Acts 18:24 - Meaning and Application

The sacred history leaves Paul on his travels and turns here to Apollos at Ephesus. It gives us some account of him because it helps explain parts of Paul’s letters.

Apollos was a Jew, born in Alexandria in Egypt, though his parents were Jewish. Many Jews lived in that city after the dispersion of the people, just as Moses had foretold, “The Lord will bring you back to Egypt” (Deuteronomy 28:68). His name was not Apollo, the name of a heathen god, but Apollos, and some think it is the same as Apelles in (Romans 16:10).

He was a man of excellent gifts and well suited for public service. He was eloquent and mighty in the Scriptures of the Old Testament, which he had been taught from childhood as a Jew. He had a strong command of language, so he could speak clearly, skillfully, and effectively on many subjects. He also had a strong command of Scripture language, and that was the eloquence for which he was best known.

When he came to Ephesus, a public place, he used that gift for God’s honor and for the good of many. He was not merely quick at quoting Bible texts or repeating them from memory, like many outwardly religious Jews. He understood the sense of Scripture, knew how to apply it, and could reason strongly from it. His teaching had a persuasive, steady, and confirming power. He had likely already shown this in many Jewish synagogues.

He had also been instructed in the way of the Lord, that is, he knew something of Christ’s teaching and the main truths of the gospel. He knew that Jesus is the Christ, the promised prophet who was to come into the world. A man as skilled in Scripture as Apollos would readily take in that message and understand the times. He had been catechized, meaning he had been taught carefully, either by his parents or by ministers. Those who are to teach others must first learn the word of the Lord themselves, not just speak it, but walk in it.

Yet he knew only the baptism of John. He had learned the gospel as far as John’s ministry reached, but no farther. He knew the Lord’s way was being prepared by the voice crying in the wilderness, rather than knowing the full way itself. We cannot help thinking he had heard of Christ’s death and resurrection, but had not been fully taught the mystery of them. He had not had the chance to speak with the apostles after the Spirit was poured out, or he had himself been baptized only with John’s baptism and not yet with the Holy Spirit, as the disciples were at Pentecost.

At Ephesus, he put his gifts to good use and grew in them. He found chances both to do good and to learn more. He likely came recommended to the synagogue of the Jews as a fit teacher, and he was willing to serve according to the light he had and the measure of grace given to him (Acts 18:25). Being fervent in the Spirit, he spoke and taught carefully the things of the Lord. Though he did not have the miraculous gifts given to the apostles, he used the gifts he did have. God gives each person some gift to use for the good of others.

Apollos was a lively and warm preacher. He had a good mind and a good heart. He was fervent in spirit, full of divine fire as well as divine light. He was burning with zeal for God’s glory and for the salvation of souls. This showed in his eagerness to preach when the synagogue leaders called on him, and in the way he preached with energy. He spoke as one deeply concerned and fully engaged in his work.

He was also a hardworking preacher. He spoke and taught diligently, and what he delivered had been carefully prepared. He did not offer God or the synagogue anything careless or cheaply done. He first worked the truth into his own heart, then labored to press it on those who heard him. He taught accurately and exactly, and what he said was well weighed.

He was also an evangelical preacher, meaning he centered on the good news of Christ. Though he knew only John’s baptism, he held close to what pointed toward Christ. He taught the things of the Lord Jesus, the truths that prepared for him and set him before the people. The things connected with the Messiah’s kingdom were his chosen subject. He did not turn aside to the ceremonial law, though that might have pleased Jewish hearers, nor to Gentile philosophy, though he could have spoken well on that too. He stayed with the things of the Lord.

He was also a bold preacher. He began to speak openly in the synagogue, trusting God and not fearing what people thought of him. He spoke as someone sure that what he said was true, and as someone who valued the message enough to suffer for it if needed. He preached there, in the very place where the Jews were present and held influence, even though he knew they were likely to resist what he taught.

He also grew in his gifts through private teaching, not so much by study alone as by talking with Aquila and Priscilla. If Paul, or another apostle or evangelist, had been in Ephesus, he would have instructed Apollos. But since no better help was there, Aquila and Priscilla, who were tentmakers, explained the way of God to him more fully. They heard him preach in the synagogue, and though he knew less than they did, they still supported his ministry by faithfully attending.

When they saw that his knowledge of the Christian faith was incomplete, they took him into their home and taught him the way of salvation through Jesus Christ more clearly. They did not use his weakness to look down on him or speak badly of him to others. They did not dismiss him as an unformed preacher unfit for the pulpit. Instead, they remembered the limits he had worked under, since he knew only the baptism of John. From their own long fellowship with Paul, they had learned much of the gospel, and they passed that knowledge on to Apollos in a clear and orderly way.

Here we see the promise of Christ come true, that to the one who has, more will be given. The one who uses what he has well will receive more. Apollos had already worked hard with the gift he possessed, and so his gift quickly grew. We also see true Christian kindness in Aquila and Priscilla. They did what they could within their own calling. Aquila, though wise and knowledgeable, did not try to speak in the synagogue, because he did not have Apollos’s gifts for public work. Instead, he supplied Apollos with good material, and let him put it into fitting words.

This was also a fine example of humility in Apollos. He was young, gifted, learned, and much admired, as if he had just come from a university. Yet when he found that Aquila and Priscilla were thoughtful, serious Christians who could speak clearly and from experience about God’s work, he was glad to learn from them. Though they were only tentmakers, he let them point out his errors and fill in what he lacked. Young scholars can gain much from older Christians, just as young lawyers can learn from experienced ones.

Apollos did not rest in what he already knew. He did not think he understood Christianity as well as anyone else, as proud young men often do. He was willing to have the way of God explained to him more fully. Those who know much should still want to know more, and they should want to understand better what they already know, pressing on toward maturity.

We also see a good example of a godly woman. Though women were not permitted to speak in the church or synagogue, Priscilla still did good with the knowledge God had given her in private conversation. Paul says that older women should teach what is good (Titus 2:3, 2:4).

Then Apollos was called to serve the church in Corinth, a wider field of usefulness than Ephesus had at that moment. Paul had already set things in motion in Achaia, especially in Corinth, the main city there. Many had been stirred by his preaching to receive the gospel and needed to be strengthened. Others were stirred up against it and needed to be answered. Since Paul had moved on to other work, this was a good opening for Apollos, who was better suited to water what had been planted than to begin the work from the start, and better able to build up believers than to reach outsiders.

His call to this work did not come by a vision, as Paul’s call to Macedonia did, and not even by a direct invitation from those he was going to help. Rather, he was inclined to go himself. He felt ready to pass into Achaia, because he had heard about the churches there and wanted to see what good he could do. Even though some there had great spiritual gifts, he still thought there was work for him, and God directed his heart that way. His friends encouraged him and approved of his plan. Since he was a stranger there, they gave him letters of recommendation and urged the disciples in Achaia to welcome him and make use of him.

This is one way churches stay connected, by recommending members and ministers to one another when ministers, like Apollos, need to move. Though the church at Ephesus would lose his service, they did not resent the benefit the churches in Achaia would receive. Instead, they used their influence to introduce him. The churches of Christ are many, yet they are one.

His work there was very successful, and it matched both his hopes and intentions. Believers were greatly built up, and those who had already received the gospel were strengthened. He helped very much those who had believed through grace. Those who believe in Christ do so by grace, not by their own power, because faith is God’s gift and God’s work in them. Even those who truly believe still need help, because while they live in this world there is still unbelief left in them, and their faith is not yet complete. Faithful ministers can help believers in many ways, and it is their duty to do so much. When God’s power works with them, they will be truly useful. Unbelievers were greatly shaken by his ministry as well.

Their objections were fully answered, and the weakness and cleverness of their arguments were exposed. They had nothing left to say in defense of their resistance to the gospel. Their mouths were shut, and they were put to shame (Acts 18:28).

Paul strongly convinced the Jews in public, before the people. He did it earnestly and forcefully, and he took real effort to do it. His heart was in it, because he truly wanted to honor Christ and save people’s souls. He did it effectively, and everyone who heard him was satisfied. He also did it with ease, because the case was so clear and the arguments for Christ were so strong that it was simple to answer everything the Jews said against him.

Even though they were so fierce, their cause was so weak that he easily handled their opposition. What he wanted to prove was that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah, the one the fathers had been waiting for and whom they were to expect no other. If the Jews could be convinced of this, that Jesus is the Christ, then even their own law would teach them to hear him.

The work of ministers is to preach Christ. We do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. Paul’s method of persuasion was to use the Scriptures. He drew his arguments from them, because the Jews accepted the Scriptures as God’s word. And it was easy for him, since he was mighty in the Scriptures, to show from them that Jesus is the Christ.

Ministers must be able not only to preach the truth, but also to prove it and defend it. They must be able to answer those who disagree, with gentleness and yet with power, teaching those who oppose themselves. This is true service to the church.