In between AD 53 and 58, Paul set out on his third missionary journey, departing from Antioch in Syria, traveled in orderly sequence through the Galatian country and Phrygia (Acts 18:23), then arrived to Ephesus. There he eventually stayed for two years and three months. Ephesus was the prosperous capital of Asia Minor at that time, which was supposed to be the original first stop Paul intended to visit on his second missionary journey. As the churches in Asia Minor region had gradually flourished, Paul regarded Ephesus to be a more crucial activity center than Antioch. During his stay in Ephesus, Gospel was carried eastward to Colossae and Lycus valley, and Paul also wrote letters to around Galatia, which helped to boost the confidence and strength to deal with the persecution by the conservative Jews. In Ephesus, Paul met an active missionary in Corinth, Apollos (Acts 18:24-28; 19-1-10). For the reason that Paul overheard the partisan struggles within the Corinthian churches, which hindered the unity of the church, it led to a letter addressing to the Corinthian church by Paul, namely the “First Epistle to the Corinthians.”
Although the “Acts of the Apostles” does not document the Paul’s imprisonment in Ephesus, he truly had experienced a disturbance there (Acts 19:23-40). Paul left Macedonia for Corinth afterwards, where he stayed for about a year and survived the winter. Paul originally planned to sail across the sea in spring time for Passover in Jerusalem. But knowing that the Jews were making a plot to against him, Paul altered his plan of returning to Syria, and took a resolution by returning through Macedonia to revisit Philippi, and then sailed to Troas (Acts 20:3-6). Paul then voyaged through Chios, Miletus, Cos, Tyre, Caesarea, and other places before re-entering Jerusalem. From his epistle, we know that his reason of an immediate return to Jerusalem was to fulfill his early commitment by bringing alms he collected from Gentile Christians from churches in Macedonia and Achaia, whom had provided donations as proof of their loyalty and communion in the family of Jesus Christ, to the poor at the church in Jerusalem.
During Paul’s returning trip, there were three important incidents. In Troas, Paul resuscitated a young man called Eutychus (Acts 20:7-12); in Miletus, Paul presented his farewell speech to the Ephesian presbyters as his last will and testament (Acts 20:17-37); in Caesarea, Holy Spirit spoke through Agabus prophesized Paul’s arrest (Acts 21:8-14).
The Apostle accomplished four correspondences during this missionary journey: the “First Epistle to Corinthians” written in Ephesus; the “Second Epistle to Corinthians” written in Macedonia; the “Epistle to Romans” written in Corinth; and as for the date of the “Epistle to Galatians” was questionable.