Acts 18:25-26 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

Apollos is a very interesting figure to me. He appears briefly in the narrative, here and in 1 Corinthians 3, but he is obviously an example of someone with Teacher gifting, and I personally think he wrote the letter to the Hebrews, which essentially explains the Old Testament in the light of Christ. However, as this passage makes clear, Teacher gifting doesn’t guarantee complete, or even necessarily accurate, knowledge. This chapter says that what Apollos had known up to this point wasn’t wrong, it was just incomplete, and Priscilla and Aquilla filled him in on the information he was lacking. Many Church divisions have occurred for precisely this reason, and it has often been quite unnecessary. The truth of God is vast, and just because someone doesn’t have the same focus that you do doesn’t mean that they’re your enemy. The Church as a whole needs to pay much more attention to 1 Corinthians 12, where Paul goes into detail about how different parts of the body all need each other, and he expressly says that the Body of Christ is the same way. Apollos was a real help to the Church even before he was instructed about the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and Priscilla and Aquilla were very wise to take him in and not shut him out. Just as the opposing camps in the Israeli government have just formed a unified government in the face of Hamas and Hezbollah, churches need to recognize that other groups are far more on their side than their actual opposition, which is the forces of hell. The spiritual conflict is intensifying, just as the physical conflict is in Israel, and we can’t afford to shut out allies over minor differences. That doesn’t mean we’re to accept blatant violations of Scripture, but things like the style of worship or church government don’t fit in that category.

I have been non-denominational for the past 40 years for precisely this reason. I have more in common with even fringe Christian groups than I do with Buddhists! That’s not to say I swallow their theology, but anyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God, the only Savior who died and rose again, is my brother or sister, whatever disagreements I might have with them. I could never be a Catholic, for example, but I have some close brothers in the Lord who are, and that doesn’t disturb our fellowship. As the Lord gives opportunity I seek to share my understanding of Scripture with them, and I also seek to learn from them. As C. S. Lewis wrote, one thing we can be sure of is that when we get to heaven we will all discover we were wrong somewhere!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for my brothers and sisters in Christ of all labels. May Your church indeed grow into the unity that Jesus prayed for before His crucifixion, for our eternal blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!