References (10)
Meanwhile, a jew named
Apollos arrived in Ephesus. He was born in
Alexandria and was a learned man
(well-educated, a good speaker, and skilled at presenting the message in a logical and simple way), and was also very knowledgeable
(powerful, forceful) in the Scriptures.
While
Apollos was in
Corinth, Paul, after his journey through the interior, came to
Ephesus.
In
Ephesus, Paul met some disciples
[of John the Baptist],
What I mean is that each of you says:
"I belong to (follow, adhere to) Paul" [who started the church, see ], or
"I belong to Apollos" [a group influenced by Greek Alexandrian philosophy, see ], or
"I belong to Cephas [Peter's Jewish name]" [perhaps a Judaistic group, see ], or
"I belong to the Anointed One (Messiah, Christ)." [This phrase suggests that the others did not belong to Jesus and may have been a religious clique who considered themselves to be "true believers," superior to others and the only genuine believers.]
[Based on Paul's comment in , it is possible that he does not mention the actual groups that Chloe told him about. Instead, he takes himself, Paul, Apollos, and Peter as examples. Paul had not heard the different parties' stories, and in an already infected situation, it would easily become even worse if Paul took sides with a particular party.]
If one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not like people in general?
[Envy and selfishness lead to disorder and all kinds of evil deeds, see . One of the works of the flesh is strife, see .]
[The Corinthians showed their immaturity by exalting human leaders to the heavens. Paul responds to this by pointing out that true Christian leadership is servant leadership.]
What is Apollos?
What then is Paul?
We are only servants who have brought you to faith [not leaders of different groups]. The Lord has given us different tasks.
[The church can be likened to a plant:]
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
Paul, Apollos, and Cephas [Peter],
the world (the universe),
life and death,
the present and the future,
all are yours.
[Paul uses a well-judged irony by borrowing the expression "all are yours" from the popular philosophies of his day. Stoics and Cynics claimed that even though they owned nothing, the whole world belonged to them because they were friends with the gods who owned the world. Paul reveals the Corinthians' lack of true wisdom because if the whole world belonged to them, there was no reason to talk about belonging to different teachers.]
Now, brothers and sisters in the faith, I have used myself and Apollos as examples for your sake [but the principle applies to all teachers], so that you may learn what the expression "not beyond what is written" means. This is so that you will not boast about one person at the expense of another.
[Paul and Apollos have been mentioned twice before, see ; . The statement here, that Paul has taken these names as examples, certainly applies to , but probably also to . Paul and Apollos did not seem to have had any internal conflicts, see .]
As for our brother Apollos, I have strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. But he did not want to go now, but will go when he has an opportunity.
Equip the lawyer (attorney/legal expert) Zenas and Apollos [, ; ; ] properly so that they lack nothing on their journey.
