Be, Just Be
Be, just be is my take on a directive given by Paul to the Corinthian church and the men in it. These directives can come for any number of reasons, but this one was in response to waiting for Apollos, another church leader who was to come to the Corinthian church and lead. Before Apollos arrived, Paul wrote the Corinthians a letter telling them to "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love (1 Corinthians 6:13-14)." Being watchful like when Jesus wanted the disciples to stay up through the night and keep out a watchful eye. Stand firm in the faith meaning do not waiver and dilute the faith and add unto it, but stand strong in what is whole, virtuous and true. Acting like men may get taken to mean not to be effeminate, but I think here in this context it means be strong like men as men are naturally stronger than women (that's not sexist). The strength here isn't about physical strength, but emotional strength or endurance and perseverance and courage while waiting for Apollos to arrive. Lastly, let all you do be done in love. If you hold God up high first and foremost and you love and honor His word and His will, then you can love people (even unbelievers) as God loves them. So, be, just be. Be strong. Be a man. Be loving. Be like Jesus. Be, just be.
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
Paul's Journey with the Holy Spirit
We have seen all that Paul has gone through from being imprisoned and chased from one town to another avoiding death. As we see here in Acts 18:4 he was still preaching the word. I love that even though he would have every human reason to give up, he didn't. He feared for his life. It was not a made up "people are after me" though as people were truly after him Paul has been a man of perseverance and persistence in the Holy Spirit. he wasn't always there, but once he started following Christ you saw a big change in his behaviors and his life.
In verses 5-6, he was testifying that Jesus was the messiah but when the Jews opposed and reviled him, he did not sit there and keep arguing and get madder and madder. He did what he was supposed to do. He let them know that they are responsible for themselves now and he left and went to the Gentiles. God told Paul in verses 9-10 (in a vision) to go on speaking and to not be afraid because God was with him. Paul did just that for a year and 6 months.
In Acts 18:18-23, we see that Paul worked hard at strengthening the disciples that he came in contact with and still preaching the word of Jesus from land to land as he traveled whether it be Ephesus, Caesarea, Antioch, Galatia and Phrygia. Paul had left Ephesus and left 2 that he traveled with there in Ephesus, Priscilla and Aquila. While they stayed behind, they met Apollos who also preached the word accurately. Priscilla and Aquila (husband and wife), took Apollos aside and taught him how to preach the word more accurately. And with that he continued to spread the word that Jesus was the Christ, even in public against the Jews (Pharisees).
PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!
