Study Desk

Therefore, sent out by the Holy Spirit, they came down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed away to Cyprus.

Therefore he also says in another psalm, ‘You will not permit your Holy One to experience decay.'

"Therefore let it be known to you, men and brothers, that through this one forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and from all the things from which you were not able to be justified by the law of Moses,

Watch out, therefore, lest what is stated by the prophets come upon you:

Therefore I conclude we should not cause difficulty for those from among the Gentiles who turn to God,

Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, and they will report the same things by word of mouth.

The Jerusalem Council And some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved." And after there was no little strife and debate by Paul and Barnabas against them, they appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem concerning this issue. So they were sent on their way by the church, and passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, telling in detail the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers. And when they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and reported all that God had done with them. But some of those who had believed from the party of the Pharisees stood up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to observe the law of Moses!" Both the apostles and the elders assembled to deliberate concerning this matter. And after there was much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, "Men and brothers, you know that in the early days God chose among you through my mouth that the Gentiles should hear the message of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he also did to us. And he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. So now why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way those also are." And the whole group became silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul describing all the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. And after they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, "Men and brothers, listen to me! Simeon has described how God first concerned himself to take from among the Gentiles a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: ‘After these things I will return and build up again the tent of David that has fallen, and the parts of it that had been torn down I will build up again and will restore it, so that the rest of humanity may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old.' Therefore I conclude we should not cause difficulty for those from among the Gentiles who turn to God, but we should write a letter to them to abstain from the pollution of idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled and from blood. For Moses has those who proclaim him in every city from ancient generations, because he is read aloud in the synagogues on every Sabbath." Then it seemed best to the apostles and the elders, together with the whole church, to send men chosen from among them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas—Judas who was called Barsabbas and Silas, men who were leaders among the brothers— writing this letter to be delivered by them: The apostles and the elders, brothers. To the brothers who are from among the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia. Greetings! Because we have heard that some have gone out from among us—to whom we gave no orders—and have thrown you into confusion by words upsetting your minds, it seemed best to us, having reached a unanimous decision, and having chosen men, to send them to you together with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives on behalf of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, and they will report the same things by word of mouth. For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us to place on you no greater burden except these necessary things: that you abstain from food sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these things you will do well. Farewell. So when they were sent off, they came down to Antioch, and after calling together the community, they delivered the letter. And when they read it aloud, they rejoiced at the encouragement. Both Judas and Silas, who were also prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers by a long message. And after spending some time, they were sent away in peace from the brothers to those who had sent them.

Therefore many of them believed, and not a few of the prominent Greek women and men.

For you are bringing some astonishing things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean."

For as I was passing through and observing carefully your objects of worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed, ‘To an unknown God.' Therefore what you worship without knowing it, this I proclaim to you—

Therefore, because we are offspring of God, we ought not to think the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought.

Therefore although God has overlooked the times of ignorance, he now commands all people everywhere to repent,

Therefore because these things are undeniable, it is necessary that you be quiet and do nothing rash!

Paul Finds Disciples of John the Baptist in Ephesus And it happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the inland regions and came to Ephesus and found some disciples. And he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said to him, "But we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit!" And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" And they said, "Into the baptism of John." And Paul said, "John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one who was to come after him—that is, in Jesus." And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy. (Now the total number of men was about twelve.) So he entered into the synagogue and was speaking boldly for three months, discussing and attempting to convince them concerning the kingdom of God. But when some became hardened and were disobedient, reviling the Way before the congregation, he departed from them and took away the disciples, leading discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. And this took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. And God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or work aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to those who were sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. But some itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches!" (Now seven sons of a certain Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.) But the evil spirit answered and said to them, "Jesus I know, and Paul I am acquainted with, but who are you?" And the man who had the evil spirit leaped on them, subdued all of them, and prevailed against them, so that they ran away from that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was exalted. And many of those who had believed came, confessing and disclosing their practices, and many of those who practiced magic brought together their books and burned them up in the sight of everyone. And they counted up their value and found it was fifty thousand silver coins. In this way the word of the Lord was growing in power and was prevailing. Now when these things were completed, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, "After I have been there, it is necessary for me to see Rome also." So after sending two of those who were assisting him, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, he himself stayed some time in Asia. Now there happened at that time no little disturbance concerning the Way. For someone named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver replicas of the temple of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen. These he gathered together, and the workers occupied with such things, and said, "Men, you know that from this business we get our prosperity, and you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this man Paul has persuaded and turned away a large crowd by saying that the gods made by hands are not gods. So not only is there a danger this line of business of ours will come into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be regarded as nothing—and she is about to be brought down even from her grandeur, she whom the whole of Asia and the entire world worship!" And when they heard this and became full of rage, they began to shout, saying, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" And the city was filled with the tumult, and with one purpose they rushed into the theater, seizing Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were traveling companions of Paul. But when Paul wanted to enter into the popular assembly, the disciples would not let him. And even some of the Asiarchs who were his friends sent word to him and were urging him not to risk himself by going into the theater. So some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and the majority did not know why they had assembled. And some of the crowd advised Alexander, when the Jews put him forward. But Alexander, motioning with his hand, was wanting to defend himself to the popular assembly. But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they were shouting with one voice from all of them for about two hours, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" And when the city secretary had quieted the crowd, he said, "Ephesian men, for who is there among men who does not know the Ephesian city is honorary temple keeper of the great Artemis and of her image fallen from heaven? Therefore because these things are undeniable, it is necessary that you be quiet and do nothing rash! For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess. If then Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the court days are observed and there are proconsuls—let them bring charges against one another! But if you desire anything further, it will be settled in the lawful assembly. For indeed we are in danger of being accused of rioting concerning today, since there is no cause in relation to which we will be able to give an account concerning this disorderly gathering!" And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

Therefore I testify to you on this very day that I am guiltless of the blood of all of you,

Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears.

Therefore do this that we tell you: we have four men who have taken a vow upon themselves.

Therefore, now you along with the Sanhedrin explain to the military tribune that he should bring him down to you, as if you were going to determine more accurately the things concerning him. And we are ready to do away with him before he comes near."

You therefore do not be persuaded by them, because more than forty men of their number are lying in wait for him, who have bound themselves under a curse neither to eat nor to drink until they have done away with him. And now they are ready, waiting for you to agree."

Therefore the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him to Antipatris during the night.