Apollos

Apollos was a Jewish Christian from Alexandria, described in Acts as “an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures” who had been instructed in the way of the Lord and taught accurately about Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John (Acts 18:24–25). When Priscilla and Aquila heard him speaking boldly in the Ephesian synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately. He then moved to Achaia, where he proved to be a powerful apologist, “vigorously refuting the Jews in public and showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus” (Acts 18:28).

In the Corinthian correspondence, Apollos emerges as an unwitting cause of party division: some Corinthians declared themselves followers of Apollos in contrast to followers of Paul or Peter (1 Cor. 1:12; 3:4). Paul firmly denies any rivalry, describing himself and Apollos as fellow servants who plant and water while God gives the growth (1 Cor. 3:5–9). Paul's commendation of Apollos as a fellow worker and his apparent difficulty in persuading Apollos to return to Corinth (1 Cor. 16:12) suggest a relationship of mutual respect between the two men.