For a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
1 Corinthians 16:9 (ESV)
Through the Bible: 1 Corinthians 15–16
I’ll never forget that iconic scene from Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, when the little boy toddles over to the front door and pulls it open while a spaceship is landing outside. His mother is horrified—she sees danger, threat, the possibility of losing her child. But the boy is transfixed. All he sees is light and wonder and possibility.
Two people looking at the same open door: one sees terror, the other opportunity.
A Wide Door For Effective Work
We often hear stories of people with big dreams and bold visions who abandon their plans because obstacles felt insurmountable. Maybe it was an inventor whose kickstarter campaign didn’t generate enough funding. Or an entrepreneur whose market analysis didn’t seem to do the job. In the church we hear about missionaries whose visas were rejected , or church planters who couldn’t find a building they could afford to rent. Sadly, many of these visionaries conclude that “the Lord wasn’t in it,” or “the timing wasn’t right,” as though obstacles meant the door was closed.
But in 1 Corinthians 16, Paul turns this faulty conclusion on its head:
“A wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.”
We usually expect those two clauses to cancel each other out. If we were playing “Conjunction Junction,” we would choose “but” as the connecting car. “We thought there was an open door but there were many adversaries, so we looked for something else to do.”
If God opens a door, shouldn’t the work be easy? If the opportunity is real, shouldn’t the opposition disappear?
Paul says the opposite. In God’s economy, open doors and adversaries tend to arrive at the same time.
The Bible’s Pattern: Opportunity Brings Opposition
You can trace this pattern from Genesis to Revelation.
Moses hears God speak from a burning bush, instructing Moses to command Pharaoh, “Let my people go” (Exodus 3). Moses had an open door. And you would think obedience would lead to instant breakthrough. Instead, Pharaoh doubles Israel’s workload and threatens Moses’ life (see Exodus 5:6-9).
Nehemiah gets a green light from the king, the funding he needs, and a burden to rebuild the wall (Nehemiah 2). That’s the open door. Then come Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem—mocking (2:19), ridiculing (4:1–3), threatening violence (4:7–8), and trying to trap Nehemiah in a false meeting (6:1–4). That’s the adversaries.
Jesus steps into public ministry after the Father declares, “This is my beloved Son.” That’s the door. Immediately He is driven into the wilderness to face Satan. That’s the adversary. And for Jesus, that’s just the beginning. Opposition will hound Jesus throughout His entire public ministry.
Paul sees revival break out across his missionary journeys—doors swinging open everywhere. And right behind them?
- A riot in Ephesus (Acts 19:23–41).
- A severe beating and imprisonment in Philippi (Acts 16:22–24).
- A murder plot in Corinth (Acts 18:9–10; cf. 20:3).
- Shipwrecks, dangers, sleepless nights, hunger, and persecution (2 Corinthians 11:24–27).
Opposition is almost always the “plus one” any time there is an opportunity for effective work. After all, if the work weren’t going to be effective, Satan wouldn’t bother to oppose it. This is what Paul is getting at: The presence of adversaries doesn’t mean the door closed. Often, it means the opportunity is real.
Where Paul Might Have Learned This
There’s an irony tucked into all this. Paul, the apostle who understood that opportunity and opposition often arrive together, may have learned that truth from a Pharisee—his own teacher, Gamaliel. Acts tells us Paul studied at Gamaliel’s feet (Acts 22:3), and Gamaliel offered the Sanhedrin the wisest counsel they would hear about the early Christian movement:
“Keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail;
but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.” (Acts 5:38–39)
Paul lived on both sides of that speech.
First as the one trying to overthrow the movement—only to discover he couldn’t.
Then as the one leading the movement, often met with fierce resistance—but now knowing that no adversary could close a door God had opened.
If Gamaliel said, “Opposition can’t stop what God starts,” Paul spent the rest of his life proving him right.
An Open Door Doesn’t Mean an Easy Road
We pray for open doors all the time—new opportunities, renewed boldness, fresh movement of God. What we don’t usually pray for is the courage to walk through the door when resistance shows up. We forget that when God opens a door, the devil often walks through it too.
Paul isn’t discouraged by the adversaries. He’s energized by them.
“Look how big this door is,” he’s basically saying. “Look how furious the enemy is! If Satan is riled up, something must be happening!
Opportunity and Opposition Share an Address
In Psalm 23, David wrote, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” Not after they’re gone. Not once the situation stabilizes. Right in the middle of the conflict.
God sets the table where the adversaries can watch you feast.
So if you’re facing resistance—if you’ve stepped into a ministry opportunity only to find unexpected pushback, criticism, discouragement, or spiritual attack—don’t assume you missed God’s will.
The door might be wider than you realized.
One Last Question
What open door is in front of you right now? And what adversaries seem to be stepping through it at the same time?
Don’t mistake resistance for a closed door. Sometimes it’s the evidence that God opened it.
Further Reading
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