Read: Acts 18:18-28
[Apollos] began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. (v. 26)
I am thankful for the gospel women in my life who have drawn me closer to Jesus and equipped me for ministry. One of the examples I think about was Cornelia Dalenberg, a Reformed church missionary in the Arabian Gulf. Starting in 1921, working as a nurse, she had such a gospel impact there that they changed her name from Cornelia to Sharifa, which means “princess.” Without women like Cornelia working side by side with their brothers in Christ, the church would be impoverished.
Luke, the author of the gospel that bears his name and the book of Acts, goes to great lengths to remind us that gospel ministry is not just for men. In our passage today, we are introduced to Priscilla and Aquila, a wife-and-husband team who together proclaimed the gospel to an extremely gifted but theologically deficient leader named Apollos (vv. 25-26). Through their faithful work, he was equipped for ministry and shared the gospel powerfully (vv. 27-28).
The gospel demands that all believers work together to encourage and build each other up, share their faith, and be witnesses to Jesus. It takes all of us, men and women, and it’s only through Jesus that we can do it. In the words of Corrie ten Boom, “Perhaps only when human effort had done its best and failed, would God’s power alone be free to work.”
As you pray, thank God for all teachers and leaders, men and women, who have drawn you closer to Jesus.
Dr. Timothy Brown is the Henry Bast Professor of Preaching and President Emeritus at Western Theological Seminary where he served from 1995-2021. Tim continues to actively coach and encourage former students and pastors who seek help in their preaching life and he has become a certified public school substitute teacher so that he can continue investing in the lives of young people. He is married to Nancy and together they have three children and ten grandchildren.
