Luke gave considerable information regarding Paul's significant ministry in Asia Minor to record the advance of the gospel and the church on the eastern Aegean shores.
Luke did not record Paul's activities in Antioch, but we may safely assume he gave another report to the church as he had done when he returned from his first journey (14:27-28). Paul probably remained in Antioch from the spring or summer of 52 through the spring of 53 A.D.753Leaving Antioch he seems to have followed the same route through the province of Galatia and the district of Phrygia that he had taken when he began his second journey (15:41-16:6). He stopped to minister to the churches of those areas again, too.
"The third journey is a journey of new mission only in a limited sense. In the first two journeys the emphasis was on the founding of new churches. In 18:23 Paul begins a journey to strengthen established churches."754
The purpose of this pericope (18:24-28) seems primarily to be to bring us up to date on what had transpired in Ephesus since Paul left that city.755Luke also introduced his readers to another important servant of the Lord to whom Paul referred elsewhere (1 Cor. 1:12; 3:4-6, 22; 4:6; 16:12; Titus 3:13).
18:24-26a Apollos may have arrived in Ephesus after Paul had departed for Jerusalem. That is the impression Luke gave. In any case he was from Alexandria, the capital of Egypt. Furthermore he was a Christian Hellenistic Jew who had a thorough understanding of the Old Testament, a gift for communicating and defending the faith, and enthusiasm. "The way of the Lord"is another description of the Christian faith (i.e., the gospel; cf. 9:2; 16:17; 18:26; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). Apollos was proclaiming what he knew of the gospel in the Ephesian synagogue, but he did not know about Christian baptism. He only knew about John the Baptist's baptism that expressed repentance for sins (cf. 19:3).
18:26b Luke named Priscilla here before her husband. He did not explain the reason for this unusual order in the text.756This couple wisely took Apollos aside and privately instructed him in subsequent revelations about "the way of God"(i.e., the gospel) that he did not know.
"Before the encounter with Aquila and Priscilla, it is best to regard Apollos in the same class as OT saints. They too hoped for salvation in Messiah and had not rejected him. The entire Book of Acts depicts the transition from Judaism to Christianity. It is not surprising, therefore, to find imperfect forms of faith during those epochal days."757
Another possibility is that Apollos was a New Testament Christian who had not yet learned as much as Priscilla and Aquila had about their faith.
Priscilla and Aquila were an outstanding couple who give evidence of having a strong marriage. They always appear together on the pages of Scripture. They were selfless and brave risking their own lives for Paul (Rom. 16:4). They were hospitable and even hosted a church in their home (1 Cor. 16:19). They were flexible, as seen in their moving twice (vv. 2, 18). They worked together as leather-workers (v. 3). They were committed to Christ and teaching others about Him, which their instruction of Apollos illustrates.
18:27-28 Armed with this new understanding Apollos proceeded west where he ministered at Corinth by watering the gospel seed that Paul had planted (1 Cor. 3:6). The Christians in Ephesus encouraged him by providing letters of commendation that introduced him to the Corinthian church (cf. 2 Cor. 3:1). This is the first mention of a church in Ephesus. Perhaps Paul planted it (vv. 19-21), but someone else may have done so since he appears to have been there only briefly. Maybe Priscilla and Aquila planted it.
Apollos was so effective at instructing the Corinthian believers and refuting Jewish objectors that he developed a strong personal following in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:12; 3:4). He does not seem to have been responsible for encouraging the party spirit that his presence there generated (1 Cor. 4:9; 16:12). He proved from the Old Testament that Jesus was the Messiah (cf. 8:35; 18:5; 1 John 5:1).
The word order in the Greek text favors the view that "through grace"modifies "believed"rather than "helped."The Corinthian Christians had believed the gospel through the grace of God (v. 27; cf. Eph. 2:8-9).
