Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Acts 18 before reading the devotional below.
As the early church is growing, its leadership is expanding too. What began with 11 apostles has grown, adding critical leaders including Paul, Barnabas, Silas, and Timothy. Acts 18 adds a few more — a couple named Aquila and Priscilla as well as Crispus and Apollos. We see later in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church that this led to some early factions as people focused too much on their human leaders and lost sight of Jesus.
Paul also gets some extra reassurance in verses 9-11 of Acts 18. God uses a vision to remind Paul of his mission: speak out. God reminds Paul not to be afraid and to preach boldly. Paul remains in the city of Corinth for a year and a half directly because of this vision. God’s word to Paul is a profound one: “many people in this city belong to me.”
God will continue to reach into cities and claim people for himself. He will grow his church. And he will raise up leaders in the right places at the right times. If Paul had gotten caught up in his own agenda, he likely would have gone astray. Instead, he listened to the Spirit and trusted the words he received from God. Because of his faithfulness to the mission, God was able to use him significantly to spread the Gospel across the world for many future generations.