WRITING about Apollos in ‘Pen Pictures of the Early Church Leaders’, Archibald Naismith said: “To the end he remained faithful in his friendship with Paul, watchful in all he did, and tactful in declining to include Corinth in his itinerary at a time when his presence might have been used to fan the party spirit there. He had no desire to afford cause for any to call themselves by a denominational name and say, “I am of Apollos.”
What a wonderful tribute to the man who appears on the scene in the New Testament as someone who knew nothing of the baptism of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and whose preaching in his early days was so defective that he had to be taken aside by the wonderful missionary couple Aquila and Priscilla to be taught clearly in the ways of the Lord.
Apollos is a shortened version of Apollonius. He was a Hellenized Jewish Christian who hailed from Alexandria, which was the second largest city in the Roman Empire.
He is introduced in Acts 18:24-25, where it states that he came to Ephesus. It probably was around 52-54 CE.
The man was no novice, he was a learned man and an eloquent speaker. He may have been proficient in teaching “wisdom” in the allegorical style of Philo, who was a Jewish philosopher living in Alexandria and a great intellectual teacher, according to some. | Open Heavens: 4 Momentous Occasions When God Parted the Skies |
Apollos came from an environment that was conducive to studying and learning the Scriptures. Alexandria had a library with over half a million scrolls. He might have been a commercial traveler who had a trade, yet it is likely that he came to Ephesus for the purpose of doing mission work.
The Bible says that he taught about Jesus accurately, but alas he only knew the baptism of John and nothing about the salvation of Christ. Although he had not seen the Lord Jesus Christ in person, he spoke boldly in the synagogue, just as the Lord’s disciples had done.
After an encounter with Priscilla and Aquila, who heard him preaching and teaching there he was thoroughly instructed in the ways of the Lord. The couple lovingly corrected his incomplete knowledge of Christian doctrine. To his credit, Apollos was very teachable and willing to learn. He did not, however, need to be re-baptized.
The Bible says he was “of great help to those who by grace had believed.” (See Acts 18:27). He engaged with the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.” He became very popular in Ephesus, but after some time, he went to Corinth. He left just before Paul arrived in Ephesus. | Compelled! How Simon of Cyrene met the Lord and found his calling |
It is said the brothers in Ephesus wrote letters of introduction for him for the Corinthian church. In I Corinthians we read that he was “a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures, having been instructed in the way of the Lord.”
After he left Corinth, Chloe’s people told Paul that there were quarrels in the Corinthian Church. There had developed some factions in the church. People either belonged to Apollos, Cephas or Paul or Christ. How sad that Christ is equated with mere men called by Him.
Why did the faction that declared allegiance to Apollos rally behind him? It is possible that he was considered as a leader who was cultured, wealthy and perhaps elitist because of his background because he hailed from Alexandria, and was well-versed in the arts of eloquence and argument.
To disband the factions, Apostle Paul insists that both he and Apollos are working for the same Master. They are both servants of the Lord, both are servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries.
Jerome who lived in the 4th century said Apollos was so unhappy with the divisions at Corinth that he retired to Crete, where he lived until the schisms were healed. Only after there was unity in the church did Apollos return to the city and become its bishop.
Did Apollos write any epistles? We don’t know for sure. Some say the book of Hebrews was written by him. Some others say it was authored by Barnabas. We cannot rule it in or rule it out but one thing is for sure. His name is most definitely in the Book of Life and the book of remembrance. | Death to Life: 16 Hours in Heaven |
