Recommending Apollos to the Corinthian church

“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…” (1) Priscilla and Aquila, together with the believers in Ephesus, recommended Apollos to the church in Corinth. (2) Apollos left Ephesus before Paul arrived there (whether intentionally or not is unclear). Eventually, he became an eloquent teacher in Corinth. His influence was so great that a “party of Apollos” arose within the Corinthian church (ref. 1 Cor. 1:12). (3) Apollos greatly helped the believers in the Corinthian church. They were “those who had believed through grace.” Here, Luke emphasizes that salvation is by grace. (4) Apollos had a significant impact on the Jewish community in Corinth. He publicly refuted the Jews. Having come to understand the full scope of the gospel, he likely became even more powerful.

Apollos’ faith

Let’s look again at verse 25: “This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was accurately speaking and teaching things about Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John.” (1) Apollos believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but he was ignorant regarding the crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and the descent of the Holy Spirit. During the transitional period from Judaism to Christianity, it seems there were many people like Apollos. (2) He was missing the information from the past 20 years. He knew about John the Baptist’s ministry and that Jesus had begun His public life. However, he likely left the land of Israel before witnessing the conclusion of Jesus’ public ministry. His message remained at the stage of calling people to repent and accept Jesus as the Messiah. (3) He was not yet saved and was not a member of the universal church. (4) Once Apollos understood the gospel, he built upon the foundation that Paul had laid (ref. 1 Cor. 3:4-8). What must not be overlooked is the progression from the Old Testament to John the Baptist and to Christianity. This progression provides a lesson from Apollos’ faith. (a) Simply believing that Jesus is the Savior does not result in salvation. (b) It is necessary to understand and believe in the “three elements of the gospel.” All who accept the “three elements of the gospel” and place their trust in Jesus Christ are saved.