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Directory of
New Testament Churches
By John Heading
ACHAIA
Scripture
References
Acts
18.12, 27; 19.21; 20.2; Rom. 15.26; (16.5); 1 Cor. 16.15; 2 Cor.
1.1; 9.1-4; 11.10; 1 Thess. 1.7-8.
Background
Originally,
this was the name given to the southern most strip of Greece,
but in New Testament times the whole of southern Greece was
known as Achaia, the northern part being called Macedonia. The
two names often occur together, Acts 19.2 1; Rom. 15.26,. 1
Thess. 1.8. Corinth was the capital city, but Cenchrea and
Athens were also within Achaia. When Paul was in Corinth, Acts
18. 1-18, Achaia was under the Roman proconsular form of
government, with Gailio as the 'deputy'or 'proconsul', v. 12.
There
was no such thing as 'the church of Achaia', since in the New
Testament any church was designated only by the name of the city
in which the believers met in the Lord's name. There were
'churches' of a region, as 'the churches of Galatia', 1 Cor.
16.1, but local churches in several cities were never grouped to
form a church of a district or country. For further details, see
ATHENS, CENCHREA, CORINTH.
On
his second missionary journey, Paul came to Athens from Berea,
Acts 17.15, where most of his time was spent disputing in the
synagogue and in the market place, v. 17. The only converts are
stated to be 'certain men' who believed, one of whom was
Dionysius, together with a woman Demaris, 'and others with
them', v. 34. Although it is not stated, we feel that these
converts could have formed a local church in Athens. Stephanas
is described as being 'the firstfruits of Achaia', 1 Cor. 16.15,
though it is usually thought that Paul meant Corinth, the
capital city, when he wrote 'Achaia', rather than Athens where
the first converts were gained for the Lord. In Romans 16.5, the
reference to Epaenetus being 'the firstfruits of Achaia unto
Christ' should be amended to 'the firstfruits of Asia',
according to the best Greek texts.
When
Paul arrived in Corinth during his second missionary journey, he
found that the testimony of the Thessalonians, some 200 miles to
the north, had already preceded him, 1 Thess. 1. 7-8; through
their example, the word of the Lord had sounded out 'in every
place'. Paul did not confine his ministry only to Corinth, but a
church was also formed at Cenchrea, the port of Corinth nine
miles eastwards, Rom. 16.1. Towards the end of his stay, Paul
was brought before 'Gallio ... the deputy of Achaia', Acts
18.12, after which the apostle sailed with Priscilla and Aquila
from Cenchrea, v.18, Later, before Paul's third journey, Apollos
had been taught in Ephesus 'the way of God more perfectly', v.
26. He was then 'disposed to pass into Achaia', v. 27, namely to
Corinth in particular, 19.1. Aquila and Priscilla wrote to the
church that they should receive him, a good example of the use
of letters of commendation. Apollos then engaged in ministerial
and evangelical activities in Achaia, 18.27-28.
At
the end of his third journey, Paul intended to visit Achaia,
Acts 19.21, having written the Epistle 1 Corinthians to Corinth.
He would, however, first pass through Macedonia, 1 Cor. 16.5.
Before his visit, he then wrote the Epistle 2 Corinthians,
addressed not only to the church at Corinth, but also 'to all
the saints ... in all Achaia', 2 Cor. 1.1. He had boasted to the
Macedonians of the readiness of the believers in Achaia to
gather a large collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem,
9.1-4. He wrote to the Romans at the same time, 'it hath pleased
them of ... Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor
saints which are at Jerusalem, Rom. 15.26. Yet at the same time
he boasted that no one from Achaia had provided him with finance
during his first visit; only the Macedonians did this, 2 Cor.
11.9-10.
Finally,
Paul arrived in 'Greece', Acts 20.2, namely Achaia, and Corinth
in particular, staying three months until persecution arose. By
stages, he returned to Jerusalem, taking the collection with
him. This concludes the scriptural record of Paul's association
with Corinth and Achaia, though some suggest that he wrote the
Epistle to Titus from Corinth during his release from his first
Roman imprisonment. Later, he mentioned 'Erastus abode in
Corinth' as an item of news, 2 Tim. 4.20.
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