Letter to the Colossian Church- 13

Subtitle: A New Home- 2

Colossians 3:22-4:1. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, October 19, 2025.

Paul continues to address relationships in the home that would have been a part of the lives of some of the Colossians.

Slavery verifiably has been part of human history for all of written history.  All ethnic groups have been slaves and have enslaved others.  There is very little data on the prevalence of slavery in Colossae during the first century A.D.  There is more data on the prevalence of slavery within the Roman Empire during this period, but it would have had variance depending on where you are looking.  It is generally stated that 20% to 40% of households would have had slaves during this period of the Roman Empire. 

No doubt, there was enslaving going on before the Flood, since it is described as extremely wicked.  Yet, it would be clear that there would have been no slavery in the very beginning, as Adam and Eve began having children.  This would have been the same dynamic with the family of Noah when they stepped off the ark.

So, how did it start?  As sin enters our relationships and our familial connections become further and further apart, it is easier to embrace such activity for various reasons, whether economic poverty, war, or pure dictatorial subjugation.  Of course, the Tower of Babel judgment would have exacerbated this dynamic.  They spread out and could not understand one another for a long period of time.  This would break down any emotional connections that did exist.

Throughout history, slaves were often the survivors of war.  Instead of killing everyone, the victors would subjugate people as spoils of war.  Of course, kidnapping was actively pursued by many groups throughout history.  This would typically be those who don’t want to wage all out war.  It was very common for people who were badly in debt to indenture themselves to others.  The debt would be paid off by the master, and the indentured slave would work for a set number of years to cover that value.

One of the problems with slavery in the 1800s is that its intersection with the ideas of evolution to dehumanize slaves further.  Those who inhumanely treat others have somehow justified seeing them as less human than themselves.

It has been common to present the Bible as written in order to strengthen the institution of slavery.  However, this is not intellectually honest.  Most early Christians were not wealthy.  It was common for church gatherings to have slaves and masters worshipping together.  In this passage, Paul is not trying to justify or protect slavery.  Instead, he is speaking to those who have this slave to master relationship and challenging them to submit this relationship to Christ.

Let’s get into our passage.

Jesus is the Lord of our relationships: to the slave (v. 22-25)

Notice that Paul is addressing each one in a relationship and giving them an exhortation as to what they should do.  According to modern culture, what should he have said?  Modern culture is appalled that Paul does not declare that slavery is wrong and does not call for a protest in order to set all slaves free.  Of course, few give thought to how quickly the Christians would have been stamped out by Rome if Christianity made that the thrust of its focus.  Neither do we truly listen to the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

What we do know is that many slaves heard the Gospel and believed in Jesus.  Also, some of those who had slaves would believe in Jesus.  It would have been common in the early church for slaves and masters to be worshipping Jesus together.  Paul is speaking about their situation, not ours.  Even if we are to say that these verses no longer apply to cultures that do not allow slavery, we can recognize similarities to the relationship of employer to employee.

All economic systems have to come up with a solution for those who are unable to take care of themselves due to being overly indebted, or they have an inability to work.  Most of those solutions will bear a resemblance to slavery in varying degrees.  This is not to equate them, but to highlight that some of the same dynamics are at play.  Employees have a varying degree of freedom to get another job that depends on their skills or lack thereof.  So, as we go through this, we can recognize some applications to those who are not slaves and masters, but rather employees and employers.
Paul tells slaves that they should obey their earthly master.  Let’s note that the word obey here is not the same as the word Paul used for women.  However, it is the same word that was given to kids.  Paul does not get into all the issues and whether or not there are any exceptions.  If a master commanded his slave to worship Zeus, is Paul telling them they must obey and worship Zeus?  This is a ludicrous approach to what Paul is saying.  He is essentially saying that the main moral issue for slaves is that of obeying their master.  This may seem insensitive, but the Gospel is more concerned with our soul and what is ruling within us.  Good things can be done with evil motives beneath them.

I would point out that Paul uses the prepositional phrase regarding their master, “according to the flesh.”  This is a not-so-subtle qualifier to what he is saying.  A master may have a claim on your body and can, therefore, give you commands.  However, there are other ways in which they are not your master.  You have a higher Master (Lord) who is over both body and soul.

Paul then adds that they are not to obey with “external service.”  The word is literally “eye service” and has the idea of only obeying when others are watching or will find out from those around you whether you are obeying or not.  It is the picture of a person who cannot be trusted to do something unless they are heavily supervised. 

He then adds, “as those who merely please men.”  This is used here in a negative sense.  Thus, some versions add the word “merely.”  The descriptions that follow help us to understand that these are people who please others in order to get what they want out of them.  God is not interested in shallow obedience.  He wants deep transformation within the hearts of those who follow Jesus, the kind of transformation that causes a slave to obey their master in order to please God, rather than themselves.  This is couched in terms of a slave to a master, but employees ought to take all this to heart regarding how they should do their job.

Paul adds more to qualify their obedience, “with sincerity of heart.”  The word for sincerity is a singleness of heart, which includes being free from pretense and hypocrisy.  Then, he adds, “as those who fear God.”  A person who fears God is a person who knows that God will hold them accountable for their treatment of others and obedience to His Word.  God holds claim not just to my body, but also to my soul.  He is my ultimate Master.  Of course, He is not a Master like the masters of this world.

A slave is not saved by their perfect obedience to their earthly masters.  Rather, they are being reminded that they have a Master who sees everything and has made promises to you.  God is the background for all of our relationships.  Husbands and wives are accountable to God.  Parents and kids are accountable to God just as masters and slaves.

God desires us to be a good thing in each other’s life, but as He defines it, not us.  It is not enough to be neutral in our impact on others.  It is definitely unacceptable to be evil to one another.  In Christ, we are called to give ourselves to Christ and serve his purposes through us to others.

Verse 23 gives a larger principle that can be applied to any relationship.  Having mentioned the fear of the Lord, he now turns to how we are actually serving the Lord God when we serve others. 

“Do what you do heartily as for the Lord.”  The Lord needs to be the director of how we relate to one another, and He needs to be the one we envision that we are serving.  This is not a mental game of pretense.  Jesus really is our Lord, and we really will come before his judgment seat to give account for our service to him.

This reminds me of Matthew 25:40. “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.”  The same message is being given to slaves.  Do what you do as unto the Lord, and when you stand before him, you will be blessed.

I said earlier that our salvation is not dependent on how well we did this.  Our salvation can be secure while any reward from Christ is in jeopardy. 

When we mistreat one another, God takes that personal.  Mistreatment often occurs within a power imbalance.  However, the modern world wants to treat power imbalance itself as a problem, even the only problem.  The existence of imbalance of power is not what is evil.  It is what is done within the context of that imbalance.

This is an attack against God as Creator, whether they know it or not.  God has created everything with a diversity of power, both in nature around us and within humanity.  It is impossible to really create a society where there are no power imbalances. Thus, we tyrannize the whole in pursuit of something that can never be.

God doesn’t rail against these imbalances.  Rather, He warns us to be careful how we operate within them.  We will give account to the Power above all powers, and He takes it personally.

Are you strong?  Fine, but you might ask why God has given you strength.  It is not for crushing the weak while using your strength for yourself.  It is not for crushing a slave or an employee for your own ends.  Instead, it is to be a blessing to the weak and the lowly.

All people have a variation of things in which they are strong or weak.  We need each other.  We can be a blessing to one another by working together in order to please God.  If everyone is doing what they do as unto God, then our relationships with one another will be vastly different than what is typical within our society.

Verse 24 tells the slave that they will receive a reward of inheritance from the Lord.  Of course, in this life, slaves do not inherit anything.  However, Christians will inherit eternal life in a glorified body with Jesus.  We will even inherit a new heaven and a new earth in which there will be no wickedness.

You may be a slave to a man on this earth, but in Jesus, you are a son of a Heavenly Father.  You have a great inheritance coming from Him.  Does it look like it?  When we are being mistreated, used and abused, we can forget about the Lord Jesus.  How was he treated?  Did he submit himself to the mockers and the shame?  Yes, it may not be fair (or it may be).  God knows.  He has made us to be His sons and daughters.  He will make everything right in the end.  Do you trust Him?

The heavenly master will judge the earthly masters of this world.  Our difficulties seem long, but they are short in light of an eternity of perfect righteousness with God Himself.  The rewards and attainments of this world will diminish and fade.  They are here today and gone tomorrow.  But the eternal rewards of God never end and never diminish.  Many who are first in this world will be last in the life to come, if they even make it.  However, many who are last in this world will be first in the life to come.

If you only hope is in this life, you will decry the Bible as a book made by masters to keep the slaves in check.  There were some masters who became Christians like Philemon of Colossae.  There were even some people from the household of Caesar who believed.  But most were low class, and many were slaves.  Jesus and his disciples were not from the echelons of society.  They may not have been slaves, but the boot of the Roman empire and the religious leaders of Israel probably made it feel like it at times.

They made themselves slaves of Christ, who had made himself a slave of God the Father, in order to bring salvation and hope to a lost world.  This life is short and temporary compared to the inheritance and reward that God has for us.  I can be used of God for His purposes in this unfair, often godless, world.  But, after it, I will have glory with Him.  Those who have glory in this world have it much harder to obtain glory in the next.  Those who have no glory in this world need only to trust Jesus in order to obtain great glory in the next!

There are many masters who will not make it.  The real question for a slave is not about their master, but about their own destiny.  Will I make it?  Even when a slave gets his freedom, which is good, it doesn’t fix the problem that all men deal with and that is spiritual bondage in our hearts and minds. 

Thus, Paul ends verse 25 with the reminder that the Lord will judge those who do wrong and give them their consequences without partiality.  This is a double-edged sword.  The Lord will judge both slave and master.  He will not show the master partiality because he is a “greater man” in this life.  However, neither will He show the slave partiality because he had nothing.  He will judge both alike for what is in their hearts and the deeds they have done.  There are consequences to be had for how we live this life.  The courts of men may favor the rich in this generation and then change to favor the poor in that generation.  However, God shows partiality to no one.  Quit looking at the other person and excusing your sin.  Look to God and ask Him to help you cleanse your heart.

We often justify our sin in the name of injustices and wrongs done against us.  It doesn’t feel fair for God to do the right thing over the top of injustice and wrong.  However, it wasn’t fair for Jesus to take our sins upon himself and extinguish the wrath of God against sin.  Can I trust the judgment of God and the consequences that come from that, whether rewards or punishments, and whether those are temporal or eternal?

God did create slavery.  We did.  God did allow us to enslave one another.  He did let us sin against one another.  This was not because He condoned it.  Jesus himself once said about divorce that “Moses permitted divorce because of your hard hearts.”  Our hard hearts have brought many things into the world that God does not condone.  He can focus on divorce, or He can let the pain of it drive us back to the central issue, our hard hearts.  When you wrestle with the problem of softening a hard heart, then you will have scratched the surface of the wisdom of God on these matters.

To the master (v. 4:1)

It is clear from the structure of chapter three that this verse belongs with the previous chapter.  It is an improper chapter division.  Paul speaks to slaves and then turns and speaks to the masters.

It may appear that Paul was harder on the slaves because he spent four verses speaking to them, and now only one verse to masters.  However, we should not read this as him being hard on slaves and easy on masters.  Instead, he spends more time trying to help the slave see God’s wisdom because of their typical hardship.  Yet, with the master, there is a short command that is much like what they would give to their slaves.

So, what did the Holy Spirit move Paul to tell slave owners?  He tells them to give their slaves justice and fairness.  “Give” here has the sense of granting something.  This might hide the fact that this is a command to masters.  The Master of masters gives them a command to grant justice and fairness to their slaves. 

Justice refers to what is upright, virtuous and right.  It isn’t twisted and perverted for selfish reasons in any way.  A society may define this word poorly, but a Christian who had slaves should not be looking to society to define for them what justice is.  Jesus is the definition of justice and righteousness for the Christian.

Fairness has a sense of equality in it.  Paul doesn’t define what this equality would be, but it would definitely include the equality of being human, i.e., made in God’s image and loved by Him.

Equality, or fairness, is not about being equal in abilities and status.  Rather, it is about giving them what any human should receive in the light of their equal position before God.

Evolution completely undermined this issue.  Suddenly there was an intellectual reason why someone could treat a person of another race, not with equality of humanity, but something far less.  News flash: when you treat another human as less than human, it is you who is the subhuman and not them.

Paul then ends the command with a clear shot across their bow.  Do this “knowing that you have a Master in heaven.”  Their granting of justice and fairness is to be done simultaneously with the knowledge in mind that your Heavenly Master (Lord) is watching.

This short command and the accompanying warning are proper.  This is exactly how their position would be executed toward their own slaves.

Let me end with a few more things about the Bible and slavery.  Does the Bible (God) condone or even promote slavery?  No. In fact, it was Christian men and women who fought for the abolition of slavery.

When you analyze the Bible, you find that the Old Testament prohibited kidnapping, particularly for the purposes of pressing them into slavery.  Did every Scripture-quoting master in the South make sure that none of their slaves had been kidnapped?  Quoting Scripture improperly does not reflect God and His Word.  It reflects the heart of the person.

The Bible did allow economic slavery, i.e., indentured slavery, but it called for better treatment than was common among the nations.  This is connected to the permitting of divorce.

The abolitionists saw the fact that all humans are made in the image of God, the message of the Exodus and God’s heart for those under hard bondage, God’s moral laws and condemnation of oppression.  They saw that the message of Jesus and His Apostles called for a different treatment of one another.  They worked to change the system.

Praise God that we do not have open slavery anymore.  However, there is still oppression and black-market slavery.  Yet, even if we could free every single person within our boundaries, or on the planet, it still begs the question of what is going on in your heart and mind.  Are you truly free?  My body may be free while my heart, mind and soul are in bondage to sin and selfishness.

May God help us to hear His heart in these passages.

A New Home II audio

The Kingdom of God- 9

Subtitle:  A New Creation

Revelation 20:11-15; 21:1-5.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, May 18, 2025.

Two weeks ago, we looked at the Millennial Kingdom in Revelation 20:1-10.  This period of time ends with fire coming out of the heavens to stop the final rebellion that is led by the devil.  This brings us into a transitional time. 

Let’s look at our passage.

God will make a new heavens and a new earth (20:11-15)

This time of transition wraps up the old creation and leads into the new creation.  God is going to make new heavens and a new earth.  However, this is preceded by a final judgment for this world and these heavens.  This judgment takes place at the throne of God.

It is important to understand that the new heavens and the new earth will never have anyone who sins and wrecks God’s loving purpose.  Some people question why God didn’t make the first creation like that.  Of course, we assume that it can be done, i.e., an imperfect world isn’t a necessary step in creating a perfect one.  It is also possible that it is not about it being necessary, but about this way being wiser than creating a “perfect” world in the first place.

The Creator has once and for all shown His true heart when He hung on a cross for you and for me.  We can trust Him.

In verse 11, we have the heavens and the earth “fleeing away” from God’s great white throne.  It is from this throne that He will judge.  What is meant by fleeing away?  It appears to be metaphorical language since the concept of fleeing implies intention.  As a metaphor, this phrase  can be translated as vanish, in the sense of avoiding the immediate presence of God.  It is unclear exactly what is happening, but the sequence is this: fire comes down out of the heavens to destroy the rebellion, the heavens and earth are removed from the presence of God, at the same time that there is a gathering of humans and heavenly beings before God.

Though the phrase is not used, this appears to be the second resurrection that is implied in verses 5 and 6.  Those who are resurrected here will be at least all those who have ever lived who did not put their faith in God.  It is also possible that there will be some mortal humans who did not join the rebellion.  When everything is melted down by the fire, they would die.  However, they would now be resurrected in order to be rewarded by God.  Regardless, this resurrection would consist of mostly, if not all, the unrighteous dead.

The judgment is simple and clear.  We have beings and things that are judged and put into the Lake of Fire.  The Lake of Fire is defined as “the second death” (v. 14).  In the first death, our spirits are separated from our bodies so that we cannot interact with the material world.  At the second death, our spirits are separated from all of God’s creation so that we cannot interact with it.  This is like a firewall between the new creation that will be and those of the old creation who refused to trust God.  As best we know, no one ever comes back from the Lake of Fire.

If you follow through Revelation 19 and 20, you will see a series of beings and things put into the Lake of Fire.  First, we see the Beast and the False Prophet cast into the fire (19:20) at the beginning of the Millennium of King Jesus reigning physically upon this earth.  After the 1,000-year reign and the rebellion led by the devil, we then see the devil cast into the fire (20:10). 

Following the resurrection of all those still in the grave, there is a judgment of these souls.  It is also assumed that, as the devil was judged, so too will the other heavenly beings.  Paul speaks of the Church judging angels in the future in 1 Corinthians 6:3.

Regardless, the judgment of that day will be based upon the lives that people lived.  Did they live a life that flowed out of trusting God’s Word, or did they trust in themselves or something else?  All those whose names are not found in the book of life and whose deeds were wicked will be thrown into the fire (20:15).  Finally, both death and Hades (the grave) are thrown into the fire.  I do not believe this intends to imply that these are two spiritual beings.  I believe that, as God empties the grave and removes all things into the fire that belong there, death will cease to happen and the spiritual holding place we call the grave will become no longer necessary.  Whatever this place is in the spirit realm, it will be thrown into the Lake of Fire.  Thus, the imagery is death dying along with the grave dying.  They will never reappear in humanity’s experience again.

This will leave God with only righteous, resurrected humans along with righteous, faithful angels standing with God before His throne.  This brings us to the new creation.

Creation 2.0 (21:1-5)

There is no dramatic explanation of how God creates (similar to Genesis 1-2).  We don’t have to know how God does it.  He has created this creation, and He can create another one.  Verse 1 simply has John seeing a new heavens and a new earth.  In fact, a lot of things are described as new in this place.

Along with the new heavens and new earth, there is a new Jerusalem, which is a big city that comes down out of the heavens.  There are new bodies for the righteous human spirits.

The idea for something “new” can be contemplated from different angles.  It can be new in the sense of time, chronologically.  This would distinguish between a previous thing that used to be new, but is now old, from another thing that is currently new.  This typically would mean that the old thing, whether it has passed away or still exists, would be of the same kind as the new thing.

However, in this passage, the word for new is different.  It contemplates the idea of newness from the sense of quality.  This is not just a brand new earth of the same kind.  It is an earth 2.0.  It is an upgrade.  It is of a new, better quality.  This is true of all the things described as new in these passages.  God is not recontinuing the old things.  This is why we see things like death and the grave going into the Lake of Fire.  God is doing a new thing that is both chronologically and qualitatively new.  This will be a new life for humans of a greater quality than is experienced on this planet.

The new city that is provided is called the New Jerusalem.  It is presented as a dwelling place for God, the Lamb and immortal humanity.  This is a city that is qualitatively different than the old.  We will dwell directly in the presence of God without separations from His presence.

This is a city that has been built by God (Hebrews 11:10) and is symbolic of the bride of Christ who dwell in it with him.  This is not a city like the cities of this world.  It will be of a completely different quality and character.

Verse 4 emphasizes that the experience of life in the new creation will not involve the bad stuff of this world.  All tears will be wiped away.  This isn’t just about the absence of harmful and sad things.  It is also about healing.  There is a tender and personal touch from God that appropriately removes the sadness of the old world from our spirits.  There will be no more death.  There will be no sorrow, crying or pain.  The former things (the first things) will have passed away.

It is possible that the new heavens and new earth are made out of entirely new material.  It is also possible that the old heavens and earth are melted down into a plasma that is then reformed into better material.  It is not important for us to understand the physics of this new creation any more than we need to understand the physics of resurrection.  We know that God created the first heavens and earth, so how hard is it to believe that He can make new ones that are even better?

This new world will be a universe without any rebellions and wickedness.  We will live in perfect harmony with God.

Verse 5 ends with the declaration, “Look!  I am making all things new (qualitatively better).”  What does this mean to us now?  It means that we can trust God.  We can die to the things of this world without fear.  We are promised a better to anything that we lose in this life.

Now, all of this is symbolic of what God is doing in our lives today.  He is already making all things new by starting inside of you.  This then makes a difference in the immediate world around  you.  We are participating in the dawning of the new creation.  Our lives are meant to be the evidence, the foreshadowing, of the new creation that will be finished in the future.

This is why we have verses like 2 Corinthians 5:17.  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.  Also, Galatians 6:15, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation [does avail something].”  Being a new creation in God will accomplish something.  Letting the Spirit of God work His new creation power within us is the joy of every believer.  May God help us to lean into His work, to cooperate with Him!

New Creation audio

The Kingdom of God- 8

Subtitle:  Inheriting the Millennial Kingdom I

Revelation 19:11-20:10.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, May 4, 2025.

Last week, we looked at the promises of the a kingdom led by God’s Messiah that are in the Old Testament.  This Anointed King would judge the nations and cause the righteous to inherit the earth.  The kingdom of Messiah would never end.  That is the promise.

Today, we are going to look at the New Testament promise that speaks of the Second Coming of Jesus, the Messiah.  We want to explore how that will fit in with these Old Testament promises.

Let’s look at our passage.

The Second Coming of Jesus

Revelation 19:11-19.

The idea that the Messiah would come twice is not readily apparent in the Old Testament, but does make sense.  We talked about the nature of Messiah’s Kingdom.  It is operational now, but not yet fully as was promised.

There may be many reasons why this is so, but one of them has to do with God’s nature as a the ultimate Teacher.  He wants us to learn how to gain victory over our flesh, before He gives us immortal bodies that are not bent towards sin.  The resurrection is necessary because we cannot inherit the Kingdom of God in our flesh.  However, it is not necessary that it occur immediately.  God in His wisdom gives us a life of taking possession of our souls by patience, faith, and leaning on the help of the Holy Spirit.

Thus, the nations have had 2,000 years to hear the truth about who Jesus is, the reality of his kingdom, and the truth about what he is calling us to do.  At a point in time determined by the Father, Jesus will return to take up a direct rule over the nations bodily upon this earth.  This event will involve a judgment of those powers and people of the earth who have rejected his kingdom.

Revelation 19:11 introduces the rider of a white horse who appears before the earth as the heavens open up.  This connects with several passages, but Matthew 24:30 is an important one.  “All the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.”  Jesus uses the imagery of Daniel 7, which shows the Son of Man riding the clouds of heaven to God the Father in order to receive dominion over the earth.  Yet, in Matthew 24, Jesus depicts the Son of Man coming out of heaven to the earth in order to take up that dominion.

There is no question that this rider is Jesus, though his name is not mentioned here.  Jesus is presented in the New Testament as the Son of Man that Daniel 7 and Matthew 24 are talking about.  John is seeing that same event that Jesus revealed would happen in Matthew 24.

On top of that, notice the descriptions of the rider.  He is called Faithful and True.  He represents the character of God in keeping His promises to humanity.  It is not just that Jesus is faithful and true in his character, but that his very existence is the proof and actuality of God’s faithfulness and truthfulness.

We are also told that the rider will judge the earth in righteousness.  Isaiah 11:3-4 mentions that Messiah would “not judge by what his eyes see…and ears hear, but with righteousness.”  It may seem strange.  Surely, he should look at the evidence.  However, the point here is about a judge being swayed by the person who is in front of them to pervert justice.  Messiah will not do that.  He will give a righteous judgment (more on this in a bit). 

Verse 13 says that his name is the Word of God.  This ties back to John’s earlier Gospel (John 1:1-3, 14-18).  There John states that “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory…”  John makes it clear in verse 17, for any who didn’t understand by then, that he is talking about Jesus.  Jesus is the Word of God.  All the words written by the prophets and collected together as Scripture point to Jesus, they reveal him.  If we were to sum up everything that God wants to say to humanity and put it in one Word, one person, it would be the totality of who Jesus is.

Verse 15 speaks of him as the one who strikes the nations with a sword from his mouth and who rules them with a rod of iron.  The first part is focusing on the words that he speaks.  He is the Word of God speaking the word of God.  This is blessing to some (those who believe) and a curse to others (those who do not).  Yet, the phrase about the rod of iron comes from several places in the Old Testament, but especially Psalm 2.  It points to a change in the kingdom of God.  At the Second Coming of Christ, the will of God will be enforced on the earth.  Jesus will not bend to the ideas and desires of the rulers of this earth.  They will bend to his will.  We see similar ideas in Zechariah 14, which speaks of the rule of the LORD after his coming to earth.  If a nation refuses to come up to Jerusalem and worship, then they will have no rain until they do.

Finally, the rider is referred to as the King of kings and Lord of lords.  We could spend a lot of time on this, but suffice it to say that it is a term that speaks of the highest authority and is connected to Jesus in 1 Timothy 6:13-14.  “I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.”

Revelation 19:20-21.

Just as the identity of the rider is clear (Jesus), so the purpose of the Second Coming of Jesus is also clear.  We’ve already seen that he is coming to judge the nations, but he is also flanked by the armies of heaven (vs. 14). 

The nations have had ample time to submit to the authority and power of Jesus voluntarily.  The nations of the world today are strongly rejecting the wisdom of Jesus and forging their own paths.  Yet, these are proving to be unwise and destructive.  Yet, the book of Revelation reveals that even worse times are to come.

Yet, at just the right time, God the Father sends Jesus to judge the earth.  Isaiah 11:4 states that the Messiah will “decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth.”  Whenever you are tempted to question whether or not God cares about the little guys who are being crushed under tyranny, this should put it to rest.

Judgment is not necessarily a negative word.  It simply means a decision.  If my car was stolen and then I saw that my neighbor down the street had it, I would call the cops, and we would end up in court.  The judge would make a judgment, a decision, about the case.  When he decides that the car really does belong to me and that my neighbor knowingly stole it, the judgment will be a good thing to me, but a bad thing for the thief.  The Second Coming of Jesus is just like this.  It is good news for those who have been living by faith in Jesus, but it will be bad news for those who have rejected Christ and are living for themselves.

The armies are no doubt heavenly angels.  Matthew 24:31 pictures Christ sending forth his angels to gather his chosen ones.  Matthew 13:41 speaks of angels gathering “all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, ⁴² and will throw them into the furnace of fire.”

However, the armies of heaven also include earthly armies.  In this case, the only earthly armies that could be coming from heaven are the armies of resurrected, righteous saints.  1 Corinthians 15:23 speaks of the resurrected saints following him at his second coming.

This martial entry does not have to be a conflict, but the beast has gathered the kings of the earth with their armies in order to attack Jesus at his coming.  Can you imagine attacking the very One who went to the cross for your sins and to obtain your salvation?  Take note that this is the same problem that was at his first coming.  The perfect one, whom the world desperately needs, is attacked by the very ones he aims to help.  Jesus should be celebrated by the nations, but the nations of the world will try to kill him instead.  This is what we see in verse 19.

Thus, part of the purpose of this coming is to remove the enemies of Christ.  It begins in verse 20 with the beast and the false prophet being seized and thrown into the Lake of Fire.  These beings have worked in league with the devil to deceive the nations and harness them against Jesus.  They represent spiritual interference (interlopers) on the earth.  Then, the kings and their armies are summarily dispensed in verse 21.  In truth, all the great power of humanity to Jesus is but a drop of water to the universe.  There is no contest.  There comes a time when a military man needs to make a hard decision.  Am I fighting on the right side or not?  It is better to be killed by the beast and gain the inheritance of the saints, then to be safe for 42 months and then be taken out by Jesus for eternity.

There is yet another enemy that Jesus will deal with.  The break from chapter 19 to chapter 20 is unfortunate.  The story continues without a break.  Look at chapter 20:1-3.

The 1,000-Year Kingdom

Revelation 20:1-3.

An angel seizes the devil and chains him in the Abyss, or the Bottomless Pit.  This is a prison for fallen spiritual beings.  There is a difference between the Lake of Fire and the Abyss.  No one comes back from the Lake of Fire.  They are walled off forever from God’s creation.  We are told that the devil is only chained in the Abyss.  That is where the beast came from (Revelation 11:7).  The devil is held for 1,000 years and then released. 

The purpose for binding him is obvious.  It is so that he cannot deceive the nations any longer.  This helps us to explain why the world is as bad as it is.  Things would be bad enough if we were just sinning to please ourselves.  Yet, it is much worse because of the interference from the devil and his cohorts.  They want to destroy humanity and all that God plans with us.

The kingdom that Jesus sets up will have all of these enemies removed, spiritual and human.  We will be enabled to grow in a much healthier way with a much more righteous leadership.

This begs the question.  Why not put the devil in the Lake of Fire?  Why plan to release him later?  Let’s read on.

Revelation 20:4-6.

The devil is removed so that Jesus can rule over a 1,000 year kingdom on this earth upon his return.  This may seem to contradict the many places in the Old Testament that talk about a kingdom that never ends.  However, even this 1,000 year rule is not a beginning or end of his rule.  It is merely a different phase of his rule.  Presently, Jesus rules from heaven by the Spirit through those who believe in Him.  During this 1,000 years, he will be physically present on the earth.  He will rule over the whole planet.

Notice verse four.  Thrones plural are established and those who sit on them are given power to judge (by Jesus).  This is exactly what the Old Testament promises to the saints.  Jesus mentioned this to his disciples when he told them that they would rule with him on 12 thrones ruling over the 12 tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28).  Paul mentions this in 1 Corinthians 6:3 when he reminds the Corinthian believers that we will judge angels one day.  These thrones are the varying levels of authority that will be given to the resurrected saints.  They will be the perfect administrators for the authority of Jesus.

Who are they to rule over?  Matthew 25 makes it clear that, though many will die during this period, some will survive.  Those who survive will be brought before Jesus, and he will determine who is able to enter into this 1,000-year kingdom.

Revelation 20:4 may sound like it is limiting this resurrection to only those killed in the tribulation.  However, Colossians 3:4 makes it clear that all the righteous will participate in Christ’s Second Coming.  Thus, this is giving particular encouragement to those who will face the beast and his short rule.  Essentially, it will be worth it to hold on to faith in Jesus.

We also see that there is a sense of political and religious duties.  The saints will rule and judge, but verse 6 adds that they will be priests of God and of Christ.

There is little said about what the period will look like, but the earth will have its first government that is ran by people who are 100% righteous.  They will be just like Jesus.  Imagine that!

This section also makes a distinction between the First Resurrection and those who are resurrected later.  The wicked dead will still remain in the grave awaiting a later judgment.  They will eventually be resurrected in order to be judged (Revelation 20:12).

The First Resurrection is clearly the resurrection of the righteous.  Jesus and some of the Old Testament saints were the first fruits of the resurrection (a harvest picture).  The Second Coming of Jesus will complete this First Resurrection.  The Second Resurrection is a resurrection of the wicked.  It happens at one time for all of them.

The Old Testament speaks of the earth being transformed by the presence of Messiah and his saints.  There will be no war.  People will live longer.  The natural order will be restored so that the animals will not eat one another.  Babies will be safe next to a poisonous serpent because nothing will harm others in his kingdom.  The cleaning of the destruction of the previous epoch will begin, but then be replaced with a rebuilding.  It will be a society that is not built upon the bodies and souls of men.  The immortal believers will teach and lead mortal humans who survived and will repopulate the earth.  The earth itself will bear more fruit than ever imagined as the curse is lifted by the presence of Jesus.

Why would this only last 1,000 years?  Why would it ever end?  Let’s read on.

Revelation 20:7-10.

The release of the devil is to show that even 1,000 years of a perfect king with perfect laws, perfect judgment, and perfect administrators will cure the heart of mortal humans.  He will be able to deceive millions if not billions into rebelling against Christ.

This gives an important message to the current world.  Many hold out the carrot of a Utopian age built by man.  Yet, God warns that we will never be able to do it in our mortal bodies.  We are too bent towards pleasing our flesh.  Even when God gives us a Utopia, we end up rebelling against it and attempting to destroy it at the first opportunity.

This is why the resurrection is so important and why Paul stated: “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50).”  Death and resurrection is the only workable plan to fixing humanity.

So, why would God go through this if it is only going to end in rebellion again?  One reason is that God is keeping His word to all the saints of every age.  They will see the wicked removed from power, and the world will be ruled by the saints.  Another reason is to teach us the lesson of what I just stated, the need for resurrection and the impotency of perfect governance in the face of man’s penchant towards sin.

Yet, the kingdom of Christ doesn’t end in verse 9.  Rather, it will only enter into a new phase.  Just as the Millennium is a new phase to the rule of Christ, so the creating of a new heavens and a new earth will be another phase to the kingdom of Christ.  No mortal or wicked being will be allowed to enter the new creation.

These are the promises of God to those who will trust Him.  When He fulfills them, it will be clear that He keeps His word and does all things in wisdom.  “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  How you live will make all the difference in the world.

Kingdom 8 audio

The Acts of the Apostles 70

Subtitle: Paul Returns to Antioch

Acts 18:12-22.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on June 30, 2024.

In our passage today, Paul finishes his 2^nd Missionary Journey, which has taken him through the central area of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) and throughout the coastal cities of Greece.

We pick up with him ministering in the Greek city of Corinth, where the Lord has told him not to fear because there are many in the city who belong to Him.  Paul ends up ministering there for at least a year and a half.  This is what sets up our story in verse 12.

Let’s look at our passage.

A charge is brought against Paul (v. 12-17)

There is a reason why Paul spent longer in Corinth than he did in many other cities.  It has nothing to do with God loving Corinth more than other cities.  Part of it has to do with the receptivity of the people in the city.  However, how many places did Paul not visit?

The good thing is that these cities generally became hubs of evangelism into the region around them.  Paul isn’t the only one that can tell people about Jesus.  Aren’t you thankful for that?  Paul was faithful share the Good News of Jesus to others who would then become faithful in sharing such to new people.  This was true within nations, regions, cities, and even within the lives of you ministers like Timothy and Luke.

There is a passage in 1 Thessalonians 1:8 where Paul is praising the church there for its faith and evangelism.  He says that “from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out…”

We are not given a direct timeline, but we know that Paul, believers of the Jews and Gentile God-fearers had separated from the synagogue at some point.  The church of Corinth essentially began in the house of a man named Titius Justus next to the synagogue.  Even Crispus who was the synagogue ruler had believed and joined these followers of Messiah Jesus.

We eventually come to this scene where the leaders of the synagogue have brought Paul up on charges before the Roman Proconsul, Gallio.  There charge is stated in verse 13.  They accused him of persuading people to worship God against the law.  It wasn’t against the law to worship God or the gods.  However, the Romans did have a policy that only religions recognized by Caesar could be promoted.  This was not about Romans approving of a religion, but rather about keeping control over disputes, uprisings, and unrest.  They had recognized Judaism as a legitimate religion that had a certain amount of protection under Rome.  Thus, the charge is about Paul starting a new religion.

This reminds me of China’s policy.  There it is illegal to proselytize people to any religion.  However, if a person asks you about your religion, then you are free (it is lawful for you) to speak about your religion to them.  It is different, but in general, it is a similar control mechanism.

We are told that Paul begins to give his defense, but is interrupted by Gallio.  Paul is not promoting a new religion.  He actually represents all that the people of Israel had been praying for and preaching about for millennia, the coming of Messiah.  This is just an in-house disagreement over who Messiah is.  Yet, Gallio doesn’t give Paul a chance to defend himself.

Gallio points out that he would hear the case, if it had something to do with a wrong that Paul had done to them or some knowledge they had of a wicked crime that Paul had committed.  However, he then warns that he is not interested in judging matters that have to do with words, names and Jewish law.  Of course, this is all about Paul naming Jesus as the Messiah.

Now, it is very likely that Paul looks even more Jewish than the Corinthians Jews that are charging him with promoting an illegal religion.  Paul didn’t quit being Jewish.  He dressed like a first-century Jew; he talked like one.  I believe that Gallio sees a group of Jews trying to charge another Jew that is clearly not from Corinth, i.e., he is actually from Judea.  He either knows this is a squabble among Jews about Jewish things instinctively, i.e., from past experience, or he has information from others.  Of course, their Jewishness is not the reason that there is a dispute between them and Paul.  This is a problem for all people of every kind.  We can be very creative in our ways of disputing with one another.  Regardless, Gallio immediately sees that this is another one of those internal Jewish matters, and he is not interested in being dragged into it.

On one hand, these are proper words.  The government of a people should have no part in judging, or controlling matters of faith.  Of course, if our disputes over religion break into criminal activity- God forbid!- then government should intervene in regards to the criminal activity.   Again, I will point to China as a place where Christians are told what they can teach and promote in their churches.  This is inappropriate for any government, much less one that is atheistic.

On the other hand, I get the sense that this has nothing to do with Gallio trying to do the right thing and give justice.  It seems that he is more annoyed with “these Jews and their squabbles.”  Note that, just years prior, Claudius Caesar had made the Jews leave Rome because of disputes over a man named “Chrestus” (see last weeks sermon on this).  Gallio has some knowledge about this rising dispute within Judaism that threatens the precious Pax Romana.

Let me put a finer point on this.  The squabble is the result of God moving in this Corinthian synagogue and some of the Jews didn’t like it.  Gallio is more like these Jews he is standing against than he would like to admit.  Yes, from time to time, we see the Roman government helping to shield Paul from his fellow Jews.  However, this very same Rome will eventually put Paul, Peter, and others to death.  Rome didn’t like this move of God any more than some of the Jews in the synagogue.  Rome executed Jesus who is the very essence of God’s move in His Church. 

This is a spiritual dynamic.  Those who are resisting the work of God are a hodge-podge of many powers, beliefs, and people.  They don’t always like each other.  It is a very dog-eat-dog arena.  At this time, Rome is the top dog, and it is letting these Jews charging Paul know that it is in charge.  So, let us not imagine that there is anything more going on here than exactly that.

We are then told that Gallio drives Paul’s accusers from the judgment seat, the bema seat (bay-muh).  No doubt, this means he had some guards do so.  They are driven from the place of presenting cases back into the area of spectators. 

This is a human bema seat, and not even the highest one at that time.  Any decision by Gallio can be appealed to Caesar by a Roman citizen.  It is one thing to receive or not receive justice in the bema seats of this world.  However, one day, we all will stand before the bema seat (the judgment seat) of Messiah Jesus.  Paul reminded the Roman believers of this in Romans 14:10.  “But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you view your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.” (LSB).  Paul reminds them that both sides of any matter will stand before Jesus.  What will he say of your squabble then? 

Jesus warned us of judging one another.  He didn’t say we shouldn’t judge because there is something inherently wrong with making judgments.  Rather, he points out that we are going to receive the type of judgment we give to others, and that we will receive it in the measure  (much or little) that we give to others.  This is a shot across the bow of every human being from the One who will sit on the greatest bema seat ever raised up.  Jesus warns us that he will give us what we gave to others.  This ought to humble all of us, but it generally doesn’t.  Most people give a “meh” over such statements and continue on judging others unfairly and harshly.  The sad thing is that, when Jesus judges them, it will be harsh, but completely fair.

We have all failed in this.  Can we be freed from that future judgment?  Yes!  The Holy Spirit brings stuff to our mind from time to time.  It is called conviction.  Conviction is not condemnation.  Condemnation tells you all the ways you have failed and tells you that you can never get out of it.  It motivates you to quit and go your own way.  Condemnation is not from God.  It is from the devil and our own soul.  Conviction is different though it too starts with how we have failed.  The Holy Spirit points out our failures so that we will feel sorrow, repent and put our faith in Jesus.  When we confess that Jesus was right and turn to him for forgiveness, then he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).  “God, I was so judgmental.  Please forgive me because I don’t want to be that kind of person, much less be judged by Jesus when I stand before him.”  Of course, the Holy Spirit will also lead you to tell people you are sorry for your harsh judgments.  This is called works that are worthy of true repentance.

In 2 Corinthians 5:9-10, it says, “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for [d]his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (LSB).  The point is that we are to do what we do to please Jesus.  We must be less concerned about dragging others before courts in order to obtain justice, than we are about the day in which we will personally be judged by Jesus. 

The amazing thing is that God created humans in such a way that we can be redeemed!  No matter how broken you are, your life can be redeemed (has been redeemed by Jesus already) when you turn to him in faith.

The ruler of the synagogue, Sosthenes, is then beaten.  The New King James Version mentions that this is done by “Greeks.”  However, the word “Greeks” is not some of the ancient manuscripts.  Scholars are left with trying to determine what was the original wording?  The manuscripts that don’t have this word essentially say that “they all took Sosthenes…and beat him before the judgment seat.”  So, is the emphasis upon the Greeks doing it, or was it a simple “they all?”

It seems most likely that the word Greeks was added rather than removed.  There is no evidence that scribes were purposefully removing words from the original writings of Scriptures ever.  So, how could they justify an addition?  Sometimes a scribe would put an explanatory note in the margins of a manuscript.  Later scribes who were copying the manuscript before it became too old to be useable would generally continue the note in the margin.  However, some would put the word in the text, perhaps unsure as to why it was put in the margin or accepting it as inspired testimony from the past.

Why would a scribe feel the need to emphasize this was the Greeks doing this?  The “they all” in the scene could be read as those who were on the plaintiff side.  This would have Jewish people beating up a Jewish ruler in the court.  This seems improbable, though we could suppose some sort of anger that they were made to look bad in public.

The Greek insertion, or marginal commentary, would help to make clear what was happening.  Sosthenes is attacked by the Gentile observers as a public rebuke of bringing a frivolous case before the Proconsul.

This penchant for mob violence is a theme throughout the New Testament, but also in the testimony of history.  Paul and the Christians are not on the side of beating up their accusers, and neither should we be.  It is not good to be “in one accord” (v. 12) when we are doing evil because we will find it rebounding back at us (v. 17).

There is a possibility that this Sosthenes later became a Christian.  First, we already know that Crispus, who also was a synagogue ruler, had become a Christian.  Secondly, in 1 Corinthians 1:1, Paul mentions a fellow brother Sosthenes that is with him when he greets the Corinthian believers.  I wonder if this beating at the hands of the Gentiles was used by Jesus to get Sosthenes attention?  Regardless of whether this is the same Sosthenes or not, this is the kind of God we serve.  In His mercy, God allows hurts and pains to come into our life because they soften us up to what His Holy Spirit is trying to say to us.  In fact, Saul of Tarsus, Paul, came to know Jesus through an eye-damaging affair, and that was done by Jesus himself.  God is not looking for reasons to reject us.  He is faithful to work daily through the good things of life, and through the bad, to draw us into relationship with him, to repentance.

Paul returns to Antioch (v. 18-22)

At this point the story turns and moves very rapidly.  Paul is going back to his home church in Syrian Antioch.  However, he takes time to go to Jerusalem first.

Verse 18 tells us that Paul “still remained a good while.”  This can be interpreted two different ways.  Verse 11 tells us that Paul stayed in Corinth for 1.5 years.  Then, we had the event before Gallio, and then, we have the statement that Paul still remained a good while.

These can be seen as sequential.  Paul was there for 18 months, and then, this charge before Gallio occurred.  Following that, Paul still remained a good while.  That last phrase is nebulous, but it would be interpreted to mean that Paul was most likely there for another 6 months to a year, for a total of 2 to 3 years.

However, verse 11 can be seen as a kind of thesis statement for the section that follows.  Overall, Paul stayed there for 18 months.  During that time, this event before Gallio occurred.  Following it, Paul stayed there for a good long time, but still encapsulated within the year and a half.

Regardless of how long Paul stayed in the city, it is clear that Corinth was very open to the Gospel, even though it was a very sinful city.  Sometimes people who are in the depths of sin are more open to the Gospel because they are daily suffering the bondage and ill-effects of it.  We can’t always know the people or places that will be receptive to the Gospel.  We can only be faithful to follow the leading of Jesus by the Holy Spirit.

Luke mentions hair being cut off in Cenchrea because of a vow.  Cenchrea was a port city to the east of Corinth.  Luke spends very little time on this, so neither will I.  It seems to serve as the reason why Paul will later tell the Ephesians that he cannot stay with them, i.e., the vow requires him to go to Jerusalem within a certain time.

Some will try to say that it wasn’t Paul who made the vow.  However, this is highly unlikely.  All the other verbs are clearly telling us what Paul did.  Even when it mentions Aquila, it does so in a prepositional phrase.  It literally says that Paul took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria with Priscilla and Aquila.  The most natural way of reading the hair cutting (it is a participle) is that it is describing Paul.

Some immediately connect this to the Nazirite vow spoken of in the Old Testament.  It involved not cutting the hair until the end of the vow, as well as not eating or drinking of the fruit of the grape vine, nor touching any dead body.  However, a person could make a vow regarding their hair without it being a Nazirite vow.  If it was a Nazirite vow, it begs the question as to why the hair was cut off in Cenchrea and not Jerusalem.  A Nazarite vow requires that the hair be cut and offered up with a sacrifice at Jerusalem.

We really are missing too much information to be dogmatic about any of this.  From time to time, Jews would make a vow to Yahweh. Typically, they were either consecrating themselves to a task, or there was something they were desiring from God.  So, what is Paul doing?

Some are troubled by this as if a vow represents Paul hypocritically lapsing into Judaism.  This is a nonsense argument.  First of all, Paul’s teaching was not about getting rid of anything that looked like Jewish things.  He was concerned that certain Jews were trying to require that Gentiles follow the requirements of the Jewish Law in order to be acceptable to Jesus. 

Thus, Paul’s argument to Gentile Galatians is that they should not be circumcised.  They are acceptable to Jesus by the spiritual circumcision of the Spirit, not of the flesh.  He even warns them that they are in danger of cutting themselves off from Christ in such acts.  However, we should not make the non sequitur conclusion that Paul would say the same thing to a Jewish Christian who had a new baby.  “Whatever you do, don’t circumcise that baby or you will have nothing with Christ!”  The church in Jerusalem was made up of a large majority of Jews.  They still did Jewish things, dressed Jewish, went to the temple, etc.  However, they were putting their faith in Jesus now.

Ask yourself, is making a vow to God a Jewish thing or a Christian thing, a law thing or a Spirit thing?  It is clear that many people have made fleshly vows to God, thinking that they can manipulate Him, or impress Him into giving them what they want.  If this is your purpose, then you will be unsuccessful.  In fact, people have made foolish vows.  We are warned about how we make our vows.  We need to do so humbly and led by the Holy Spirit.

There is a holy place in our relationship with God where the Spirit of God moves upon our heart and we vow to put our cell phone away for a week, or social media usage.  This is not a Christian thing or a Jewish thing.  It is a person-having-a-relationship-with-God thing, a person who is having a real relationship with God.  This is not something that everybody has to do.  It is a personal thing that surfaces in the life of a person as they serve Jesus.  This would have been Paul’s heart in the matter.

Next, we see that the ship makes a stop in Ephesus.  It appears they are stopping for supplies, trade, or both.  Paul took advantage of this to go to the synagogue and reason with the Jews and Gentiles who were there.  It appears that the Ephesian synagogue was open to hearing more.  They wanted him to stay longer, but he declined due to a timely need to go to Jerusalem, most likely having to do with his vow.

This may be why we are told that Priscilla and Aquila remain in Ephesus.  They could continue their trade of tentmaking while helping the Ephesian believers to understand how the work of Christ fulfilled the Scriptures and what God wanted believers to do in this new era of Messiah.

However, Paul does promise to return to them, God willing.  We do not need to turn this into a required ending to every sentence, but every servant of the Lord needs to have this humble attitude.  Of course, God often works through our godly desires and intentions.  However, He sometimes has a different plan than we do.  Paul is not rejecting them by not staying.  Rather, he is fulfilling something else between him and God.  When that is satisfied, he will attempt to come back, but even that is dependent upon what the Lord allows or tells him to do.

We should note that the Gospel is not dependent upon any one person.  Yes, Paul is the Apostle to the Gentiles, and God works powerfully through him among them.  Yet, God’s sending of Paul to another place besides Ephesus does not limit what He can do there.  Even people who are being led by the Holy Spirit need to remain humble about what they think is God’s will.

I should remind us that the Holy Spirit forbade Paul from going into the province of Asia, of which Ephesus was a major city, on the first missionary journey.  Yet, he is now here speaking to the Ephesians about the Gospel.  So, we see God’s timing without explanation.  In chapter 19, God will allow Paul to come back and spend 2 years here on his third missionary journey.  Thus, “God willing” is a phrase that recognizes the sovereignty of God in matters of direction and timing.

Paul boards the ship again and sails to the cost of Judea, landing at Caesarea.  They travel from the coast up to Jerusalem.  To give you an idea, the temple mount is about 2,428 feet above sea level. 

Jerusalem is not mentioned by name here.  Rather, it speaks of him greeting the church.  No doubt, he also gives a description of his journey and what God was doing among the people of Greece.

Paul then goes down to Syrian Antioch (modern day Antakya Türkiye), his home church at this point.  It is good to have a home, and a home church as a base of operations.  It represents a safe place, a strengthening place, a re-energizing place, and a place of people who love and support us.  He could share with them the results of their labor of financial support and prayers for him and his missionary group.

We might even think of that as we go out from our churches each week into our daily lives.  We return again, whether at the end of the week or periodically throughout the week.  It is meant to be a place of people being real and loving with one another.  May we be a people who are quick to repent, quick to forgive, and quick to support God’s work in one another’s lives.

Return to Antioch audio