1 Corinthians 3:5

THE MESSAGE

Who do you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos, for that matter? Servants, both of us—servants who waited on you as you gradually learned to entrust your lives to our mutual Master. We each carried out our servant assignment. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It's not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God's field in which we are working. Or, to put it another way, you are God's house. Using the gift God gave me as a good architect, I designed blueprints; Apollos is putting up the walls. Let each carpenter who comes on the job take care to build on the foundation! Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you'll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won't get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn't, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won't be torn out; you'll survive—but just barely. You realize, don't you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God's temple, you can be sure of that. God's temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple. Don't fool yourself. Don't think that you can be wise merely by being up-to-date with the times. Be God's fool—that's the path to true wisdom. What the world calls smart, God calls stupid. It's written in Scripture, He exposes the chicanery of the chic. The Master sees through the smoke screens of the know-it-alls. I don't want to hear any of you bragging about yourself or anyone else. Everything is already yours as a gift—Paul, Apollos, Peter, the world, life, death, the present, the future—all of it is yours, and you are privileged to be in union with Christ, who is in union with God.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
What then is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given.

King James Version (1611)
Who then is Paul? and who is Apollo? but ministers by whom ye beleeued, euen as the Lord gaue to euery man.

King James Version
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

English Standard Version
What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.

New American Standard Bible
What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.

New Century Version
Is Apollos important? No! Is Paul important? No! We are only servants of God who helped you believe. Each one of us did the work God gave us to do.

Amplified Bible
What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Just servants through whom you believed [in Christ], even as the Lord appointed to each his task.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.

Legacy Standard Bible
What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to each one.

Berean Standard Bible
What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role.

Contemporary English Version
Apollos and I are merely servants who helped you to have faith. It was the Lord who made it all happen.

Complete Jewish Bible
After all, what is Apollos? What is Sha'ul? Only servants through whom you came to trust. Indeed, it was the Lord who brought you to trust through one of us or through another.

Darby Translation
Who then is Apollos, and who Paul? Ministering servants, through whom ye have believed, and as the Lord has given to each.

Easy-to-Read Version
Is Apollos so important? Is Paul so important? We are only servants of God who helped you believe. Each one of us did the work God gave us to do.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Who is Paul then? and who is Apollos, but the ministers by whome yee beleeued, and as the Lord gaue to euery man?

George Lamsa Translation
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you were converted; each one is gifted according as the LORD gave to him.

Good News Translation
After all, who is Apollos? And who is Paul? We are simply God's servants, by whom you were led to believe. Each one of us does the work which the Lord gave him to do:

Lexham English Bible
Therefore, what is Apollos and what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, and to each as the Lord gave.

Literal Translation
What then is Paul? And what Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, and to each as the Lord gave?

American Standard Version
What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? Ministers through whom ye believed; and each as the Lord gave to him.

Bible in Basic English
What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? They are but servants who gave you the good news as God gave it to them.

Hebrew Names Version
Who then is Apollos, and who is Sha'ul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him?

International Standard Version
What is Apollos anyhow? Or what is Paul? Mere servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord gave to each of us his task.Romans 12:3,6; 1 Corinthians 4:1; 2 Corinthians 3:3; 1 Peter 4:11;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
For who is Paulos, or who Apollo, but ministers by whom you have believed and each as the Lord gave to him ?

Murdock Translation
For, who is Paul, or who is Apollos, but the ministers by whom ye believed, each one as the Lord gave to him?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
What is Paul? what is Apollo? Only ministers are they by whom ye beleued, euen as the Lorde gaue to euery man.

English Revised Version
What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? Ministers through whom ye believed; and each as the Lord gave to him.

World English Bible
Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him?

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
and another, I am of Apollos, are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

Weymouth's New Testament
What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are just God's servants, through whose efforts, and as the Lord granted power to each, you accepted the faith.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thei ben mynystris of hym, to whom ye han bileuyd; and to ech man as God hath youun.

Update Bible Version
What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him.

Webster's Bible Translation
Who then is Paul, and who [is] Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

New English Translation
What is Apollos, really? Or what is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, and each of us in the ministry the Lord gave us.

New King James Version
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?

New Living Translation
After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God's servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us.

New Life Bible
Who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only servants owned by God. He gave us gifts to preach His Word. And because of that, you put your trust in Christ.

New Revised Standard
What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
What then is Apollos? and, what is Paul? ministers through whom ye believed, and, each, as the Lord, gave to him.

Douay-Rheims Bible
The ministers of him whom you have believed: and to every one as the Lord hath given.

Revised Standard Version
What then is Apol'los? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
What is Paul? What thinge is Apollo? Only miministers are they by who ye beleved even as the Lorde gave every ma grace.

Young's Literal Translation
Who, then, is Paul, and who Apollos, but ministrants through whom ye did believe, and to each as the Lord gave?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
What is Paul? What is Apollo? Eue mynisters are they, by whom ye are come to the beleue, and the same, acordinge as the LORDE hath geuen vnto euery man.

Mace New Testament (1729)
who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye have received faith according to the divine gifts imparted to each of them?

Simplified Cowboy Version
Besides, who is Apollos? Who is this Paul you speak of? We're just cowboys who had the job of telling y'all the good news. We ain't special. We were just doing what the Good Lord told us to.

Contextual Overview

⁵Who do you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos, for that matter? Servants, both of us—servants who waited on you as you gradually learned to entrust your lives to our mutual Master. We each carried out our servant assignment. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It's not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God's field in which we are working. Or, to put it another way, you are God's house. Using the gift God gave me as a good architect, I designed blueprints; Apollos is putting up the walls. Let each carpenter who comes on the job take care to build on the foundation! Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you'll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won't get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn't, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won't be torn out; you'll survive—but just barely. You realize, don't you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God's temple, you can be sure of that. God's temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple. Don't fool yourself. Don't think that you can be wise merely by being up-to-date with the times. Be God's fool—that's the path to true wisdom. What the world calls smart, God calls stupid. It's written in Scripture, He exposes the chicanery of the chic. The Master sees through the smoke screens of the know-it-alls. I don't want to hear any of you bragging about yourself or anyone else. Everything is already yours as a gift—Paul, Apollos, Peter, the world, life, death, the present, the future—all of it is yours, and you are privileged to be in union with Christ, who is in union with God. ¹⁰ But for right now, friends, I'm completely frustrated by your unspiritual dealings with each other and with God. You're acting like infants in relation to Christ, capable of nothing much more than nursing at the breast. Well, then, I'll nurse you since you don't seem capable of anything more. As long as you grab for what makes you feel good or makes you look important, are you really much different than a babe at the breast, content only when everything's going your way? When one of you says, "I'm on Paul's side," and another says, "I'm for Apollos," aren't you being totally infantile? Who do you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos, for that matter? Servants, both of us—servants who waited on you as you gradually learned to entrust your lives to our mutual Master. We each carried out our servant assignment. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It's not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God's field in which we are working. Or, to put it another way, you are God's house. Using the gift God gave me as a good architect, I designed blueprints; Apollos is putting up the walls. Let each carpenter who comes on the job take care to build on the foundation! Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you'll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won't get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn't, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won't be torn out; you'll survive—but just barely. You realize, don't you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God's temple, you can be sure of that. God's temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple. Don't fool yourself. Don't think that you can be wise merely by being up-to-date with the times. Be God's fool—that's the path to true wisdom. What the world calls smart, God calls stupid. It's written in Scripture, He exposes the chicanery of the chic. The Master sees through the smoke screens of the know-it-alls. I don't want to hear any of you bragging about yourself or anyone else. Everything is already yours as a gift—Paul, Apollos, Peter, the world, life, death, the present, the future—all of it is yours, and you are privileged to be in union with Christ, who is in union with God.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

ministers: 1 Corinthians 3:7, 1 Corinthians 4:1, 1 Corinthians 4:2, Luke 1:2, Romans 10:14, Romans 10:15, 2 Corinthians 3:6, 2 Corinthians 4:5, 2 Corinthians 4:7, 2 Corinthians 6:1, 2 Corinthians 6:4, 2 Corinthians 11:23

even: 1 Corinthians 3:10, 1 Corinthians 9:17, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 1 Corinthians 12:28, Matthew 25:15, John 3:27, Romans 12:3-6, 1 Peter 4:10

Reciprocal: Exodus 35:29 - the Lord Numbers 16:11 - what is Aaron Ecclesiastes 9:1 - that the Ecclesiastes 11:6 - thou knowest Isaiah 61:6 - named Ezekiel 44:19 - sanctify Matthew 13:27 - the servants Matthew 13:37 - is Matthew 25:14 - and delivered Mark 13:34 - and to John 3:30 - but John 4:36 - both he that Acts 14:27 - they rehearsed Acts 18:24 - Apollos Acts 21:19 - he declared Romans 15:16 - I should 1 Corinthians 3:22 - Paul 1 Corinthians 4:7 - and what 1 Corinthians 12:18 - as it 1 Corinthians 16:12 - our 2 Corinthians 1:24 - that 2 Corinthians 10:14 - we stretch not 2 Corinthians 12:6 - I would Colossians 4:11 - fellowworkers 1 Peter 5:3 - as 3 John 1:8 - fellowhelpers Revelation 21:6 - freely

Cross-References

Genesis 3:2
The Woman said to the serpent, "Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It's only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don't eat from it; don't even touch it or you'll die.'"

Genesis 3:6
When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she'd know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.

Genesis 3:7
Immediately the two of them did "see what's really going on"—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.

Genesis 3:10
He said, "I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid."

Genesis 3:13
"The serpent seduced me," she said, "and I ate."

Genesis 3:14
God told the serpent: "Because you've done this, you're cursed, cursed beyond all cattle and wild animals, Cursed to slink on your belly and eat dirt all your life. I'm declaring war between you and the Woman, between your offspring and hers. He'll wound your head, you'll wound his heel."

Genesis 3:22
God said, "The Man has become like one of us, capable of knowing everything, ranging from good to evil. What if he now should reach out and take fruit from the Tree-of-Life and eat, and live forever? Never—this cannot happen!"

Genesis 3:23
So God expelled them from the Garden of Eden and sent them to work the ground, the same dirt out of which they'd been made. He threw them out of the garden and stationed angel-cherubim and a revolving sword of fire east of it, guarding the path to the Tree-of-Life.

Exodus 5:2
Pharaoh said, "And who is God that I should listen to him and send Israel off? I know nothing of this so-called ‘ God ' and I'm certainly not going to send Israel off."

Exodus 20:7
No using the name of God, your God, in curses or silly banter; God won't put up with the irreverent use of his name.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Who then is Paul? and who is Apollos?.... The apostle's name being used, and he a party concerned, could speak the more freely upon this head, and ask what they thought of himself, and other preachers, whether they were more than men? what authority and power they had, whether they looked upon them as the authors of a new religion, or the founders of a new sect, that were to go by their names? and directs them what light to consider them in, how that they were

but ministers by whom ye believed: they were servants to Christ and to his churches, and not lords; they did not assume any dominion over men, or pretend to lord it over God's heritage; there is but one Lord and master, and that is Christ, whom they served, and taught others to obey; they were only instrumental in the hand of God, by whom souls were directed, encouraged, and brought to believe in Christ; as for faith itself, that is the gift of God, the operation of his power, and of which Christ is the author and finisher; they laid no claim to this as their work, or imagined they had any dominion over it; that they could either implant it, or increase it of themselves; but thought it honour enough done them, that it came by their ministry; and that that, and the joy of it, were helped and furthered by their means: the Vulgate Latin version reads, "his ministers whom ye believed"; that is, the ministers of Christ, whom they believed in; not in the ministers, but Christ; the Arabic version renders it, "but two ministers, by whom ye believed"; referring to Paul and Apollos, who are meant:

even as the Lord gave to every man; gifts to minister with, and success to his ministry; making him useful to this and the other man, to bring him to the faith of Christ; all which is owing to the free grace and sovereign good will and pleasure of God.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Who then is Paul ... - See the notes at 1 Corinthians 1:13. Why should a party be formed which should be named after Paul? What has he done or taught that should lead to this? What eminence has he that should induce any to call themselves by his name? He is on a level with the other apostles; and all are but ministers, or servants, and have no claim to the honor of giving names to sects and parties. God is the fountain of all your blessings, and whoever may have been the “instrument” by whom you have believed, it is improper to regard them as, in any sense the fountain of your blessings, or to arrange yourselves under their name.

But ministers - Our word minister, as now used, does not express the proper force of this word. We in applying it to preachers of the gospel do not usually advert to the original sense of the word, and the reasons why it was given to them. The original word διάκονοι diakonoi denotes properly “servants” in contradistinction from “masters” Matthew 20:26; Matthew 23:11; Mark 9:35; Mark 10:43; and denotes those of course who are in an inferior rank of life. They did not have command, or authority, but were subject to the command of others. It is applied to the preachers of the gospel because they are employed in the service of God; because they go at his command, and are subject to his control and direction. They did not have original authority, nor are they the source of influence or power. The idea here is, that they were the mere instruments or servants by whom God conveyed all blessings to the Corinthians; that they as ministers were on a level, were engaged in the same work, and that therefore, it was improper for them to form parties that should be called by their names.

By whom - Through whom δἰ ὥν di' hōn, by whose instrumentality. They were not the original source of faith, but were the mere servants of God in conveying to them the knowledge of that truth by which they were to be saved.

Even as the Lord gave to every man - God is the original source of faith; and it is by his influence that anyone is brought to believe; see the note at Romans 12:3, note at Romans 12:6. There were diversities of gifts among the Corinthian Christians, as there are in all Christians. And it is here implied:

1. That all that anyone had was to be traced to God as its author;
2. That he is a sovereign, and dispenses his favors to all as he pleases;
3. That since God had conferred those favors, it was improper for the Corinthians to divide themselves into sects and call themselves by the name of their teachers, for all that they had was to be traced to God alone.

This idea, that all the gifts and graces which Christians had, were to be traced to God alone, was one which the apostle Paul often insisted on; and if this idea had been kept before the minds and hearts of all Christians, it would have prevented no small part of the contentions in the church, and the formation of no small part of the sects in the Christian world.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Corinthians 3:5. Ministers by whom ye believed — The different apostles who have preached unto you the word of life are the means which God has used to bring you to the knowledge of Christ. No one of those has either preached or recommended himself; they all preach and recommend Christ Jesus the Lord.

Even as the Lord gave to every man? — Whatever difference there may be in our talents, it is of God's making; and he who knows best what is best for his Church, has distributed both gifts and graces according to his own mind; and, as his judgment is infallible, all these dispensations must be right. Paul, therefore, is as necessary to the perfecting of the Church of Christ as Apollos; and Apollos, as Paul. Both, but with various gifts, point out the same Christ, building on one and the same foundation.