Training/Developing your gift

Acts 18:24-28 – Training/Developing your gifts

Introduction

If I were to ask you to catalog your gifts, natural abilities, experiences, skills, education, and what you love to do, what would that list look like? In other words, what are some things you love to do and find joy when you do them? What do you care about more than others? What comes easy for you? In what ways are you more effective than others? Going a little deeper, what experiences have you had, whether good or bad, that God has given you to help others? What kind of “mad skills” do you have?

If I were to talk to your close friends, siblings, and parents (if they are still around), how would they answer this? None of these things are an accident. God has put you together with all your skills, education, experiences, and loves, and combined these with your Spiritual gifts to empower you to pour out his grace upon others.

You see, every follower of Christ has been given Spiritual gifts by the Holy Spirit. If you are saved and redeemed by the Spirit you have them. If you dig deep into these questions you might identify your Spiritual gifts. These gifts are not to be used for ourselves, but to love our neighbors, communicate the gospel, and strengthen Christ’s church.

Raw talent must be exercised and honed in order to be effective at any given thing, like art, sports, writing, etc. How can you exercise or hone your Spiritual gifts? How can you use them to glorify Christ and spread his glory throughout this earth? I want you to think about this as we look at Acts 18:24-28.

What we are going to see today from the story of Apollos, Priscilla and Aquila is that as God’s people exercise their gifts in community, God’s people are encouraged, and Jesus is praised to the glory of the Father.

Background

Leading up to our story, we see that Paul went from Athens, where he preached the gospel, and came to Corinth. As he preached the gospel there, he worked as a tentmaker and there met and stayed with Aquila and Priscilla.

Meanwhile, Silas and Timothy joined him there as they came from Macedonia. At this point, Paul seems to focus completely on preaching that Jesus is the Christ, trying to get a fledgling church off the ground.

After he stayed there awhile, Paul, along with Priscilla, and Aquilla headed for Syria. On their way, they stopped at Ephesus. Paul left Priscilla and Aquilla in Ephesus while he went back to Antioch. There was no church in Ephesus, Priscilla and Aquilla were going to be a part of planting a church from scratch.

Priscilla and Aquilla were probably going to the synagogue to tell them about Jesus. And here is where our story begins.

Exposition

Preaching Jesus boldly but partially (24-26a)

Enter Apollos. Apollos was a Jew from Alexandria. Alexandria is a port town in northern Egypt, right on the Mediterranean Sea. It was a place that cultivated the finest of Hebrew and Greek culture and thought. It was one of the great learning centers of the world. The university there had an extensive library with subjects in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew rhetoric, philosophy, medicine, mathematics, geography, and history.

But Alexandria also had a large Jewish population. And a very well-respected Jewish school. It was here that the OT was translated into Greek. Here, the Jews even developed a method of biblical interpretation. This was where Apollos studied. It appears that Apollos had been well-educated there.

Eloquent and/or learned

Apollos was an eloquent and learned (logios) man. The word we translate eloquent probably means that he was both learned and able to express his knowledge in a clear and powerful way. He was no lightweight. He could give an argument in a clear and concise way that proved he knew what he was talking about.

Able/powerful in the Scriptures

But he wasn’t just eloquent and learned, he was mighty or capable in his use of Scripture. He was a dynamic preacher who could bring the Scriptures to bear accurately. He more than likely interpreted and explained with exciting implications and powerful rhetoric. We might say that he was an expert in the Scriptures. He knew them inside and out and could apply them.

Way of the Lord

It appears that he was also deeply religious and devout. He had been taught the way of the Lord from the disciples of John the Baptist. What does this mean?

They taught that the Messiah was Jesus, the lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. That Jesus was great and powerful and would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. That he was worthy of praise and worship. That he was God. But they probably didn’t understand how it all worked.

Apollos was more than likely well-versed in the prophecies about the Messiah and that Jesus was that Messiah. He more than likely taught that they must live righteously in repentance and faith. He probably taught that their lives were so dirty and filthy that they needed to have their sin washed away. He understood that no matter who a person was, they needed the cleansing and forgiveness of Jesus.

He taught a lifestyle of repentance and living in humility and the need for God’s forgiveness. He probably taught that the fruit of this was a love for your neighbor and a lifestyle of ethical living.

To summarize, Apollos knew that Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus was God, and that he was going to somehow take away sins. To receive this, we must live a life in repentance of sin, and a life keeping with repentance and in gratitude of God’s forgiveness, loving your neighbor as yourself.

What more than this? We aren’t sure. He obviously didn’t know about the Holy Spirit and baptism in the Triune name. Did he know the full reality of Christ’s death upon the cross, his resurrection, and his ascension and subsequent giving of the Spirit? Probably not.

Fervent in spirit

With this teaching about Jesus, he was fervent in spirit. He was boiling over with enthusiasm about the Jesus that he preached. He had learned much and knew the Scriptures well, and so he preached what he knew with such passion that everyone took notice. He was passionate about what he preached, and so people would listen. It sounds like Apollos is the preacher that everyone would want. But it gets better.

Accurate teacher

What he taught about Jesus, he taught accurately. The only problem was that he was missing some pieces of the Gospel and was operating without the fullness of God’s revelation. What he taught, he taught right, but the problem was it just wasn’t enough. I could tell you all I know about forging, boiling over with my love for it, and doing it accurately, but there is just a lot that I don’t know. So, if I were to verse you in the whole thing, someone would have to come and teach me the rest of what I didn’t know.

Boldness

Apollos had confidence in what he believed and what he preached. He had a good understanding of the Scripture to prove what he was saying. Thus, he would tell everyone his message without restraint. In other words, he was free to tell everyone without fear, daringly.

So, what do we see? Apollos was using his gifts to teach others about Christ. It is great that he had these things, but more than likely, he was missing the most important thing…the indwelling Lord Jesus through the Spirit. He was preaching religion, but it was without true power, it was without the fullness of the revelation of Christ. It looks like it was working, but it wasn’t completely accurate.

Learning Jesus fully (26b)

Enter Priscilla and Aquila. They heard him in the synagogue and were probably amazed at how truthfully he was preaching about Jesus Christ and proving it from the Scriptures, but they could hear that something was missing. They probably did not hear about Jesus and the resurrection, the indwelling of the Spirit, and his Spiritual reign in God’s people by the Holy Spirit. They probably didn’t hear that the people must be baptized into the Triune name.

The gift of hospitality

And so, Priscilla and Aquila decided to exercise the fruit of the Spirit, love, and humility by taking him aside privately. They did not embarrass him or ruin his witness or his ability to be useful for God’s kingdom. Instead, it seems like they exercised their spiritual gift of hospitality (like they did with Paul), and took Apollos into their lives so they could bring him into the school of Christ. More than likely, they invited him to their home so they could instruct him in the way of Christ.

It should be noted here something else about Apollos. Just like Priscilla and Aquila, he was humble enough that even after a highly successful sermon, he could hear his deficiencies and learn. He knew and lived out of the reality that no matter who you are and how gifted you are, there is always room to learn.

The gift of teaching

Thus, as they brought him into their lives, they explained to him the Gospel more accurately by using their Spiritual gift of teaching.

They probably explained that Jesus was risen, ascended, and is sitting at the Father’s right hand, where he has sent the Holy Spirit to indwell each believer. And that baptism into the triune name is a seal of that reality. They more than likely explained the atonement at a much deeper level and the reality of received righteousness.

Apollos would have walked away with an understanding that Jesus was present in power in and with his people. He would have come to understand that righteousness is not through right living and even loving others as yourself, but through Jesus alone.

Notice that one thing we see again this week is that discipleship is happening through friendship and relationships in people’s homes. Does it happen in church? Sure. But it isn’t exclusively there.

Notice what happened here. God used the Christian community to develop Apollos. God provided Priscilla and Aquila to develop Apollo’s gift. Once this was done, he was ready for action.

Preaching Jesus fully and building the church (27-28)

Apollos was ready for action, and so he wanted to go to Achaia, which was Corinth. More than likely, Priscilla and Aquila told him of what had happened at Corinth, and so he wanted to go there to bring the message of the cross that he had just been taught in a fuller way.

Encouragement

And so, Priscilla and Aquila, along with the other brothers, encouraged him in his desire to go. Notice that more spiritual gifts are being used. Those in Ephesus who believed used their spiritual gift of encouragement to push him further in his kingdom work.

Leadership

But more than this, they wrote a letter of recommendation for him that he could take with him. More than likely, the leaders of the church in Ephesus used their Spiritual gift of leadership to make a recommendation of him to the church in Corinth. They wanted to see the gospel be furthered in Corinth, so they sent a letter along with him.

Apollo’s gifts

When Apollos arrived in Corinth, he used his gifts to help the church and promote the gospel. He used his gifts to powerfully teach the gospel. Through the recommendation of Ephesus, he became a leader in Corinth. He helped the church in their evangelism and in growing them up into Christ. In other words, he built up the church. He encouraged Paul’s converts by watering Paul’s seed of the gospel (1 Cor. 3:6).

He helped the church by powerfully refuting the Jews in their anti-Christ rhetoric. This phrase, powerfully refuting, carries the idea of taking someone’s argument and bringing it to the ground. He proved that Jesus was the Christ beyond a shadow of a doubt. He taught in the synagogue through dialogue and proved the reality that Jesus must die and rise again for us to be saved.

Why wouldn’t the church in Corinth be encouraged? They had a great and powerful preacher of the gospel.

What did Paul have to say about Apollos? In 1 Corinthians 3, he said this, “For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”

Can you see how it works? How the church works together? One person’s gift helps develop the other person’s gifts so that others might know Christ.

Application

Each of us has been given a set of gifts, experiences, skills, education, that God can use for the advancement of his kingdom and the glory of his name. He gives us each gifts that we can use so that others may come to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.

Some of us are more upfront like Apollos, and others are more in the background like Priscilla and Aquila, but each and every person is equally vital to the church. You are not a waste. You have Spiritual gifts. Each one of us has been entrusted by God with Spiritual gifts.

Our problem is that we are tempted to bury them and don’t use them because we are afraid that we might mess something up and then God will be mad at us. But this isn’t how it works. Think of the talents. God is more upset when we have talents or treasures and don’t use them than when we use them to the best of our ability and mess up a little.

God wants each one of us to step out in faith, develop our gifts, if you don’t know what they are, he wants you to find them, and be used by God to develop other people’s gifts.

Here are a few questions. What are your Spiritual gifts, and how can you use them to tell others about Christ and build up the church? What gifts do you have that can be used to activate others in their ministry? How can you train or mentor others with your gifts?

We must take the gifts God gives us and use it to build up the church, love our neighbor, and make disciples, all for the glory of our God.