The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 2 — Section 99

TI. THAT BlTMDLEn DISCIPLES OAN RENDER VALUADLE BERVIOE TO TIIOSE WBO ARB DIVi'I'-<'FISBED. (\'ers. 26, 27.) 1. The service of enlightenment. This wRs rendered to .A.polios by Aquila and l~riscilla (ver. 26). They hRd learnt "the way of God " from Paul, e.nd they could and did teach it to A polios, so that he understood it more perfectly. 'l'he little child in a Christian home couhl teach the profoundest philosopher who waa ignorant of revealed truth things which, in spiritual worth, would weigh down all the speculations of his life. 'l'wo simple Christian disciples 1tt Ephesus could and did intorm the mind of the cultured and eloquent Apollos so that, instructed by them, he would become a great power for truth and Christ in the whole neighbourhood, It io ·within the power of the simplest and humblest to breathe those words of truth and grace which may make a man a fountain of blessing to his kind. 2. The service of introduction (ver. 27). Unknown brethren wrote a letter, and this, reaching the right hands, introduced a valuable exponent of Christian truth to a large and important sphere. If the act of introduction be regarded as it surely should be, not merely as a means of obliging a friend, but as something in which the Master himself and bis Church may be importantly served, then, by the conscientious writing of "a letter of commendation," one who is of humble rank may do excellent work for his kind-he touches a spring whence healing and refreshing waters flow. Ill. THAT 01'"'E CHRISTIAN TEACHER MAY FOLLOW ANOTHER WITH THE GREATEST ADVA1'"TAGE. (Ver. 28.) "Apollos mightily convinced the Jews;" perhaps more 1mccessfully than Paul would have done. When one Christian workman goes and another comes, the latter supplements the former in two ways. 1. He deepens the impression which the former has made. By bearing the same testimony he constrains the people to feel more convinced of the truth and value of that which they have beard. 2. He brings additional light. He puts the same truth in other forms and phases; he presents it as it has shaped itself to his own mind and has been coloured by his own experience. Thus he meets the need of some whose necessity had not been met, and wins some that would have remained unwon. IV. THAT THE COJl,llNG OF A STRONG SERVANT OF CHRIST SHOULD BE BUT A REn-'FORCEMENT TO THOSE ALREADY IN ACTIVE SERVICE. The Church at Corinth was not in a state of inactivity and unaggressiveness when Apollos arrived. What he ;lid there was, not to originate a mission, but to help those already in the field (vers. 27, 28). He helped them by ably sustaining their endeavours to advance the cause of Christ. The Churches of the Saviour should always and everywhere be in a state of evangelistic activity; then they will be prepared to welcome as a timely reinforce- ment the coming of a specially powerful advocate who will master and secure those whom he encounters.-C. Vers. 1-17.-Paul at Oorinth. I. Hn; woBX AT CoBINTH. 1. Its humble and self- denying 'beginning. (Vers. 1-4.) (1) He came to Corinth, a city notorious for its pl~ures and its vices. Often is the gospel more gladly received in such places than in the haunts of learning and the strongholds of philosophy. The rejected of Athens finds a welcome at Corinth. To the Corinthians the apostle will write by-and-by, "Ye were thieves, robbers," etc.; "but ye are washed, ye are sanctified," etc. Yet to conquer these hearts, danger and self-denial must be undergone. (2) Paul works to earn his bread while be is teaching. It was a wholesome custom practised and taught by eminent rabbis; probably enough by Gamaliel, at whose feet Paul had sat. Christ was the "carpenter's Son," and the apostles fishers. Happy he who can afford to prove his entire disinterestedness as a teacher of the truth, and so silence that gainsaying of the ungrateful and the miserly, who object to the gospel and its preaching solely on account of its cost. lf his example cannot be exactly followed in the pn,sent do.y, at least it may be taken as a rebuke to the pride of office in the teacher; anJ. to unspiritual luxury and idleness in general. .Also as an encouragement to the honest crafts- man ; every honourable calling is well-pleasing to God. "Act well your part; there all ihe honour lies." A.gain, willingness to work is one of the be~t passports everywhere. " Waiters on Providence " do not see most of the ways of Providence. Had not PauJ been a worker at his craft, good Aquila had not fallen in his way. Driven out of Bom.e, those pious Jews came to Corinth, to afford shelter and food to the apostle. God "seldom smites with both bands," He is "a good Worker, but he loves to be helped~' dll, K\rnl. 1-28.] THE ACTS OF THE APO:-iTLES. 101