Learning from One Another

KEY VERSE: “When Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke with tongues, and prophesied.” —Acts 19:6

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Acts 18:24-28

OUR SELECTED VERSES tell of a brilliant convert to Christianity named Apollos. Verse 24 informs us that Apollos was “an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures,” and that he visited Ephesus. This was before Paul had arrived.

Apollos preached the Gospel to the Jews in the synagogue at Ephesus. He was “fervent in the Spirit” and “taught diligently.” (vs. 25) And although the record states that he “was instructed in the way of the Lord,” it is apparent that he was not fully instructed. Aquila and Priscilla took Apollos aside, perhaps into their home, “and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.” (vs. 26) It seems that soon after this Apollos decided to “pass into Achaia.” Learning this, the brethren in Ephesus wrote letters exhorting those whom Apollos would visit “to receive him.” And we are told that “he helped them much which had believed through grace: for he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was Christ.”—vss. 27,28

Here we have a revealing incident of the generosity of spirit usually manifested by the Lord’s people toward their brethren. They recognized in Apollos an able exponent of some of the simple truths concerning Jesus’ being the promised Messiah; they realized that Apollos was more than able to hold his own with the unbelieving Jews. On the strength of this they did not hesitate to recommend him to other brethren. While he had been immature in knowledge and experience, Aquila and Priscilla, rather than condemn this ardent servant, helped him to a better understanding. Certainly when he left Ephesus he understood the truth much more clearly because of the interest taken in him by these two dear friends of Paul.

After Apollos left Ephesus, Paul arrived, and “finding certain disciples, he said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Spirit since ye believed?” Their reply was, “We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Spirit.” (Acts 19:1,2) Without doubt these “certain disciples” had received the Gospel and believed as a result of the ministry of Apollos, and in their own lack of understanding we see evidence of their teacher’s immaturity in the truth.

As Aquila and Priscilla had endeavored to help Apollos, so Paul directed his attention to those whom Apollos had converted. He learned that they had been baptized with “John’s baptism,” which was a baptism of repentance, symbolizing the washing away of sin. Paul explained to them that while John’s baptism was proper for the time, and was in harmony with John’s work of preparing the way for Christ, there was now a higher baptism into Christ, of which immersion in water is symbolic.

There were twelve of these “certain disciples,” and apparently they were glad to receive the better understanding of the truth which Paul was able to give to them; so they were baptized again. They then received the Holy Spirit, Paul laying his hands upon them, thus transmitting the power of the Spirit to speak with tongues and to prophesy.

After helping the twelve brethren, who had begun the Christian way under the tutelage of Apollos, to a clearer understanding of the truth, Paul then, as his custom was, sought opportunity to witness to the Jews in the synagogue. He concluded, apparently, that Apollos, even with his eloquence, had not exhausted the possibilities among his own people, the Jews. For three months Paul continued this effort, “disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.”—vs. 8

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