And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the Spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. Acts 18:24,25
We usually think of the apostles, that core of 11 disciples who had been Jesus’ closest followers, when we think of the leaders in the early days of Christianity. While these men were certainly at the forefront of the preaching and spread of the Gospel and of the teaching of the Lord’s people, we encounter other ‘superstars’ of that era among the Christians as we explore the book of the Acts. Two of them came from among the first set of deacons appointed by the disciples to serve the saints in Jerusalem: Stephen, the first martyr, and Philip the Evangelist. The list must also include such great men as James, half-brother of Jesus, Barnabas, and Silas. And in today’s text we are introduced to another, the magnificent orator Apollos. This Alexandrian Jew was a very important figure in those early days, particularly among the Christians in Corinth and in Ephesus. An interesting note is that Martin Luther believed Apollos to have been the author of the book of Hebrews. He certainly had the educational background to have written it, although I personally doubt brother Martin’s theory. When Apollos arrived in Ephesus, as our text relates, he knew only John’s baptism. Now, that is interesting!
We might well ask how a man could be called a Christian who had gotten no further than John’s baptism. But our text declares that he was mighty in the Scriptures. He knew the Book as few did, despite the one glaring gap in his doctrine. He is a wonderful testimony to John Baptist’s preaching, because John preached repentance and pointed to Christ. Apollos had been baptised for repentance and had looked to Christ. He was as much a Christian as any of the others, and his arrival in Ephesus enabled him to be filled in on the one area that needed correcting. Can you imagine the great loss to the early Christians if the people in Ephesus had rejected fellowship with Apollos over that one issue? Who knows what would have happened to Apollos if he had shown up in our time.
Apollos had his doctrine brought into line with New Testament truth when he arrived in Ephesus. Godly people – Aquila and Priscilla – took him in hand and taught him. And he went on to great exploits for God with his great gifts and knowledge. Did you know that there are good and godly saints around us these days who are just as sincere as Apollos despite being off-base on one or several points of Scripture. They are the products of what they have been taught, as was Apollos. We should not write them off as enemies; we should pray for them and try to help them. And while we may never see some of them delivered from their denominational shackles, we can share what fellowship with them that we can, and encourage them in the things of the Lord.
Around us are brothers and sisters in Christ who we may not yet appreciate. Let us not close the door on them. -Jim MacIntosh