It is no longer I who live...

The Brothers, the Church, the Disciples

(Acts 18:18-23, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, January 13, 2013)

[18] After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers

Paul's life was not his own. The love of Christ controlled him because he had concluded this, that One had died for all. Therefore all had died, (including him). Christ died for all in the new resurrection world so that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.

In the life that he lived, he lived for Christ, and he lived for the ones that Jesus was pleased to call His brothers. Paul would instruct the church in Rome, “Love one another with brotherly affection.” He had given himself for over 18 months to the church in Corinth. Now the time had come to take leave of the brothers.

and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow. [19] And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. [20] When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. [21] But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.He was headed back to Syria ultimately, but he went by way of Ephesus with his special companions and co-laborers, Priscilla and Aquila. On the way he cut his hair. Why? He had made a solemn promise, a vow. The details of the vow are not known to us. What we do know is that he was living his life for God, and that a promise was a promise.

His hair was not his own. He loved his friends Priscilla and Aquila, but he left them to do the work that God had called them to do in Ephesus, because his friends were not his own. He risked his neck again by proclaiming that Jesus was the Christ. He reasoned with the Jews in the synagogue. His safety was in the hands of the One who had promised him in Corinth that He would protect him.

The Jews in Ephesus wanted Paul to stay for a longer period, but he said no for now. He set sail from Ephesus with this testimony, that he would return to them if God willed that he should return. He had given his life over to the pleasure of God. This was the way that Christ led. This was not only the life of an apostle. It was the testimony of any follower of the Christ. Jesus went to the cross because it was the Father's will that He do so. If God wills that we go anywhere then we go. If God wills we that we stay then we stay. It is really that simple for the person that has decided to follow the Lord.

[22] When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church,

He arrived at the seacoast town of Caesarea, and he went to see the church. Since he “went up” Luke is probably referring to the church in Jerusalem. Who can tell. The church was everywhere.

The word for church comes from a word that means to call out. Paul had been called out of a dying world together with all who have found their lives in the Savior who died and rose again for them. When we meet the church, we meet brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul started his journey when he was sent from one coast by his brothers in Christ. When he arrived at another coast, he greeted the church.

and then went down to Antioch. [23] After spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

From the church in Jerusalem he traveled north to the church in Antioch. He spent some time there and then went throughout Galatia and Phrygia visiting the churches. The people in these churches were called disciples. That word “disciples” referred to their role as students and followers of Jesus Christ. Paul came to them as an apostle and teacher, an ambassador who proclaimed the Word of the King of the Kingdom of God. They were students and followers of that King. Paul strengthened them by bringing them His Word.

The brothers in Corinth, the church in Jerusalem, and the disciples throughout the cities of Galatia were part of a new world. They had learned the Word of Christ and had believed. God was using the Word proclaimed by Paul, and now by many others, to start a new creation, and to cause that new creation to experience healthy growth and development.

God speaks life to people through the lips of people. They are granted an understanding of the meaning of His words. This is how God helped His people to understand the Law in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. But we have so much more than they did. The Messiah has come in person, and the Spirit of God has been poured out upon the church.

Jesus intended the kingdom to grow. He casts seed upon the soil using His servants. Those servants sleep at night and get up with the sun. The Word planted in the soil of ready hearts somehow sprouts and grows. How does that happen?

How does a decomposing acorn turn into this little sprouting green thing that when nurtured would become a mighty oak tree? That I don't know. How does the Word of God preached to your ears take root in your hearts so that you would say with Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ,” and still consider yourself alive in Christ? I don't know that either.

I do know these three things.

1. Those who find life in Jesus Christ have entered God's family. They have a Brother in heaven who looks on them with the deepest affection. He is not ashamed to call them His brothers and sisters.
2. Those who find life in Jesus Christ have been called out of an old world that is destined for destruction. They are the now a part of the church of the Firstborn from the dead. They call upon the Name of the Lord who died for them and rose again.
3. Those who find life in Jesus Christ are His disciples. They want to hear His Word. They want to learn it so that they can follow it. They are not ashamed of the gospel, for they know that it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes.

The children of God, the church, and the disciples are all one and the same. They love the Head of the church, Jesus Christ. Therefore they love the body of which He is the head. He will not abandon them.

We do well to see Paul not as an extreme religionist. He is nothing of the sort. He is a Christian who has heard the message that he has dared to preach wherever he goes. He has dared to believe the Word that God has called Him to preach. He has brothers. He is in the church. He is a disciple.

Old Testament Passage: Nehemiah 8:1-12

Gospel Passage: Mark 4:26-29

Sermon Point:.The Kingdom of God emerges out of this fading world as the Word of Christ is preached and received by those who believe.