Week #49 | The Ministry of Mutual Encouragement

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Acts 20:1-6; 2 Corinthians 1-13; Romans 1-16

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Spending Time With Good Friends (Acts 20:1-6). In our shortest reading from Week #49, Paul travels back to Corinth ("Greece," in Acts 20:2) and then back through Philippi (Acts 20:5-6), and also meets with representatives from the Gospel-centered work that was still occurring in the previously reached regions of Galatia and Asia (Acts 20:4). As Paul pointed out in his letter to the Romans, he desired these types of gatherings so that he and those with him "may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith" (Romans 1:12). If the greatest missionary in the history of the Christian faith needed to spend time with other believers so that he might be encouraged by their company, so do we. It might be worthwhile to call up some Christian friends from previous seasons of your life so that you and they might be mutually encouraged by each other.

Gospel-Driven Ministry (2 Corinthians). In the letter of 2 Corinthians, written from Macedonia (around Acts 20:1), Paul continued to write to and guide the church in Corinth. This is pretty incredible if you think about it. Here is Paul, having gone out to further regions, still having a concern for the churches that he has served in the past, and still pastoring them from afar through his network of co-laborers and the communication tools available to him in that day. In fact, this letter is written in preparation of a visit that he intends to make to them. In the letter of 2 Corinthians he defends his Gospel (2 Corinthians 1-6) and his ministry (2 Corinthians 7-13). Everything he does is based on the message that he proclaims. Which should lead us to ask: if we had to write a letter proving to a hostile group that everything we have done is based on the Gospel that we proclaim, could we write that letter convincingly? What would we have to change in our lives in order to be able to write such a letter?

A Defense of the Gospel (Romans). Internal evidence strongly suggests that this letter was written from Corinth, and reflected Paul's desire to travel to the largest city in the country to make the biggest impact for the sake of the Gospel. This is impressive if you think about it, and it's a window into what made Paul such an effective evangelist: here Paul was dealing with a significant issue in the church of Corinth which was worthy of significant amounts of his time, attention, and which demanded his physical presence. He made sure that it received all those things. And yet while he was there, he was already setting his sights on the next frontier and sending a letter ahead of him! We need more forward thinkers in the church like this today. Romans reads like a detailed argument for the Gospel to which Paul holds (Romans 1-11) and to the practical implications of that Gospel in the lives of believers (Romans 12-16). It is worth reading carefully, and slowly, and prayerfully. For its thoroughness and clarity about the message of the greatest missionary who ever lived, it has often been called The Greatest Letter Ever Written.

DO | HOW DO WE RESPOND?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? I won't lay out exact responses in this space because the possibilities are often endless. But it is worth it to think about application in the categories of worship, attitude, and actions. Does this reading direct me to God in worship and thanksgiving and praise, or does it direct me towards a change that I need to make here and now? If it's about a change that I need to make, is this something inward in my attitude, or outward in my actions? This helps to rescue application from just being a series of how-to tips, or one-size-fits-all instructions that go beyond what the Bible actually states. Sometimes, the most helpful application we can make is to get a different perspective on what's the most important thing, or about how we should respond inwardly to the things going on around us.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US TO GOD?

Whether in response to anything pointed out here, or to something else in your Bible reading time, take a few moments before you close up your Bible to pray in response to God. If you need a format for prayer, both the ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication), CALL (Confess, Ask, Love, Listen), and PRAY (Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield) methods are helpful ways to stay consistent.

-Sean