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. (Acts 18:24-26)
This block of verses gives us a little snapshot of Apollos,
convert in the former-day church.
He is described as:
·
An eloquent man
·
Mighty in the scriptures
·
Instructed in the way of the Lord
·
Fervent in the Spirit
·
Teaching diligently, speaking boldly
·
Knowing only the baptism of John
He had so much going for him even when he only knew a
portion of the gospel. He was
clearly living according to the light he had.
Aquila and Priscilla took him and expounded things to him
more perfectly. I like this
because it shows our responsibility to those who have a part of the truth and
are sincerely trying to live it and teach it. We have to try to give them the bigger picture. Of course, they choose whether to
accept it or not.
I also like to look at this story from Apollos’ perspective. He’s doing his best and this couple
comes to him and starts sharing more.
It might have been easy for him to say, “But I’m doing just fine with
what I have; I don’t need more.”
He might have been insulted.
But he chose to listen and ponder it. No doubt he searched the scriptures looking for evidence
that what Aquila and Priscilla told him was true. And his open heart received the witness of the Spirit.
Apollos’ story reminds me that no matter what stage I am at,
I can still be a learner and have things expounded to me more perfectly.
Apollos’ great qualities also give me a wonderful picture of
what a good member of the church looks like: eloquent, mighty in the
scriptures, instructed, fervent, diligent, bold… and teachable.
0 comments:
Post a Comment