Humble Enough to Learn More
June 25
We have already seen the biblical order of belief and then water baptism. Dr. Luke highlights Crispus’ experience: he and his family believed, and they were baptized. The same happened to many of the Corinthians. (Acts 18:8)
Dr. Luke introduces us to Priscilla and Aquila. They came to Corinth because the Jews had been expelled from Rome by the Emperor Claudius. (Acts 18:2) He also tells us that they were tentmakers, as was Paul. (Acts 18:3) However, we aren’t told elsewhere that Paul was a tentmaker. The fact that Paul, Priscilla, and Aquila were tentmakers tells us that bivocational ministry is a biblical model of ministry. In this type of ministry, the minister is following the call of God while holding down a separate “secular” job, which normally puts food on the table. By no means is bivocational ministry a second-class ministry. In the early days of the church, bivocational ministry may have been the normal model of ministry, rather than the exception.
As we have seen before, after seeing people come to faith in Christ, the Apostles stayed in a city for a period of time. They did this to help establish new converts in their walk of faith. Here we see that Paul discipled the Corinthians for eighteen months before his departure. (Acts 18:11) Later, we see that Paul visits and encourages churches that he started in the past. (Acts 18:23)
Paul departed and went to Ephesus by way of Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. An Alexandria Jew named Apollos also arrived in Ephesus. (Acts 18:24) He was competent in the use of the Scriptures (e.g., the Old Testament) and had been taught about Jesus, though he only knew of John’s baptism. He didn’t know anything about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 18:25) For more on the baptism of the Holy Spirit and becoming a Christian, see our devotionals here and here. Priscilla and Aquila heard him speak and pulled him aside to explain the way of God to him more accurately. Apollos was humble enough to recognize that he didn’t know it all and needed to learn more.
Application
John the Baptizer was the last of the Old Testament Prophets. Apollos spoke eloquently about what he knew, but he didn’t know the whole Gospel. He needed someone to explain it so he could accurately preach it. Priscilla and Aquila stepped in and filled in the gaps between what he knew and what he needed to know of the rest of the story.
Perhaps you prayed a prayer to accept Jesus, but no one ever told you about the Holy Spirit. Many Christ followers can identify with this experience. The Bible doesn’t say anything about “praying a prayer to accept Jesus”. There’s nothing wrong with praying, but no one has ever been saved by simply praying a prayer. We are made children of God only through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit makes us children of God. (1 Corinthians 12:13) Later, we’ll see Paul’s plea for the Ephesians to have a daily, renewed relationship with the filling of the Spirit. We’ll read about that on September 24.