Read: Prayer: Lord Jesus, give me the wisdom to teach Your Word that causes people to follow You. I pray for Your divine favor over this message from Your written Word. In Your Name, Lord Jesus, Amen. 4. Apollos is SENT to Corinth 27 Acts 18:27 (NKJV) 27 And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; Our beloved scholar, Apollos, received full understanding of the Gospel of Christ and desired to go into Achaia. It was in Achaia that Aquila and Priscilla had met Paul of Tarsus and decided to travel with him to Ephesus where they met Apollos. No doubt, they shared with Apollos all that the Lord had done in Corinth when Paul arrived. Summary of Paul s mission in Corinth: The wealthy patron and benevolent supporter of the Jewish synagogue, Justus, was converted to Christ through Paul s ministry. His home was next door to the Jewish synagogue where he heard Paul preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. It is probable that the Jewish synagogue was built on his land; when Justus converted to Christ, the unbelieving Jews would have been rocked! His conversion was a big deal. The Lord Jesus also converted Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, through Paul s evangelism striking another blow to the unbelieving Jewish leaders and their dwindling congregation. On top of all that, Paul left the synagogue and utilized Justus s home (that was next door to the synagogue) for his missionary base. Here he preached and taught the Word of God to glorify and honor Christ and make more disciples: Paul preached Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 1
When the unbelieving Jews could no longer stand Paul s presence next door, they made an insurrection against Paul. They sought to indict Paul before Gallio, the governor, who refused to hear them and drove them from the judgment seat. The Greeks took Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in Gallio s presence while the governor looked the other way. It was in Corinth that the Lord Jesus encouraged Paul with these words: Acts 18:9 10 (NKJV) 9 Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city. After the Lord s encouragement, Paul remained in Corinth: Acts 18:11 (NKJV) And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. The Lord Jesus blessed Paul s efforts and a healthy church was established! It was probably after learning about the Lord s work in Corinth, that Apollos desired to cross the Aegean Sea to serve there as well. He wanted to go to Corinth and win more Corinthian Jews to Christ and serve the young fellowship planted there. He desired to cross This statement reveals the heart of a man who wanted to serve God s people. We are all called to serve: Galatians 5:13 (NKJV) For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Love does not say, I m too tired to serve or I do not have the time for you. Love says, I will serve you even though I am tired. Love says, I ll make time to serve you. 2
Though Apollos was a gifted scholar and an eloquent preacher, he also had love in his heart, and his love was revealed through his desire to serve the Lord in Corinth. It was not an audible voice that led Apollos, or a vision, or a dream. His path to Corinth began as a desire. The Greek word communicates passive desire. 1 It portrays a man who is patient and submissive not hell bent on getting to his destination or getting his own way not matter what. This was a man who was looking for confirmation. Confirmation in service to Christ is important; this was how Timothy was called: 1 Timothy 4:14 (NKJV) 14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. By God s design, godly elders play a very significant role in confirming the calling of godly men. Though there are many abuses of this through heavy shepherding today, God has ordained biblical eldership to equip, confirm, prophesy, and support those whom the Lord has called into His ministry. Apollos waited to hear confirmation from the Lord and did. the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him - 27 Apollos was of such outstanding, godly character that the brethren wrote a letter of reference exhorting or encouraging the disciples to receive him. The Ephesian leadership had no problem verifying Apollos s godly character. What would our leadership say about us? Is our character such that our elders would be willing to stand behind our character and our ministry? What a blessing if this is the case....and when he arrived - 27 Once Apollos received the encouragement and the letter of reference to go to Achaia, he left Ephesus. He arrived just as he said he would. Once again, he proved himself faithful and truthful. He didn t swerve from his 1 Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers. 3
God given commitment to go to Corinth. He was committed to going and he did. The Lord Jesus commands us to be truthful with one another as Apollos demonstrates: Ephesians 4:25 (KJV 1900) Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. May we, dear saints, not lie to one another but speak the truth in love. he greatly helped those who had believed through grace. 27 The Holy Spirit says that Apollos didn t waste anytime once in Corinth. He greatly helped them upon his arrival. Apollos was a man who went above and beyond the expectations of others. He wasn t just there or present or looking for a better gig. He was committed, purposeful, and effective. He came to the fellowship, rolled up his sleeves, and said, I m here to serve. From the moment he arrived, he was serving. His serving was so blessed and so effective that the Holy Spirit says, he greatly helped the Lord s people. Is this not what the Lord Jesus has done for us? The Lord Jesus came to greatly help all those who come to Him: Philippians 2:5 11 (NKJV) 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the 4
earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 2 The Lord Jesus came to greatly help all of us by delivering us from our slavery to sin, transforming our lives, and filling us with Himself through His Holy Spirit, so we could live our lives to glorify Him. When Jesus fills our life with Himself, we become a great help to all who see their need for Him. I pray that we will become the kind of people that greatly help all those who are seeking Him. those who had believed through grace - 27 Who did Apollos greatly help? He greatly helped all those who had believed through the grace of God. The Doctrine of Biblical Grace always needs to be revisited because Satan and his demons always seek to crush it, but they cannot if we ß 500 years ago, on October 31, 1517, a German monk named Martin Luther, in protest to the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church, nailed his 95 Thesis to the door of Castle Church in the German town known as Wittenberg. Luther s protest against the Roman Catholic Church still remains in many protestant hearts today including mine. His arguments against Rome s corruption of the truths of Gospel remain to this day: Sola Gratia! (pronounced online: grey-shaw). We are saved by the grace of God through faith alone not by our works and our faith! The salvation of the soul is by grace through faith in Christ alone. Our salvation is not by our own works, because we have not kept God s requirements perfectly: 2 Doctrinal Note: robbery to be equal with God is declaring that Jesus stole nothing from God by proclaiming Himself equal with God John 5:17-18. He was not a thief stealing from God what solely belonged to Him; Jesus was declaring the truth of who He was in the flesh John 1:1, 14. This statement form the Bible is dogmatically teaching Christ s equality with God. In the Doctrine of the Godhead (c.f., Colossians 2:9), the Bible teaches the revelation of the triunity of God: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit Luke 3:21-22. 5
Romans 3:9 20 (NKJV) 9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. 10 As it is written: There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit; The poison of asps is under their lips; 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways; 17 And the way of peace they have not known. 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes. 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. At some point in our lives, we have broken God s moral law, and breaking God s laws is the definition of sin: 1 John Whosoever sins, transgress also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law, and we know that He was manifested to take away our sins and in Him is no sin. We break God s laws without regard for them like we break the speed limit. Many see God s laws as irrelevant, non-applicable, or out of date. This is very sad and points out the truth that there is none that does good no not one. We are guilty of breaking the law and deserve the consequences. While speeding is dangerous and breeds consequences, breaking God s moral laws is damnable and punishable in the flames of eternal Hell. Therefore, there is the great need in all of our lives for God s grace. 6
The grace of God is a marvelous, transforming truth. We all need God s grace because no one can save himself from the eternal consequences of his sin damnation in Hell. All of us are guilty before God when we are judged by His laws. When we look at our lives through God s laws, our mouths are stopped from boasting in our own goodness. We need help; we need Christ. How does a person come to faith in Christ? We believe through grace. If we have come to life transforming faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, then we must realize that our faith and salvation are the result of God s grace: Ephesians 2:1 10 (NKJV) And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. God s grace avails the free gifts of salvation and transformation to all who repent and believe in Christ. According to the Bible, this is what the Gospel teaches. The grace of God must be understood in this biblical 7
context: for by grace are you saved through faith and created in Christ Jesus for good works are each one side of the coin we can call grace. If either salvation or transformation is left out of our understanding of biblical grace, then we are in great and serious doctrinal error and have misunderstood the Gospel. Our God is the God of grace and mercy to all who call upon the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. He has shown us the exceeding riches of His grace through His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. God is so rich in mercy because of His great love by which He has loved us that even when we were dead in our sins, He made us alive together with Christ. Being made alive together with Christ is His operative mercy and grants us a wonderful understanding of the effects of our salvation, and this salvation is only available to all of us because of the grace of God. We now share life with Christ we live together with Him. We no longer live to ourselves or by ourselves. Living together with Christ means you and I will never experience living without God ever again even if we fail along the way: He continues to restore and renew us. He is faithful. My life is messed up without Christ; it is Christ who transformed my life, and He did this by His grace: the free help of God offered to me because He loved me and loves me. The exceeding riches of God s grace are beautifully revealed through the lives of the people transformed through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. When Paul communicates the exceeding riches of God s grace, he is speaking of the work of Christ s transforming power in our lives. His own hands work His transformation within my heart. My new life in Christ is His work: I am a new creation in my heart and mind. Christ is the loving CEO of my heart and life. What is not of Him, He crucifies. What is of Him, He empowers: 8
Galatians 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world is crucified to me and I to the world. 1 John 2:16-17: For all that is in the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world and the passes away and the lust thereof but he that does the will of the Father abides forever. It is the Lord Jesus Christ who crucifies our lusts as we yield to him in the midst of temptation: Galatians 5:24 And they that are Christ s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. It is He who also empowers us to do the will of the Father: Philippians 2:13 For it is God that works in you both to will and do His good pleasure. Salvation and transformation are the work of God within us, and this work of God is the result of His grace, which is a result of His love, which is a result of His mercy. It is important to remain faithful to the truth of our deadness (our bondage to sin) and weakness (inability to change ourselves) that is understood from Ephesians 2:1. Our transformation was purchased for us; we did not purchase, pay, work, or supply our salvation or transformation: 1 Peter 1:17 19 (NKJV) 17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received 9
by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. The precious blood of Christ has redeemed us. Beyond the wealth of this world, there is the exceeding wealth that is only known to God and to whom He shares it. The blood of Christ purchases His salvation and transforming work in our lives. This is what the Gospel teaches. Salvation and transformation are by His grace alone sola gratia: by grace you have been saved we are His workmanship! In the past, our lives were filled with self and fulfilling the desire of our sinful selves without Christ; He wasn t in our lives. However, grace changes our future by releasing us from our previous bondage to sin, and now we live together with Christ. He is the roommate of our hearts He lives in our hearts to change us and set us free and keep us free from slavery to sin. Moreover, because He is in our hearts, we enjoy His sweet fellowship with us. Being raised up together with Christ explains our victory through Christ over sin, regret, and a guilty conscience before God and those whom we have sinned against, and our kindred fellowship with Him. Grace: God will freely come and help me with my sin/heart problem. My issue is my sin and heart to sin that is also your problem. He changes my heart, so I do not want to sin. By His grace I receive His salvation, and by His grace, I receive transformation: His help and power to overcome sin in my life that include bad attitudes, unfaithful words, evil thoughts in my mind, and wicked desires in my heart. These are dealt with by the gentle, powerful hand of Christ. He changes these sin issues in my heart and gives me a heart to will and to do His good pleasure. Apollos greatly helped those who believed by the grace of God. 10