1After these things Paul departed from Athens and came to Corinth. 2He found a certain Jew named Aquila, a man of Pontus by race, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. He came to them, 3and because he practiced the same trade, he lived with them and worked, for by trade they were tent makers. 4He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded Jews and Greeks.
5When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 6When they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook out his clothing and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles!”
7He departed there and went into the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his house. Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized. 9The Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Don’t be afraid, but speak and don’t be silent; 10for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”
11He lived there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. 12But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, 13saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.”
14But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If indeed it were a matter of wrong or of wicked crime, you Jews, it would be reasonable that I should bear with you; 15but if they are questions about words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves. For I don’t want to be a judge of these matters.” 16So he drove them from the judgment seat.
17Then all the Greeks seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. Gallio didn’t care about any of these things.
18Paul, having stayed after this many more days, took his leave of the brothers, and sailed from there for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow. 19He came to Ephesus, and he left them there; but he himself entered into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20When they asked him to stay with them a longer time, he declined; 21but taking his leave of them, he said, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem, but I will return again to you if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.
22When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the assembly, and went down to Antioch. 23Having spent some time there, he departed and went through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, in order, establishing all the disciples. 24Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by race, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus. He was mighty in the Scriptures. 25This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John. 26He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside, and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
27When he had determined to pass over into Achaia, the brothers encouraged him; and wrote to the disciples to receive him. When he had come, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; 28for he powerfully refuted the Jews, publicly showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
A Godly Pattern For Correction
24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos,born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
In this account, we are introduced to an interesting, remarkable man named Apollos. He was from Alexandria, Egypt, and somehow he had become highly educated not only in the scriptures, but also in the “way of the Lord” itself. The text tells us that he was “fervent in spirit”. That means he was on fire for the things of God. He came to Ephesus, and he was a mighty teacher, but he didn’t have all of his doctrine right. He only knew of the baptism of John for repentance. We are not told how much he knew about Jesus or about a believer’s baptism. Sometimes we will come across people who are very passionate, but they don’t have all of their doctrine just right. We should be careful how we approach them to discuss these things. We should never be responsible for putting the fire out in someone else’s heart.
It is vital that we read and understand how people more knowledgeable in the faith should handle such a person. Notice that Aquila and Priscilla heard him, and they “took him aside” to explain things to him more accurately. They didn’t confront him in front of others. They didn’t shame him. They didn’t pull rank on him, letting him know that they knew much more than he did. In love, tenderness, and humility, they approached him and filled in some gaps he had in his knowledge of God’s word. We, too, should be careful how we “straighten others out”. Paul tells Timothy that we should always bathe our teaching of the word in love. Let’s not be guilty of running around with a set of doctrinal six-shooters, telling people “how the cow ate the cabbage”. Don’t ever be harsh in your handling of a precious fellow saint. I’ve looked and looked, and I can’t find insensitivity, callousness, or harshness in those attributes listed as the “fruit of the Spirit” outlined in Galatians chapter five. What a fantastic couple Aquila and Priscilla were. I can’t wait to meet them when I get to heaven. We all should ask God’s help to be a lot more like them! Teddy Roosevelt said, “Walk softly and carry a big stick.” As believers and Christ-followers, we should “Walk softly and not carry a stick at all.”