The Way of God

Luke recorded this interesting incident between Apollos and Paul’s missionary companions Aquila and Priscilla: “And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly” (Acts 18:24-26).  Apollos had been taught in “the way of the Lord” but had only received part of the gospel; this missionary couple taught him more fully “the way of God.”  We could think of this as the gospel path, the commandments of the Lord that we are to follow (such as receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost which he didn’t know).  We could also perhaps think of it as The Way of God, meaning Jesus Christ who is the Way.  He told Thomas when asked about how they would know the way to go, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).  When Aquila and Priscilla taught Apollos they surely focused on showing him how to more fully follow the Way, Jesus Christ.  This is evident in the subsequent preaching Apollos did after his training from Aquila and Priscilla: “He mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ” (Acts 18:28).     

               This story highlights the need for missionaries to teach the way of God to those who have not yet received it, preaching of the gospel path and the Savior Himself.  In the Pearl of Great Price we see the need for us to likewise teach our children these things.  For example, we are told that Seth begat his son Enos, and “prophesied in all his days, and taught his son Enos in the ways of God” (Moses 6:13).  That pattern must have been passed down, for a few generations later we read that Jared begat Enoch, “and Jared taught Enoch in all the ways of God” (Moses 6:21).  Jared understood his mandate as a father to teach the way of God to his children, and this clearly had an impact on Enoch, for he recounted later, “my father taught me in all the ways of God” (Moses 6:41).  That teaching of Jared to his son Enoch surely prepared Enoch to become one of the greatest prophets and teachers among his people.  Enoch knew the way of God so well that he was able to guide his people literally all the way back to God as they were translated for their righteousness.  And it all started with the teachings of his father, highlighting the need for us to help our children understand and walk in all the ways of the Lord so that they too can perform, like Apollos and Enoch, great deeds before Him