In Acts 18:24 we learn that Apollos was “an eloquent man.” “Eloquent” comes from the Greek word logios, which means “fluent.” In other words, he was a wordsmith, a man who knew how to craft his phrases carefully. He knew how to speak just the right word in order to move people.
Not only was Apollos “eloquent,” but he was also “mighty in the scriptures.” “Mighty” here comes from dunatos, which means “powerful, strong or capable.” Dunatos has in its root the same word from which we get our term “dynamite.” We might rightly say, “Apollos was a dynamite Bible teacher!” He was a strong, capable preacher.
Apollos “came to Ephesus.” Paul had preached in this city a year earlier and had left his good friends “Aquila and Priscilla” there, intending to return later to start a church. Apollos was probably a young man at this time and perhaps was on an educational tour.
In today’s verse, we learn of the preaching ministry of Apollos. Apollos “had been instructed in the way of the Lord.” Some competent Bible teachers understand this verse to mean that Apollos was not yet a Christian, but only knew about Jesus’ baptism by John. Rather, I believe this verse means that Apollos had a limited knowledge of the Lord Jesus. He knew some truth of Jesus very well but not all. He had no New Testament; what he knew about Jesus had been learned from his own study of the Old Testament messianic texts and that which he had learned from other believers.
What Apollos knew about Jesus, he shared. Do we share?