Acts 18:25 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Acts 18:25
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.
the he (she or it) · demonstrative pronoun — nominative singular masculine
was
ἦνēn
G2258
I (thou
instructed
κατηχημένοςkatēchēmenos
G2727
to sound down into the ears · verb — perfect passive participle, nominative singular masculine
way
ὁδὸνhodon
G3598
a road · noun — accusative singular feminine
Lord
κυρίου,kuriou
G2962
supreme in authority · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
fervent
ζέωνzeōn
G2204
to be hot (boil · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
spirit
πνεύματιpneumati
G4151
a current of air · noun — dative singular neuter
spake
ἐλάλειelalei
G2980
to talk · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
taught
ἐδίδασκενedidasken
G1321
to teach (in the same broad application) · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular
diligently
ἀκριβῶςakribōs
G199
exactly · adverb
things
τὴνtēn
G3588
the (sometimes to be supplied · article — accusative singular feminine
of
περὶperi
G4012
properly · preposition
Lord
κύριοςkýrios
G2962
supreme in authority
knowing
ἐπιστάμενοςepistamenos
G1987
to put the mind upon · verb — present middle or passive deponent participle, nominative singular masculine
only
μόνονmónon
G3440
merely
baptism
βάπτισμαbaptisma
G908
baptism (technically or figuratively) · noun — accusative singular neuter
John
Ἰωάννου·Iōannou
G2491
Joannes (i.e. Jochanan) · noun — genitive singular masculine, a proper name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Acts 19:3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.
Hosea 14:9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall w…
Romans 12:11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
Mark 12:14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of…
Acts 9:2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring t…
Acts 19:9 But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the d…
Acts 19:23 And the same time there arose no small stir about that way.
Genesis 18:19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and ju…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Acts 18:24–end
The sacred history leaves Paul upon his travels, and goes here to meet Apollos at Ephesus, and to give us some account of him, which was necessary to our understanding some passages in Paul's epistles.
I. Here is an account of his character, when he came to Ephesus.
1. He was a Jew, born at Alexandria in Egypt, but of Jewish parents; for there were abundance of Jews in that city, since the dispersion of the people, as it was foretold (Deu 28:68): The Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again. His name was not Apollo, the name of one of the heathen gods, but Apollos, some think the same with Apelles, Rom 16:10.
2. He was a man of excellent good parts, and well fitted for public service. He was a…
This man was instructed in the way of the Lord . . . knowing only the baptism of John--He was instructed, probably, by some disciple of the Baptist, in the whole circle of John's teaching concerning Jesus, but no more: he had yet to learn the new light which the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost had thrown upon the Redeemer's death and resurrection; as appears from Act 19:2-3.
being fervent in the spirit--His heart warm, and conscious, probably, of his gifts and attainments, he burned to impart to others the truth he had himself received.
he spake and taught diligently--rather, "accurately" (it is the same word as is rendered "perfectly" in Act 18:26).
Adam Clarke on Acts 18:25
This man was instructed in the way of the Lord - Κατηχημενος; He was catechized, initiated, in the way, the doctrine, of Jesus as the Christ.
Being fervent in the spirit - Being full of zeal to propagate the truth of God, he taught diligently, ακριβως accurately, (so the word should be translated), the things of Christ as far as he could know them through the ministry of John the Baptist; for it appears he knew nothing more of Christ than what John preached. Some suppose we should read ουκ, not, before ακριβως, correctly, or accurately, because it is said that Aquila and Priscilla expounded the way of the Lord, ακριβεϚερον, more perfectly, rather more accurately; but of this emendation there…
"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." If this man knew only the baptism of John, how is it that he was "fervent in the Spirit," for the Spirit was not given in that way? It seems to me that this was one of the hundred and twenty who were baptized with the Apostles: or, if not so, then the same that took place in the case of Cornelius, took place also in the case of this man. Though not knowing all, by his zeal he attracted the Holy Spirit, in the same manner as Cornelius and his company.
Speaking somewhat accurately the things concerning Jesus is not different from laying out somewhat accurately the things concerning the way, the teaching of Christ, for it is possible that someone, having a generally precise knowledge about the things of Christ, needs a most nuanced explanation of them. Apollos, being a Jew, had the opportunity to know the Old Testament that gives witness concerning Jesus. Therefore, being learned, he was speaking in the Spirit, and he was teaching in the synagogues what he knew about Jesus. Being students of the apostle Paul, Priscilla and Aquila take him, being full of eagerness, aside in order to pass on to him the entire way of the gospel. It is probable that Apollos knew that Jesus had lived among humankind and had commanded these things of the way, but it is unlikely that he knew why he had come among us.
"though he only knew the baptism of John." It is worth asking how, if he knew only John's baptism, he could therefore be filled with the Spirit. For the Spirit was not given in that way. And if those who came after him needed John's baptism, much more would this man have needed it. What then is one to say? For he did not simply place both in succession. It therefore seems that this man is one of the one hundred and twenty who were baptized after the apostles. If not that, what happened in the case of Cornelius may have happened here as well. But he is not baptized. When this matter is examined precisely, it seems this is not the case, since he too ought to have been baptized. For the other twelve knew nothing precisely, not even about Jesus. It is plausible then that he was baptized. And if those of John, after the baptism, again baptized, then it was necessary for the disciples to do the same. [CHRYSOSTOM]
Dictionary and topics
Ephesus — The capital of proconsular Asia, which was the western part of Asia Minor. It was colonized principally from Athens. In the time of the Romans it bore the title of “the first and greatest metropolis…
Romans, Epistle to the — This epistle was probably written at Corinth. Phoebe (Rom. 16:1) of Cenchrea conveyed it to Rome, and Gaius of Corinth entertained the apostle at the time of his writing it (16:23; 1 Cor. 1:14), and…
Apollos · An eloquent, Christian convert at Corinth — An eloquent, Christian convert at Corinth
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Gill on Acts 18:25
This man was instructed in the way of the Lord,.... Which John, whose baptism he only knew, came to prepare: the word here used signifies "catechised"; and suggests, that he was trained up by his parents in this way, who might have been the disciples of John, though afterwards removed from Judea to Alexandria; and that he only had been taught the rudiments of the Christian religion, or doctrine of the Gospel; here called the way of the Lord, or which directs and leads unto him, as the only Saviour, and is the path of faith and truth; or as some copies read, "the word of the Lord"; and which accounts for what is afterwards said of him:
and being fervent in the spirit; either in or by the Spi…
Acts 18:24-28
24. And a certain Jew named Apollos, born in Alexandria, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus, being mighty in the Scriptures. 25. He was instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently those things which are the Lord's, knowing only the baptism of John 26. And he began to speak freely in the synagogue: whom when Priscilla and Aguila had heard, they took him to their company, and showed him the way of the Lord more perfectly. 27. And when he was determined to go into Achaia, the brethren exhorting him, wrote to the disciples that they should receive him: who, when he was come, he helped them much who had believed through grace. 28…
Alexandria, the second-largest city in the Roman Empire, was famous for its rhetorical tradition and the philosophical work of Philo. Apollos was an eloquent speaker with an excellent knowledge of the Scriptures (the Old Testament). His knowledge about Jesus and the Holy Spirit was inadequate, though. He did not understand that believers could experience and enjoy the power of the Holy Spirit as a present energizing reality. Fortunately, Priscilla and Aquila took him aside and corrected his spiritual understanding.
