Paul’s Third Missionary Journey

The Third Missionary Journey

Paul’s Third Missionary Journey 52-57 A.D

 I. Nurtured for growth (Vv. 22-23).

A. The beginning of the third missionary journey.

22 When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and went down to Antioch.

23 And having spent some time there, he left and passed successively through the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

-Acts 18:22-23

22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, 23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For,

“ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS,

AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS.

THE GRASS WITHERS,

AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF,

25 BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER [Isaiah 40:6-8].”

And this is the word which was preached to you.

-1 Peter 1:22-25

1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, 3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

-1 Peter 2:1-3

II. Meeting Apollos (Vv. 24-26).

Acts 18:24–26 NASB95

Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

Character Study; Character Study

· Mastery skill of expounding on messianic content

· Spiritual fervor

· Educated

Key Point

Apollos knows Jesus as the Messiah, but his knowledge does not include Christian baptism. Luke does not say that he lacked the Holy Spirit but implies that he is a believer.

Alexandria; The Capital of Northern Egypt

· Leading intellectual city in the world at the time.

The Baptism of John

4 Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; 6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; 9 and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 10 The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

-Matthew 3:4-12

Deeper Understanding of the Christian Faith

· The Old Testament described the spiritual and moral standards that God required of His people. Being baptized by John demonstrated a recognition of one’s sin, a desire for spiritual cleansing, and a commitment to follow God’s law in anticipation of the Messiah’s arrival.

Examples of OT bathing rituals

1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing. Now he shall be brought to the priest, 3 and the priest shall go out to the outside of the camp. Thus the priest shall look, and if the infection of leprosy has been healed in the leper, 4 then the priest shall give orders to take two live clean birds and cedar wood and a scarlet string and hyssop for the one who is to be cleansed.

-Leviticus 14:1-4

7 Thus no inheritance of the sons of Israel shall be transferred from tribe to tribe, for the sons of Israel shall each hold to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.

-Numbers 19:7

· John the Baptist took the ritual of baptism and applied it to those who saw their need for spiritual cleansing in preparation for the arrival of the Messiah. Many believed John’s message and were baptized by him (Matthew 3:5–6). The baptisms John performed had the specific purpose of readying hearts for the coming of the Lord.

III. Greater growth, greater impact for Christ (Vv. 27-28).

27 And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace, 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

-Acts 18:27-28

A. Reference/commendation for Apollos

-The church today lacks letters of believers who transfer from one church to another. Typically, people simply move from one church to another.