Acts 18:27: “And when he [Apollos] desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace.”

April 15th, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Apollos was a Jew who was “eloquent . . . and mighty in the Scriptures” (Acts 18:24). In the next chapter, Apollos ended up in Corinth, a major seaport city of the world in that day and the capital of Achaia. He went there to water the seeds Paul had planted in the people’s hearts. Apollos seems to have had a tremendous ministry in Corinth, but it also seems that people begin to attach themselves to him too much. Just a year or two down the line, Paul got a report of how things were going in Corinth since Apollos had been there (1 Corinthians). Divisions had begun to develop in the church as some felt that Apollos was the best preacher that had ever lived, and others remembered Paul, and felt they needed to be loyal to him. Another group claimed to have heard the gospel from Peter, while yet still another group claimed to just belong to Christ.

We must be careful to not make the same mistake and idolize messengers of the gospel. Dr. Luke again pointed to the simplicity of salvation by belief when he wrote, “greatly helped those who had believed through grace.” They had from the beginning simply trusted in the redemptive work that God the Son had done for them. We are again pointed to this wonder-filled word grace.

There is a beautiful illustration in history of this grace in the story of Sir Walter Raleigh and Queen Elizabeth I in 1580. He made a request of the Queen, and she is reported to have answered in a testy tone, “Raleigh, when will you leave off begging?” The knight replied, “When your Majesty leaves off giving.” His request was granted. The difference for us is that the King of the universe, the God of all grace, never grows weary of our begging. He never rebukes us for coming and asking. Grace is what we need more of today. Just ask for it!

“LORD, please give us Your grace today to live for You.”