Acts 18:18-28

New Helpers in the Gospel

Acts 18:18

In unimportant matters Paul was still amenable to Hebrew customs and rites, Acts 18:18. Probably he desired to conciliate his Judaizing opponents so far as he could without surrendering vital principles. He took his new-found friends with him to Ephesus. Though none of them realized it, there was important work awaiting them in that mighty city. The plans of Apostles, and of ordinary travelers as well, must be subordinated to the divine will. See 1 Corinthians 4:19; James 4:15.

Apollos combined the eloquence of the Greek with the religious instinct of the Jew. A student from the great university at Alexandria, a convert to the gospel, deeply conversant with the Old Testament, gifted with marvelous eloquence, he was a strong ally of the Christian forces of his age. But he needed to know of the death, resurrection, and ascended power of Christ, and to experience the Pentecostal gift. Into all these he was led by Aquila and Priscilla. How wonderful is that holy wisdom which the Spirit of God gives to simple and humble believers, so that they can become teachers of men who are intellectually their superiors!