If you’ve ever read about Apollos (Acts 18:24-28), you know only a few details about his personality.

But in those few details, we can learn about how truth is transformative.

When we put God’s plan for our lives into play, that's when we see the winning way. It’s the way of truth.

Apollos is described in Scripture as an “eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures…instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John” (Acts 18:24-25).

Personally I picture him as this passionate man who had a way with words. I would imagine he could be slightly intimidating to approach by your average person or anyone less educated than he was.

But in the account of Apollos, two people—a man and a woman, Aquila and Priscilla—pulled this mighty man of the Scriptures aside and enlightened him with truth, “explain[ing] to him the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:26).

Let’s stop there and put ourselves in Apollos’ shoes.

Apollos had in front of him a metaphorical playbook, a way of life he knew very well. He was passionate about it. He taught it and spoke boldly on this “Christianity” that he knew. He no doubt was confident that he was playing by the playbook of truth.

So how do you react when two strangers who are in the synagogue listening to you preach pull you aside and tell you, "Hey, your playbook is a little out of date—here’s an even greater truth to live by"?

And though he was pulled aside by a husband and wife team, having a woman a part of that teaching team could have been a tough thing to take in that day and age.

Pride very easily could have gotten in the way of accepting what Aquila and Priscilla were telling him.

But when it comes to truth, it doesn’t matter who’s telling it you.

When we put God’s plan for our lives into play, that's when we see the winning way. It’s the way of truth. Without truth, we are just making it up as we go along and using our own playbook, which, let’s face it, has a track record of losses.

But when truth is what we play by, then it’s touchdown us! When God is for you, who can be against you (Romans 8:31)?

Apollos threw out his old playbook, the one that wasn’t complete. He could have very easily held onto it along with his pride and that tidbit of truth that he had: the baptism of John. But that wasn’t Apollos. He heard truth and allowed himself to be transformed by it. Even when that truth came from the mouths of a man and woman who were probably below him in status (1 Corinthians 1:26).

Truth is truth, whether spoken from the mouth of a man or woman. Truth unifies us as equals. We are all just Christians in pursuit of truth, and we can’t let pride or anything else get in the way of the pursuit of that truth.

We don’t have all the answers in ourselves (Proverbs 19:20-21). God didn’t create humankind—this potential God family—for each of us to do it all on our own. We need to be receptive to each other and never closed off to what could potentially change our lives for the better.

Apollos received his correction and continued in faith as a leader of the New Testament Church (1 Corinthians 4:6, 1 Corinthians 16:12) because he chose to live by the playbook of truth. He was transformed by it.

Will you be receptive to truth when it’s presented to you, or will you choose to go it on your own?

Let truth transform your life. Throw out your old playbook.

The greatest playbook on earth is in front of you, on your laps: the Bible.

It’s your move. What playbook will you use?