Who was Apollos in the Bible?
A single passage in Acts introduces a preacher who appears again and again in Paul's letters, sometimes as a fellow worker and once as the unwitting figurehead of a church quarrel. The verse tells us his birthplace, his skill with words, and his grasp of Scripture — and the story that follows shows how even a gifted man had more to learn.
An Alexandrian Jew of unusual ability
He came from Alexandria, a Jew by birth, and arrived in Ephesus already able to hold a room. One writer traces how his learning and his command of the Bible worked together the moment he opened his mouth in the synagogue:
C. E. StuartA learned or eloquent man, as he is described, he was also mighty in the Scriptures. With power of expression, and with plenty to say in connection with the written Word, he soon made everyone in the synagogue aware that he was no ordinary teacher, and not one who would take a back seat.
Another writer notes that eloquence was his natural endowment, while his mastery of Scripture came the hard way — by study.
Genuine, but only half-informed
His preaching was accurate as far as it went. But it stopped at the point where John the Baptist had left it, before the death and resurrection of Jesus. Commentators are careful to say that this gap did not mean he was unconverted:
William KellyBut if he was in the dark about the Church and the full truth of Christianity, he was a converted man. Of course there were souls converted before the coming of Christ. It is mere ignorance that sees any difficulty in such a statement. Apollos had received by the Spirit the early testimony to the Lord, but he did not know the work of Christ.
Taught at home by a tentmaker and his wife
Priscilla and Aquila — a married couple Paul had worked alongside — heard him, spotted the deficiency, and invited him home rather than correcting him in public. The result is one of the quiet triumphs of the book:
F. B. HoleAquila and Priscilla, hearing him, at once saw his lack, and performed the delightful service of showing him hospitality, in order to instruct him more fully in what had come to pass through Christ. So God used these saints, who had no particular public gift, to properly launch a very gifted vessel on his career of service.
His willingness to be taught is part of the point. Though learned and eloquent, he was humble enough to be instructed by them.
No ordination, no committee — sent by the Lord
Nothing in the account suggests any official appointment. Writers return to this repeatedly as a mark of how freely God works:
Church HistoryIt does not appear that he had received any appointment, ordination, or approval of any kind, from either the twelve or Paul. But the Lord who is above all had called him, and was acting in him and by him. We see in the case of Apollos the display of the power and liberty of the Holy Spirit, without human intervention.
When he decided to cross into Achaia, the Christians at Ephesus simply wrote a letter of recommendation ahead of him — a great preacher and teacher commended without any formal act at all.
The work at Corinth
In Achaia he strengthened believers and took on the Jewish objectors in open debate. His growth after those home lessons was visible to everyone:
William KellyHis progress was clear to all; arrogant opponents were put to shame, and the faithful were built up through him. For Apollos could work with a force beyond those who had privately led him on. This is the scriptural way of gaining a good standing, and much boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
Paul later summed up the division of labour between them — he planted, Apollos watered, God gave the growth. The two are not rivals but partners; the honour belongs to God, who gives the increase.
His name misused, and his own restraint
At Corinth some believers turned "I am of Apollos" into a slogan. Commentators are clear that the fault lay with the followers, not the men named. Some suggest Paul used his own name and that of Apollos in place of the actual local ringleaders. What follows is striking: Paul urged him to revisit Corinth, and he declined.
A. J. PollockThere is no trace of resentment that Apollos did not yield to his earnest desire. He might have insisted that, being the apostle to the Gentiles, Apollos should bow to his wish. Instead, he acknowledges that Apollos had a will in the matter, and that he was responsible to the Lord and not to Paul for his movements in His service.
Summary
- Equipped — an Alexandrian Jew, eloquent by nature and mighty in Scripture by diligent study; capacity and gift met in one man.
- Corrected — his knowledge stopped at John's baptism, yet he was already converted; Priscilla and Aquila filled the gap privately, at home.
- Launched — two believers of no public gift set a very gifted vessel afloat; part of his reward is theirs.
- Free — no ordination, no human sanction, only a letter of commendation; the Lord who acts greatly by a Paul acts also by whom He will.
- Fruitful — he watered what Paul planted and silenced opponents from Scripture, but God alone gave the increase — which is why "I am of Apollos" was always the wrong response.