And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples. And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ."
Today's quote contains yet another very important point of contention between the isms concerning the term "baptism" and its many varied definitions and intents.
In today's quote, the author referred to Apollos as: "An eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures." It should be noted that the "scriptures" mentioned herein, are from the Old Testament, the Torah or Talmud and do not include the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith as it was taught by Jesus Christ Himself.
The intent of the author of the book of Acts, when he said: "This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing ONLY THE BAPTISM OF JOHN.", was to demonstrate that Apollos was very knowledgeable concerning ancient Hebrew law and tradition but was not familiar with those things concerning the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the very ordeal that confirms eternal salvation.
The intricacies of salvation by faith were NOT preached by John the Baptist because they had not yet been commanded by Jesus or affirmed through His supreme sacrifice.
As we know, Matthew said of John the Baptist: "For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall PREPARE THY WAY BEFORE THEE." (Matthew 11:10)
In short, it was not the business of John the Baptist to preach a means of salvation that had not yet been implimented, he was sent to prepare the Jewish nation for the coming of the messiah, Jesus Christ. Water baptism was a crucial part of that preparation that John was to make because according to Hebrew law, in order to approach God to repent, confess, pray, make and offering, or to enter any kind of worship, required that all Jews be ritually "baptized" in water to cleanse the body to God's presence. Apollos, therefore, was simply preaching the coming of Christ and not that He had already come and provided a means by which all mankind could inherit eternal live.
The "baptism of John" referred to in this text denotes the entirety of John's message to include the preparatory water cleansing ("baptism").
As is stated in the latter portion of this lesson, Aquila and Priscilla took Apollos aside and taught him the true doctrine of Jesus Christ.~
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