Perpetuating Ministry

if God’s people would take their
Bibles and turn back once again to Acts chapter 18. If you’ve
been with us these past weeks, you know that we have followed
Paul’s travels in the midst of his second missionary journey. And we will walk with him to
the very end of that great journey this morning. and even observe
as he begins his third missionary journey. Last week, the account
left off with Paul witnessing the sovereign grace of God in
an amazing fulfillment of promises that God had made to Paul. And as much as Paul delighted
to serve his Lord, He must have enjoyed sitting back in that
courtroom and watching God work. You will remember that as Paul
was ministering in Corinth, or what we’ve come to know of her
as Vanity Fair, that gospel-needy metropolis. Because of Jewish
opposition, Paul had already departed the synagogue in order
to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. But jealousy and bitterness reached
its peak among the Jews. They are desperate, and so they
lash out in the only way left for them. Paul knew that while
God had promised to him that no physical harm would come to
him, he knew that he would have trouble and trials and heartache. And suddenly he was unceremoniously
hauled by the Jews before a Roman court. False charges were levied
against him. And just as Paul stood up to
give a defense. Galil, the Roman proconsul who
was judging his case, spoke up and effectively threw the case
out of court. It was a remarkable scene. But
the day was not a complete waste of time. The very leader of the
synagogue, Sosthenes, would eventually come to faith in Christ. the second synagogue leader to
do so. The whole scene must have been
a gracious reminder to Paul. The Jews and Galileo and Sosthenes,
it was a reminder to Paul that the battle belongs to the Lord. These are exciting times. for
the kingdom of God, for the apostle Paul, and for the people in Corinth.
And yet, Paul is compelled to bring this journey to a conclusion,
to sail back to his home base of Antioch in Syria. Verses 18
through 22 provide us with what I would tell you is a transitional
narrative. These are not unimportant words,
but they are transitional. If this were a stage play, this
might be the portion that a narrator reads offstage. But this transition
will open up to another exciting episode in the ministry of the
early church. Would you read along with me?
beginning in verse 18. Paul, having remained many days
longer, took leave of the brethren and put out to sea for Syria.
And with him were Priscilla and Aquila. In Centuria he had his
hair cut, for he was keeping a vow. They came to Ephesus and
he left them there. Now he himself entered the synagogue
and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to stay for
a longer time, he did not consent, but taking leave of them and
saying, I will return to you if God wills. He set sail from
Ephesus. When he had landed at Caesarea,
he went up and greeted the church and went down to Antioch. As I indicated, These are transitional
words, so my comments on them will be relatively brief. Look
back, if you would, at verse 18, where you see that little
note that Paul remained many days longer. That little note
really serves to indicate the close of this chapter of ministry. Luke, the writer, is referring
to the time spent in Corinth after that courtroom interaction. We don’t know whether that trial
before Galileo was weeks ago or days ago or months ago. We only know that Paul’s time
in Corinth is drawing to a close. And by now, some 18 months later,
after Paul had met Aquila and Priscilla, their relationship
now has come full circle. When we first met them, we didn’t
even know if they were saved, or if so, whether they had been
saved in Rome or after Paul met them in Corinth. I gave you my
case for the latter. I believe Paul, in God’s goodness
and grace, led them to faith in Christ. But here, all doubt
is removed. They are saved individuals traveling
with Paul for the purpose of ministry, and they too will become
even greater servants as this passage unfolds. Aquila and Priscilla
are with Paul, but whatever happened to Silas and Timothy? There is no mention of them here.
So it’s possible they stayed behind in Corinth to minister. As I told you when we looked
at verse 5, it’s the last time in all of Scripture that Silas
is ever mentioned. There’s much conjecture about
what happened to Silas, but we don’t know. All we know is that
Silas fades away. Timothy, on the other hand, becomes
much more prominent. In just one chapter ahead in
verse 22 of verse chapter 19, Timothy is sent off with a brother
named Erastus to Macedonia. And I can give you just a thumbnail
sketch because that’s about all we have about Erastus. He’s mentioned again in Romans
16, 23. Paul refers to him there as Erastus,
the city treasurer. That is a noteworthy thing to
observe because it means that this man is one of the highest
ranking city officials to ever become a Christian. Erastus is
mentioned one last time at the end of Second Timothy where Paul
informs Timothy that he, that is Erastus, remained in Corinth.
Quite evidently, it was not Erastus’ call to become a traveling missionary. His call was to serve as the
treasurer and a Christian in the city of Corinth. And so back
to Timothy. The last thing that we ever hear
about Timothy in the book of Acts is recorded in chapter 20,
verse 4, that he, along with six other men, rejoined Paul
as he prepares to travel back to Syria. Then after this, Timothy
is mentioned 18 more times in Paul’s epistles, to whom Paul
wrote two particular letters. But for our purposes this morning,
this is the last time that Timothy is mentioned in connection with
Paul’s missionary travels. So let’s pick up just briefly
this morning, Paul’s departure from Corinth. Look at verse 18.
Verse 18 tells us that in Centuria he had his hair cut for he was
keeping a vow. We don’t know the nature of the
vow at all. These kinds of Nazirite vows,
which included the cutting off of the hair as a sacrifice, is
prescribed in number six. When you made such a vow, you
were to let your hair grow until the vow was fulfilled. When you
had fulfilled your vow, you were to cut your hair and burn it
as a sacrifice. So perhaps Paul had vowed to
stay in Corinth for 18 months. We don’t know. All that we really
can derive from this is that Paul was a man of integrity. He was a man of his word. He
had made a promise and he was keeping it. Glance at verse 19. They came to Ephesus and he left
them there. Now, he himself entered the synagogue
and reasoned with the Jews. Remember, Paul had not disavowed
all synagogues. He hadn’t given up on all Jews. He had done so, you will remember,
in Pisidian Antioch and again recently in Corinth. But even
still, it was his habit to begin gospel ministry in the local
synagogue. Verse 20, when they asked him
to stay for a longer time, he did not consent, but taking leave
of them and saying, I will return to you again if God wills. And he set sail from Ephesus.
Evidently, Paul had such an effective ministry among his countrymen
that they asked him to stay. That’s a different approach,
that’s a different reception than what he’s had previously
by the Jews. They pressed him for an encore. When Paul indicated the need
to leave, they begged him to stay, but Paul did not consent.
Paul’s mind is made up. He’s heading to Antioch, his
home base of ministry, from where he was sent out on the first
missionary journey, Acts 13. And the second missionary journey,
Acts 15. But he didn’t reject the Ephesians
outright. Instead, he made them a promise
with an important condition. Look at it. I will return to
you if God wills. We make a lot of plans in life,
don’t we? We state a lot of intentions. We would be wise to do as Paul
did, to humbly submit our plans to the Lord if God wills. And so Paul’s relationship with
the Ephesian church had indeed been established, and by God’s
good providence and grace, he would again return in the course
of his third missionary journey, as recorded in Acts 19. But for
now, he leaves. Look at verse 22, when he landed
at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church and went down to Antioch. Here’s some fascinating geography
for you. I don’t want you to be bewildered.
If you ever have occasion to travel to the Holy Land, you’ll
be able to find your way around. Paul lands at Caesarea, obviously
a coastal town, and it says that he goes up to greet the church.
Luke doesn’t identify Jerusalem as the city, but the most logical
conclusion is that he goes up to Jerusalem from Caesarea, that
is, up in elevation, because he goes down again in elevation
even though he’s traveling north ultimately to Antioch. It’s interesting
that Luke doesn’t even mention Jerusalem as the place and that
Paul does no more than a quick stop, a visit. To the starting place of the
very Church of Christ, and so it seems to be in harmony. With
the fact that the Jerusalem church was strong and vibrant and. Well in hand. And that Paul,
rather than getting caught up in church life there, maintained
his focus on his ministry. Look, if you will, at verse 23. And having spent time there,
he left and passed through the Galatian region and Phrygia,
strengthening all the disciples. Now, it doesn’t even really mention
his time there at Antioch. It says that he went there. We
don’t know how much time he spent there, but he likely went to
provide reports, pray with others, minister to them, his brethren,
and no doubt enjoy some rest, perhaps. But it doesn’t seem
to be very long at all. That would be in keeping with
this energetic missionary pastor. No soon does the second missionary
journey end. Paul’s third missionary journey
begins. Okay, so I told you. Verses 18
through 22 are transitional. It’s not the main thrust of what
Luke wants to tell us. So in effect, that concludes
my introduction, because no sooner does God safely deliver Paul
to Antioch, as Luke records, he opens up to a new chapter
and a new player in God’s ministry, a very important man named Apollos.
If you’re in the text, would you begin reading along with
me in verse 23? And having spent some time there,
he left and passed successively through the Galatian region and
Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. Now a Jew named Apollos,
an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus. He was mighty in the scriptures.
This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being
fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately. the
things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism
of John. And he began to speak out boldly
in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila
heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wanted to go across
to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples
to welcome him. And when he had arrived, he greatly
helped those who had believed through grace. For he powerfully
refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the scriptures that Jesus
was the Christ. Chapter 19, verse 1, it happened
that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper
country and came to Ephesus and found some disciples. Before we throw ourselves headlong
into that passage, I’d like you to turn first to consider one
verse, 2 Timothy 2, verse 2. This will help us to understand
this situation with Apollos. We looked at this verse several
years ago, a one Sunday look at this passage. Paul has written
to his precious son in the faith, Timothy, a second time. And he
seems to have known well that his life and his ministry were
coming to an end. And so the letter reads much
like a last will and testament. Paul is preparing Timothy for
future ministry, a future without Paul, to guide this young pastor. The Christian ministry is not
an endeavor that will terminate with Paul’s passing, and neither
must it be allowed to terminate with Timothy. It is to be a perpetuating
ministry. The passage of 2 Timothy 2.2,
in short, it speaks of perpetuating ministry. a roadmap for effectively
passing on the ministry to future generations of servants. Look
at verse two. The things which you have heard
from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful
men who will be able to teach others also. In that verse, we
noted three things, and I just do these by way of reminder.
three components of a perpetuating ministry. The first is the message
of the sacred trust. The message of the sacred trust
is the gospel. Paul, when he speaks of perpetuating
ministry, refers to it as a sacred trust when he tells Timothy that
he is entrusting these things to him. The things that Timothy had been
taught by Paul, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and the
foundation of sound doctrine that should accompany it. It’s
the whole system of evangelical truth, as one pastor referred
to it, as one described it. This was arguably Paul’s main
reason for writing this epistle to Timothy. Back in chapter one of that same
epistle, verses 13 and 14, Paul urged Timothy, commanded Timothy,
retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from
me. Guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us the treasure
which has been entrusted to you. Paul had entrusted to Timothy
a sacred trust, and he was to entrust it to others in turn.
This was to be an endless process down through the centuries. But in addition to the message
of the sacred trust, the gospel, we see in this passage, the keepers
of the sacred trust. Who’s in charge? To whom is it
given? And better yet, to whom should
it be passed along? Very simply to faithful men.
faithful in one’s calling, faithful to God and his word, faithful
to maintain the purity of the gospel. Now, I purpose to keep
my notes light, L-I-T-E, but I reread this particular quote
by Hodge on this passage and I had to reiterate it. Listen
carefully. Speaking of faithful men, he
says, he is a servant. He must be faithful to his master. As he is a dispenser, he must
be faithful to those subject to his oversight. He must not
neglect to dispense them their food, neither may he adulterate
it or substitute anything in the place of that which was given
them to distribute.” What a great thought. He’s been entrusted
with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has been faithful
thus far. But in order to be faithful,
he must pass along. That gospel to future generations. Which leads us to the third observation
of that text, the purpose of the sacred text. The sacred trust
is that of teaching others. Well, these, as I will go on
to point out, are exactly the same things that we will find
in our new friend, Apollos. The sacred message, a sacred
keeper, and a sacred purpose. Back to Acts chapter 18, if you
would. And in Acts chapter 18, Proceed down to verse 24. As
we begin to consider the elements of a perpetuating ministry here
in Acts 18, we see, first of all, the keepers of that sacred
trust. They’re to be faithful men. That’s
exactly what we find in this man named Apollos. We see, first
of all, he was a gifted man. Look at verse 24. A Jew named
Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man. came to Ephesus. This man seems to have been the
flawless product of his city, Alexandria. This city, one of
the most important cities of its day, founded by Alexander
the Great, was a powerful blend of both Greek and Jewish cultures,
highly intellectual and academic. It reminds me of Fort Collins,
really. And so Apollos, the native son of this city, was said to
be eloquent. The word carries the connotation,
the foundational connotation of learning, great learning.
But it has the added sense of an ability to communicate that
learning. This learning would largely have
been the fruit of his own studies. And you know, there are many
people capable of great learning. Developing a deep understanding
of a great variety of subjects. But they have no ability to pass
along what they’ve learned. Others have an almost spellbinding
ability to communicate. But they do not speak truth.
Such are charlatans and false teachers. not Apollos. He not only had the ability to
imbibe truth, he had the rare capacity to also teach that truth. Apollos was a gifted man. One
historian said of Apollos, next to the apostles, Apollos is perhaps
the most important in the early history of the church. That is
a massive statement. But he’s not only a gifted man,
look again at that verse, he was a man of the word. He had
a high view of scripture. He was mighty in the scriptures
in the way of the Lord. It’s not just that he memorized
massive sections of scripture, he knew how the whole synthesized
in God’s great plan of redemption, the scriptures referred to here
would have been exclusively what we now know as the Old Testament. Whether in formal debate or extemporaneous
conversation, Apollos, Luke tells us, was mighty. That is, he was
a strong and powerful communicator. He knew the Old Testament well,
and he was quite capable in any verbal exchange. And it certainly
seems evident that this was not just an egghead spouting knowledge
for his own ego’s sake. He was urging people Godward
in the way of the Lord. His learning and his gifted oratory
were for the benefit of his fellow man, not for his own selfish
purposes. Paulus was a man who knew the
Scriptures. But look again, look at verse
25, he was a trained man. This man had been instructed. Now, whereas his eloquence was
largely because of God’s gift faithfully applied in his own
personal study, here Luke describes him also as a trained man. This points us to formal instruction
at the feet of the others, professors and the like. The word here used,
listen for it, is katikeo. Some of you hear a familiar word
there, to catechize. Catechism was a system and a
method of learning and teaching, often utilizing rigorous, a rigorous
series of questions and answers to catechize, to teach, to train. Well, Apollos, in addition to
his God-given ability to learn and to speak and his diligence
to enter into study and his ability to naturally teach others, he
also had the benefit of having been trained formally. He had
been discipled and trained and instructed much like probably
university or seminary would in our day. That said, you could
ask, is a seminary degree necessary to serve the Lord? Not at all.
But training is absolutely necessary. Apollos was a well-trained man.
Look at the passage again. He was a passionate man, a man
of strong conviction, fervent in spirit, it says. You know,
for most people, even those who say they believe something, If
you can even detect such conviction, you would have to admit they
don’t hold to their conviction passionately. Not Apollos. He believed what he believed
with all his heart. He wore his heart on his sleeve
and he was fervent in spirit. He knew the God of the scriptures
and he enthusiastically proclaimed so that others might know it
as well. Apollos was a passionate man of conviction. And what else
would you call it? Look also at verse 25. He was
a biblical man. He was speaking and teaching
accurately the things concerning Jesus. Apollos was a man of biblical
integrity. He preached what was there, and
only what was there. He didn’t add to it, didn’t take
anything away. He didn’t wing it, as is so often the case with
young men of our day. He did not adulterate God’s message
by adding in all this extraneous material. He didn’t leave anything
out. He spoke as Paul did the whole
counsel of God. He told the truth about what
God’s word said and taught. He spoke accurately, but his
knowledge was incomplete. He was acquainted only with the
baptism of John. With all of his diligence, all
of his learning, all of his training, his pool of knowledge was not
yet full. He was accurate in so far as
it went, but his knowledge and his message fell short. Luke says that he taught accurately
the things of Jesus, but he was only acquainted with
the baptism of John. What he knew was correct as far
as what he had heard, but he had not yet learned the rest
of the story. He was still focused on John
the Baptist’s ministry and message, a message of readiness for the
fulfillment of prophecy and the coming of the Messiah. He knew
of Jesus, that he had come, that John had prepared the way for
him, calling people to repentance and baptism, but he did not. He had not yet come to a personal
knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. He knew the basic
facts about Jesus as John had proclaimed them, but he likely
didn’t even know about the resurrection or the crucifixion, and he certainly
didn’t know about Pentecost and the giving of the Holy Spirit.
In that sense, he and his message were not that different from
John the Baptist and his message. And yet, verse 26 tells us that
he was an obedient man. He didn’t know it all, but what
he knew, he was faithful to proclaim. Look at verse 26, he began to
speak out boldly in of all places, the synagogue, where every word
of his would have been scrutinized. Now here we get a picture of
this man’s demeanor, that of a sweet but zealous and faithful
man. Essentially, he had the same
spirit as John the Baptist. He was passionate and bold, just
like his predecessor. He called his hearers to repentance
from sin and a heart readiness to receive the Messiah. He went
with what he knew and he spoke it faithfully insofar as he was
able. He was willing to open his mouth
and declare what he knew as clearly as he could. He was proclaiming
the coming of the Messiah. He didn’t know everything, but
what he knew he shouted from the rooftop. There’s a final
thing that Luke tells us about this man. Look at the verse that says,
when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, They took him aside and
explained to him the way of God more accurately. You see, of all the qualities
of this man, this one is perhaps the grandest of all. He was teachable. There’s a tongue-in-cheek saying
that I’ve heard attributed to just about every seminary there
is. TMS, Westminster, Southern, RTS. So you can plug whatever name
you wish into the blank. Is that fair? The saying goes
like this. You can always tell a blank man. You just can’t tell him very
much. Now that’s funny only because there’s a lot of truth to it.
Men, even with a little bit of training, tend toward pride.
They sooner convinced in their own mind that they know everything. After all, they have been trained. That tendency is surely what
prompted Paul to urge. When looking for shepherds, not
to select a recent convert. A young convert is soon infused
with pride. Well, neither was this tendency
true of Apollos. Though he was a gifted man and
a diligent man and a trained man, he was even still a teachable
man. I love the simplicity of this
verse. There’s no dialogue, there was no argument, no debate, no
grandstanding, no one-upmanship, no matching of wits, no touting
of degrees. Aquila and Priscilla heard him,
took him aside, explained to him the way of God more accurately.
And what a beautiful story this is. Whatever the case was when
Paul first met these people, now not only are they traveling
with Paul, but they very much have a ministry all their own.
There’s much to be said also about Aquila and Priscilla’s
method. As Apollos was teaching, they
didn’t roll their eyes at some of the points that he was making.
They didn’t rashly call him out or tear into him at the greeting
at the door as they left. They didn’t form a coalition
of believers to confront him. They didn’t write a nasty unsigned
letter, and I’m sure you’re wondering where I got some of these. They
didn’t try to contact his seminary professors or his denomination
to have him removed from ministry. Instead of a public or semi-public
confrontation, they graciously pulled him aside. What a beautiful
scene. The word elicits a beautiful
image. It’s pros elebanto, the Greek
word. They took him to themselves. They drew him near. They drew him near and provided
a simple, sweet, direct explanation of the way of God. They told
him about the fulfillment of prophecy, about the Messiah in
the person of Jesus Christ, and of his death on the cross, and
his burial and resurrection, and of the giving of God’s own
Holy Spirit. This was no small informational
gap for Apollos. If he’s going to be used of God,
this is absolutely vital. But when faced with the truth,
the godly man always humbles himself as Apollos did. Apollos
was eager to fully embrace the Savior that John the Baptist
had proclaimed. He was more than willing to have
the holes in his theology filled. And so we have a faithful man.
We have the right man to pass along the sacred trust. And that’s exactly what Aquila
and Priscilla do is they entrust him with the gospel like never
before. But remember, there’s a purpose
to the sacred trust. And Apollos is faithful here
as well. There’s a purpose to the sacred
trust. And we find it in verse 27. And when he wanted to go across
to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote the disciples to
welcome him. And when he had arrived, he greatly
helped those who had believed through grace. Well, Luke tells
us. that we have the recipient and
the keeper of the sacred trust in Apollos, and he points out
the purpose of that sacred trust is declaration, proclamation. What good is good news if it’s
not shared? By some means, Apollos came to
know of a great but fledgling church in Achaia, that of the
Church of Corinth. And likely, it was an answer
to Paul’s very specific prayer. And as soon as Apollos was corrected,
corrected in his understanding of the message, a mere hint of news about a needy church
began to gnaw at him. He wanted to go across, that
is, across the Aegean Sea to Corinth. He wanted to go pastor
this little church, and the saints of the little church in Ephesus
were thrilled. They were excited, both for him
and for Corinth. They encouraged him, it says.
And not only that, they provided a reference letter for him. They
probably told him about his conversion and told him about his faithfulness,
about his ability, about his oratorical skills. They wrote
on his behalf, but ultimately for the sake of the gospel. They wrote to the disciples to
welcome him. And God immediately began to
use Apollos, it says, this plentifully gifted brother began to grow
the church in Corinth. Given his giftedness and his
faithfulness and his training, Paul himself could not have picked
a better man for the job. Look at the last statement in
verse 27. He greatly helped those who believed, who had believed
through grace. God always is the one who by
his grace begins the work of salvation in each believer’s
life. But God himself also faithfully
uses believers to aid the growth of their fellow believers by
teaching and by preaching. Apollos was just what the church
in Corinth needed now. Now, Apollos can be used to build
them up in the faith. How is this possible? He bore
the message of the sacred trust. We find that in verse 28. We saw it generally in verse
25 that he was speaking and teaching accurately. We know him to be
a man of integrity, to not speak when there is no message, to
speak only what’s written. But in verse 28, it comes very
clear who this man was. Look at verse 28, he powerfully
refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the scriptures that Jesus
was the Christ. This faithful man, entrusted
with the gospel, did exactly what he was called to do with
that gospel, proclaim it. But it was not only
to the believers to whom Apollos ministered. He also preached
the gospel like never before to his own people, the Jews.
It is likely that after Paul’s departure from Corinth, the Jews
regained some momentum. They had suffered, if you recall,
some profound setbacks. First, with the conversion of
their leader, the synagogue leader Crispus, a conversion to Christianity. And then came that embarrassing
setback of having their case thrown out of court by Galileo.
compounded by yet another departure by yet another synagogue leader
in the conversion of Sosthenes. And so with Paul out of the city
and out of the region, they likely resumed a very aggressive posture
against Christians. And just like they had done to
the Apostle Paul, the Jews began to oppose Apollos as well. But he was fitted for the occasion.
He was up to the challenge. And that much is obvious because
Luke records that he had to refute them in public. This is not something
that a man of God relishes. But when publicly confronted,
one must publicly counter such arguments. And so the opportunity
for Apollos is ripe He was just the man for the occasion. He
powerfully refuted the Jews in public. Apollos destroyed their
contentions against Christianity because now he was fully armed
with the truth and he was indwelled by the Holy Spirit. The particular phraseology here
in the original is almost humorous. It paints a graphic picture.
Literally, it says that Apollos intensely well and thoroughly
rebuked the contentious Jews. In today’s language, we might
say that Paul owned them. He shredded and destroyed their
false attacks on Christ and his gospel. And note this, there
was no fuzziness in his doctrine any longer. Now Apollos was fully
capable of taking his Jewish brothers to their own Old Testament
scriptures to demonstrate, to prove to them that Jesus was
the Christ. Jesus was the promised Messiah.
It’s a beautiful thing to see a person functioning according
to their own giftedness, Not trying to be someone or something
they’re not, exactly as God designed them and gifted them and trained
them to be. It’s a beautiful thing. Apollos is the right man, in
the right place, at the right time, and he will be powerfully
used of the Lord. Would you indulge me in looking
at one final verse before we close? Look, if you would, at
chapter 19, verse 1, where we resume Paul’s ministry as he
begins his third missionary journey. 19. One says that it happened that
while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper
country and came to Ephesus and found some disciples. But by
the time Paul returns to Ephesus here. Apollos is already corrected
and dispatched to the church in Corinth. Paul was rather eager
to finally get to spend some time in the bustling city of
Ephesus. Like Corinth, Ephesus was one
of the busiest cities in Western Asia. The beginnings of Paul’s
work in Ephesus were small. Look at 19.1. He found some disciples,
a few, but God’s word had done its work. There were those who
had heard and believed and had begun to walk and grow in faith. We have recorded there for us
a great season of ministry for Paul in that region. We know
that he stayed and labored in and around Ephesus for nearly
four years. 1922, just down places. It says
for a little while. This time he would have a long
and rich ministry in that region. As verse 20 tells us, the word
of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing. And so as we close, as you remember to pray for me
this week, you’ll remember those three principles, three principles that Paul urged
in 2 Timothy 2, but which played out in Apollos’ life and are
supposed to play out again and again and again for the perpetuation
of ministry in this world in which we find ourselves. That message is the gospel and
it has to be passed on to faithful men who will in turn take and
teach others also. If we do not do that, the church
languishes and dies. What’s your part in that? Would
you humble yourself before him? Our merciful God, what a glorious
message the gospel is. That sinners, through no part of their own,
bring nothing to salvation. That Jesus Christ has paid our
penalty in full. That all we have to do is place
our faith in Christ, for salvation, Lord God, and it’s you who do
that work. Father God, what a glorious gospel
is ours to pass along. Lord, grant us the ability to
recognize faithful men to whom we should entrust this sacred
gospel. And not only faithful men, but
faithful men who have the ability and will be faithful to teach
and to preach this glorious message. Lord God, we pray that you would
be glorified in and through us as we do that. It’s in Jesus’
name that we pray. Amen.