly. It is not likely that we shall discover a simple solution to a problem which has baffled the best brains of Christendom for centuries.”
The important thing is that we accept God’s truth and act on it. Paul did not spend his time speculating about divine sovereignty and human responsibility, the way some ivory-tower Christians do today. He got busy and tried to win souls to Christ! You and I do not know who God’s elect are, so we take the gospel to every creature and let God do the rest. And we certainly do not discuss election with the lost! D. L. Moody once told some unconverted people, “You have no more to do with the doctrine of election than you have with the government of China!”
Before leaving this theme, we should note that it is our personal responsibility to make sure that we are among God’s elect. “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1: nkjv). To the inquisitive theorist who asked about the number of the elect, Jesus replied, “Strive to enter in at the narrow gate” (Luke 13:23–24). In other words, “What you need is salvation for yourself, not speculation about others! Be sure you are saved yourself; then we can talk about these wonderful truths.”
Paul continued in Corinth, knowing that God was with Him and that people would be saved. During those eighteen months of witness, Paul saw many victories in spite of Satan’s opposition. The church was not made up of many mighty and noble people (1 Cor. 1:26–31), but of sinners whose lives were transformed by the grace of God (1 Cor. 6:9–11).
Dr. Luke shared only one example of divine protection during Paul’s ministry in Corinth (Acts 18:12–17), but it is a significant one. The arrival of a new proconsul gave the unbelieving Jews hope that Rome might declare this new “Christian sect” illegal. They broke the law by attacking Paul and forcing him to go to court. This was not the first time that fanatical Jews had tried to prove that Paul was breaking the Roman law (Acts 16:19–24; 17:6–7).
Being a Roman citizen, Paul was prepared to defend himself, but this turned out to be unnecessary because Gallio defended Paul! The proconsul immediately saw that the real issue was not the application of the Roman law but the interpretation of the Jewish religion, so he refused to try the case!
But that was not the end of the matter. The Greeks who were witnessing the scene got hold of Sosthenes, the man who replaced Crispus as ruler of the synagogue, and beat him right before the eyes of the proconsul! It was certainly a flagrant display of antiSemitism, but Gallio looked the other way. If this is the same Sosthenes mentioned by Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:1, then he too got converted, and the Jews had to find another ruler for their synagogue! It would be interesting to know exactly how it happened. Did Paul and some of the believers visit Sosthenes and minister to him? Perhaps his predecessor Crispus helped “wash the wounds” (Acts 16:33) and used this as an opportunity to share the love of Christ.
How strange and wonderful are the providences of God! The Jews tried to force the Roman proconsul to declare the Christian faith illegal, but Gallio ended up doing just the opposite. By refusing to try the case, Gallio made it clear that Rome would not get involved in cases involving Jewish religious disputes. As far as he was concerned, Paul and his disciples had as much right as the Jews to practice their religion and share it with others.
In the book of Acts, Luke emphasizes the relationship between the Roman government and the Christian church. While it was true that the Jewish council prohibited the apostles to preach (Acts 4:17–21; 5:40), there is no evidence in Acts that Rome ever did so. In fact, in Philippi (Acts 16:35–40), Corinth, and Ephesus (Acts 19:31), the Roman officials were not only tolerant but almost cooperative. Paul knew how to use his Roman citizenship wisely so that the government worked for him and not against him, and he was careful not to accuse the government or try to escape its authority (Acts 25:10–12).