THREE THINGS ABOUT APOLLOS
ACTS 18:24-28 NKJV
24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 27 And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; 28 for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.
The New Testament scriptures do not use many superlatives when talking about preachers. But Luke makes an exception with Apollos.
Apollos was a Jewish man who was eloquent and mighty in the scriptures. In all the New Testament, that is about the only superlatives ever mentioned about any preacher.
Paul talks about faithful ministers. He mentions fellow soldiers but never calls anyone an amazing preacher or incredible speaker.
So when Apollos is called an eloquent man, that is high-level praise. Apollos was a learned orator. And he was strong in the scriptures. That was his second superlative.
But there is another quality about Apollos that is implied, not stated. Because he knew only the baptism of John, it appears he did not know about Jesus. Aquila and Priscilla came to him, pulled him aside, and explained the way of God in more detail. And he received their input and made changes. Apollos was not only a good speaker. He was not only strong in his knowledge of scriptures. He was teachable. He possessed a humility that made him even more of a blessing.
When Apollos moved on to Achaia, he was a big help. There were people there who had believed in Jesus through grace. The Jews were constantly opposing their newfound faith. Apollos pretty much shut down the Jews in that area proving through scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
APPLICATION:
Not everyone can follow Apollos in terms of being eloquent. For many, that is not their gifting.
But we can all become mighty in the Scriptures. And we can all be teachable. Those two qualities are totally up to us.
Now, if being mighty in the scriptures is too much of a leap for you at this point in your life, how about becoming stronger in the scriptures? You can do that by keeping a hungry heart and spending time in God's word. You can, I can, we all can become stronger.
Walking in humility and being teachable is actually more of a challenge. That is a heart condition that must constantly be cultivated. But humility and teachableness are such vital qualities and definitely worth pursuing.
PRAYER:
Dear Lord, I desire to grow in the knowledge of Scripture and in my heart I want to be teachable and walk before You in humility.