The Acts of the Apostles
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 26: Apollos at Corinth
This chapter is based on Acts 18:19-28.
 |
 |
Through Aquila and Priscilla's teaching
Apollos obtained a clearer understanding
of the Scriptures and became one of the
ablest advocates of the Christian faith.
Illustration ©
Review and Herald Publ. Assoc. |
|
After leaving Corinth, Paul's next scene of labor was
Ephesus. He was on his way to Jerusalem to attend an approaching festival, and
his stay at Ephesus was necessarily brief. He reasoned with the Jews in the
synagogue, and so favorable was the impression made upon them that they
entreated him to continue his labors among them. His plan to visit Jerusalem
prevented him from tarrying then, but he promised to return to them, "if
God will." Aquila and Priscilla had accompanied him to Ephesus, and he
left them there to carry on the work that he had begun. {AA 269.1}
It was at this time that "a certain Jew named Apollos,
born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures, came to
Ephesus." He had heard the preaching of John the Baptist, had received the
baptism of repentance, and was a living witness that the work of the prophet
had not been in vain. The Scripture record of Apollos is that he [270]
"was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit,
he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism
of John." {AA 269.2}
While in Ephesus, Apollos "began to speak boldly in the
synagogue." Among his hearers were Aquila and Priscilla, who, perceiving
that he had not yet received the full light of the gospel, "took him unto
them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly." Through their
teaching he obtained a clearer understanding of the Scriptures and became one
of the ablest advocates of the Christian faith. {AA 270.1}
Apollos was desirous of going on into Achaia, and the
brethren at Ephesus "wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him"
as a teacher in full harmony with the church of Christ. He went to Corinth,
where, in public labor and from house to house, "he mightily convinced the
Jews, . . . showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was Christ."
Paul had planted the seed of truth; Apollos now watered it. The success that
attended Apollos in preaching the gospel led some of the believers to exalt his
labors above those of Paul. This comparison of man with man brought into the
church a party spirit that threatened to hinder greatly the progress of the
gospel. {AA 270.2}
During the year and a half that Paul had spent in Corinth,
he had purposely presented the gospel in its simplicity. "Not with
excellency of speech or of wisdom" had he come to the Corinthians; but
with fear and trembling, and "in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power," had he declared "the testimony of God," that their
"faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."
1 Corinthians 2:1, 4, 5. [271] {AA 270.3}
Paul had necessarily adapted his manner to teaching to the
condition of the church. "I, brethren could not speak unto you as unto
spiritual," he afterward explained to them, "but as unto carnal, even
as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for
hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able." 1
Corinthians 3:1, 2. Many of the Corinthian believers had been slow to learn the
lessons that he was endeavoring to teach them. Their advancement in spiritual
knowledge had not been proportionate to their privileges and opportunities.
When they should have been far advanced in Christian experience, and able to
comprehend and to practice the deeper truths of the word, they were standing
where the disciples stood when Christ said to them, "I have yet many
things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." John 16:12.
Jealousy, evil surmising, and accusation had closed the hearts of many of the
Corinthian believers against the full working of the Holy Spirit, which
"searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." 1 Corinthians
2:10. However wise they might be in worldly knowledge, they were but babes in
the knowledge of Christ. {AA
271.1}
It had been Paul's work to instruct the Corinthian converts
in the rudiments, the very alphabet, of the Christian faith. He had been
obliged to instruct them as those who were ignorant of the operations of divine
power upon the heart. At that time they were unable to comprehend the mysteries
of salvation; for "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because
they [272]
are spiritually discerned." Verse 14. Paul had endeavored to sow the seed,
which others must water. Those who followed him must carry forward the work
from the point where he had left it, giving spiritual light and knowledge in
due season, as the church was able to bear it. {AA 271.2}
When the apostle took up his work in Corinth, he realized
that he must introduce most carefully the great truths he wished to teach. He
knew that among his hearers would be proud believers in human theories, and
exponents of false systems of worship, who were groping with blind eyes, hoping
to find in the book of nature theories that would contradict the reality of the
spiritual and immortal life as revealed in the Scriptures. He also knew that
critics would endeavor to controvert the Christian interpretation of the
revealed word, and that skeptics would treat the gospel of Christ with scoffing
and derision. {AA 272.1}
As he endeavored to lead souls to the foot of the cross,
Paul did not venture to rebuke, directly, those who were licentious, or to show
how heinous was their sin in the sight of a holy God. Rather he set before them
the true object of life and tried to impress upon their minds the lessons of
the divine Teacher, which, if received, would lift them from worldliness and
sin to purity and righteousness. He dwelt especially upon practical godliness
and the holiness to which those must attain who shall be accounted worthy of a
place in God's kingdom. He longed to see the light of the gospel of Christ
piercing the darkness of their minds, that they might see how offensive in the
sight of God were their immoral practices. Therefore the burden of his teaching
among them was Christ and Him crucified. He [273] sought
to show them that their most earnest study and their greatest joy must be the
wonderful truth of salvation through repentance toward God and faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ. {AA 272.2}
The philosopher turns aside from the light of salvation,
because it puts his proud theories to shame; the worldling refuses to receive
it, because it would separate him from his earthly idols. Paul saw that the
character of Christ must be understood before men could love Him or view the
cross with the eye of faith. Here must begin that study which shall be the
science and the song of the redeemed through all eternity. In the light of the
cross alone can the true value of the human soul be estimated. {AA 273.1}
The refining influence of the grace of God changes the
natural disposition of man. Heaven would not be desirable to the carnal-minded;
their natural, unsanctified hearts would feel no attraction toward that pure
and holy place, and if it were possible for them to enter, they would find
there nothing congenial. The propensities that control the natural heart must
be subdued by the grace of Christ before fallen man is fitted to enter heaven
and enjoy the society of the pure, holy angels. When man dies to sin and is
quickened to new life in Christ, divine love fills his heart; his understanding
is sanctified; he drinks from an inexhaustible fountain of joy and knowledge,
and the light of an eternal day shines upon his path, for with him continually
is the Light of life. {AA
273.2}
Paul had sought to impress upon the minds of his Corinthian
brethren the fact that he and the ministers associated with him were but men
commissioned by God to teach the [274] truth, that they were all
engaged in the same work, and that they were alike dependent upon God for
success in their labors. The discussion that had arisen in the church regarding
the relative merits of different ministers was not in the order of God, but was
the result of cherishing the attributes of the natural heart. "While one
saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then
is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the
Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the
increase. So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that
watereth; but God that giveth the increase." 1 Corinthians 3:4-7. {AA 273.3}
It was Paul who had first preached the gospel in Corinth,
and who had organized the church there. This was the work that the Lord had
assigned him. Later, by God's direction, other workers were brought in, to
stand in their lot and place. The seed sown must be watered, and this Apollos
was to do. He followed Paul in his work, to give further instruction, and to
help the seed sown to develop. He won his way to the hearts of the people, but
it was God who gave the increase. It is not human, but divine power, that works
transformation of character. Those who plant and those who water do not cause
the growth of the seed; they work under God, as His appointed agencies,
co-operating with Him in His work. To the Master Worker belongs the honor and
glory that comes with success. {AA 274.1}
God's servants do not all possess the same gifts, but they
are all His workmen. Each is to learn of the Great Teacher, [275]
and is then to communicate what he has learned. God has given to each of His
messengers an individual work. There is a diversity of gifts, but all the
workers are to blend in harmony, controlled by the sanctifying influence of the
Holy Spirit. As they make known the gospel of salvation, many will be convicted
and converted by the power of God. The human instrumentality is hid with Christ
in God, and Christ appears as the chiefest among ten thousand, the One
altogether lovely. {AA
274.2}
"Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and
every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are
laborers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's
building." Verses 8, 9. In this scripture the apostle compares the church
to a cultivated field, in which the husbandmen labor, caring for the vines of
the Lord's planting; and also to a building, which is to grow into a holy
temple for the Lord. God is the Master Worker, and He has appointed to each man
his work. All are to labor under His supervision, letting Him work for and
through His workmen. He gives them tact and skill, and if they heed His
instruction, crowns their efforts with success. {AA 275.1}
God's servants are to work together, blending in kindly,
courteous order, "in honor preferring one another." Romans 12:10.
There is to be no unkind criticism, no pulling to pieces of another's work; and
there are to be no separate parties. Every man to whom the Lord has entrusted a
message has his specific work. Each one has an individuality of his own, which
he is not to sink in that of any other man. Yet each [276] is to
work in harmony with his brethren. In their service God's workers are to be
essentially one. No one is to set himself up as a criterion, speaking
disrespectfully of his fellow workers or treating them as inferior. Under God
each is to do his appointed work, respected, loved, and encouraged by the other
laborers. Together they are to carry the work forward to completion. {AA 275.2}
These principles are dwelt upon at length in Paul's first
letter to the Corinthian church. The apostle refers to "the ministers of
Christ" as "stewards of the mysteries of God," and of their work
he declares: "It is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of
man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself;
yet I am not hereby justified: but He that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore
judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to
light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the
hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God." 1 Corinthians 4:1-5.
{AA 276.1}
It is not given to any human being to judge between the
different servants of God. The Lord alone is the judge of man's work, and He
will give to each his just reward. {AA 276.2}
The apostle, continuing, referred directly to the comparisons
that had been made between his labors and those of Apollos: "These things,
brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your
sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is [277]
written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another. For who
maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not
receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst
not received it?" Verses 6, 7. {AA 276.3}
Paul plainly set before the church the perils and the
hardships that he and his associates had patiently endured in their service for
Christ. "Even unto this present hour," he declared, "we both
hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain
dwelling place; and labor, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless;
being persecuted, we suffer it: being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the
being persecuted, we suffer it: being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the
filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day. I
write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. For
though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many
fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel."
Verses 11-15. {AA 277.1}
He who sends forth gospel workers as His ambassadors is
dishonored when there is manifested among the hearers so strong an attachment
to some favorite minister that there is an unwillingness to accept the labors
of some other teacher. The Lord sends help to His people, not always as they may
choose, but as they need; for men are shortsighted and cannot discern what is
for their highest good. It is seldom that one minister has all the
qualifications necessary to perfect a church in all the requirements of
Christianity; therefore God often sends to them other ministers, each
possessing [278] some qualifications in which the
others were deficient. {AA
277.2}
The church should gratefully accept these servants of
Christ, even as they would accept the Master Himself. They should seek to
derive all the benefit possible from the instruction which each minister may
give them from the word of God. The truths that the servants of God bring are
to be accepted and appreciated in the meekness of humility, but no minister is
to be idolized. {AA 278.1}
Through the grace of Christ, God's ministers are made
messengers of light and blessing. As by earnest, persevering prayer they obtain
the endowment of the Holy Spirit and go forth weighted with the burden of
soulsaving, their hearts filled with zeal to extend the triumphs of the cross,
they will see fruit of their labors. Resolutely refusing to display human
wisdom or to exalt self, they will accomplish a work that will withstand the
assaults of Satan. Many souls will be turned from darkness to light, and many churches
will be established. Men will be converted, not to the human instrumentality,
but to Christ. Self will be kept in the background; Jesus only, the Man of
Calvary, will appear. {AA
278.2}
Those who are working for Christ today may reveal the same
distinguishing excellencies revealed by those who in the apostolic age
proclaimed the gospel. God is just as ready to give power to His servants today
as He was to give power to Paul and Apollos, to Silas and Timothy, to Peter,
James, and John. {AA
278.3}
In the apostles' day there were some misguided souls who
claimed to believe in Christ, yet refused to show respect to His ambassadors.
They declared that they followed no [279] human teacher, but
were taught directly by Christ without the aid of the ministers of the gospel.
They were independent in spirit and unwilling to submit to the voice of the
church. Such men were in grave danger of being deceived. {AA 278.4}
God has placed in the church, as His appointed helpers, men
of varied talents, that through the combined wisdom of many the mind of the
Spirit may be met. Men who move in accordance with their own strong traits of
character, refusing to yoke up with others who have had a long experience in
the work of God, will become blinded by self-confidence, unable to discern
between the false and the true. It is not safe for such ones to be chosen as
leaders in the church; for they would follow their own judgment and plans,
regardless of the judgment of their brethren. It is easy for the enemy to work
through those who, themselves needing counsel at every step, undertake the
guardianship of souls in their own strength, without having learned the
lowliness of Christ. {AA
279.1}
Impressions alone are not a safe guide to duty. The enemy
often persuades men to believe that it is God who is guiding them, when in
reality they are following only human impulse. But if we watch carefully, and
take counsel with our brethren, we shall be given an understanding of the
Lord's will; for the promise is, "The meek will He guide in judgment: and
the meek will He teach His way." Psalm 25:9. {AA 279.2}
In the early Christian church there were some who refused to
recognize either Paul or Apollos, but held that Peter was their leader. They
affirmed that Peter had been [280] most intimate with Christ when
the Master was upon the earth, while Paul had been a persecutor of the
believers. Their views and feelings were bound about by prejudice. They did not
show the liberality, the generosity, the tenderness, which reveals that Christ
is abiding in the heart. {AA
279.3}
Find out more today how to purchase a
hardcover or
paperback
copy of The Acts of the Apostles.
|
|
There was danger that this party spirit would result in
great evil to the Christian church, and Paul was instructed by the Lord to
utter words of earnest admonition and solemn protest. Of those who were saying,
"I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ,"
the apostle inquired, "Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or
were ye baptized in the name of Paul?" "Let no man glory in
men," he pleaded. "For all things are yours; whether Paul, or
Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or
things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's."
1 Corinthians 1:12, 13; 3:21-23. {AA 280.1}
Paul and Apollos were in perfect harmony. The latter was
disappointed and grieved because of the dissension in the church at Corinth; he
took no advantage of the preference shown to himself, nor did he encourage it,
but hastily left the field of strife. When Paul afterward urged him to revisit
Corinth, he declined and did not again labor there until long afterward when
the church had reached a better spiritual state. {AA 280.2}
Click here to read the next chapter:
"Ephesus"
|
