16 August 2026 - Martin McCrory - Spiritual Accuracy: How the Holy Spirit Leads Us to Christ

Acts 18 opens with Paul leaving Athens and entering Corinth, a demanding and dirty city, the sort of place where “to act like a Corinthian” meant to be debauched. Paul reasons in the synagogue every Sabbath and testifies that “the Christ was Jesus,” and the passage shows that this was not a little side habit of the early church. The apostolic pattern was to prove from the Scriptures that Messiah is Jesus, and the church is meant to learn the Scriptures well enough to communicate that witness with clarity.

Priscilla and Aquila enter the passage like gold. Paul leaves them in Ephesus after they have sat under his instruction, learned his way in the Scriptures, and become competent enough to help another gifted servant of God. Apollos then arrives from Alexandria, eloquent, mighty in the Scriptures, catechized in the way of the Lord, fervent in spirit, and accurate in what he teaches concerning Jesus. Yet Acts says he “knew only the baptism of John,” and that line carries the weight of the whole matter.

Priscilla and Aquila hear Apollos, do not compete with him, do not protect turf, and do not get intimidated by a hypergift. They take him into their home and explain “the way of God more accurately.” Apollos, for all his brilliance, has the grace of teachability, and Priscilla and Aquila have the grace to strengthen a gift without trying to own it. The body of Christ must not tilt admiration into idolatry, because Paul, Apollos, Peter, and every other servant remain gifts under Christ, not rival centers of devotion.

Acts 19 continues the thought and explains what Apollos lacked. Paul finds disciples in Ephesus and asks whether they received the Holy Spirit when they believed. The text makes a distinction between the indwelling Spirit in regeneration and the infilling or coming-upon power of the Spirit. Jesus breathes on the disciples, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” and still tells them to wait in Jerusalem until power comes from on high.

The water image makes the distinction plain. Drinking a glass of water is one thing, but standing under a waterfall is another. The marriage picture says the same thing: covenant is real at the vows, but covenant also permits deeper ecstasies and intimacies. The Christian life is not meant to go stale after conversion. The Spirit invites believers to journey on, earnestly desire spiritual gifts, permit God variety, and receive power to be witnesses.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Accuracy can still receive more [01:05:39] Apollos was already accurate, eloquent, fervent, and mighty in the Scriptures, yet Acts still says the way of God could be shown to him “more accurately.” Spiritual maturity does not mean becoming uncorrectable. The strongest gifts in the church are safest when teachability remains alive beneath the gift. [65:39]
• 2. Admiration must not become idolatry [01:06:32] Apollos became influential enough that people later began lining up under his name, as though Christ could be divided. The church can honor gifts without fastening ultimate trust to the gifted person. True discernment receives servants as gifts from God while refusing to turn them into centers of identity. [66:32]
• 3. Indwelling differs from infilling [01:16:43] The Spirit gives new birth, and no one belongs to Christ without the Spirit of Christ. Yet Acts also shows believers receiving a further coming-upon power of the Holy Spirit. The glass of water and the waterfall are both water, but they are not the same experience. [76:43]
• 4. Covenant invites deeper intimacy [01:21:55] Marriage is real at the vow, before any further experience unfolds, and that covenant then opens the way for deepening communion. Conversion is likewise real when Christ gives his name and brings a person into covenant by his blood. The Spirit then draws the believer into greater discovery, affection, power, and holy nearness over time. [81:55]
• 5. Earnestly desire spiritual gifts [01:35:17] Paul does not treat spiritual gifts as an awkward appendix to Christian life, but commands earnest desire, especially prophecy. Desire is not presumption when Scripture itself gives permission to ask. The church loses vitality when fear of disorder becomes resistance to the Spirit’s ordered power.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [53:54] - Prayer for the Word and Miracles
• [57:01] - Paul Arrives in Corinth
• [59:06] - Showing Christ from the Scriptures
• [61:10] - Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus
• [62:27] - Apollos: Eloquent and Mighty
• [65:39] - The Way of God More Accurately
• [66:32] - Gifts, Admiration, and Idolatry
• [73:28] - Acts 19 Continues the Thought
• [76:43] - Indwelling and Infilling
• [78:00] - The Waterfall of the Spirit
• [81:12] - Marriage Covenant and Spiritual Intimacy
• [89:15] - There Is More for Believers
• [94:29] - Permit God Variety
• [97:20] - A Hunger for the Holy Spirit

Bible Reading

Acts 18:24-28
“Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.” [01:02:27] [01:05:39] [01:06:32]

Acts 19:1-7
“And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ And they said, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’ And he said, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ They said, ‘Into John’s baptism.’ And Paul said, ‘John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.’ On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about twelve men in all.” [01:13:28] [01:16:43]

1 Corinthians 14:1
“Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.” [01:35:17]

Acts 1:8
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” [01:18:00]

Observation questions

1. What words in Acts 18:24-28 describe Apollos before Priscilla and Aquila spoke with him, and what one limitation does the passage still mention about him? [01:05:39]
2. In Acts 18:24-28, what exactly do Priscilla and Aquila do when they hear Apollos, and what happens to his ministry afterward?
3. In Acts 19:1-7, what question does Paul ask the disciples in Ephesus, and what visible things happen after he lays hands on them? [01:16:43]
4. What repeated emphasis appears in Acts 18 about how Paul and Apollos both testified concerning Jesus from the Scriptures? [59:06]

Interpretation questions

1. Apollos was already accurate, fervent, and powerful in the Scriptures, yet he still needed the way of God explained “more accurately.” What does that suggest about the kind of humility strong and gifted believers need to keep? [01:09:00]
2. Priscilla and Aquila did not compete with Apollos or treat him as a threat. What does their response show about how believers should handle another person’s visible gift or influence? [01:10:02]
3. Acts 19:1-7 and Acts 1:8 speak about the Holy Spirit coming upon believers with power. How should the group understand the distinction between the Spirit’s indwelling in new birth and the Spirit’s infilling for power? [01:16:43]
4. “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts” is a command, not a suggestion. What might it look like for a church to obey that command without becoming disorderly or self-important? [01:37:00]

Application questions

1. Apollos shows that a person can be gifted, knowledgeable, and sincere and still have more to receive. Where might pride or self-sufficiency make it harder to be taught more accurately? [01:05:39]
2. Admiration can quietly drift into fixation. Is there a Christian leader, teacher, style, or tribe that has become too central in shaping identity or loyalty? What would it look like to honor gifts without making them ultimate? [01:06:32]
3. Priscilla and Aquila used what they had received to strengthen someone else’s ministry. Who might need patient, private encouragement or clarity from Scripture right now, and what would a gentle approach look like? [01:05:41]
4. Conversion is real covenant, but covenant invites deeper intimacy. Has spiritual life gone stale in any way lately? Where has affection for Christ cooled, and what kind of fresh pursuit would help rekindle it? [01:29:15]
5. The Spirit gives power for witness. What situations in daily life most expose fear, hesitation, or silence about Jesus, and what would greater dependence on the Holy Spirit look like in those places? [01:18:00]
6. Scripture says to earnestly desire spiritual gifts. Is there any hesitation, confusion, or resistance around asking God for more of the Spirit’s power and gifts? What might it look like to ask with both hunger and humility? [01:35:17]
7. God gives variety in how he works. Is there a tendency to put God in a box because of past experience, background, or caution? How can the group stay anchored in Scripture while remaining open to the Lord’s fullness? [01:34:29]