Evening star., 1925-10-10

immortal Mars
| Hill message, the
discouraged apos-
! tie turned in his Rev. H. r. Stevenson
| sickness toward
| the political and commercial capital
! of Greece. When he reached the inn
portant isthmus city that rivaled Ath
ems in statecraft and still more in art.
| especially in painting, statuary and
bronze work, Paul entered another
world.
/ Corinth by it's position upon the
isthmus attracted the wealth Of the
seas and the dregs of all lands. 1t
was then a comparatively new city,
having been rebuilt by julius Caesar
about a hundred years previously
upon the site of the city that had been
plundered and burned in LAG Be. Its
| location upon the narrow isthmus.
about five miles wide between the
| Corinthian and Saronic Gulf. at
tracted sailors and seafarinG men.
VINO were unwilling to face the dan
! gers of the 'treacherous tides and
restless hillows" of Cape Malea. The
smaller craft were rolled across the
isthmus. The larger vessels unload
| ed and their goods We're transported
across the land for reshipment. Com
merce developed Corinth into volup-
tuous and wealthy city. Its population
was composed of elements of all races
attracted to the prosperous trade cen
ter with the hope of attaining share
of it's riches and luxury. The Roman
coloniStS dominated the city, although
a ma jority of its citizens were Greeks.
One-fifth Of it's population of $50, 900,
| it is said, We're slaves. \ large num-
| ber of Jews We're there attracted by
| its commercial life. a number of whom
! had recently been expelled from
| Rome.
Self-Supporting Ministry.
During the lonely journey from
Athens to Corinth. Paul reviewed his
| missionary work in Europe. He had
| responded to the call for help, but
| instead of Christia nifty sweeping rapid
| ly over Greece, like q prairie fire. II
| had been retarded by barren contro-
versy and bitter persecution. He
would willingly have faced the mobs,
but the indifference of Athens filled
! the apostle with despair. He de-
| wide-open immoral city of Corinth
! with a gospel that would seek to save
the lost rather than educate the
| ignorant.
! No reception committee welcomed
| the weak and weary lonely Hebrew
! preacher when he entered the city, des
| tined to be his home for about two
years. In their desire for gold and
gayety, the crowds paid no attention
to the missionary, whose life and Ia
| Dor within Corinth was destined to
plant the Church of Christ in that city,
noted for it's immoral worship of
Aphrodite with it's thousand cour-
tesan votaries," who piled their traffic
in the city, chiefly with the ship
masters. enriching the temple by
! running of their Victims and proved
I the saying that it is not every man
that can afford the voyage to Corinth.
! PaulS sensitive nature called for
) fellowship. He Craved companionship.
/ Solitude and loneliness had a tendency
! to limit his efficiency As a preacher.
! Providence had prepared for his com
| ing. When Claudius Caesar expelled,
| in 40 A.D., according to Josephus,
all the Jews from Rome, Aquila and
| his wife Priscilla were compelled to
move and open up their tent making
business in new city. They were
attracted. like others. to Corinth, where
| Paul found them when searching for
a home and work in the Jewish
quarter through the guild of tent
makers. Aquila was native Of
Pontus. which was located close to
| Paul's birthplace. Evidently they were
! members of the church in Rome as
they welcomed the new employe into
! their home, and no mention is made
! of their baptism.
| Paul secured work and a home,
which no doubt Stephanus would have
/ given him, but the apostle was un-
willing to trespass upon the hospital
I ity of any of his converts. He de-
sired to be free from the charge that
he sought gold, when he was filled
with but one desire to win souls for
Christ and HIS church. The minister
is worthy of his hire and is entitled
to a living wage so as to free him,
| except in some emergency, from de-
pending upon manual labor for sup
port, as Paul did in Corinth. We sup
port our missionaries and our pastors
today, especially the former, to free
them from being looked upon by the
people with whom they labor as seek
ers of money rather than men. Aquila
and Priscilla became through their
association with Paul prominent fig
ures in the early apostolic history.
A Fearless Ministry.
During the early portion of Paul's
ministry in Corinth he worked very
quietly. speaking according as oppor
tunity opened in the synagogues in a
manner that did not create any contro-
versy. Silas and Timothy found their
friend, toiling at his trade, when they
reached Corinth, depressed in spirit
that they brought him about the
churches filled him with a new spirit.
He was moved out of his gratitude
toward the Thessalonians to write
them his first letter, which was the
commencement of our New Testament.
The influence of Corinth is seen in his
early letters, pointing out that the
gospel is a great message of deliver
ance from the sinful life of senSuality,
self-indulgence and self seeking into
the life of spiritual-mindedness, self
denial and charity, through the per-
sonal relationship of that disciple to
Jesus Christ"
Evidently due to the testimony of
} the power of the gospel to transform
men which Paul received from Tim
othy and Silas. he changed his style
of preaching in the synagogue. He
preached with such courage and con,
! vincing power that he was shut out
of the synagogue. One of his con-
verts, Justus, opened his home,
across the street from the synagogue,
. for the services of his brethren. The
starting of mission and the organ
iZation of church so close to the
synagogue started up strife between
the two organizations. The opposi-
ton to Paul became intense and it
deepened with the conversion of
Crispus, who had been a ruler of the
synagogue. Departing from his prac-
tice. the apostle personally admin
istered the ordinance of baptism when
Cripus united with the church.