Chapter 12—Apollos at Corinth
After leaving Corinth, Paul’s next scene of labor was at Ephesus.
He was on his way to Jerusalem to celebrate the approaching festival;
and his stay at Ephesus was necessarily brief. He reasoned with the
Jews in the synagogue, and produced so favorable an impression that
he was entreated to continue his labors among them. His plan to visit
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Jerusalem prevented him from tarrying; but he promised to labor with
them on his return. He had been accompanied to Ephesus by Aquila
and Priscilla, and he now left them to carry forward the good work
which he had begun.
It was at this time that Apollos, an Alexandrian Jew, visited Eph-
esus. He had received the highest Grecian culture, and was a scholar
and an orator. He had heard the teachings of John the Baptist, had
received the baptism of repentance, and was a living witness that the
work of the prophet was not in vain. Apollos was a thorough student
of the prophecies, and an able expounder of the Scriptures, publicly
proclaiming his faith in Christ, as far as he himself had received the
light.
Aquila and Priscilla listened to him, and saw that his teachings
were defective. He had not a thorough knowledge of the mission of
Christ, his resurrection and ascension, and of the work of his Spirit, the
Comforter which he sent down to remain with his people during his
absence. They accordingly sent for Apollos, and the educated orator
received instruction from them with grateful surprise and joy. Through
their teachings he obtained a clearer understanding of the Scriptures,
and became one of the ablest defenders of the Christian church. Thus a
thorough scholar and brilliant orator learned the way of the Lord more
perfectly from the teachings of a Christian man and woman whose
humble employment was that of tent-making.
Apollos, having become better acquainted with the doctrine of
Christ, now felt anxious to visit Corinth, and the Ephesian brethren
wrote to the Corinthians to receive him as a teacher in full harmony
with the church of Christ. He accordingly went to Corinth, and labored
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