the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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New King James Version
1 Corinthians 3:5
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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.
What then is Apol'los? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.
What is Paul? What thinge is Apollo? Only miministers are they by who ye beleved even as the Lorde gave every ma grace.
Who then is Apollos, and who is Sha'ul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him?
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]
What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.
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.
What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him.
Who then is Paul, and who [is] Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.
Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him?
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?
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.
Thei ben mynystris of hym, to whom ye han bileuyd; and to ech man as God hath youun.
What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? Ministers through whom ye believed; and each as the Lord gave to him.
What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role.
Apollos and I are merely servants who helped you to have faith. It was the Lord who made it all happen.
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.
What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? Ministers through whom ye believed; and each as the Lord gave to him.
What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? They are but servants who gave you the good news as God gave it to them.
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.
Who then is Apollos, and who Paul? Ministering servants, through whom ye have believed, and as the Lord has given to each.
For who is Paulos, or who Apollo, but ministers by whom you have believed and each as the Lord gave to him ?
For, who is Paul, or who is Apollos, but the ministers by whom ye believed, each one as the Lord gave to him?
Who then is Paul? and who is Apollo? but ministers by whom ye beleeued, euen as the Lord gaue to euery man.
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.
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.
What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each.
Who is Paul then? and who is Apollos, but the ministers by whome yee beleeued, and as the Lord gaue to euery man?
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.
What then is Apollos? and, what is Paul? ministers through whom ye believed, and, each, as the Lord, gave to him.
The ministers of him whom you have believed: and to every one as the Lord hath given.
What is Paul? what is Apollo? Only ministers are they by whom ye beleued, euen as the Lorde gaue to euery man.
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:
What then is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given.
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
Therefore, what is Apollos and what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, and to each as the Lord gave.
What then is Paul? And what Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, and to each as the Lord gave?
Who, then, is Paul, and who Apollos, but ministrants through whom ye did believe, and to each as the Lord gave?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.
What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to each one.
Contextual Overview
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
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;
but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, "You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die."'
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."
And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life.
And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."
Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"--
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:
- That all that anyone had was to be traced to God as its author;
- That he is a sovereign, and dispenses his favors to all as he pleases;
- 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.
