Apollos, a lesson on
“re”baptism (Acts 18).
Aquila and Priscilla did not baptize
Apollos. Apollos was taught; he was not “rebaptized” – though some imagine it.
For example, George Eldon Ladd writes:
Quite likely, Apollos was now baptized by Aquila in the name of Christ.[i]
However, “His preaching was not inaccurate,
merely incomplete.”[ii]
Apollos did not require baptism, but rather being instructed more completely,
especially concerning recent developments and events.[iii]
The stories of Apollos (18:24-28) and of
the twelve Ephesians (19:1-7) are cut from the same piece of cloth. The
first is an introduction to the second, and the second is a conclusion of the
first. These cannot be interpreted correctly in isolation. By properly interpreting
the matter, we understand that “the baptism of John” itself was not defective.
Longenecker sees the problem of reading baptism into the account of Apollos, and
resolves it this way (though seeming to deduce the Ephesians were baptized by
John himself):
“When baptism by John the Baptist was seen as pointing beyond itself to
Jesus (as with Apollos), it was apparently taken as Christian baptism and was
not repeated on learning and experiencing more of the faith. But when John’s
baptism was understood as rivaling commitment to Jesus, then on profession of
faith in him, Christian baptism ‘into the name of the Lord Jesus’ was
administered.”[iv]
Verse 27: From Ephesus Apollos
traveled to Achaia (including Corinth, 19:1). “the brethren in Ephesus wrote” a
letter recommending – exhorting even – that the brethren in Achaia receive Apollos.
They did so, and Apollos was a great help to the believers there, “for he
mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by
the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.”
New Testament churches practice
regenerate church membership. That is, a biblical congregation is made up of
born-again believers who have received scriptural baptism. Membership is
voluntary on the part of both the individual and the church, as well a
fellowship matter on both their parts. Members are received in three ways:
(1) new Christians by profession of faith and baptism, Acts 2:41; Matthew
28:19-20
(2) previously born-again baptized believers by “recommendation” (by
letter or in person) Acts 9:26-27, 18:27; Romans 16:1-2; II Corinthians 3:1
(3) disciplined members by restoration or reinstatement, Galatians 6:1;
II Corinthians 2:6-8.
Verse 28: Apollos’s help came in convincing the Jews by their scriptures, not only privately but also publicly, that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ (their Messiah) prophesied in the scriptures. His theology agreed with the testimony of Paul (18:5). “I [Paul] have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase” (I Corinthians 3:6).
[ii] Bock, Acts, p. 592, Easton’s Dictionary, p. 81.
[iii] “…Aquila and Priscilla…were ‘on the cutting edge’ of NT revelation and theology, far more so that Apollos. They only knew one baptism, but they also had Paul to teach them, and they may have even had copies of some of his early epistles…” Grassi, p. 580.
[iv] Longenecker, Acts, p. 290.
