Apollos

Apollos of Alexandria

ACTS 18 COMMENTARY ◄
Acts 18:18-23 Aquila and Priscilla

Acts 18:24-28 Apollos

ACTS 18:24 24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus.

Who was "Apollos" (Acts 18:24)?
Apollos was a "Jew ... born at Alexandria" (Acts 18:24) of Egypt, which means he was North African. Apollos was also "an eloquent man" (Acts 18:24).

What is meant by Apollos being "mighty in the Scriptures" (Acts 18:24)?
He knew the Old Testament well.

ACTS 18:25 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John.

What is meant by Apollos knowing "only the baptism of John" (Acts 18:25)?
He knew up to the baptism of John, who had prophesied, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Matthew 3:11).

ACTS 18:26 26 So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

What did Apollos began to preach "boldly in the synagogue" (Acts 18:26)?
Repent, for the Messiah is coming.

How did his message change after Aquila and Priscilla "explained to him the way of God more accurately" (Acts 18:26)?
Repent, for the Messiah already came: "Jesus is the Christ" (Acts 18:28).

Where was Apollos converted to Christianity?
In Ephesus

ACTS 18:27-28 27 And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace, 28 for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.

Why did Apollos want go to "Achaia" (Acts 18:27)?
Having just come from Corinth of Achaia, Aquila and Priscilla probably told him about the persecution of the "brethren" (Acts 18:27) by the "Jews" (Acts 18:28) in Achaia. Apollos was a "fervent" (Acts 18:25), "bold..." (Acts 18:26) and "eloquent" (Acts 18:24) firebrand whose gifting was particularly suited to "vigorously refute... the Jews publicly" (Acts 18:28) and strengthen the young church in Achaia, while Paul "will return again" (Acts 18:21) to Ephesus after his whirlwind tour to report to the church in Jerusalem, revisit his home church in Antioch of Syria, as well as "strengthening" (Acts 18:23) the churches previously planted in "Galatia and Phrygia" (Acts 18:23).

Who is coordinating everyone's roles and movements?
God, by whose "grace" (Acts 18:27) we are saved and who deployed Paul, Apollos, Aquila and Priscilla in His invasion of Satan's territory, as a general deploys his troops for battle, leads the charge, and deserves the glory for the victory, as Paul later wrote to the Corinthians: "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase" (1 Corinthians 3:5-7).

How have you been deployed in God's invasion of Satan's territory?