Atos 18

Atos 18

Morris adds that parrhesiazomai "denotes the state of mind when the words flow freely, the attitude of feeling quite at home with no sense of stress or strain. This attitude includes both boldness and confidence." But (de) is a term of contrast which often marks a "change of direction." Indeed, the already powerful ministry of Apollos was about to change directions from emphasis of the Old Covenant passages to emphasis on the New Covenant entered into by grace through faith in Messiah with receipt of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of the Church with Jew and Gentile now one in Christ, a mystery not revealed in the Old Testament (cf Eph 3:4, 5, 6+). Quite a dramatic change in direction! When Priscilla and Aquila heard him - It is notable that if Priscilla and Aquila were Christians (which they almost certainly were by this time having spent time with Paul making tents -- they were probably believers even before that time) but here we see them worshiping in the Jewish Synagogue. So what is going on here? This fact makes the point that Judaism was more than a religion (it was that) but was also a way of life, a way that was always meant to be distinct from the pagan way of life. And for those who had been raised all their lives and then became followers of the Jewish Messiah, their old way of life was still very much a part of who they were. So it is not surprising to see during this time of transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant (which is in effect what the book of Acts chronicles), that even Jewish believers were drawn back to certain aspects of the their Judaism. For example, recall the actions of Peter and John in Acts 3:1+ who "were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer." Here we see Jewish men who were clearly genuine believers in Jesus and yet they are still attending the hours of prayer in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. THOUGHT - Old ways die hard, even for those who are new creations in Christ (2 Cor 5:17+). We need to remember this when someone comes to Christ (including ourselves!) and still continues to manifest some of the tendencies they had before they were born again. I can relate to this for when I became a new creature in Christ, some of my old ways almost immediately disappeared (my occasional cursing became almost non-existent, except when I fell suddenly into a fit of anger), but many of my old habits, especially what I allowed my eyes to look at (cf Ps 101:3), persisted and necessitated daily death to self (some days being better than others! Lk 9:23+) enabled by daily dependence on the Spirit for as Paul says in Romans 8:13+ "by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body." Mark it down beloved, (1) you must continually (present tense = continually; active voice = the choice is yours, a choice of your will, albeit somehow even your "will/desire" is mysteriously energized/enabled by the Spirit as described in Php 2:13NLT+) put to death the deeds of the body and (2) you ABSOLUTELY CANNOT put to death the deeds of the body by relying on your fallen flesh! Think about it! It is not even logical for fallen flesh to kill fleshly desires. I was an infectious disease expert in my former life and well remember what I used to teach about parasites - they do not attempt to kill their host lest they also die! Do you see the analogy? Fallen flesh is like a parasite and it will not kill those very deeds that feed it! Woe! Now are you convinced that you need DAILY (yea, moment by moment) to rely WHOLLY on the HOLY SPIRIT to put the deeds of the body to death? (Php 2:13NLT+) I hope that question is now rhetorical in your mind and heart. They took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately - KJV = "expounded unto him." Tactfully taking Apollos aside privately and away from the other Jews in the synagogue would have allowed Priscilla and Aquila to teach him undisturbed. It is notable that Luke uses the same word accurately (akribos) to describe Apollos' teaching regarding the things concerning Jesus (Acts 18:25) but in the present passage adds the phase "more accurately." ("more" is not in Greek but is clearly implied). In other words, Apollos was accurate in teaching what he knew, but his teaching lacked truths regarding which Priscilla and Aquila were acquainted, in large part because of their special time with the apostle Paul. Undoubtedly, this couple had become genuine believers in the New Covenant in Jesus' blood and had experienced the gift of the Holy Spirit at the time of their conversion (1 Cor 12:13, Ro 8:9+). And since Apollos was conversant only with the truths about Jesus up to the time of the baptism of John, (by inference) he was not familiar with historical truths that transpired (and are now recorded for us in the book of Acts) after the baptism of John. Did Apollos fully understand the crucifixion of Jesus (prophesied in the Old Testament) and the doctrine of substitutionary atonement effected by the death of Christ? Did he understand the fullness of truth of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and that this truth was absolutely critical to the life of a believer in the New Covenant? (e.g., read 1 Cor 15:12-14, 15) Luke does not elaborate on the more accurate aspects of the way of God this godly couple taught Apollos. We will have to wait to ask Apollos in Heaven!