“Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the scriptures.”
Whether it was intentional on Luke’s part or just a by-product of the meticulous manner in which he gathered information and compiled it in his letters to Theophilus, an underlying theme that can be easily discerned if we are watching for it is the providence of God in the moving about and placing of His servants for opportune meetings and the making of divine appointments.
Case in point: You may remember a few weeks back when we studied Claudius and the impact he had on the early church. As Roman emperor, in about A.D. 49 he expelled all Jews from Rome. Christians were included in that expulsion since they were considered merely a sect of Judaism at that time.
Among those expelled, as we can see in Acts 18:2, were Aquila and his wife, Priscilla, with whom Paul stayed and rested and made tents until the arrival of Timothy and Silas from Macedonia.
Now for the sake of keeping on track I want to finish making this point about God’s providence, then I’d like to just go back and make an observation or two about this couple, Aquila and Priscilla.
Here they are in Corinth, not by choice, but because they were uprooted from their home and expelled from Italy’s capital city and the seat of the Roman empire.
Paul comes to Corinth and finds them there. We don’t know how; perhaps he has announced to some believers he has found there that he needs a place to stay for a short while and they introduced him to Aquila and Priscilla, already being acquainted with their hospitable and generous nature, and being sure that this couple would take the Apostle in.
In any case, later in this chapter we see Paul setting out for Syria, and he takes Priscilla and Aquila with him. We are also not told precisely why. Perhaps it was because of the trouble that was stirred up in Corinth when the Jews dragged Paul up before Gallio, and since they were identified with him he suggested they leave town with him until things cooled off.
In chapter 18 verse 19 it says they came to Ephesus and he left them there and moved on to Caesarea and from there to Antioch.
So through this series of events, none of which were orchestrated by Priscilla and Aquila, they find themselves in Ephesus, where they have opportunity to hear this eloquent teacher Apollos and discerning that his knowledge of the details of the death and resurrection of Jesus is somewhat lacking, they are in a position to take him aside and complete his repertoire, and he goes on in very effective ministry in the region, specifically, Corinth.
Do you see the big picture here? How God has caused these lives to come together for His purpose? Paul goes to Corinth from Athens after a less than fruitful attempt at ministry there. He takes up residence with Priscilla and Aquila who have been kicked out of Rome and otherwise would not have been there. There is trouble stirred up because of the gospel, so they leave Corinth with Paul and he leaves them in Ephesus. Enter, Apollos, who doesn’t even know he needs them, they help him and bless him and he then goes on to Corinth to become such a powerful leader there that when factions develop in that church one of those factions is saying ‘I am of Apollos’.
Now we’ll talk more later about the influence of Apollos in the Corinthian church. For now I want to keep my promise and back up to look briefly at this amazing couple, Aquila and Priscilla.
In Hebrews 13:2, the writer admonishes the reader to be conscientious in showing hospitality to strangers, revealing that by these means some have entertained angels.
Now I know that Paul didn’t consider himself an angel. But if the Hebrews author ever met Priscilla and Aquila he may have had them in mind when he wrote that admonition.
This gracious couple, even though mistreated and expelled from the comforts and conveniences to which they were no doubt accustomed in Rome, set up house in Corinth and continue their trade of tent-making there.
Paul comes along and they open their home to him, and what wonderful conversation and prayer time these folks must have shared together, as they exchanged their personal testimonies and rejoiced with one another over the marvelous things God had done in their lives.
So fond does Paul grow of them in a short time that when he leaves he cannot bear the thought of them undergoing persecution from the Jews because of him, so he takes them along and sets them up in Ephesus, where they have opportunity to come into contact with Apollos.
I repeat, we’ll talk more about that contact from the Apollos angle. But I wanted to be sure to point out once more the gentleness and graciousness of these Godly people.
Here is a man ministering in a public place, spreading what he knows of the teachings of Jesus. When they hear him it becomes apparent to them that although he is teaching accurately as far as his knowledge will take him, he is lacking in the most pertinent information.
But rather than raising their hand and correcting him on the spot, they take him aside. The compilers of the NIV come right out and say they took him to their home. That is somewhat of an assumption, but it is very likely an accurate assumption, considering their hospitable spirit; and in private they explain to him the way of God more accurately.
Aren’t people like that a blessing to the family of God? What a testimony of the grace and mercy of the Holy Spirit, and the submissive obedience of those yielded for His use.
And before we move on, this also says something of the humility of Apollos, being an educated and knowledgeable man with an already successful and fruitful ministry, to gracefully take instruction from these strangers and apply the information they offer him to his ministry.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT APOLLOS
So let’s talk about what information is given us concerning Apollos.
Luke says he was a Jew, who was an Alexandrian by birth. That means he was born and grew up in Alexandria, Egypt. According to historians there was a large population of Jews in Egypt at that time, so Apollos would have been immersed in the traditions and customs of his people.
Whether sent to school or taught by his parents, Apollos also had in-depth knowledge of the scriptures, and Luke says he had been ‘instructed in the way of the Lord’.
That’s a little vague and commentators differ in their speculations as to whether this is a reference to his education about Jesus or generally the ways of God as He is revealed in the Old Testament.
Since he says in verse 25 that Apollos was only acquainted with the baptism of John, there is a possibility that he may have sojourned to Judea during the time of John’s ministry and been baptized and taught by John himself, who would have told him of a coming Messiah.
If Apollos then went back to his homeland and began to teach then, and was not in Judea during Christ’s ministry, that would explain the incompleteness of his knowledge.
Next we see Apollos in Corinth, demonstrating powerfully to the Jews from the Scriptures (remember, that means the Old Testament) that Jesus is the Christ.
Later, when Paul writes to the Corinthians he rebukes them for having factions and saying “I am of Paul” or “I am of Cephas” or “I am of Apollos”. Other than that we only have a couple more references to Apollos, one of them being I Cor 16:12 where Paul calls him ‘our brother’.
The significant bit of information we can glean from I Cor 3, where Paul is rebuking them for their factions, is that at the very least Apollos has been elevated in the eyes of the Corinthian congregation to at minimum, equal status with the Apostles.
Right or wrong, that fact attests to the power and effectiveness of his ministry.
WHAT WE DO NOT KNOW ABOUT APOLLOS
Now let’s briefly address what we do not know about Apollos, because it raises an interesting question or two for us to consider.
We do not know at what point Apollos was saved.
Luke has done a very interesting thing here, in excluding details that he has given us in so many other places, concerning the conversion of various people.
Even in chapter 19, following immediately on the heals of this account of Apollos, we see Paul giving the gospel to a group of 12 men in Ephesus and Luke tells us the Holy Spirit came upon them and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.
So this begs the question, ‘why?’ Why is Luke so obviously silent on any reaction of Apollos upon hearing the gospel himself?
It almost makes me wonder if he had some supernatural insight into the future, and chuckled as he thought to himself, ‘I’m going to be deliberately vague here and give future bible commentators fits’. Because I personally have four different commentaries on the book of Acts and as I did my research I was confronted with four different takes on what was really going on with Apollos.
He was teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus. But he was only acquainted with John’s baptism, which was a baptism of repentance. So what exactly was he teaching about Jesus, and did he know about Jesus’ death and resurrection but left Judea before he found out about baptizing?
If the only thing he didn’t know about was water baptism, then Aquila and Priscilla didn’t really have much to tell him, did they? And it doesn’t seem that Luke would have bothered to mention it at all, other than to say, “Apollos didn’t know about baptizing in Jesus’ name, so Aquila told him about it and he got baptized”.
No, there had to be more. So the mystery continues to titillate.
The foundational doctrine of our faith is that Jesus’ death on the cross paid the penalty for our sin, and that He rose bodily from the tomb on the third day as was predicted in scriptures, and that we have life in His name through faith in that death and resurrection.
So if Apollos was lacking in that knowledge we have to ask how he could have been in a ‘saved’ condition before the couple talked with him.
And although we know water baptism does not save, the message from the Apostle’s mouths from the day of Pentecost was always, repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins. So if Apollos knew about the gospel, how could he have missed the message about baptism?
All just questions of interest to exercise our brains with.
ALL WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT APOLLOS
But let’s just shake out the cobwebs and talk about what is really necessary for us to get from this story of this very interesting man.
We know that being indwelt by the Holy Spirit does not imply perfect knowledge. We all have much to learn yet, and in fact may often cause God to chuckle with our assertions on spiritual matters.
To what degree may a man have the Spirit of God and yet be ignorant of the things of God? Well, look at the brand new believer coming out of a history with absolutely no religious background or training and you have your answer. He hears the gospel, he is convicted of sin, he repents and believes. Our theology says that he is immediately indwelt by the Holy
Spirit and regenerated ~ not implying any order of sequence there ~ but does he really know anything beyond that yet? No.
Let’s go back to the Old Testament saints. Were they ’saved’ if they believed in the promise of a Messiah who would be their sacrifice for sin? Job said, "I know that my Redeemer lives and that in the end He will take His stand on the earth, and though my body is destroyed, yet in my flesh will I see God, with my own eyes and not another’s." He believed in One who would ’purchase him back’, indicating he knew he needed to be redeemed from ruin, and he believed in the resurrection of the body.
David knew that righteousness was not by works but grace. "For Thou dost not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it. Thou art not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise." Psalm 51:16,17
Would we call them ’saved’? I believe that’s what the Holy Spirit was communicating through Moses and again through Paul concerning Abraham.
"And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness"
What, specifically did he believe that brought about this declaration? That God, "...gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist" (Rom 4:17)
It’s why he told his servants that both he and Isaac would return from the mountain.
Now we would argue that they did not have a New Testament Holy Spirit indwelling. Only God truly knows that. But they believed the promises of God and were reckoned ’righteous’.
So we come back to Apollos. Do we need for Luke to be specific about whether Apollos was ultimately baptized in Jesus’ name? Do we need to hear that he demonstrated some manifestation of a Holy Spirit baptism?
Have you ever heard me speak in tongues? Did I witness your baptism?
No. Because I have never spoken in tongues, and aside from my children who are present I witnessed none of your baptisms. I have baptized, but those I’ve baptized are not here now.
Yet, here in this company, we accept the claim to justification from anyone who confesses Christ and His gospel.
I think the message for us in this is that by His grace God gifted a man, called him, led those to him that he would need for fuller education, and used him mightily in His service. We are not meant to pinpoint the moment he was regenerated any more than we can pinpoint our own.
Sometimes the scripture speaks volumes where it is most silent.
WHAT APOLLOS TEACHES US
So what does this account of Apollos teach us, other than the obvious historical documentation dealing with the emerging church?
Well, whether foremost in Luke’s mind and purpose, which I believe it was, or simply Holy Spirit inspired and written by Luke as an aside, I think this takes us right back to the beginning of this sermon.
I think the main thing we are meant to derive from the insertion of Apollos into the narrative at this point, is the intricate working of God in the lives of His servants in order to carry out His plan for the ages.
Here is yet one more story of a man taken from obscurity. He wasn’t even a home-grown Jew. He grew up in Egypt and may have stayed there all his life, or even, through the circumstances of life, have boarded a ship and sailed to Rome or other parts of Asia and settled there in his chosen trade.
But God had other plans, and in His time and in His timing, He exposed Apollos to information that would change his life. As the plan continues on its course all these people are brought together, all in the course of following their own divinely appointed destinies, and as a result we are here studying about them today.
Do you think they had any consciousness of the impact they would have on the body of Christ and the future of the church many centuries after they were gone?
I doubt it very much. And that is why I think God documented these things for us; to show us if we would just stop and let our eyes be opened to it, that there is no ordinary person in His family.
There is no one who is obscure and insignificant, who is following Him in obedience and faith.
The Bible is written and there will probably never be any addition to it. The end is near and the scriptures contain all that is needed to make a man wise unto salvation.
But what stories will be told of us in the eons of eternity? What place will we have in the history of the church? What part will we play, perhaps unwittingly but just by virtue of a moment of hospitality shared; of graciousness shown; of mercy extended; of the gospel shared with a certain person for whom God has plans for great use?
We cannot know, Christians. But since Paul said that those who toil for Him do not toil in vain, we should take that as a hint that no opportunity should be neglected, for service in His name, no matter how small, no matter how seemingly insignificant.
What is your story? Where did you begin? At what point did you sense the call of God on your life?
Most importantly now, are you aware that He called you for a reason because you are more valuable to Him than galaxies of precious jewels, and in eternity you will take your place beside Paul and Aquila and Priscilla and Apollos, and all the saints of all time, and you will then see where you fit in the tapestry of the ages? And you will rejoice, and all the glory will go to Jesus.
But what will we learn from your story?
