The Open Door and the Adversaries Text: 1 Corinthians 16:5-9
Introduction: The Cartography of a Spiritual War
We live in an age of meticulous planning. We have five-year plans, strategic initiatives, and mission statements. We fill our calendars and believe that by doing so, we are somehow mastering our own destinies. And the church, in its eagerness to be seen as relevant and competent, has often adopted the world's methods wholesale. We want the Kingdom of God to run with the smooth, predictable efficiency of a successful corporation. But the Kingdom of God is not a corporation; it is an invading army. And the Apostle Paul was not a CEO; he was a frontline general in a spiritual war, taking his orders directly from the Commander-in-Chief.
In these closing remarks to the Corinthian church, we are given a brief glimpse into the apostle's travel itinerary. On the surface, it seems like simple logistics, the kind of administrative detail you might find at the end of a business letter. But if we look closer, we see the foundational principles of Christian mission and, indeed, of the Christian life itself. Paul's map is not marked with tourist destinations, but with spiritual beachheads. His calendar is not determined by convenience, but by divine opportunity and strategic conflict.
Here we see the essential tension of a life lived in faithful obedience. We see careful, Spirit-led planning held in submission to absolute divine sovereignty. We see a deep desire for rich, personal fellowship set against the urgent demands of gospel advance. And most strikingly, we see that the greatest opportunities for the Kingdom are invariably found right next to the fiercest opposition. The modern church often thinks that an open door from God means a path of no resistance, a green light with no traffic. Paul teaches us the opposite. The wide-open door and the many adversaries are not contradictory signs; they are two sides of the same glorious coin. One is the invitation to advance, and the other is the confirmation that your advance is threatening the kingdom of darkness. If you are meeting no adversaries, it is likely because you are not moving toward any important doors.
This passage, then, is a lesson in the geography of faithfulness. It teaches us how to plan, how to love, and how to fight, all under the sovereign hand of a God who directs our steps and guarantees our ultimate victory.
The Text
But I will come to you after I go through Macedonia, for I am going through Macedonia; and perhaps I will stay with you, or even spend the winter, so that you may send me on my way wherever I may go. For I do not wish to see you now just in passing, for I hope to remain with you for some time, if the Lord permits. But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
(1 Corinthians 16:5-9 LSB)
Providential Planning (vv. 5-7)
We begin with Paul laying out his intentions, his hopes, and his ultimate submission to God's will.
"But I will come to you after I go through Macedonia, for I am going through Macedonia; and perhaps I will stay with you, or even spend the winter, so that you may send me on my way wherever I may go. For I do not wish to see you now just in passing, for I hope to remain with you for some time, if the Lord permits." (1 Corinthians 16:5-7)
Notice the blend of definite plans and humble contingency. Paul says, "I am going through Macedonia." This is a settled intention. He has a strategy. He is not aimlessly wandering. The work of the gospel is not haphazard. It requires thought, foresight, and a clear sense of direction. Paul is not opposed to making plans; he is opposed to making them ultimate.
His desire for the Corinthians is not superficial. He doesn't want to just "see you now just in passing." This is not a quick handshake on the way to the airport. Paul's love for the churches he planted was deep and pastoral. He wanted to "remain with you for some time," perhaps even for the whole winter. Why? So they could "send me on my way." This was not a vacation. This was a strategic investment of time for the purpose of discipleship, correction, and encouragement, so that the Corinthian church would be strong enough to then participate in his future mission. He wanted to build them up so they could be a launching pad for the gospel.
But all of this planning is framed by a crucial, non-negotiable condition: "if the Lord permits." This is not a pious platitude tacked on at the end of a sentence. It is the foundational assumption of all Christian living. It is the practical application of James's warning: "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.' Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow... Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that'" (James 4:13-15). Paul understood that his plans were pencil sketches, and the Lord held the eraser. God's providence is not a passive force that occasionally intervenes; it is the active, moment-by-moment governance of all things. To make plans without this qualifier is not just foolish; it is atheism in practice. It is to act as though you are the captain of your own ship, when you are in fact a passenger on His.
The Strategic Delay (v. 8)
Paul then explains why his visit to Corinth is not immediate. There is a more pressing strategic priority.
"But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost..." (1 Corinthians 16:8 LSB)
He gives a specific timeframe. He is not lingering out of indecision. He is staying in Ephesus for a calculated season of ministry. Pentecost was a major Jewish festival, which means Ephesus, a major metropolitan center, would be flooded with travelers and pilgrims from all over the Roman world. Paul, the master strategist, saw this not as a holiday, but as a massive evangelistic opportunity. He was staying put because the mission field was coming to him.
This is a vital lesson. Sometimes the most strategic thing we can do is stay right where we are. We are often tempted to think that the "real" ministry is somewhere else, over the next hill. But God has placed us in our own Ephesus, in our own time, for a reason. Before we start looking for a new door to open somewhere else, we need to ask if we have fully engaged the opportunities right in front of us. Paul's decision was not based on comfort or personal preference, but on a clear-eyed assessment of where his labor would be most effective for the Kingdom.
The Gospel's Signature (v. 9)
Finally, in verse 9, Paul gives the reason for staying in Ephesus, and in doing so, he gives us one of the most important principles of spiritual warfare in the entire New Testament.
"...for a wide and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries." (1 Corinthians 16:9 LSB)
Take careful note of the grammar here. He will stay because of two things: a wide and effective door, AND many adversaries. He does not say he will stay despite the adversaries. He says he will stay because of the open door and the adversaries. The two things are linked. The presence of many adversaries is not a sign that he should leave, but rather a confirmation that he must stay. It is the evidence that the gospel is hitting the target.
What is a "wide and effective door?" It is an opportunity for the gospel to advance with real power and impact. It means people are listening, hearts are being changed, and the Spirit is at work. The word "effective" is from the Greek energes, from which we get our word "energy." The door was not just open; it was charged with divine power. The gospel was working. The Kingdom was advancing.
And what is the devil's response to an effective advance of the Kingdom? He counter-attacks. He musters his forces. He sends in adversaries. These adversaries could be theological opponents, civil authorities, riotous mobs, or internal troublemakers. The point is that the kingdom of darkness does not give up territory peacefully. If you kick in a door to one of Satan's strongholds, you must expect a fight. A lack of opposition often means a lack of impact. A sleeping dog lies because no one is trying to take his bone.
This is where the modern, therapeutic church gets it all backward. We think difficulty, opposition, and conflict are signs that we have missed God's will. We pray for open doors, and when we walk through them and get shot at, we assume we made a wrong turn. Paul teaches us that the bullets flying past your head are the confirmation that you are precisely where you are supposed to be. The adversaries are the signature of an authentic gospel opportunity. The effectiveness of the door is measured, in part, by the number of enemies it attracts. When the gospel is preached in power, it does not bring a false peace; it brings a sword. It divides, it confronts, and it provokes a reaction. And that is why Paul stays. He sees the harvest and the battle, and he understands them as one and the same thing.
Conclusion: Where the Fight Is
So what does this mean for us? It means we must learn to think like the Apostle Paul. We must make our plans, but hold them loosely, always surrendering them to the perfect will of God, saying "if the Lord permits." We must cultivate deep, meaningful fellowship with the saints, not as an end in itself, but as a means of strengthening one another for the mission.
And most importantly, we must change how we interpret our circumstances. We must stop running from trouble and start recognizing it as a signpost. Where is the gospel being opposed in your life, in your community, in our culture? Where are the adversaries gathering? That is very likely the place where God has opened a wide and effective door. The fight is not a distraction from the work; the fight is the work.
God is calling us to be a church that does not seek comfort, but seeks out the open doors. He is calling us to be Christians who do not flinch when the adversaries show up, but rather take our stand, knowing that their very presence is a testimony to the power of the gospel we proclaim. Let us therefore pray for wide and effective doors, and when God answers, let us have the courage to walk through them, ready for the glorious fight to which He has called us.