The Holy Spirits Advice/Recommendation/Suggestion/Instruction/Prescription
Acts 18:1-4
For those who came 'back home', now is the time to embrace the Holy Spirits advice, which would interpret and resolve your lives. It is hard to listen to others suggestions when we are well-to-do. So when do we accept the Holy Spirits recommendations?
First, it is when we have been faced with failure and loneliness.
'After this' refers to 'after the ministry in Athens failed'. Athens was a cradle of intellect, bustling with renowned philosophers. Though the world has heard of Socrates, they do not know of Paul. They do not quote Pauls words. So why did Athenians listen to him in the first place? They were merely curious about novel ideas. Paul uses Athenian lingo: he starts with the creator God and the trinity through the lens of natural revelation. He does not start with the gospel of Jesus Christ and the atonement of our sins. Further, he elects to refer to Jesus indirectly as 'the man he has appointed'. Paul delivers the Holy Spirits fury and teachings, yet no fruit is borne. He has hit a dead end. Even more so than the beatings and incarceration, this place, with all its attacks on Pauls dignity, was the hardest to cope with. This failure would become the setup for the Corinthian church, but, to Paul, Athens was an experience of such utter loneliness and defeat.
Second, even the lustful can listen.
Paul leaves Athens and arrives at the provincial capital of Greece, Corinth. Corinth had wide seas to its east and west, while its roads to the north and south were an important connection between Rome and Asia. It was an old city that grew as a center for countless boats, goods, traders, and money. It was a complex that embodied the marvel of all of the cities Paul had visited. And it was the most lecherous, lavish, and imprudent of the bunch. To this city, Paul entered alone as a loser. Because of their evil and lust, people easily change according to their interests. Without realizing a proper relationship with God, we cannot form a proper perspective on matters. Impiety, the religious crime, and infidelity, the moral crime, are the fundamental facets of sin. The former is usually committed by believers whilst the latter by non-believers. Because not knowing God is itself impiety, non-believers unwittingly invite the wrath of God. Because God is holy, He demands holiness from us in the form of obedience. As we do not want to obey, wrath equally befalls both the believer and non-believer. But it is worse to be ignored. Being successful out in the world, with no failures or pain, only leads to lust. This does not refer just to sexual desires. Such people are said not to be loathed or loved but forgotten by God. In Romans 1:25-27, homosexuality is raised as an example of how people 'worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator'. Because they put their passions above the Creator, they cannot listen and do not turn back. Homosexuality is the culmination of lust. It was at the pinnacle of pleasure for the people of Athens who had everything, and its place above God made it very difficult for them to turn back.
Third, it is when hearing it from someone who has experienced similar failures.
To Paul, who arrived at Corinth alone, God sends Aquila. Sharing hardships does more for mutual understanding than a common birthplace. Aquila labored to thrive in Rome, but was stripped of his possessions, causing such pain as having flesh torn off, much like Paul. They must have felt a deeper connection for having been forced to leave. Paul stays and works with Aquila and Priscilla. When we are with people who share our trials, we are able to hear the Holy Spirits instructions lead us to the Lord. Our mokjang community serves that role at Wooridle Church. When Aquila left Rome, his wife Priscilla joined him. Priscilla was from a noble Roman family, but decided to leave with her husband for Corinth, a colonist whose entire wealth had been seized in the famine. This one decision led Aquila to hearing the Holy Spirits advice. A wife who left Rome to honor her husband continues to impact humanity after two thousand years. A wife who uses the language of obedience to her husband does not subjugate herself God regards her more highly and dignifies her. Maintaining the boundaries as a wife is the key to guiding the husband to follow the Holy Spirits recommendations. For Priscillas devotion, the Lord let her shine like the stars. Complying with the role of husband and wife even during a famine is invaluable. We must heed not to money but to the occasion of departure, especially in the face of calamity.
Fourth, it is when working together.
Paul was from Tarsus, a region known for producing the basic materials for tents and its tent makers, so makes a living with the couple making tents. We must not abandon our livelihoods just because we promulgate the Holy Spirits prescriptions. Keeping our places and moments in life is necessary so that the Word we spread is the living Word. It is tempting to say 'it is good here' and settle down when meeting someone who understands you after going through the hardships of delivering the Word. But we are only acquainted with these people so that we may recharge and return to our mission. Thus, divorcing under such circumstances not only violates principles, it misses His plan of salvation and is not subject to any justification. That is why we must hold quiet time with salvation history in mind. The reason why the Holy Spirit instructs us through people is to prepare us for our place in the mission. For this we must practice the seemingly foolish aspects of evangelism. It is the best training for salvation. The purpose of our lives is not happiness but holiness.
I bless you in the name of the Lord that everyone around you may accept the Holy Spirits advice and enter heaven.
