Often at the close of his letters, Paul named various people who were a part of his life and his ministry; and what a variety they were! He was not only a soul-winner, but he was a friend maker; and many of his friends found their way into dedicated service for the Lord. Evangelist Dwight L. Moody possessed this same gift of making friends and then enlisting them for the Lord’s service. Some of the greatest preachers and musicians of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were “found” by Moody, including Ira Sankey, G. Campbell Morgan, Henry Drummond, and F. B. Meyer.
Money and opportunities are valueless without people. The church’s greatest asset is people, and yet too often the church takes people for granted. Jesus did not give His disciples money, but He did invest three years training them for service so they might seize the opportunities He would present them. If people are prepared, then God will supply both the opportunities and the money so that His work will be accomplished.
Timothy (vv. 10–11). Timothy, along with Titus, was one of Paul’s special assistants, usually sent to the most difficult places. Timothy had been brought up in a godly home (2 Tim. 1:5), but it was Paul who had led the young man to Christ. Paul usually referred to him as “my own son in the faith” (1 Tim. 1:2). When John Mark abandoned Paul and returned to Jerusalem, it was Timothy who was called to work as Paul’s assistant (Acts 16:1–5).
Timothy learned his lessons well and made great progress in Christian life and service (Phil. 2:20–22). Eventually, Timothy took Paul’s place at Ephesus, a most difficult place to minister. (It would not be easy to be Paul’s successor!) At one point, Timothy wanted to leave the city, but Paul encouraged him to stay (1 Tim. 1:3).
The advice Paul gave the Corinthians about Timothy (1 Cor. 16:10) would suggest that the young man had some physical and emotional problems (1 Tim. 5:23; 2 Tim. 1:4). He needed all the encouragement he could get. The important thing was that he was doing God’s work and laboring with God’s servant. A church should not expect every servant of God to be an apostle Paul. Young men starting out in service have great potential, and the church should encourage them. “Let no man despise thee!”
Apollos (vv. 12–14). Apollos was an eloquent Jew who was brought into the full understanding of the gospel by Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:24–28). He had ministered with great power at Corinth, and there was a segment of the church there that felt attached to him (1 Cor. 1:12; 3:4–8). It is unlikely that Apollos promoted this division, for his great concern seemed to be to preach Christ. In spite of the division (“The Apollos Fan Club”), Paul did not hesitate to encourage Apollos to return to Corinth for further ministry. It is clear that there was no envy on Paul’s part or sense of competition on the part of Apollos.
Paul did not have the authority to place men against their will. Apollos did not feel he should go to Corinth at that time, and Paul had to concur with his decision. It is wonderful the way these different men worked together.
Perhaps it was in the light of the divisions in the church that Paul gave the admonitions in 1 Corinthians 16:13–14. Watch simply means “Be alert! Be vigilant!” The enemy is always at hand, and we are never safe from attack. Satan would certainly attack the church and try to hinder the ministry of Timothy or Apollos.
To stand fast in the faith means to have mature stability. Paul had already warned them that they were immature children who needed to grow up (1 Cor. 3:1ff.). No wonder Paul added, Quit you like men, which means, “Act like men, not children.” (The word quit is short for “acquit”—to perform or act.) It was a call to courageous manliness at an hour when mature leadership was needed.
But even manliness needs to be balanced with love, lest leadership become dictatorship. Paul had expounded the value and virtues of love in 1 Corinthians 13. Carl Sandburg, when addressing the United States Congress, said that Abraham Lincoln was a man of “velvet steel.” That is a good image for the Christian to borrow, for true manliness does not exclude tenderness.
Stephanas and his household (vv. 15–18). These were the first people to be won to Christ in Achaia, and Paul had baptized them himself, instead of leaving it to one of his helpers (1 Cor. 1:16). They became important leaders in the church, for they “devoted themselves” to Christ’s service. The verb means “they appointed themselves,” but it does not suggest that they pushed their way into leadership. Rather, whenever they saw a need, they went to work to meet it without waiting to be asked. They were Paul’s helpers, and they labored (“toiled to the point of exhaustion”) for the Lord. What a wonderful thing it is when an entire family serves the Lord faithfully in the local church.
Stephanas was joined by Fortunatus and Achaicus as an official committee sent from Corinth to Ephesus to confer with Paul about church problems. Paul saw in them a representation of the entire church; their love to Paul compensated for Paul’s absence from Corinth. But these men did more than share problems with Paul; they also refreshed his spirit and brought him blessing.
This is a good place to encourage church members to refresh and encourage their pastor. Too often, believers share only problems and burdens with their spiritual leaders, and rarely share the blessings. Who is the pastor’s pastor? To whom does the pastor turn for spiritual refreshment and encouragement? Every church member, if he will, can help refresh the pastor and make his burdens lighter.
Paul encouraged the church to honor this very special family and submit to their spiritual leadership. It is right to honor faithful Christians if God gets the glory.
Aquila and Priscilla (vv. 19–20). These two were a dedicated husband-and-wife team whose lives and ministries intersected and intertwined with Paul’s. The apostle met them at Corinth because, like Paul, they were tentmakers (Acts 18:1–3). This godly couple had been expelled from Rome because Aquila was a Jew; but that was only part of God’s providence to get them to Corinth where they could assist Paul.
Priscilla must have been a remarkable woman. This couple’s names occur in the New Testament six times, and in four of these instances, Priscilla’s name stands first. (The best texts put Priscilla first in Acts 18:26.) We get the impression that she was the stronger of the two, a devoted leader and witness. They worked together in serving the Lord and helping Paul.
When Paul moved from Corinth to Ephesus, Aquila and Priscilla packed up and moved their business with him and assisted in founding the church in that needy city (Acts 18:18ff.). So capable were they that Paul left them to oversee the ministry while he returned to Antioch. It was while they were at Ephesus that they assisted Apollos in better understanding the truth of the gospel.
Every local church can be thankful for husbands and wives like Aquila and Priscilla, people who work together in serving the Lord and helping the preacher. The fact that his wife was a better leader did not hinder Aquila from standing with her in their united ministry. (I am sure that Priscilla submitted to her husband and did not try to act important.) One of the Ephesian assemblies met in their house, which shows they were people given to hospitality. Romans 16: states that, at one time, this dedicated couple risked their own lives to help save Paul. (See Acts 19:29–30; 20: for possible situations where this rescue might have occurred.)
But Priscilla and Aquila did not remain in Ephesus; for when Paul wrote to the saints at Rome, he greeted this couple there (Rom. 16:3). Once again, they had a church meeting in their house (Rom. 16:5). In my itinerant ministry, I have more than once preached to an assembly that had been founded in somebody’s living room.
In Paul’s last letter, he sent greetings to Prisca (alternate spelling) and Aquila by way of Timothy, who was then overseeing the work in Ephesus (2 Tim. 4:19). This remarkable couple had left Rome and were now back in Ephesus, this time to assist Timothy as they had assisted Paul.
How many couples today would move as often as did Priscilla and Aquila, just to be able to serve the Lord better? And whenever they moved, they had to move their business as well. People with this kind of dedication and sacrifice are not easy to find, but they are great assets to the local church.
Paul’s closing words need not detain us. The “holy kiss” (1 Cor. 16:20) was a common mode of greeting, the men kissing the men and the women kissing the women (Rom. 16:16; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Thess. 5:26; 1 Peter 5:14). If Paul were writing to Western churches, he would say, “Shake hands with one another.”
Paul usually dictated his letters and then took the pen and added his signature. He also added his “benediction of grace” as a mark that the letter was authentic (see Gal. 6:11; 2 Thess. 3:17).
The word anathema is Aramaic and means “accursed” (see 1 Cor. 12:3). Not to love Christ means not to believe in Him, and unbelievers are accursed (John 3:16–21). The word maranatha is Greek and means “our Lord comes” or (as a prayer) “our Lord, come!” (see Rev. 22:20). If a person loves Jesus Christ, he will also love His appearing (2 Tim. 4:8).
Paul had been stern with the Corinthian believers, but he closed his letter by assuring them of his love. After all, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Prov. 27:6).
C O R I N T H I A N S2Paul has shared a great deal of spiritual wisdom with us. May we receive it with meekness and put it into practice to the glory of God!
2 C o r i n t h i a n s M a t t h e w M a r k G a l a t i a n s L u k e E p h e s i a n s J o h n P h i l i p p i a n s A c t s C o l o s s i a n s R o m a n s 1 C o r i n t h i a n s