Wednesday Devo
Scripture:
Acts 18
19 They stopped first at the port of Ephesus, where Paul left the others behind. While he was there, he went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews. 20 They asked him to stay longer, but he declined. 21 As he left, however, he said, “I will come back later, God willing.” Then he set sail from Ephesus. 22 The next stop was at the port of Caesarea. From there he went up and visited the church at Jerusalem and then went back to Antioch.
23 After spending some time in Antioch, Paul went back through Galatia and Phrygia, visiting and strengthening all the believers.
Apollos Instructed at Ephesus
24 Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt. 25 He had been taught the way of the Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy. However, he knew only about John’s baptism. 26 When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately.
19 They stopped first at the port of Ephesus, where Paul left the others behind. While he was there, he went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews. 20 They asked him to stay longer, but he declined. 21 As he left, however, he said, “I will come back later, God willing.” Then he set sail from Ephesus. 22 The next stop was at the port of Caesarea. From there he went up and visited the church at Jerusalem and then went back to Antioch.
23 After spending some time in Antioch, Paul went back through Galatia and Phrygia, visiting and strengthening all the believers.
Apollos Instructed at Ephesus
24 Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt. 25 He had been taught the way of the Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy. However, he knew only about John’s baptism. 26 When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately.
Commentary:
18:21 Paul declines to stay in Ephesus but will return … if God wills, affirming that his plans are ultimately in God’s hands (cf. 1 Cor. 4:19; James 4:15). Paul’s brief appearance in the synagogue prepared the way for his later ministry in Ephesus (Acts 19). Indeed, his promise to return if God wills sets the stage and provides the main destination for his third missionary journey.
18:22 Leaving from the main Palestinian port of Caesarea (cf. 8:40; 9:30; 21:8) in the spring of a.d. 51, Paul went up and greeted the church, which most interpreters understand to mean the church in Jerusalem, which in that region could be called “the church” without further specification, and which was the location to which one would “go up” from Caesarea, given the higher altitude of Jerusalem. Then Paul went down (from Jerusalem) to Antioch (cf. 13:1–3; 14:26–28; 15:30–35; and see note on 11:19).
18:23 Again sponsored by Antioch in Syria, Paul began his third missionary journey in the spring of a.d. 52, traveling by foot through the region of his first mission on into Galatia and Phrygia. On the second missionary journey the Spirit had prevented him from continuing west into Asia (16:6), but that did not happen this time, for Paul was headed directly toward the west, in order to reach Ephesus according to his promise in 18:21.
18:24 Alexandria was an intellectual center in Egypt with a world-renowned library. Apollos’s eloquence (Gk. logios, “learned, skilled, eloquent”) was undoubtedly accompanied by great learning, particularly in the OT Scriptures. He is described as being competent (or “powerful,” Gk. dynatos) in his use of the OT Scriptures in public preaching and debate, no doubt accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit.
18:25 Apollos knew only the baptism of John, which suggests that he had not heard about the baptism that Jesus commanded after his resurrection (see Matt. 28:19), and which began to be administered to all believers in Christ on and after the day of Pentecost (see Acts 2:41; 8:12; etc.). Therefore Apollos’s knowledge of the Christian gospel must have been deficient in some ways, though he taught accurately the things concerning Jesus as far as he knew them. He certainly knew about Jesus’ life and teachings, but he may not have known about Jesus’ death and resurrection, or about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
18:26 The presence of a synagogue in Ephesus (also in v. 19; 19:8) is further evidenced in an ancient inscription mentioning “the leaders of the synagogue and the elders” (on Jewish presence in Ephesus, see Introduction to Ephesians: The Ancient City of Ephesus). Presumably Priscilla and Aquila … explained the things about Jesus that Apollos did not yet know (see note on Acts 18:25). It is noteworthy that both of them “explained” (the verb exethento is a plural form of ektithēmi, “explain, elaborate, expound”) to Apollos the way of God more accurately. They took him means they did not correct him publicly but took him aside and talked to him privately (Gk. proslambanō; cf. Matt. 16:22; Mark 8:32). As an example of the Holy Spirit’s work in bringing about the growth of the church in Acts, this verse provides positive support for the idea that both men and women can explain God’s Word to each other in private or informal settings (such as personal conversation or a small group Bible study) without violating the prohibition in 1 Tim. 2:12 against women teaching an assembled group of men.
18:22 Leaving from the main Palestinian port of Caesarea (cf. 8:40; 9:30; 21:8) in the spring of a.d. 51, Paul went up and greeted the church, which most interpreters understand to mean the church in Jerusalem, which in that region could be called “the church” without further specification, and which was the location to which one would “go up” from Caesarea, given the higher altitude of Jerusalem. Then Paul went down (from Jerusalem) to Antioch (cf. 13:1–3; 14:26–28; 15:30–35; and see note on 11:19).
18:23 Again sponsored by Antioch in Syria, Paul began his third missionary journey in the spring of a.d. 52, traveling by foot through the region of his first mission on into Galatia and Phrygia. On the second missionary journey the Spirit had prevented him from continuing west into Asia (16:6), but that did not happen this time, for Paul was headed directly toward the west, in order to reach Ephesus according to his promise in 18:21.
18:24 Alexandria was an intellectual center in Egypt with a world-renowned library. Apollos’s eloquence (Gk. logios, “learned, skilled, eloquent”) was undoubtedly accompanied by great learning, particularly in the OT Scriptures. He is described as being competent (or “powerful,” Gk. dynatos) in his use of the OT Scriptures in public preaching and debate, no doubt accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit.
18:25 Apollos knew only the baptism of John, which suggests that he had not heard about the baptism that Jesus commanded after his resurrection (see Matt. 28:19), and which began to be administered to all believers in Christ on and after the day of Pentecost (see Acts 2:41; 8:12; etc.). Therefore Apollos’s knowledge of the Christian gospel must have been deficient in some ways, though he taught accurately the things concerning Jesus as far as he knew them. He certainly knew about Jesus’ life and teachings, but he may not have known about Jesus’ death and resurrection, or about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
18:26 The presence of a synagogue in Ephesus (also in v. 19; 19:8) is further evidenced in an ancient inscription mentioning “the leaders of the synagogue and the elders” (on Jewish presence in Ephesus, see Introduction to Ephesians: The Ancient City of Ephesus). Presumably Priscilla and Aquila … explained the things about Jesus that Apollos did not yet know (see note on Acts 18:25). It is noteworthy that both of them “explained” (the verb exethento is a plural form of ektithēmi, “explain, elaborate, expound”) to Apollos the way of God more accurately. They took him means they did not correct him publicly but took him aside and talked to him privately (Gk. proslambanō; cf. Matt. 16:22; Mark 8:32). As an example of the Holy Spirit’s work in bringing about the growth of the church in Acts, this verse provides positive support for the idea that both men and women can explain God’s Word to each other in private or informal settings (such as personal conversation or a small group Bible study) without violating the prohibition in 1 Tim. 2:12 against women teaching an assembled group of men.
Questions:
- Apollos had the knowledge and skill, but he lacked one thing... accuracy. Disciples DELIVER with ACCURACY. Accuracy matters. We must have right doctrine and sound theology. Many Christians don't give much thought to making sure they are believing accurate things about Scripture. They just make decisions and take stances based on their own feelings and experience. What about you? How much weight do you give to what Scripture has to say on a subject?
- Paul warns against bad theology in Acts 20, saying to guard yourselves against people that twist the truth to fit their own agendas. He says to watch out! There are many preachers, teachers, evangelists and YouTube prophets that teach bad doctrine, so we can't just believe everything we hear just because someone says it with passion and conviction. Passion and conviction without accuracy leads us in a dangerous direction. We need to bee like the Bereans a couple of chapters ago that tested everything they heard taught against the truth of Scripture. Like Brandon's brownie analogy, a little bit of poo in the pan ruins the whole batch. Are you one that tends to believe everything you heard taught? How often are you testing those things?
Prayer Topics:
- That you would live your life based on the truth of Scripture.
- That you would test everything you read or hear against the Bible.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
2. Are there sources outside the Bible that confirm the Biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? Many Roman and Jewish historians have confirmed that the apostles died as martyrs for preaching that they saw Jesus risen from the grave. No one dies for something they know to be a lie.
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)
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