THE LIVING CHURCH
Meditations in the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 18:24-28

=====

THE CASE of Apollos is important and instructive. It also has relevance for the church down the ages. We are told here that Apollos at the time he came to Corinth was learned and had a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures - that is of the Old Testament. He had also been instructed in the way of Christ and he taught about Jesus accurately - that is he knew all the facts about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and presumably that he was the Christ, the Messiah. His message in the synagogue no doubt would have majored on the fact that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah.

Yet with all this knowledge and understanding he still lacked saving faith. We are told that he only knew the baptism of John the Baptist - the baptism of repentance. At this time he was a good man. He was an earnest man. He spoke much of the truth, but he still lacked new life in Christ. He preached the baptism of repentance. Repentance is essential, but on its own it can only lead to seeking to be right with God through the sincerity of repentance and by the merit of good works following. It should not surprise us that Apollos taught in this way. After all he was a Jew and would have been taught in all the traditions of the Jews. He had come a long way but had yet not thrown off the traditions of the Jews, and found faith in the Gospel.

We are told that Aquila and Priscilla listened to his preaching, invited him to their home, and then "explained to him the way of God more perfectly". In other words they taught him what they had learn from the apostle Paul.

The ministry of John the Baptist was never meant to stand alone. His ministry was one of preparing the way for the Lord, for the Christ. He always included in his preaching that he could not baptise with the Holy Spirit - that is give new life, and that one coming after him would baptise with the Spirit. When he saw Jesus he pointed the people to him as the 'Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world'.

John's ministry of repentance is essential. It is only when we begin to repent and to understand how much there is for us to repent of and from, that we begin to realise our desperate state. True repentance brings the soul to the place where there is understanding that no matter how hard we strive, or how successful we may be in achieving righteousness, righteousness which meets God's just and holy requirements is beyond us. We have to look beyond and away from our doing and working for the solution to our problem, and for our need of justifying righteousness.

The more adequate way of God explained to Apollos was that 'by grace are we saved through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God'. If we are to have a righteousness that meets the holiness of God, then it must come from outside us, and as a gift of unmerited favour. Only God can or could supply such righteousness, which he did in Jesus Christ. Apollos was taught that this righteousness was received not merited or worked for, and the means of receiving it was the gift of faith also given by the grace of God. That Apollos learnt this lesson is seen that when he reached Achaia he was able to be a great help to those who by grace had believed (v.27).

We are not brought into fellowship with God and know forgiveness of all our sins through our merits or doings. There is only one way, and it is to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God in repentance, acknowledging our wretchedness in sin, and being brought to rest our souls in faith on the work of God for us in Jesus, and so receive the righteousness of God Jesus won for us in his life and death.