Commentary - Acts 18:24-28

Bird's-eye view

In this brief but potent narrative, Luke introduces us to a significant figure in the early church, Apollos. This account serves as a marvellous case study in how the gospel advances, not just through the initial conversion of souls, but through the ongoing reformation and sharpening of its preachers. We see a man who is gifted, zealous, and largely correct, but who nonetheless has a critical gap in his understanding. We also see the beautiful functioning of the body of Christ, where a husband and wife team, Priscilla and Aquila, quietly and effectively disciple this powerful preacher, bringing him to a more complete knowledge of the truth. The result is not rivalry or embarrassment, but a ministry unleashed. Apollos, having been refined, goes on to become an immense help to the churches, powerfully demonstrating from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ. This is a story about the importance of doctrinal accuracy, the grace of humble correctability, and the glorious truth that our faith is a gift of God from start to finish.

This passage reminds us that the church is a school, and none of us, no matter how gifted, ever graduates in this life. God uses different members of the body, with different strengths, to build up the whole. A man mighty in the Scriptures can still learn from tentmakers, and a woman can be instrumental in explaining the way of God more accurately in a private setting. This is not a threat to godly order but a beautiful outworking of it. And the ultimate aim of it all is the powerful, public, scriptural refutation of unbelief and the strengthening of those who have, by grace, come to believe.

Outline

Context In Acts

This episode is strategically placed by Luke. Paul has just left Ephesus, leaving behind his ministry partners Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:18-21). It is in this interim, before Paul's extended ministry in Ephesus begins in chapter 19, that Apollos arrives. This account therefore bridges Paul's ministries. It also sets the stage for the next scene, where Paul encounters about twelve disciples in Ephesus who, like Apollos initially, know only of John's baptism (Acts 19:1-7). The story of Apollos provides the positive example of how this deficiency is to be corrected, preparing the reader to understand the situation with the other twelve. Furthermore, Apollos moves on to Corinth (Achaia), where we know from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians that a faction developed around Apollos's powerful preaching ministry (1 Cor 1:12, 3:4-6). This account in Acts gives us the backstory on this important apostolic figure, showing him to be a genuine and powerful minister of the gospel, despite the later Corinthian factionalism which Paul had to address.

Key Issues

Gifts in Service of the Gospel

The Holy Spirit never wastes His gifts. In Apollos, we see a man endowed with formidable natural and spiritual talents. He is eloquent, which means he could not only think straight but also speak in a compelling and persuasive way. He was mighty in the Scriptures, meaning he had a deep and practical grasp of the Old Testament. He was fervent in spirit, full of zeal. These are all good things, gifts from God. But gifts are not enough. They must be rightly aimed. A powerful cannon that is aimed a few degrees off will miss its target by a mile. Apollos's gospel cannon was powerful, but his aim was slightly off. He knew about Jesus, but his framework was incomplete, limited to the preparatory work of John the Baptist.

What happens next is a model for the church. There is no public denunciation, no rivalry, no power play. Priscilla and Aquila, who had been discipled by Paul, recognized both the power in Apollos's ministry and the deficiency. So they took him aside. This was not a formal, authoritative sermon delivered by Priscilla, but rather a private conversation, a hospitality that included doctrinal sharpening. They "expounded" the way of God to him more accurately. And Apollos, to his great credit, was humble enough to receive it. The result was that his already-great gifts were now properly aimed, and the kingdom of God received the full benefit. This is how a healthy church functions, with all the members, using their respective gifts, working together to ensure the gospel is proclaimed with power and precision.

Verse by Verse Commentary

24 Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, arrived at Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures.

Luke introduces us to Apollos with a summary of his credentials. He is a Jew from Alexandria, a city renowned for its learning and its great library. This was the intellectual hub of the Hellenistic world, and it tells us Apollos was likely a man of significant education. He was an eloquent man, which means he was a skilled orator, a powerful communicator. But his power was not just in rhetoric; he was also mighty in the Scriptures. This is a crucial combination. Eloquence without scriptural substance is just hot air. Scriptural substance without eloquence can be dry as dust. Apollos had both. He knew the Old Testament inside and out, and he could articulate its meaning with force and persuasion. He was exactly the kind of man God loves to use.

25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John;

Luke adds more to his resume. He had been "instructed in the way of the Lord," and he was "fervent in spirit." This man was not lukewarm; he had a burning zeal for God. And what he taught concerning Jesus was accurate, as far as it went. This is important. He wasn't a heretic; he was just incomplete. His knowledge stopped at the "baptism of John." This means his understanding of Jesus was filtered through the preparatory ministry of the forerunner. He likely preached Jesus as the coming Messiah whom John announced, and he preached the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. But he was apparently unaware of the climactic events of the gospel, the crucifixion, the resurrection, and especially the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. His gospel was a trailer for a movie that had already been released.

26 and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

Apollos did not hide his light under a bushel; he went straight to the synagogue and began to preach boldly. It was there that Priscilla and Aquila heard him. They were Paul's companions, tentmakers by trade, but theologians by grace. They heard his powerful preaching and recognized the missing pieces. What they did next is a model of Christian tact and love. They did not embarrass him publicly. They "took him aside," likely inviting him into their home, and there they "explained to him the way of God more accurately." Notice the verb is plural; they both did this. This was a private conversation, not a formal act of preaching. Priscilla was a sharp woman, and in the context of her own home, alongside her husband, she was instrumental in discipling this mighty preacher. And Apollos, for his part, demonstrated a profound humility. A gifted, eloquent man, he was willing to be taught by a couple of artisans. This is a mark of true greatness.

27 And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace,

Now that Apollos's doctrine was brought up to speed, his ministry could be fully endorsed. He desired to go to Achaia, the region where Corinth was located. The church in Ephesus fully supported this, encouraging him and writing a letter of commendation for him. This is the church functioning as it ought. And when he arrived, the result was immediate and powerful. He "greatly helped those who had believed through grace." Luke's phrasing here is theologically rich. It doesn't say they believed in grace, but that it was through grace that they had believed. Faith itself is a gift of God (Eph 2:8-9). God grants repentance (Acts 11:18). The Lord opens the heart to believe (Acts 16:14). Our salvation is all of grace, from first to last, and Apollos's ministry was a means of that grace to strengthen the faith of the believers.

28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.

Here Luke specifies the nature of the great help Apollos provided. He engaged the unbelieving Jews in public debate and "powerfully refuted" them. The word has the sense of a complete and thorough refutation. He didn't just hold his own; he won the arguments. And how did he do it? Not through clever rhetoric alone, but by "demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ." With his now-complete understanding of the gospel, he could marshal the Old Testament prophecies and show their definitive fulfillment in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This is a vital ministry. Public debate that is grounded in Scripture is not an unspiritual distraction; it is a powerful tool for stopping the mouths of gainsayers and strengthening the confidence of the saints. Apollos's ministry shows us the value of robust, scriptural apologetics.

Application

This little story about Apollos is packed with application for us. First, it teaches us that giftedness is no substitute for accuracy. A man can be eloquent, scripturally knowledgeable, and zealous, and still need significant correction. This should keep all of us humble, especially those who teach. We must always be open to having our understanding of "the way of God" made "more accurate." We must be like Apollos, willing to be taught, even by those we might consider our juniors in some respects.

Second, we see a beautiful model for how to offer correction. Priscilla and Aquila acted with wisdom, discretion, and love. They didn't start a controversy; they started a conversation. They didn't tear down a ministry; they built it up. In our age of online theological brawls, we desperately need to recover this art of private, respectful, and helpful correction.

Third, this passage is a tremendous encouragement for the value of every member in the body of Christ. Here a husband and wife, who worked with their hands, played a pivotal role in shaping the ministry of one of the early church's most powerful preachers. Your home, your dinner table, can be a place where the way of God is explained more accurately. You do not need a pulpit to be profoundly useful to the kingdom.

Finally, we are reminded that the foundation of our entire Christian life is grace. We believe through grace. We are helped by grace. And the purpose of our sharpened doctrine and bold preaching is to point to the Christ who is the embodiment of that grace. The goal of all our learning and all our teaching is to be able to demonstrate more powerfully from the Scriptures that this Jesus is indeed the Christ, the only hope for sinners.