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Bible Notes - Tabernacle Commentaries
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1 Corinthians 16:8
Comments
Paul would remain at Ephesus, where he was; not at Philippi, as is stated in the uninspired footnotes to the epistle. The apostle Paul was writing undoubtedly from Ephesus, and he partly indicates that here. He will wait there until Pentecost. Not that Pentecost was any kind of feast for Christian people, but it naturally marked the season of the year.There are two reasons why he lingered at Ephesus. Number one was the unusual number of converts, conversions – ‘a great door and effectual’; that influenced him. Number two, ‘and there are many adversaries’, and there were. At Ephesus there was more persecution than anywhere else that the apostle Paul visited. Terrible things happened in Ephesus. It was in Ephesus that he had a near death experience, and torture and ill-treatment, much opposition, the great riots, which Demetrius, the silversmith, organised. He had to stay for two reasons: souls are being saved, people are responding; and also the believers at Ephesus needed him here because of the persecution and the trouble, which eventually forced the exclusion of Paul himself.
Application
This applies to us. Will I take this job or that job? Well here is one of the factors – where am I most useful to the Lord? Where may I have the greatest witness? Is there evidence that I can be more used and blessed in place A rather than place B? How will the Lord use me? It’s always in our minds. Any great change of location, circumstances, work, anything else: how is my service and witness for the Lord affected by this? If I were to relocate, would I be leaving behind difficult circumstances for other Christians? Would I be leaving a work underprovided for, where God has blessed me? There are two sides to it. Where will I be most blessed? Where am I most needed?
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