Paul in Corinth (6)

Pray Psalm 85.4-6.
Restore us, O God of our salvation,
And cause Your anger toward us to cease.
Will You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?
Will You not revive us again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?

Sing Psalm 85.4-6.
(Lyons: O Worship the King)
Restore us, O God, renew us in peace,
and cause all Your wrath against us to cease.
Will You evermore all Your wrath to us show?
Revive us that we may Your joy again know.

Read Acts 18.24-28.

Prepare
1. How was Apollos described?

2. What did he begin to do in Corinth?

Meditation
By the time Paul left Corinth, the groundwork was laid for a healthy, growing church. Many had come to faith. Jews and Gentiles were worshiping together. Many small house churches had sprung up under the competent leadership of men like Crispus and Sosthenes.

Apollos came to Ephesus, where Paul had left Aquila and Priscilla to help with the church there (v. 19). Though deeply embedded in the Old Testament, his theology was not complete. So Aquila and Priscilla “took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.” Then they gave him a letter of recommendation and he passed over to Achaia, or southern Greece, ending up in Corinth (Acts 19.1).

Apollos was, except for his depth in the Word, the exact opposite of Paul. He was eloquent, vigorous in public debate (remember, Paul withdrew from that), and—since he was from Alexandria, the center of Hellenistic culture—undoubtedly steeped in classical culture. He must have been a Wow!

The believers in Corinth began to think of themselves as followers of Apollos. Not all, though. Some insisted Paul’s simplicity and plainness was to be preferred. Others, having tasted a teacher other than Paul, wondered about wasn’t there a guy named Cephas? Shouldn’t we find out about him? While others still simply said, “Well, Jesus is all I need.”

Through no fault of his own, Apollos became a lightning rod of schism, and with schism, a whole raft of other problems settled into the Church at Corinth. And it is these problems that occasioned Paul’s two epistles to this struggling church.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162.
Apollos had a lot going for him. Let’s look at the qualifications Luke lists:
1. Eloquent
2. Jewish
3. Born at Alexandria
4. Mighty in the Scriptures
5. Carefully instructed in the way of the Lord
6. Fervent in spirit
7. Spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord (Acts 18.24, 25).

His only knowledge defect was in understanding the Old Testament, and the good news up to the baptism of John (Acts 18.25). Nothing further.

But God provided gracious teachers to show him The Way of God more accurately (Acts 18.26). To which, I’m sure, he quickly acquiesced and altered his message to comply.

The little, tiny glitch I see here is that he turned around and “vigorously refuted the Jews publicly…” (Acts 18.28). Lacking the grace shown to him by Aquila and Priscilla. Our Bible mentor of old, Pat Hunter, used to say, “If you have the wit to say it, have the grace not to.”

There is a beauty to be found in gentleness and quiet. Sure, we can no doubt refute all the crazies out there that don’t make any sense; but the warmth of Jesus constrains us.

The fable told by Aesop says it best: The wind and the sun were arguing about who was the strongest. They agreed to see who could “strip the Traveler of his cloak.” The wind howled and blew which only caused the man to hold his cloak tighter. Then the sun began to shine its rays upon the man and the warmth eventually caused him to willingly remove his cloak. The moral of the story? “Gentleness and kind persuasion win where force and bluster fail.”

Just wondering if the lightning rod of schism which accompanied Apollos could have been avoided, at least within the church, had he been a bit more gracious in his manner?

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption…be kind to one another, tenderhearted…” (Eph. 4.30, 32).
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law” (Gal. 5.22, 23).

Knowing and sharing the Way, Truth, and Life is a gift of grace (Jn. 14.6).
Hearts are much more eager to hear when taken aside privately, than blasted publicly.
The sun will always win this battle. Eloquence notwithstanding.

For reflection
1. What does it mean to speak the truth in love (Eph 4.15)?

2. Why is love more important than vigor in sharing the Good News of Jesus?

3. How can you prepare yourself each day to speak the truth in love?

Those who do believe through grace, yet still need help. As long as they are in this world, there are remainders of unbelief, and something lacking in their faith to be perfected, and the work of faith to be fulfilled. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Acts 18.24-28

Pray Psalm 85.7-13.
Pray that God will continue to grow you and His Church in grace and knowledge of the Lord. Ask Him to show you areas of your own life where you need to improve in Christlikeness.

Sing Psalm 85.7-13.
(Lyons: O Worship the King)
LORD, show us Your love; restore us, we pray!
And help us to hear the words that You say.
Speak peace to Your people; in truth let us stand.
We fear You; let glory and grace fill our land.

In Jesus God’s grace and truth are combined;
both goodness and peace in Him do we find.
Truth springs from the earth as He walks in our midst,
and righteousness flows from the heav’ns as a gift.

The LORD by His grace will give what is good;
our land will produce abundance of food.
And righteousness will go before the LORD’s face,
and make of His footsteps a way in this place.

T. M. and Susie Moore

The Church in Corinth was in need of revival. But there was much to be done before that would happen. The Church today is in need of revival, and the same is true for us. Our book, Revived!, can help us to discern our need for revival and lead us in getting there. Order your copy by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter, available free by clicking here.