Daily EncouragementSample

What discerning listeners they had in those days! And perhaps the wife was more discerning than the husband, if the order of the names is significant. There are often discerning Christians to be found in churches. “You will find those in your congregations,” said Walter Bryden to his Toronto students, “who know far more about this Christian religion than you do, especially in its inwardness, its strange wisdom and its power.”

What wise counsellors they were! They invited Apollos home, and then in privacy explained “the way of God more adequately.” Intellectual training in Alexandria, knowledge of the Scriptures, a measure of theology and fine oratorical gifts were not sufficient, since they had not taken Apollos beyond “the baptism of John.” That baptism prepared a man for the new birth, but it did not give him the new life. An Apollos, like a Nicodemus, needs to be born of the Spirit. And God can use a Priscilla or Aquila to show him the way.

What true humility Apollos shows! Let us at least learn this from him - if Priscilla and Aquila ask us home after a meeting, we shall do well to accept their invitation.