The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 2 — Section 107

the be«t. So he had already found his work out of the various fitnesses which lay In him, which_ he had not neglected, not re8isted, not despised. (2) The opportunity of large e.ccess1ons of knowledge are thrown in his we.y, and he embraces them and owns t~em: Possibly_ the tent-me.king couple, man and wife, ~id not ordinarily stand very high m repute_ with th? lear1:1ed and polished of Alexandna (ver. 24). But as surely e.s they r:ecog1:1111e the ngh_t rmg about him, so does he about them. And he is glad of the prov1dent1al opportunity held out to him, to have" the way of God expounded" to him more completely and fully. (3) The opportunity is opened to him of passing on to other ground, accredited by "the brethren," till he finds himself the true living centre of a people to God's glory. He is the "much helper" of them, who had already "believed through grace," and he is the effective, trenchant, and successful convincer of many others, of "the truth as it is in Jesus." What a lesson for young men I And how many persons of great gifts not used, misused, or sluggishly used, are sternly rebuked by the example of Apollos I While he is an example of how God will find the work and the opportunity and the glorious w.sefulness for those who have and improve and dedicate to him their fitness, of whatever kind, for his work. 2. For .Aquila and Priscil'la. These had been blessed themselves. Very likely, indeed, they had been a real help and comfort in private and in travelling to Paul. We can see them, wherever the modest opportunity offered, modestly stepping in and using it for the glory of Christ and the good of the brethren and others. But they had never thought of anything beyond such silent, unknown, unrecorded usefulness. But no, it shall not be so. A new opening occurs ; they see it, and use it. 'l'hey teach the teacher. They furnish the armoury of the capable, skilful, valiant warrior. Not a victory that Apollos won afterwards, but their share was registered up above; and not a tender plant he watered (1 Cor. iii. 6), but the refreshingness came partly of their work, while" God gave the increase." For love, and care, and study, and zeal for him, Christ will never long withhold that best present reward, the reward of sufficient opportunity .-B. Ver. 1.-0orinth as a model sphere of missionary labour. The service of the apostle in no city or district is more fully detailed than his service at Corinth, and there is so much of interest connected with that city, that we may consider somewhat fully the work that had to be done, and the work that was done there. A general sketch of the place, its character, and it.s history will suggest the directions in which further study and research may be hopefully pursued. The most complete and careful note is the following, by Dean Plumptre :-" The position of Corinth on the isthmus, with n harbour on either shore, Cenchreie on the east, Lechmum on the west, had naturally made it a place of commercial importance at a very early stage of Greek hiHtory. With com- merce had come luxury and vice, and the verb Oorinthiazein, equal to 'live as the Corinthians,' had become proverbial, as early as the time of Aristophanes, for a course of profligacy. The harlot priestesses of the temple of Aphrodite gave a kind of conse- cration to the deeJrdyed impurity of Greek social life, of which we find traces in 1 Cor. v. 1; vi. 9-19. The Isthmian games, which were celebrated every fourth year, drew crowds of competitors and spectators from all parts of Greece, and obviously furnished the apostle with the agonistic imagery of 1 Cor. ix:. 24-27. On its conquest by the Roman general Mummius (B.c. 146), many of its buildings had been destroyed, and its finest statues had been carried off to Rome. A century later, Julius Cmsar determined t.o restore it to its former splendour, and thousands of freedmen were employed in the work of reconstruction. Such was the scene of the apostle's new labours, less pro- mising, at first sight, than Athens, but ultimately far more fruitful in resW:ts." Taking the point of view indicated in the heading of this homily outline, we notice that- L CoBINTH WAS THE PLACE TO TEST TRE ADA.PTATION OF THE GOSPEL TO ALL CLABSEII OIi' SOCIETY. The experience of long years and many missionary journeys was epitomized at Corinth. Not even Rome presented such an assemblage ef all classes and grades, of all nationalities and races. It was just the place wherei11 to show what "almighty grace can do." And the great apostle sought it with much the same instinct that leads the revivalists of our day to seek London, or Glasgow, or Paris. 'l'he population of Corin.th was la.rgel,1 democratic, and its aristocrac7 was that of wealth rat~er than of CH, .I.VIII, 1-28,] THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 109