regions of Asia Minor, came to Ephesus. Entering on this work of perfecting and uniting the results of the various irregular efforts made by the different persons, who had before labored there, he found, among those who professed to hold the doctrines of a new revelation, about a dozen men, who knew very little of the great doctrines which Paul had been in the habit of preaching. One of his first questions to them, of course, was whether they had yet received that usual convincing sign of the Christian faith,—the Holy Spirit. To which they answered in some surprise, that they had not yet heard that there was any Holy Spirit;—thus evidently showing that they knew nothing about any such sign or its effects. Paul, in his turn considerably surprised, at this remarkable ignorance of a matter of such high importance, was naturally led to ask what kind of initiation they had received into the new dispensation; and learning from them, that they had only been baptized according to the baptism of John,—instantly assured them of the incompleteness of that revelation of the truth. "John truly baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people that they must believe on him that should come after him,—that is on Christ Jesus." Hearing this, they consented to receive from the apostle of Jesus, the renewal of the sign of faith, which they had formerly known as the token of that partial revelation made by John; and they were therefore baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus,—a form of words which of course had never been pronounced over them before. Paul, then laying his hands on them, invoked the influence of the Holy Spirit, which was then immediately manifested, by the usual miraculous gifts which accompanied its effusion.
"xviii. 24. Apollos. A name contracted from Apollonius, (which is read in the
Cod. Cant.) as Epaphras from Epaphroditus, and Artemas from Artemonius. Of
this Apollonius, mention is also made in 1 Cor. i. 12. iii. 5 seq. where Paul speaks of
the labor he underwent in the instruction of the Corinthians. (1 Cor. iv. 6. xvi. 12.)
[Greek: Genei], by birth, i. e. country; as in 18, 2. The Jews of Alexandria were eminent for
Biblical knowledge. That most celebrated city of Egypt abounded with men of
learning, both Jews and Gentiles." Kuin. (Bloomfield's Annot. Vol. IV. p. 608.)
"The Baptism of John is put, by synecdoche, for the whole of John's ordinances. See the note on Matt. xxi. 25. (Kuin.) It is generally supposed that he had been baptized by John himself: but this must have been twenty years before; and it is not probable that during that time he should have acquired no knowledge of Christianity. It should rather seem that he had been baptized by one of John's disciples; and perhaps not very long before the time here spoken of." (Bloomfield's Annot. Vol. IV. p. 610.)
"With respect to the letters here mentioned, they were written for the purpose of encouraging Apollos, and recommending him to the brethren. This ancient ecclesiastical custom of writing letters of recommendation, (which seems to have originated in the necessary caution to be observed in times of persecution, and arose out of the interrupted and tardy intercourse which, owing to their great distance from each
