Acts 19:20

As a consequence of the repentance described in the preceding verses, the church became purer as well as larger (cf. Acts 5:1-11). Luke gave us this sixth progress report to mark the end of another section of his book. The section we have just completed (Acts 16:6 to Acts 19:20) records the church’s extension in the Roman provinces around the Aegean Sea.

While in Ephesus Paul had considerable contact with the church in Corinth. He wrote that church a letter that he called his former letter in 1 Corinthians 5:9. Then sometime later he wrote 1 Corinthians, probably near the spring of A.D. 56. Timothy travelled from Corinth to Ephesus, then evidently went back to Corinth, and returned later to Ephesus (Acts 18:5; 1 Corinthians 4:17; 1 Corinthians 16:10-11; Acts 19:22). Following Timothy’s visit to Corinth Paul evidently made a so-called "painful visit" to Corinth (2 Corinthians 2:1; 2 Corinthians 12:14; 2 Corinthians 13:1-2) and returned to Ephesus. Then he wrote another "severe letter" to Corinth from Ephesus (2 Corinthians 2:3-4; 2 Corinthians 7:8-12; 2 Corinthians 12:18). These facts come to us through Paul’s two epistles to the Corinthians the first of which he wrote during the years he used Ephesus as his base of operations. He undoubtedly had other contacts with many other churches about which we know nothing. Luke’s purpose was not to give us a complete record of Paul’s ministry or the church’s growth as a whole. It was to document its advance to the heart of the Roman Empire (Acts 1:8) and to show by repetition how Jesus Christ was building His church (Matthew 16:18).

"Here is the climax of the account of Paul’s ministry as a free man; after this it is largely troubles, travels, and trials." [Note: Witherington, p. 583.]