Work and Grace in the Transition

1.     Paul holding onto traditions: The mighty Apostle Paul’s attachment to old covenant rituals      him from doing ministry, but God providentially & graciously used him to strengthen the disciples in his third missionary journey. (18:18-23, Numb 6:2-5, 13-21)


2.     Priscilla and Aquilla growing in maturity: Even though they were young in the faith, they exhibited      and God was gracious to use them in the life of Apollos. (26)


3.     Mighty Apollos needing to learn: Even though Apollos was mighty in the Scriptures, he humbly accepted      from a couple of tent makers and God was gracious to use Apollos to grow the Kingdom. (18:24-28)


4.     Ignorant OT Disciples needing the Holy Spirit: Disciples of John the Baptist were ignorant of Jesus being the messiah & thus were missing out on the      & necessity of the new birth, validated by the Holy Spirit’s indwelling to which they received after believing in Jesus. (19:1-7)

Application: As believers we are all in transition from the old way of life to full sanctification. Just as God is gracious to His people so we should be    to one another as we each learn and grow. Furthermore, our hope is that God would graciously      us for the Kingdom even though we are all still in process!