Lessons #607 and 608
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New American Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
+ 4. Text is based on 1984 edition of the NIV +
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Final exhortation – Submission and Recognition (1 Cor 16:15-18)
15 You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. I urge you, brothers, 16 to submit to such as these and to everyone who joins in the work, and labors at it. 17 I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you. 18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.
We started to consider the second element of the final exhortation of Apostle Paul to the Corinthians and so to the universal church that we said is concerned with the concepts of submission and recognition or appreciation. We indicated that the message of the section before us is that You should submit to and appreciate all those who work hard in your local church to make it possible for you to be provided with the environment for spiritual growth. Thus far, we have only considered what the apostle said about Stephanas and his household but have not actually touched on any of the components of this second element of the apostle’s final exhortation. So, it is with this that we begin our study this morning.
The apostle introduced the first component of the second element of his exhortation with the last sentence of 1 Corinthians 16:15 I urge you, brothers. The word “urge” is translated from a Greek word (parakaleō) with a range of meanings. The word may mean “to invite” as it is used for the invitation of Lydia to Apostle Paul and his team to stay in her house as stated in Acts 16:15:
When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
It may mean “to call upon for help”, especially of God who is called upon by humans in time of need and so the word is translated “plead” when it is used to describe Apostle Paul’s prayer for the Lord to remove his thorn in the flesh, as stated in 2 Corinthians 12:8:
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.
The sentence Three times I pleaded with the Lord is more literally thrice the Lord did I call upon. The word may mean to urge strongly hence “to appeal to, exhort, encourage.” The meaning “to encourage” is used in Apostle Paul’s instruction regarding proper exercise of spiritual gifts among believers as recorded in Romans 12:8:
if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
It is with the meaning “to appeal to” that our Greek word is used in Apostle Paul’s request to the Corinthians to conduct themselves in a way that is fitting of believers in Christ Jesus as recorded in 2 Corinthians 10:1:
By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” when away!
The meaning “to exhort” is used to translate our Greek word in the instruction of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul to Timothy regarding the treatment of older believers in 1 Timothy 5:1:
Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers.
The word may mean “to comfort” as it is used to describe God’s comfort Apostle Paul and his team received, as we read in 2 Corinthians 1:4:
who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
In some contexts, the Greek word may mean to be friendly to or to speak to in a friendly manner. Thus, the officials who put Paul in jail acted friendly or were conciliatory towards him when they released him from jail on learning he was a Roman citizen, as we may gather from Acts 16:39:
They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.
Our Greek word is translated “appeased” in the NIV although the meaning “to conciliate” is also possible. The word has the sense of speaking in a friendly manner when Apostle Paul used it to describe his response to those who slandered him as he wrote in 1 Corinthians 4:13:
when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.
The sentence we answer kindly is more literally we entreat. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 16:15, the meaning is that of “urging strongly” so that any of the meanings “to request earnestly” or “to exhort” or “to appeal” may be used.
The apostle’s appeal or exhortation is directed to those he described as brothers as per the last sentence of 1 Corinthians 16:15 I urge you, brothers. The word “brothers” is translated from a Greek word (adelphos) that has several meanings in the Greek. It could mean “brother” in the sense of a male person from the same mother as the referenced person. It is in this sense that the word is used by Apostle Paul to reference those who are from the same mother as Jesus in His humanity as he defended his right to marry as stated in 1 Corinthians 9:5:
Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?
The word may mean “a believer” as that is the sense of the word “brother” used by Apostle Paul in his instruction to slaves regarding how to treat their masters who are believers in Christ as we read in 1 Timothy 6:2:
Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them. These are the things you are to teach and urge on them.
It is clear that “brothers” is used here for believers because of the clause because those who benefit from their service are believers. Hence, the word “brother” is the same as “believer.” Thus, it is not surprising that the translators of the NIV translated the Greek word as “believers” in the letter of the first church council that was sent to Gentile believers as we read in Acts 15:23:
With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings.
The phrase the Gentile believers in Antioch is literally the brothers from among the Gentiles in Antioch. In keeping with this understanding, the word may mean “brother” in the sense of one who has the same beliefs with the one that uses the word, irrespective of gender, that is, the word refers to “a fellow believer.” It is in this sense of one who shares the same faith and so belongs to a specific Christian community, that is, a “fellow believer” that Apostle Paul used the word to describe Epaphroditus in Philippians 2:25:
But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs.
It is in this sense of fellow believers, regardless of gender, that Apostle Paul used it in his final greetings to the Ephesian church in Ephesians 6:23:
Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The peace the apostle wished on “the brothers” could not possibly apply only to male members of the church in Ephesus. Therefore, the word “brothers” has the sense of “brothers and sisters in Christ” here in Ephesians 6:23. It is in this same sense that the word is used in 1 Corinthians 16:15. In fact, this is the last time the apostle used the word to address the Corinthians in this epistle. This last usage of the Greek form of our Greek word in verse 15 is interesting. This is because the very first time the apostle used the Greek form of the word we have in our verse of study; it was in connection with an appeal for unity as implied in 1 Corinthians 1:10:
I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
The word “appeal” is translated from the same Greek word translated “urge” in 1 Corinthians 16:15 so there is a kind of relationship between the concept expressed in our verse and that of 1 Corinthians 1:10. This last usage of the Greek word translated “brothers” in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 16:15 is an appeal or exhortation that in a sense implies unity since what the apostle appealed to the Corinthians to do certainly would lead to unity among believers if everyone obeyed the exhortation of the Holy Spirit through the apostle given in verse 16.
The exhortation or appeal of the apostle to Corinthians concerns accepting the authority of spiritual leaders of which Stephanas was one of them as given in the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 16:16 to submit to such as these. A literal translation from Greek reads That you also be subjected to the such people. This is because the word to in the NIV or that in the literal translation is translated from a Greek conjunction (hina) that may be used as a marker of purpose with the meaning “in order that, that, so that” or it can be used as a marker of result so that it may be translated “that, so that, as a result.” Often, it is difficult to differentiate purpose from result in which case the Greek conjunction is used for the result that follows according to the purpose of the subject. This notwithstanding, the Greek conjunction is used in our verse to express the purpose of the Apostle Paul’s exhortation or appeal to the Corinthians.
The purpose of the exhortation of the apostle is given in an emphatic manner although this is not obvious from most of our English versions. I mean that most of our English versions do not enable the reader to recognize that the apostle was being emphatic as he appealed to the Corinthians to do what he specified. However, the Greek enables us to recognize that the apostle was emphatic or that he stressed his appeal to the Corinthians. A first indicator is the word “also” used in the literal translation that is not translated in the NIV and many other English version but translated in some of our English versions such as the NASB and the NET. The word “also” used in the literal translation is translated from a Greek particle (kai) that is often translated “and” in our English. However, the Greek particle has several other usages. For example, it may be used to introduce a result that comes from what precedes and so may be translated “and then, and so.” It may be used to emphasize a fact as surprising or unexpected or noteworthy with the meaning “and yet” or “and in spite of that” or “nevertheless.” Of course, it could be used simply for emphasis with the meaning “even” or “indeed” or any word that indicates emphasis. It may be used to mark an explanation so that what follows explains what goes before it, leading to the translation “that is, namely, and so.” In the first usage of the Greek particle in verse 16 where it is used three times, it is used in an emphatic manner, so we are correct in saying that the exhortation of the apostle is given emphatically. Of course, the meaning “also” found in our English versions while it is a meaning of the Greek particle is probably not what the apostle intended. You see, the meaning “also” leads to the interpretation of an additional fact or information. The apostle had not given any instruction of what to do after using the Greek word translated “urge” as to warrant the use of the word “also” to indicate addition. It is for this reason that we believe the apostle’s first use of the Greek particle in our verse of study is for emphasis. Our interpretation that the apostle was emphatic as he made the appeal or gave the exhortation to the Corinthians is supported by the fact that we have a second indicator of emphasis in verse 16. The apostle used a second person pronoun in the plural in the Greek that is not needed because the Greek word translated “submit” is such that it is clear that the subject of the verb is second person plural “you.” Therefore, when the apostle added the Greek second person pronoun “you” in the Greek, it is because he wanted to be emphatic in what he stated. If we indeed translated the Greek as the apostle wrote it, the instruction of verse 16 to submit to such as these will read that you and you be subjected to the such people. This reading is not considered a proper way of presenting an English sentence because of the redundance of the personal pronoun “you” but in the Greek the first “you” gives the indication of emphasis. Again, we have established that the apostle was emphatic in the exhortation or appeal to the Corinthians that reads in 1 Corinthians 16:16 to submit to such as these.
The word “submit” is translated from a Greek word (hypotassō) that literally means “to order oneself under a leader” and so means “to submit” although such a meaning is not always communicative in many contexts of the Scripture. The Greek word has a range of meanings that fit a given context. The word may mean “to obey” when there is the concept of authority involved. In other words, the meaning “to obey” can be used in all passages where our Greek word appears that involve authority figure. Let me give you a few examples to substantiate this statement. The word is used in describing the relationship of Jesus to His parents in Luke 2:51:
Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
The verbal phrase was obedient to them is more literally was submitting to them. The translators of the NIV correctly captured the meaning of our Greek word as meaning “to obey” since that is the way to understand a child being submissive to the parents. The Greek word is used to describe what is expected of believers in response to the instructions of those in authority that are not in conflict with God’s word as we read in Romans 13:5:
Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.
Here, to submit to governing authorities certainly means to obey them. We find our Greek word used to enjoin believers to submit to God the Father in Hebrews 12:9:
Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!
The requirement of submitting to the Father of our spirits is one that demands obedience to God the Father. This means that in this passage “to submit” is the same as “to obey.” The Greek word is also used in describing the relationship between slaves and their masters in 1 Peter 2:18:
Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.
The examples we have cited where our Greek word is used to describe the relationship of a subject to an authority figure reveals that whenever that is the case, the meaning of our Greek word that is translated “to submit” should be understood to mean “to obey.” The word may mean “to place” as Apostle Paul used it to communicate that everything is under the control of Jesus Christ in Ephesians 1:22:
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church.
The word God does not appear in the Greek text, but it is added by translators for clarity since the Greek reads and He placed all things under His feet. While there is nothing wrong with inserting the word God, but it is probably better to use the phrase God the Father to indicate that the member of the Godhead that is the focus in this passage is God the Father given that He is the One the apostle addressed his prayer as reflected in Ephesians 1:17:
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
The Greek word may mean “to put” as it is used in the quotation from the eighth chapter of psalm by the human author of Hebrews about the position of humans in relation to God’s creation as stated in Hebrews 2:8:
and put everything under his feet.” In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.
Again, the word God does not appear in the Greek of this verse, but its insertion is based on what is stated in Hebrews 2:4:
God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 16:16, the word has the sense of “to be or become inclined or willing to submit to orders or wishes of others or showing such inclination.” In other words, the word means “to obey.” The Greek form the apostle used, is to be understood that his exhortation to the Corinthians rises to a level of command in which the apostle implies that the Corinthians should form the habit of submission to the authority of their spiritual leaders. It is probably to convey this concept that the expression of the NIV to submit to such as these is translated in NRSV and NJB as to put yourselves at the service of such people. The point is that the Corinthians, and so all believers, should form the habit of submitting to their spiritual leaders, that is, to obey them, which in Corinth, includes Stephanas and some male members of his household.
We contend that Stephanas is included among the spiritual leaders that the Corinthians should submit to in the sense of being willing to accept their instructions or order because of the phrase of 1 Corinthians 16:16 to such as these or literally to the such people. The expression “such as these” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (toioutos) that pertains to being like some person or thing mentioned in a context. As an adjective it may mean “such, such as this, this” as Apostle Paul used it to describe his confidence in God through Christ in 2 Corinthians 3:4:
Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God.
When used as a noun with a definite article, it may mean “like this” as Apostle Paul used it to describe those who could not enjoy the rule of God because of their lifestyle as stated in Galatians 5:21:
and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
When the word is used in connection with persons it means "such a person." In our passage of 1 Corinthians 16:16, the word is used as a noun with a definite article so means “such a person” but because the apostle used the plural in the Greek it means "such persons." Of course, he meant most likely “male persons” because he used a masculine form of the Greek word. This is probably the reason the NASB rendered the Greek as such men. That aside, the comparison involved in the Greek phrase indicates that the apostle had in mind spiritual leaders of a local church since Stephanas and some of the male members of his household would have been in leadership position in the local church associated with him. There are those who think that women members (wife and slaves) of the household of Stephanas are included here. This cannot be the situation because the concern is authority in the local church. To include women members as those who are to be submitted to would conflict with the clear instruction of the apostle that women are not to have authority over men as stated in 1 Timothy 2:12:
I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.
Those who do not want to accept the clear teaching of the Scripture about women not having a leadership role in a local church as to exercise authority over men look for proof texts that they think support their position. A good example of this is Micah 6:4:
I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam.
To say that Miriam was appointed a leader of Israel should be interpreted based on the context of the Scripture as a whole. Clearly, Moses and Aaron were leaders of Israel as the Torah indicates but there is no reference to Miriam being in a leadership role that involved her exercising authority over men in Israel. Her lone leadership role mentioned in the Scripture was limited to women since as a prophetess she followed the lead of Moses in directing the women of Israel to join to sing the song of praise to God for delivering the Israelites from the hands of the Egyptians and drowning them in the Red Sea as we read in Exodus 15:20–21:
20 Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing. 21 Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.”
Thus, the leadership role of Miriam that Prophet Micah referenced is related to this song and should not be used to reject clear instructions of the Scripture that women are not to have authority over men in spiritual matters.
In any case, when the apostle wrote down the phrase of 1 Corinthians 16:16 to such as these or literally to the such people he probably had in mind two groups of the spiritual leadership in a local church – those involved in teaching the word of God and those concerned with administrative affairs of the church. It is true that Apostle Paul did not write anything in his epistle to the Corinthians that explicitly enables us to classify spiritual leaders in the way we have done. However, the context of his epistles enables us to assert that the apostle would have had in mind two groups of the spiritual leadership of a local church. In his greetings to the Philippians, he specifically mentioned two groups of spiritual leaders of a local church – overseers and deacons – as stated in Philippians 1:1:
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
The greeting of the apostle is directed to all believers in Philippi according to the phrase all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi but then he specifically mentioned the spiritual leadership of the church in Philippi in the phrase the overseers and deacons. There is nothing in Acts that suggests that the apostle appointed overseers and deacons while in Philippi, but he referenced them as consisting of spiritual leadership of the church. For the apostle to have referenced these two groups of spiritual leadership of the church suggests he appointed them. This would be in keeping with what we have already argued that even if it is not specifically stated, the apostle appointed spiritual leaders in local churches that he helped found. That aside, our concern is that the apostle recognized two groups of spiritual leaders in a local church – overseers and deacons. Overseers are those whose primary function is to teach the word of God while the primary function of deacons is that of administration. We can demonstrate this fact by considering the other writings of Apostle Paul. Overseers in persons of pastors are included among the officers listed by the apostle in Ephesians 4:11–12:
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.
The primary function of the offices listed in this passage in Ephesians is to prepare God’s people for works of service. This can be done primarily by teaching God’s word to believers. It is for this reason we contend that the primary function of overseers is teaching of God’s word. This fact can be inferred from the qualifications the Holy Spirit gave to Timothy through Apostle Paul for appointing a person to be an overseer of a local church according to 1 Timothy 3:2–7:
2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.
The phrase able to teach in verse 2 is one that differentiates an overseer from a deacon because the apostle did not repeat such qualification for deacons as stated in 1 Timothy 3:8–10:
8 Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. 9 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.
Furthermore, the apostle’s focus on a group of spiritual leaders as worthy of double honor implies that the primary function of overseers is that of teaching the word as implied in 1 Timothy 5:17:
The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.
The apostle would not have focused on those who preach and teach the word of God if there is no distinctions in the primary functions of the spiritual leadership of a local church. In any event, we contend that when the apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 16:16 to such as these or literally to the such people he probably had in mind two groups of the spiritual leadership in a local church – those involved in teaching the word of God and those concerned with administrative affairs of a given local church.
To continue to convey that the apostle is concerned with spiritual leadership of the church in Corinth and other local churches, he added the clause of 1 Corinthians 16:16 and to everyone who joins in the work, and labors at it.
The expression “joins in the work” is translated from a Greek word (synergeō) that means “to engage in cooperative endeavor” hence “to work together with, assist, help.” So, it is used to describe the working together of faith and actions of Abraham to confirm that he was justified by faith as we read in James 2:22:
You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 16:16, the word has the sense of “to collaborate,” that is, “to work together in a common enterprise.” Thus, the apostle in the use of the word implies that the appeal to submit to spiritual authority extends to those who work together with spiritual leaders of a local congregation that participate in the ministry of the word. It is not only that these other individuals that believers in Corinth and so believers in general should submit to, work together with spiritual leadership of a given local church, but they are hard workers as indicated in the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 16:16 labors at it.
The word “labors” is translated from a Greek word (kopiaō) with two general meanings. It can mean “to become weary or tired” as in the invitation of Jesus in Matthew 11:28:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Under this first category of meaning is the figurative sense of being emotionally fatigued and discouraged as it is used in the commendation of the church in Ephesus for their perseverance in the faith without being weary in Revelation 2:3:
You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
A second category of the meaning is “to exert oneself physically, mentally, or spiritually, that is, to work hard, to toil, to strive, to struggle.” The apostle used the word several times to indicate hard work both physically and spiritually. He used it to describe his hard work by which he earned his living while preaching the gospel as stated in 1 Corinthians 4:12:
We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;
The work here, while it could also refer to the preaching of the gospel, is primarily a reference to the apostle’s tent making as a means of supporting himself as he gave up his right to be supported by those, he preached the gospel, as he implied in 1 Corinthians 9:6, 12:
6 Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?
12 If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.
By the way, it is certain that when the apostle worked, he did so as a tent maker, as indicated in Acts 18:3:
and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.
Certainly, the apostle used the Greek word for laboring in the ministry. It is in the sense of laboring in the ministry of the word of God that Apostle Paul used it in the instruction of special treatment of those who work hard in preaching and teaching of God’s word in the passage we cited previously, that is, 1 Timothy 5:17:
The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.
Similar instruction, using our Greek word, is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:12:
Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you.
It is in the sense of physical work that the apostle used our Greek word with respect to the farmer in 2 Timothy 2:6:
The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.
The point is that the Greek word we have examined can be used to describe hard work both physically and spiritually that in case of those who teach the word involves mental exertion. Nonetheless, the sense of the word in 1 Corinthians 16:16 is “to toil,” that is, “to labor unto extreme fatigue” whether physically or mentally or spiritually.
In any case, the apostle wrote the clause of 1 Corinthians 16:16 and to everyone who joins in the work, and labors at it. What kind of individuals would the apostle have had in mind when he wrote this clause? He would have had in mind others Christian workers that visit local churches, especially with teaching ministry but are not considered resident spiritual leaders in the sense that they are not local individuals that are permanent members of local churches. The Corinthians were certainly aware of such individuals. Let me support my point by mentioning several individuals that would fall into the category of the people the apostle would have had in mind. Aquila with his wife Priscilla was such a person since he visited Corinth as we read in Acts 18:1–2:
1 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them.
Aquila with his wife was involved in some kind of teaching ministry because the husband-wife team helped Apollos to better understand Christian doctrines as stated in Acts 18:26:
He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.
Aquila must certainly have been an overseer of a local church since there was a local church in Rome that met in his house as we read in Romans 16:3–5:
3Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. 5Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.
Another worker that was not a permanent overseer in Corinth Apostle Paul would have had in mind was Apollos. We know that he visited Corinth and was involved in some kind of teaching as we may gather from his role in refuting the Jews that rejected Jesus as the Messiah according to Acts 18:27–28:
27 When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28 For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
Of course, we are certain that Apollos taught in Corinth for unless that was the case, there would not have been a group in Corinth that claimed to be his disciples as Apostle Paul already referred to in his rebuke of the Corinthians for partisanship as stated in 1 Corinthians 1:12:
What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
Another worker that the apostle would have had in mind as he wrote the clause of 1 Corinthians 16:16 and to everyone who joins in the work was Timothy. Timothy was in Corinth with the apostle since it was in Corinth that Timothy and Silas came with the gifts from Macedonia churches that freed him to focus on preaching and teaching God’s word according to Acts 18:5:
When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.
Furthermore, the apostle sent Timothy to Corinth with the instruction that we have considered in our study of 1 Corinthians 16:10:
If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am.
Still another person that would have been in the apostle’s mind as one of the workers that visited Corinth as temporary teacher of God’s word would be Titus since the apostle indicated that Titus volunteered to come to Corinth as stated in 2 Corinthians 8:17:
For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative.
We are certain that Titus indeed visited Corinth as we may gather from the apostle’s question to the Corinthians according to 2 Corinthians 12:18:
I urged Titus to go to you and I sent our brother with him. Titus did not exploit you, did he? Did we not act in the same spirit and follow the same course?
Anyway, we have given examples of those the apostle would have had in mind in the clause of 1 Corinthians 16:16 and to everyone who joins in the work, and labors at it. These individuals were primarily involved in teaching but there were others who came to Corinth for administrative purposes of the church that would include taking care of the needy. These other workers were among those who visited Corinth with Titus as we read in 2 Corinthians 8:23:
As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ.
The point is that the apostle’s exhortation of submission to spiritual leadership in Corinth extends to those who visit the church on a temporary basis to carry out the primary function of teaching the word of God and administrative matters that concern the church.
Be that as it may, we have noted that the first concept of the second element of Apostle Paul’s final exhortation to the Corinthians involves submission to the spiritual leadership of their local church in the instruction of I urge you, brothers, to submit to such as these and to everyone who joins in the work, and labors at it. This instruction is concerned with authority in the local church. Thus, we need to briefly explore the concept of authority as it relates to the spiritual leadership of a local church. This we will do in our next study. Let me end by reminding you of the message of this section that we have been considering, which is You should submit to and appreciate all those who work hard in your local church to make it possible for you to be provided with the environment for spiritual growth.
03/15/24