Acts - Apollos & Peter - Corps Notes - December 7, 1976
Format: mp3, pdf
Publication Date: 12-7-1976
Victor Paul Wierwille was a Bible scholar and teacher for over four decades.
By means of Dr. Wierwille's dynamic teaching of the accuracy and integrity of God's Word, foundational class and advanced class graduates of Power for Abundant Living have learned that the one great requirement for every student of the Bible is to rightly divide the Word of Truth. Thus, his presentation of the Word of God was designed for students who desire the in-depth-accuracy of God’s Word.
In his many years of research, Dr. Wierwille studied with such men as Karl Barth, E. Stanley Jones, Glenn Clark, Bishop K.C. Pillai, and George M. Lamsa. His formal training included Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Theology degrees from Mission House (Lakeland) College and Seminary. He studied at the University of Chicago and at Princeton Theological Seminary from which he received a Master of Theology degree in Practical Theology. Later he completed his work for the Doctor of Theology degree.
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Books by Dr. Wierwille include: Are the Dead Alive Now? published in 1971; Receiving the Holy Spirit Today published in 1972; five volumes of Studies in Abundant Living— The Bible Tells Me So (1971), The New, Dynamic Church (1971), The Word's Way (1971), God's Magnified Word (1977), Order My Steps in Thy Word (1985); Jesus Christ Is Not God (1975); Jesus Christ Our Passover (1980); and Jesus Christ Our Promised Seed (1982).
Dr. Wierwille researched God's Word, taught, wrote, and traveled worldwide, holding forth the accuracy of God's "wonderful, matchless" Word.
Men and Women Close to Paul
Part II: Apollos & Peter
December 7, 1976
I want to go to I Corinthians 16:12. This verse I just want to share with you because of a
record that comes up in Acts 20, toward the latter part, when he calls all the elders and bishops
and so forth from Ephesus, Acts 20:30.
Corinthians is written regarding the practical error that has crept into the Church, and I think
here in 16:12, I have a documentation. At least this is how I feel about the in-depth spiritual
principle of the Corps; awareness of the depth. This is very unique in I Corinthians 16:12.
That’s why I wanted to check out some stuff. I put some notes here in the left margin:
Concerning Apollos, the brother (adelphos - you know, “Philadelphia” brother) much I
exhorted (that’s parakalesa. It’s like the word “Paraclete”, remember; exhort,
comfort.) I exhorted (to exhort is to encourage toward a more worthy endeavor) him
(auton) (hina) that he (ĕlthĕ) should go (pros) first (the first to me means right now)
with (meta) (ton adelphon) the rest of the brethren and (kai) (pantōs-ouk) not at all (ēn)
was his (thelēma) will (or desire) (hina nun) that now (ĕlthĕ) he would come but
(eleusetai de) he will come (ěukairese) when he shall have opportunity (King James
says “when it shall be convenient”).
ěukairese - This word is translated: leisure; opportunity; in season. Preach the Word in season,
remember that? [II Timothy 4:2] That’s the same word, “in season.” “When you have
opportunity,” it’s translated that way also.
I see in this verse the beginning of the breaking up of the one mind in the Church of the Body.
Because when he calls the elders together in Acts 20:30, he says:
“Also of your own selves will men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away
disciples after them.”
I will show you, as I get into this word, that these were all bishops that he called together, top
brass. Of them and Apollos, I believe, was one of them. This indication in Corinthians is that
Apollos did not respond to Paul’s leadership. “Much I exhorted him”; Paul begged him to go
“with the rest of the brethren” But he said, “Well, I won’t go now; I’ll go when it’s more
convenient for me to go.” In other words, “When I finish what I want to do, then I’ll go. But I
won’t go now.” And that’s standing against the greatest revelation the greatest apostle ever had.
That makes Apollos wrong.
That I think is the in-depth spiritual awareness of that verse. Let’s go through it again.
I Corinthians 16:10-12.
In other words, “When I get around to it. When I finish taking care of Maggie and the rest of
the stuff, and everything fits right, then I’m going to come.” I think Apollos tripped out.
That is the beginning of what, later on in Acts 20, he says is going to happen to the Church in
Ephesus and the rest of the places. Because they will not follow the leadership of this Paul and
Paul’s revelation regarding the mystery. If you’ll remember Apollos came from Alexandria, out
of the Greek background, highly trained, intellectually sharp, but I don’t think Apollos ever got
all the way through to really walking on the greatness of the revelation. He had head problems.
Because he most likely said, “Well, I’ve got a better education than you have, Paul. After all, I
was trained in Alexandria; you were just trained in Jerusalem. You are Jewish in background;
I’m Greek in background. We Greeks are the elite of the world.” I think Apollos had a head
problem, and that’s why he did not accept the leadership of Paul. That’s where, I think, the
thing began to break. As far as I know, that’s the last reference to Apollos in the Word of God.
Whenever men in the Word go against the true revelation of God’s Word, they always shelve
themselves. Their ministry is over with. They keep going on you know; they do “little alter
calls”, but their ministry, understand, is over with, for a man with a ministry will only continue
having that ministry in operation as long as he walks on the revelation. That’s why a man could
be a prophet, and the moment he screws up on God’s Word and quits following God or His
Word, what happens to his ministry? It’s shelved. It’s no longer efficacious, powerful. That’s
what happened to Apollos.
Remember the prophet of the Old Testament that didn’t correct his sons? Yet, he was a prophet.
But it was just shelved. From that time on when he didn’t carry it out he no longer had any
power with God; he had no revelation. There’s another record in the Old Testament about a
young prophet. God sends a young prophet to town and the old prophet says, “Well you come
home with me. I’ve been a prophet a long time.” The old prophet was right. He was a prophet
for a long time, but he had shelved himself because he refused to walk by the revelation. This
stuff is really sharply cut. This is a real in-depth verse here in verse 12.
(Individual), “I get the feeling reading this verse when he says ‘but he will come when he shall
have convenient time’ that Paul was just covering. It’s like that Apollos had blown it and he
was just covering so it didn’t look bad for the ministry.”
Dr. - That’s right, that’s exactly what he said. He was covering for Apollos. But what I’m
showing you much deeper than that; that that was the beginning of the break. Paul knew
Apollos was finished. He just didn’t say so.
(Individual), “We were thinking here from that verse, I Corinthians 16:12; you see what
developed with Apollos and the fact that he started to intellectualize the mystery and started
losing the whole vision of the mystery of that one body, Christ in you the hope of glory. And
you can look back as close as I Corinthians 15 and see where Paul was having a battle with
these guys. They were glad to live within the grace but they didn’t want to accept the fact that
there was a resurrection from the dead. He said, ‘If there be no resurrection of the dead, then of
all the people on the face of the earth, we are most pitiful.’ [I Corinthians 15:19] He was
trying to reason with them in this great teaching.”
Dr. - This thing sparked their minds to think stuff through. We were talking about one group
saying, “I am of Peter, Cephas.” [I Corinthians 1:12 & 3:4] You see, Peter never really got
over his legalism. Paul had to withstand him to the face once. [Galatians 2:11] They just
reacted against the leadership and they never saw the greatness of the mystery, and therefore
the mystery was lost. The whole thing went down the drain.
(Individual), “It looks to me like throughout history the Devil’s pulled the same trick; usurping
authority.”
Dr. - Same damnable trick. He’ll pull it on you, too, unless you stay faithful to the Word.
(Individual), “In chapter 1 of I Corinthians and chapter 3 it says, this stuff Paul has to set in
order for they were saying, ‘I am of Paul,’ ‘I am of Apollos,’ ‘I am of Cephas.’ [I Corinthians
1:12 & 3:4] In I Corinthians 9:1&5, they were bugging him about things and he says, ‘Am I
not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are not ye my work in
the Lord? Have we not power to lead about a sister a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the
brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?’”
(Individual), “They were challenging his right to leadership.”
(Individual), “The interesting thing was, see I never understood before how that this division
was inspired by some leaders. I always thought it was just the people who were saying, “I’m of
Paul. I’m of Apollos.” But, you see where the leadership was off and that was causing that
division.”
Dr. - Peter said, “I’m going to do my little trip.” Apollos says, “I’m going to do my trip.”
(Individual), “You know, you can hear them so well, saying, “I agree with you up to a certain
point, but when it gets to here, Paul, we don’t like what you are doing.”
(Individual), “In I Corinthians 14:29-33, we brought this up:
Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
If anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
(Individual), “Then you brought up how they challenged him because of his Jewish education.”
Dr. - Because at that time, the Greeks were the egotists. They graduated from K.U. and
Harvard, and Vassar, and Smith, and private schools.
(Individual), “Isn’t it true that, sure we get down to the point where they lost the mystery, but
really Paul led. Isn’t the reason they lost the mystery because they lost the leadership first?
Because how could you lead people with divided leadership? This has always hit me in losing
the mystery in the first century church, because the people go no farther than the leadership.
Dr. – But the leadership lost the mystery.
(Individual), “That’s what I mean. They didn’t stay with Paul and they didn’t stay faithful with
him and they started division among their selves.
Dr. – Right.
(Individual), “And then they lost the mystery entirely in the first century, eventually.
Dr. - As I work the Word, I see Paul always covering for them and yet never lying; but he
covers for their weaknesses, still believing that they’re going to bounce back. I see it in
Jesus with Judas. All the way through to the ascension he just tried his best to get that man
back on the ball. And Judas, had he gone back to Jerusalem and believed God, he’d have
received just like everybody else. That’s why I know he couldn’t be born of the seed. The
orthodox commentaries, conservative Biblical commentaries, say he was born of the wrong
seed. If that’s true, Jesus Christ is a liar and Jesus Christ isn’t a liar. It’s quite interesting
isn’t it?