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Learning about various things is fun. It is interesting to passively watch a documentary about wildlife on a remote island or discover how a complex artificial intelligence robot works, how things like graham crackers are made or learn about the history of recovering shipwrecks.  It’s a big fascinating world out there!

Learning skills or implementing learning into our lives is usually more challenging and less fun. If you have ever tried to actively learn a new language, take on a new sport competitively or change lifelong eating habits, you know what I mean. Even altering or upgrading an old professional skill can be a lesson in humility. Having a newly-hired college graduate teach seasoned professionals new techniques can result in very negative reactions in the work place, especially if those seasoned professionals were a little proud of their past performance record.

It is important for the follower-of- Jesus to remain teachable, regardless of past successes in life or ministry. It is impossible to exhaust the learning opportunities in God’s realm, and God often incorporates people and experiences as teaching aids. One of the clearest Biblical examples of this is recorded in Acts 18:24-26.  Apollos was eloquent, accurate, bold, enthusiastic, and knew the scriptures well. By most societal and church standards, this is a recipe for success; all the required ingredients are there.  And we have no reason to believe the church in Ephesus thought differently.  Apollos was doing the job of a good evangelist and preacher.

But there was more. The husband and wife church planters Priscilla and Aquila invited this accomplished evangelist into their home church to teach him more—more adequately, more accurately, more perfectly, more exactly. Apollos could have taken offense, but he was humble enough to attend to their teaching and learn. He realized his learning was good but not complete. No matter where we are in our Christian walk—whether a new believer or a weathered Bible scholar—there is more. In the transformation process of God’s glory, there is always more.1

In Apollos’ case, he knew only the Old Testament scriptures and the baptism of repentance2—he did not know or teach the baptism into Jesus or the baptism of the Holy Spirit and had to learn that dimension. But he was using the knowledge and skill he had to further the gospel.  This is a key to getting more—revelation, resources, faith, talents or whatever.3   Peter needed to re-learn about the power of grace when Paul publicly corrected Peter’s drift toward legalism that was causing congregations and other leaders to follow suit.4 Sometimes learning new ways involves unlearning old ways, and sometimes, like in Peter’s case, those old ways try to pop back up.  Regardless, learning requires humility, the acceptance that we don’t know it all and that there are things we can learn from others, even very unlikely ‘teachers’ (people we find annoying or ignorant) or people spiritually ‘younger’ than us.

Both Apollos and Peter were quick to recognize the truth and modify their teaching or behavior.  How many people, including Christians, are so entrenched in a behavior or belief that they don’t recognize or accept truth?  This is pride, the opposite of humility.  If humility produces teachability and more, pride produces stagnation and less. 5 Pride refuses truth, change, growth or learning.

Apollos’ prepared the churches in Corinth and Ephesus for Paul’s ministry of the Holy Spirit in the following chapter of Acts which resulted in the rich letter Paul wrote to the Ephesians and later letters to the Corinthians.  His foundation no doubt contributed to each of those church’s outpouring of spiritual gifts and Ephesus’s commendation and call to return to it's initial love in the book of Revelation.  How we have benefited from Apollos’ humility and willingness to learn  ‘more’!  

All Christians should be involved in some aspect of the ministry of building up other believers6, and like Apollos, we will have opportunities to be taught more. Accept those opportunities humbly. Not all opportunities present nicely, but take them graciously anyway. Humility in heart is the required condition for more of God.  Moses demonstrated this beautifully in being the most humble man on earth and God spoke to him face-to-face, showed him His glory, and called him His friend. 7  Every believer needs to cultivate humility that paves the way to more.

Humility isn’t putting oneself down or deprecating.  Moses is the author of the statements recorded about his own humility. Humility is a position of allowing God to define us and accepting His definition of who we are--our identity in Jesus, on earth and in heaven and in relation to each other.  Humility recognizes that everything good in us is through Jesus’ grace; we can take no credit for anything good. But in Jesus, we are born into royalty, heirs to a kingdom, authorized to represent that kingdom on earth.8   

True humility will be reflected in our dealings with others and with God. When we recognize what God has done for us, who He has made us to be in spite of our fallen state, we will fall into a posture of humble gratitude for the position of power that we occupy in Jesus. We will not only show more grace to others, but our prayers and communion with the Father will be different. Prayers from this position--which requires believing that we are who God says we are (ie faith)--move mountains and heal the sick.9

“Clothe yourself in humility”10 and remain teachable, and then get ready for more!

When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately.

• • • Acts 18:26• • •

1.  2 Corinthians 3:18
2.  Acts 18:25
3.  Matthew 25:21, 23; Luke 16:10, Luke 19:17, 19
4.  Galatians 2:11, 13-14
5.  1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6; Proverbs 29:23; Matthew 23:12
6.  1 Corinthians 12:7; Romans 12:5; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Ephesians 2:6-9, 4:29
7.  Numbers 12:3, 8; Exodus 33:11, 17-19; Deuteronomy 34:10 (Moses wrote this about himself!)
8.  Romans 8:17; Galatians 4:7; Ephesians 3:6; James 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9; Matthew 10:7-8; Luke 9:2, 10:11
9.  James 1:6, 5:15; Matthew 17:20-21, 21:21; Mark 11:23-24; John 14:13, 15:7, 16, 16:23; 1 John 5:14-15
10.  1 Peter 5:5

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