Acts 18:11

‘And he dwelt there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.'

The result was that he preached for eighteen months without let or hindrance, ‘teaching the word of God' among them. This ‘teaching' was not only a proclamation but a steady build up in the word. Note the constant references to ‘the word' throughout Acts. Underlying all that we find in Acts is the progress of the word as it advances. It is going forward to bring about God's will as Isaiah had promised (Isaiah 55:9). And here once more Paul was sending it forth at the Lord's command.

The clear assumption of this passage is that the word of God was working effectively in the lives of the ‘much people in this city'. But it is interesting that after the initial burst (Acts 18:8) we are not told of even one convert. We are left to recognise the fact without being told, for it is quite clear that a great work was going on. Once again we recognise that Luke's silences are not to be assumed as signifying that nothing was happening. From elsewhere we know that as well as Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, and Titius Justus, whose house Paul stayed in, there were Stephanas and his household, his earliest converts whom he baptised himself, something that he soon refrained from doing (1 Corinthians 1:16; 1 Corinthians 16:15); there was Erastus the city treasurer (Romans 16:23); there was Gaius whose house was large enough to hold the church (Romans 16:23); and there was the Lady Chloe (1 Corinthians 1:11). These were highly influential people, but the unknown majority would come from the lower levels of society, including both freedmen and slaves, although we must remember in saying that, that slaves could hold positions of some importance. The church covered the whole spectrum of society.