Today’s passage: Acts 18:24-19:10
Helpful thoughts:
- Apollos was “mighty in the Scriptures.” He knew the word of God, but had not yet been updated on all that transpired after John the Baptist. Once Aquila and Priscilla caught him up, he was ready.
- “…showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.”
- Like Apollos, these twelve men were believers in the promises of God in the Old Testament, they simply needed to hear that God’s promises had been fulfilled in Christ!
- Tongues were used to put down unbelief and signify the unity of the church among the first believers (Acts 2), the Gentile believers (Acts 10) and these OT saints from outside Judea who had yet to hear of the promises fulfilled.
- Ephesus (And specifically this schoolhouse) became an outpost and place of training for church planters who would go into the region. It wasn’t that all Asia came to the school of Tyrannus, but that men left the school and took the Gospel to all Asia.
Questions to consider:
- What do you think it means to be “mighty in the Scriptures?” Why does the church need people like this? How many of us should pursue this kind of knowledge?
- What were the consequences (Good or bad) of Apollos’ teaching in Ephesus? Of Aquila and Priscilla’s willingness to teach Apollos? Of Paul’s willingness to stay in one place to teach and train others? How important is it that people understand the truth of the Scriptures and share it accurately with others?
- How did these people (From Apollos to those who were trained in Ephesus) know they were ready to go pastor and plant churches? Did they just have a sense on their own or were they commended by others in the church? Why is this important?