Apollos
Acts 18:23-28 KJV 23 And after he had spent some time there, he
departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order,
strengthening all the disciples. 24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born
at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to
Ephesus. 25 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. 26 And he began to speak boldly in the
synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him
unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. 27
And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote,
exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped
them much which had believed through grace: 28 For he mightily
convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that
Jesus was Christ.
Introduction
We take a short break from the Apostle Paul to an individual who played a great part in the spread of the Gospel during the time of Paul. To neglect to consider him would be a great disservice to those early churches and to those who were actively involved at that time. The man’s name was Apollos.
Apollos
Apollos is a shortened version of Apollonius. He was a Hellenized Jewish Christian who hailed from Alexandria, which was the second largest city in the Roman Empire.
He is introduced in Acts 18:24-25, where it states that he came to Ephesus.
It probably was around 52-54 CE.
152
Apollos was a learned man and an eloquent speaker. He may have been proficient in teaching “wisdom” in the allegorical style of Philo, who was a Jewish philosopher living in Alexandria and a great intellectual teacher. He came from an environment that was conducive to studying and learning the Scriptures. Alexandria had a library with over half a million scrolls.
He might have been a commercial traveler who had a trade, yet it is likely that he came to Ephesus for the purpose of doing mission work. It says that he taught about Jesus accurately, but that he only knew the baptism of John and nothing about the salvation of Christ.
He spoke boldly in the synagogue, just as the disciples had done. That is where he met Priscilla and Aquila, who heard him preaching and teaching there. But when his information fell short, they thoroughly instructed him.
They apparently corrected his incomplete knowledge of Christian doctrine.
To his credit, Apollos was very teachable and willing to learn. He did not, however, need to be re-baptized.1
Apollos the Preacher
He could take prophecy, psalms, history, and the ritual, and make the Jewish congregations feel that the great longing of the world for four thousand years had at last found its answer in the advent of Jesus as the Christ. Some modern scholars declare he wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews, Robinson, Apollos knew "only the baptism of John." If he could be so eloquent about water, what will he be when he comes to speak of blood? We shall find this man doing wonders in the Church. It is possible to teach even the alphabet earnestly. Apollos knew only the alphabet, but he taught the separate letters as if they were separate poems. The fervent man touches everything with his fervor. Do not despise the teachers who are not teaching exactly the fullness of the Gospel. If they are teaching up to the measure of their intelligence, thank God for their cooperation. - Parker.2
Apollos apparently arrived in Ephesus shortly after Paul had departed. As with Paul and his company, Apollos went to the synagogue to preach. He was well versed in the Old Testament Scriptures. Combined with his 153
knowledge of the Scriptures and his eloquence in his presentation of them, made him a man who could, and no doubt did influence many people.
It has been said that Alexandria had a very large Jewish population of the one million Jews that lived in Egypt. It was a place that attracted philosophers, with many, such as Philo, having a home there. He was a Jewish philosopher and was reportedly an eloquent preacher. It is thought that he probably had an influence on Apollos.3
According to verse twenty-five of our text, what Apollos taught was accurate, but he lacked the complete knowledge that was needed concerning Jesus. Somewhere in his adult life he had met with John the Baptist and was baptized by him. His beginning knowledge of the Scriptures concerning Jesus probably came from John. That knowledge combined with his own study and research caused him to understand the written word concerning Jesus.
Hearing him preach in the synagogue there in Ephesus, Aquila and Priscilla took him, probably to their home, and began to teach him the way more completely. There seemed to be nothing wrong with what he preached, he just did not have the complete picture. Dr. Albert Garner puts it this way: They instructed him “More clearly, accurately, or explicitly, than when John the Baptist had preached. It was not different from, but in harmony with, and supplemental to the preaching of John, since the church had been established, instructed, commissioned or mandated, and empowered of the Holy Spirit and special spiritual gifts since the preaching of John, some of which Apollos did not know.”4
There is no indication of just how long Apollos stayed in Ephesus. With his completed knowledge of the Truth, he soon established himself as someone who could greatly help teach others. To that end, he desired to go to Achaia, otherwise known as Greece. With his desire made known to the church at Ephesus, the brethren of the church wrote a letter of introduction for those disciples there to welcome him. Verse twenty-seven relates to us that he helped them much. Verse twenty-eight relates that he was able to “mightily”
154
convince the Jews, openly and publicly, through the Scriptures that Jesus indeed was the Christ identified in them.
Apollos in Corinth
He had a special talent for debate and “he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.”
He became very popular in Ephesus, but after a time, he wanted to move forward and went to Corinth….The brothers in Ephesus wrote letters of introduction for him for the Corinthian church.
We read in I Corinthians that he was “a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the scriptures, having been instructed in the way of the Lord.”
Apparently, he learned his lessons well.
Nonetheless, after he left Corinth, Chloe’s people told Paul that there were quarrels in the Corinthian Church. People were lining up behind their favorite leaders. Some were choosing to follow Apollos, others Cephas, or Paul, or Christ.
Scholars would love to know what is meant by or who is represented by the
"Christ" group. Was this perhaps a fourth group, comprised of those who refused to join the fray? Did they reject all the leaders? No one knows, but it surely indicates that smaller groups existed.
There is reason to consider these groups in terms of their social implications.
Since Apollos hailed from Alexandria, he is thought to have been well-versed in the arts of eloquence and argument. As a learned man, he would be the sort of leader a cultured, wealthy individual might want to follow.
Cephas has traditionally been aligned with the Jewish Christians and could easily have been the leader of preference for those who were unwilling to totally depart from their Jewish heritage.
Paul, while making himself "all things to everyone," was likely favored by the gentiles.
155
In any event, now there are divisions and people are quarrelling, shouting at each other, each claiming to belong to separate leaders. Paul wants them to be “knit together” -- not to be clones of each other, but to share the same basic convictions and to be together in the goals of the community.
He makes no suggestion that one is "right" and the others are "wrong," but asks that they each bring what they have to further the good of the community.
In 1 Corinthians 3-4, Paul is adamant that both he and Apollos are on the same page. They are both engaged in building up the church. Both are
“servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries.”5
The Further Ministry of Apollos
There is much evidence in the Scriptures that Apollos had a very effective ministry among the churches. Paul refers to him several times and counted him as a fellow servant for the Lord.
Apollos would eventually become a major figure among Christians in Corinth. Some members of the Corinthian Church had begun to argue among each other about who they followed as their spiritual leader. Some were saying they followed Paul, while others were saying they followed Apollos, or Peter, or only Christ (1 Corinthians 1:12). When the Apostle Paul was made aware of this he rebuked the Corinthians, telling them there should be no divisions in the Church.
Paul continued by telling them that he and Apollos were only servants of God who did the work that the Lord gave them. He said I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow (1
Corinthians 3:6). They were instructed not to boast about human leaders anymore (1 Corinthians 3:21).6
Conclusion
156
The Bible does not give us what happened to Apollos. Some say that Apollos was with Paul when he wrote the first letter to the Corinthians. We later find that Paul requests that Titus bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos to him as soon as possible. Paul was under house arrest in Rome at the time of his epistle to him. We have no record if this ever happened.
Some scholars believe that Apollos eventually returned to Corinth after all the controversy disappeared and remained there as part of the elders of the church.
We cannot know how the last years of Apollos were but if the first years of his ministry are any indication, he served the Lord and the Corinthian Church to the best of his ability.
1 https://www.biblewise.com/bible_study/characters/apollos.php 2 Albert Garner, Power Bible CD, an illustration following his comments on Acts 18:24
3
https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/apollos-passionate-pastor-and-father-of-the-early-church.html
4 Albert Garner, Power Bible CD, his comments on Acts 18:26
5 https://www.biblewise.com/bible_study/characters/apollos.php 6 https://thebibleanswer.org/apollos-in-the-bible/
157