Teamwork June 25th, 2023
God, you have spoken through your Living Word, Jesus Christ. Your Spirit speaks through the Scriptures. Grant us understanding through what we see in Jesus and hear in the Scriptures that we may know your will and follow your way. Amen
As we continue our study of the early history of the church from few weeks ago; at that time, we left Apostle Paul and his companions, Silas and Timothy in the city of Corinth. They had met a couple, Priscilla and Aquila, who worked in the same trade as Paul, being tentmakers, and were believers in Christ. Because of this shared background our missionaries were asked to stay with Priscilla and Aquila, Paul worked with them in the trade and on the sabbath he went to the local synagogue where he proclaimed the Gospel message to its members.
Paul had success there, making many converts, both Jews and Gentiles, and things were going well. But, as always seemed to happen, the leaders of the synagogue grew jealous of Paul’s success and tried to have him convicted of heresy. They brought him before the local governor, Gallio, who had this to say, “… ‘If it were a matter of crime or serious villainy, I would be justified in accepting the complaint of you Jews; but since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; I do not wish to be a judge of these matters.’” Thus, Paul was found innocent of the charges and was free to continue to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Paul took advantage of this reprieve and spent a good deal of time in Corinth, probably about a year and a half. But finally, it was time to move on, we’re told, “After staying there for a considerable time, Paul said farewell to the believers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila.” During the time spent in Corinth the church grew to the point that new members came forward to assume leadership of the church and Paul was able to move on to preach the Word elsewhere. In fact, he was even able to take Priscilla and Aquila with him, so strong had the church of Corinth become. When it came time for them to leave, they didn’t need Paul anymore. And they didn’t even need Priscilla and Aquila anymore. With a trusted team of followers of Christ in place, Paul, Priscilla, and Aquila were free to spread God’s word in new places.
So, the three of them left Corinth and set sail for Syria. When they arrived there Paul, as was his normal routine, goes into the local synagogue. This is what took place, “When they reached Ephesus, he left them there, but first he himself went into the synagogue and had a discussion with the Jews. When they asked him to stay longer, he declined; but on taking leave of them, he said, ‘I will return to you, if God wills.’ Then he set sail from Ephesus.” So, Paul introduces the members of the synagogue to the message of the cross, but only remains there for a brief period of time himself and continues on with his travels leaving a trusted team there. Paul had faith that Aquila and Priscilla were capable of continuing to teach the Gospel message of Jesus to the people there, so he was free to leave.
During their time in Ephesus Priscilla and Aquila encountered a man by the name of Apollos. This is what we’re told about him, “Now there came to Ephesus a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria. He was an eloquent man, well-versed in the scriptures. He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord; and he spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.” Apollos was a gifted speaker with a thorough knowledge of the Old Testament and the baptism of John, who we know as John the Baptist. Apollos had heard about Jesus and the arrival of the Holy Spirit from Jews returning from the Pentecost celebration in Jerusalem, but he didn’t have the complete story. He didn’t know that the baptism of Jesus differed from the baptism of John.
John had taught his followers that the offering of sacrifices didn’t result in the forgiveness of sins, only through heartfelt repentance could one be forgiven. He also taught that the act of baptism was an outward sign of seeking repentance for sin and their faith in Jesus. It didn’t result in forgiveness, but it showed that one was seeking forgiveness by God. Finally, John was the herald for the one who would come to offer his life on the cross for the forgiveness of those sins. As he himself said, “‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.’” (Matthew 3:11)
So, Apollos knew this much, but he knew nothing of the cross, nor of the resurrection, and he did not know of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. His message was basically incomplete. He proclaimed the word about Jesus, but he said nothing about those three essentials which make it possible for the word of Jesus to be experienced in our own lives: his death, his resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Luke now records what happened next: “He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately.” And when Priscilla and Aquila taught Apollos, he graciously accepted what they taught. He knew that although he was faithful, he had more to learn. He showed spiritual maturity. Apollos humbly accepted the gentle correction and understanding that Aquila and Priscilla offered.
And because he was able to accept with grace the teaching of Priscilla and Aquila, he became a strong teacher of the Gospel message. So powerful in fact that Luke tells us, “And when he wished to cross over to Achaia, the believers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. On his arrival he greatly helped those who through grace had become believers, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus.”
At one point, later on in his ministry, Paul was forced to write to the church in Corinth and warn them about becoming too attached to the men who were teaching the gospel message, Paul wrote, “… Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? For when one says, ‘I belong to Paul’, and another, ‘I belong to Apollos’, are you not merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” (1 Corinth.3:2-7)
And that’s an important point for us to consider today, it’s not just one or two people who make up the church, no, it’s a team of individuals who work together for the common good. After Paul had that encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road and he first began to teach the Gospel message he was on his own. But it wasn’t long after that when a team of missionaries began to develop. It was through this amazing teamwork that God’s message was spread across the early world.
The first to join Paul was Barnabas, they went to the island of Cyprus and the Apostle John joined them there. Some time after that the team grew larger when Silas, John Mark and Judas joined them. Then it was Timothy and the author of Acts, Luke, who came on board. And now we have Priscilla, Aquilla, and Apollos coming alongside, as well. Thus, Paul recognized and affirmed that he was just one servant of many, and that while we all have different roles and responsibilities, it is God who is at work through his church as each member serves him. We all have different gifts to share, and it is through these that we can each share God’s word in our own way.
That’s what it took then to build the church and that’s what it takes today. This is another part of that same letter which Paul wrote to the members of the church in Corinth, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.” (1 Corinth.12:4-11)
We all are given gifts of the Holy Spirit. A few weeks ago, we honoured our volunteers who work so diligently to build up the church. But in one way or another, whether it be here in the church, or in our daily lives wherever we are, we all have the Holy Spirit there to help and guide us and we all act as volunteers. So, you may be thinking, “No, I’m not gifted in evangelism.” Neither am I. But we’re all called to help fulfill the Great Commission of going out to make disciples of all nations. Maybe you don’t even want the opportunity to talk to someone about Christ, because you’d be at a loss to know what to say! But when the opportunities come up, do as Apollos did: focus on the person and work of Jesus Christ.
If God has helped you to grow in the faith, he expects you to help others to grow. You may not be a Paul or Apollos, but you may be a Priscilla or Aquila. God isn’t finished with any of us yet! But let’s also be deliberately focused on making the gospel known, on building up one another, and in growing personally in our faith. The spread of the gospel was not the work of just one man – Paul – but was the work of a team of people who were used by God in a powerful way.
Let us Pray:
O Heavenly Father, we thank you for this account which encourages us, for we know that you are at work today just as you were then. Lord, help us who are members of the body of Christ be committed to fulfilling the task given to us by the Lord Jesus when he gave us spiritual gifts and the power of his resurrection, so that we may be part eternal team and working members of his church. We ask in Jesus' name, Amen.