Acts 18:18-28

April 13, 2003 

The Face of Grace

There are people whose names are synonymous with the Christian faith. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, is one of them. Wesley was raised in a Christian home, his father an Anglican minister. He attended Oxford and became a professor of Greek and logic at Lincoln College at Oxford. While in school he was instrumental in the formation of the holy club, a group of earnest students desirous to cultivate their spiritual lives. His stellar spirituality attracted the notice of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and soon he was on a ship bound for the colonies where he was to work with the Indians in Georgia. … He failed miserably. Forced to return to England he wrote,

“I went to America to convert the Indians; but, oh, who shall convert me?”     

Not all was lost, because in his travels he crossed paths with a group of Moravians whose vibrant faith deeply impressed him. During a turbulent storm crossing the Atlantic, John was frightened beyond words all the while Moravians exhibited a peace which perplexed John. So upon his return to London he sought out one of the leaders and to use Wesley’s words was ‘clearly convinced of unbelief, of the want of that faith whereby alone we are saved.’ Then, on the evening of May 25, 1738 Wesley went to a meeting at which Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans was read. He said while it was being described the change which God works in a heart through faith in Christ that felt his “heart strangely warmed.”         (adapted from K.Hughes. Acts: The Church Afire, 1996 p. 245-246)

Prior to Wesley’s “Aldersgate experience” he knew more theology and was more dedicated than most believers, but he was lost. Yet God’s grace worked in John Wesley’s life, grace that bore a very human face. God’s grace in John Wesley’s life came in the form of Peter Boehler, the Moravian leader who counseled him and that Moravian pastor who read from Luther at Aldersgate church on that day in May.

The face of grace comes to us in ways we often miss, but will change our lives. Our passage this morning illustrates what the face of grace looks like, a face we have seen, a face we should become. Let us return to our study of Acts as we read Acts 18:18-28.   READ.

While we have been following the travels and travails of Paul since Acts 13, this passage brings to a conclusion his second missionary journey as he heads back east to Jerusalem and Antioch. While he makes only a brief stop in Ephesus at this time, he’ll return on his next journey. Where our passage concludes is where I wish to begin. In verses 27-28 Apollos is in Achaia, most likely the city of Cornith from where Paul, Silas, Priscilla and Aquilla have just left. While there he provided a wonderful assistance to those who through grace had believed. He did so by deftly debating the Jews from God’s Word that Jesus is the Messiah. That phrase in v27 caught my attention as the believers are defined as those who through grace had believed. That simple reminder that even the faith to believe is a gracious gift by God, as Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8.

But often we can think of grace in the abstract, that grace to believe is solely the supernatural working of God in us and has little to do with the everyday lives we live. But the face of grace in this passage is the face of God’s people in some very common ways. Just as Wesley’s heart was strangely warmed at Aldersgate, that gracious work of God was mediated through Luther who wrote that intro to Romans, the preacher who read it, among others. In our passage, we see the face of grace in an extraordinary couple, Priscilla and Aquilla as they roll up their sleeves to work with Apollos.

The face of grace sees another’s need

Priscilla and Aquilla are a face of grace to Paul 18:1-3

A few weeks back when we last looked at this passage we saw how Paul was discouraged when he arrived in Corinth. But it was in the midst of that discouragement, God graciously brought this dynamic couple into his life.

As we see in the beginning of the chapter, they were laborers, trained as was Paul, to be leather workers. They, like Paul, were not native to Corinth, but were displaced people, refugees from Claudius’ purging of the Jews from Rome. They were not apostles as Paul was, but ordinary believers who used their time and talents to help out a brother in Christ.

The face of grace came in the tangible form of hospitality, as v3 tells us that Paul stayed with them. This hospitality was not a one time event. Later, as Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, from Ephesus he refers to this gracious and hospitable couple when he says, in 1 Cor. 16:19:

The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.

Their open home meant they had open hearts, too. In Romans 16:3-5 he again mentions this couple and their hospitality

Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. Greet also the church in their house.

Here is a couple who saw their lives as stewards of God’s grace. What they had achieved in life they saw as a gift of God which is to be given to others. Rather than viewing their home as their castle, keeping all others from crossing its threshold for fear of boiling oil poured on their heads, they viewed it as a vehicle of grace.

Do you view your home as a place where you can live out God’s grace in your lives? Hospitality is more than just entertaining company, it is opening up your lives so that God’s grace may flow to those you may not know very well. Hospitality means you will view your home as a hospital for those who need to see God’s grace in action.

Priscilla and Aquilla are a face of grace to Apollos

In verse 24 we are introduced to an amazing man, Apollos. Luke’s description of him leaves us with little doubt that he was a cut above most people you would meet, as seen in vv 24-25

He was a native of Alexandria, the great city founded by Alexander the Great in the 4^th century, BC. At one time one million Jews lived there, occupying two of the five wards of the city. The Septuagint was translated in Alexandria for the Greek-speaking Jews, and the synagogue of Alexandria, the greatest synagogue in the ancient world, was so large that the leader of the synagogue had to stand in the middle of the assembly and wave a flag so that the people who were sitting in the back would know when to say "Amen" to the prayers.

The influence of Alexandria is further evidenced by what Luke tells us next.

He was eloquent, well trained in rhetoric, public discourse. But more than just a mere sophist, who knew how to turn a phrase for profit, he was competent in Scriptures. He knew God’s Word, the Old Testament and knew how to reason from them. He was himself trained, catechized in the way of the Lord, even having some knowledge of Jesus Christ.

As we are told that he knew only the baptism of John but also taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, we may well have here a gentleman who knew some of Jesus’ life, but did not as of yet make the connection between Jesus of Nazareth and the messianic promises of the Hebrew Scriptures. His death on the cross and subsequent resurrection were most likely unknown to him. 

He was fervent in spirit, a word which when applied to liquid means to boil, when applied to metal it means to glow, so we might say Apollos was red hot about Christ, boiling over with enthusiasm. Yet, his zeal had knowledge. He was fervent but not a fanatic.

In light of that, notice how Priscilla and Aquilla are a face of grace to this powerful man.

After hearing him speak boldly in the synagogue (v26) they speak to him. Most of us would be intimidated to do such a thing.

He was educated, they were laborers. Yet his knowledge was partial, so rather than be intimidated by the degrees behind his name or the vocabulary with which he spoke, they willingly saw a person in need of knowing more about Christ.

So they took him and explained the way of God more accurately. The NIV fills in the gap:

…they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

They talked with him in private. Rather than perceiving his deficiency as a just cause to look down on him and berate his inadequate content, they saw this as an opportunity to help him and the body of Christ. But they apparently did so in private, one on one.

Instructing young Christians, especially those who show promise is an important task, one which we all should do, but do so with grace. Rather than concluding that since Apollos received such a fine education they had best keep their mouth shut, they had confidence not in themselves, but in God’s Word.

As Cornerstone grows and we see raised up here young people who are equipped to serve Christ throughout the world, it is our duty to encourage and be part of their training. When we have interns from time to time, consider how you might be a face of grace, not a know-it-all, flaunting some superior knowledge to put a young person in his or her place, but as a big brother or sister in Christ, taking them under your wing, to help them.

Do you know the name of the man who taught Luther Greek so he could translate the Bible into German? Who did God use to speak to D.L. Moody when he was just a shoe salesman about Christ? Billy Graham says there was an elderly woman who prayed faithfully for him for twenty years, what was her name? William Carey, the great missionary to India was financed by whom? You probably don’t know, but had it not been for all these unknown people, these nobodies, a large portion of church history would disappear.

How might you be a face of grace to others?

• You should pray and ask the Lord to lead you to someone who needs encouragement. They’re all around you. There is someone you know that this week who may be discouraged like Paul, who needs a place to crash, someone to listen. There are always opportunities to use your home not for hibernation, but for hospitality.  
• Second, look for someone with untapped potential who needs some guidance. Rather than dismissing them as failures, roll up your sleeves and encourage them to grow in Christ.

To do this you must continue to be students of the Word. Rather than hiring professional clergy to do all the work, you will see that God uses you as He sees fit. Don't just see people for what they are today; see them for what they can be tomorrow with a little love and encouragement.

• Third, take time to get involved. When Aquila and Priscilla met Apollos, they "took him aside." They spent time with him. We live at such a fast pace because we fill our lives with things that don't really matter. If each of took just some of the time we spend entertaining ourselves and invested it in the lives of other people, there's no limit to what God would do in this church!
• Fourth: enlist the help of others. Priscilla and Aquila got their whole church involved in encouraging Apollos. Whether the person you choose to empower is young or old, ask some other brothers and sisters to pray for him and speak words of encouragement.

The face of grace shares in the labor

There’s another aspect of Aquilla and Priscilla where the face of grace shines. They shared in the work. We’ve already seen how they opened their home. Such a task takes both partners to do the work.

This couple is mentioned four times in Scripture, in fact they are the only married couple mentioned, other than Annanias and Saphira. The Apostles had wives, and Jesus’ half brothers had wives, and they took them with them when they preached (1 Cor. 9:5), but the names of their wives is never given in Scripture. Priscilla’s is.

What we have here is a great picture of a Christian marriage. Priscilla wouldn’t have overshadowed Aquilla and Aquilla wouldn’t have crowded her out of ministry. This couple had something that every married Christian couple should strive for: the advantage of serving Jesus alongside their husband or wife.

Too often couples are forever waiting for just the right opportunity to serve together. Like the man in Detroit who, after applying for a marriage license, failed to reappear at the county clerk's office until 11 years later to claim the important document. When asked why he and his fiancé had waited so long to get married, he explained, "We had a few disagreements about details." The prefect solution will never come; fortunately we are not called to have all the answers first.

We long for this kind of cooperation today, where we can accomplish something together. It is important to remember that we are married to make a difference, married for a mission. The creation of Adam and Eve were not for themselves, but for the Garden.

Marriage expert Dennis Rainey says, 'One of the missing ingredients of couples today is they do not have a mission; they do not have a sense of God having called them together to do something as a couple.' But often, as we begin to feel this basic longing, we don't know what it is. We get the 'seven-year itch' or the '12-year anger' or the '18-year blahs.' We think,

What’s wrong with us? Our companionship may not be perfect, but we have each other and, for some of us, we have our children. So what are we missing?

We may be missing one-third of what God created marriage for—serving Him together. Counselor James H. Olthuis writes, 'To try to keep love just for us . . . is to kill it slowly . . . . We are not made just for each other; we are called to a ministry of love to everyone we meet and in all we do. In marriage, too, Jesus' words hold true; in saving our lives we lose them, and in losing our lives in love to others, we drink of life more deeply.' "   (Kevin & Karen Miller, More Than You and Me, Touching Others Through The Strength of Your Marriage, Focus On The Family, 1994, pp. 8, 9.)

What we see in Aquilla and Priscilla are a couple who complement one another, who know their own weaknesses and their partner’s strengths. Far too often we have that reversed as we can rehearse our strengths and the other person’s weaknesses.

I wonder how Aquilla feels being mentioned second after Priscilla. When a couple is missions minded, service oriented, hospitality driven … desirous to be the face of grace to those in need, such questions fade into the background.

This can be the hard part of marriage. Rather than each person doing what they are best at doing, working together to accomplish something great that they could never do alone. Churches often talk about people finding their spiritual gifts, but this is often done in a manner which isolates us from our marriage partners.

Have you considered what it might look like to serve together, to team teach a class, work together with the youth, have visitors over after church. There are a myriad of opportunities out there for not only individuals to be a face of grace, but for couples, too.  

When one considers the influences on John Wesley, the great preacher, it is easy to see how his minister father had a great impact. But the face of grace that shares in the labor together is another face that greatly influenced John Wesley that is his mother, Susanna. So important was she in the formation of this great churchman that one of John Wesley’s biographer’s entitled her book simply: Son of Susanna.

While her husband was an Anglican minister at Epworth, she was actively involved in the day to day parish life. In a day and age when women were very much in the background, she was a firebrand, all the while giving birth to fourteen children. The imprint of her life on John, on his methodical study of Scripture and living of the Christian life that became Methodism is well attested. Her organized life is evidenced by an entry in her diary in 1711 when she wrote of how she structured her time with her children:

Molly on Monday; Hetty on Tuesday; Nancy on Wednesday; John on Thursday; Patty, Friday; Charles, Saturday. Blessed be God! One for ever day of the week and two (Emily and Sukey) for Sunday.

What imprint will you have on those around you? How are you a face of grace to your family, friends, and those in need? This week, as you contemplate Christ’s death and resurrection in preparation of Easter Sunday, look back over your life and see how various faces of grace impacted you and consider how you will be a face of grace to those God has graciously placed before you.

This shared labor goes back to the garden. Imagine living the blissful life: no commutes, no crying children, no financial worries, just the opportunity to fulfill the command to fill the earth and subdue it, the two now one, in total agreement … until he blamed her and she blamed the serpent.