9 Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.” 11 And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
Evidently, Paul’s team was under a threat of some sort, so the Lord spoke to the apostle in a vision. God gave Paul six visions in the book of Acts (Acts 9:12; 16:9-10; 22:17-18; 23:11; 27:23-24). Each vision occurred at a critical juncture in Paul’s ministry.
18:9
Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent;
While in Corinth, the Lord revealed Himself by speaking in a vision. The vision challenged Paul to continue preaching the gospel in Corinth.
18:10
for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.”
God gives Paul a word of encouragement, a promise that He would be “with” him and no one would hurt him. The Lord revealed to the apostle that He had “many people in this city.” By His foreknowledge, God revealed to Paul what He was to do with his ministry.
18:11
And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
In response to God’s promise, Paul preached in Corinth for a year and a half by teaching the word of God in the city.
PRINCIPLE:
The place of discouragement can become the scene of blessing.
APPLICATION:
Those in ministry often forget that the Lord is “with” us in ministry (Josh 1:5,9). We are not alone in what we do for the Lord because His presence is there to work through us (2 Ti 4:17-18). The Lord Himself promised to be with us to the end of the age (Mt 28:20). He also made the same promise to prophets (Isa 41:10; Jer 1:17-19). God intervenes in our ministries to encourage us not to give up.
People who walk by faith are not daunted by opposition (2 Ti 3:12). They know problems lay ahead, but they can see what God can do beyond any setback along the way.
Christ’s promise to Paul gave him a vision of what could happen in Corinth. He obtained assurance God was there through anything he might face. As a result, Paul founded a dynamic church in the city. From Corinth, he wrote two letters to the Thessalonians, which has been a great source of blessing for centuries to the church.
