Paul
the apostle told the Corinthian church members were “carnal”
because they were saying, “I am of
Paul; and another, I am
of Apollos;”,
and in chapter three and verse five of
First Corinthians, Paul the apostle asked the Corinthian
church members “Who then is
Paul, and who is Apollos”
where we read:
even
as the Lord gave to every man?
The
verse begins, “Who
then is Paul, and who is
Apollos, but ministers by whom you believed,...”
Paul began
with the words, “Who then is” which
means “How much therefore and consequently is” “Paul”
whose name means “small or little” and was “the most famous of
the apostles and wrote a good part of the New Testament including the
fourteen Pauline epistles”, “and
who” which
means “how much therefore and consequently is” “is
Apollos”
whose name means “given by Apollo” and was “a learned Jew from
Alexandria and mighty in the scriptures who became a Christian and a
teacher of Christianity” “but”
which is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be
written takes precedence over what was just stated
“ministers”
or “one who executes the commands of another or master, a servant
or attendant” “by whom”
which means “through Paul and Apollos” “you
believed”
which means “the Corinthians thought to be true, be persuaded of,
credited and placed confidence in”. Paul rhetorically questioned
the Corinthian church members as to “who” he himself and
“Apollos”
were actually of any real importance other than being “servants and
attendants” to lead them to believe in the “gospel”
of Jesus Christ.
The
verse goes on to say, “even
as the Lord gave to every man?”.
Paul
continued with the words, “even as”
which means
“also and indeed like or in the same manner” “the
Lord” which
refers to “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has
power of deciding; master and the title given to God the Messiah”
“gave”
or “granted, supplied and furnished” “to
every man”
which means “to each, all, the whole, and every human being whether
male or female”. Paul declared it was
“the Lord”
who “gave”
the opportunity to know Him to every person.
When
we meditate upon words from Paul, we realize that he and Apollos were
only agents, instruments or servants to share the “gospel”
with the Corinthians. “The Lord” was the one responsible to share
the “gospel” with the Corinthians, and He also deserves the
credit for extending it to every person. Jesus Christ was offered to
the world, (“God so love the world, that He sent His only begotten
Son”), and He used and continues to “employ” people to be His
“servants” for sharing. The instrument of declaration is not to
be “glorified” in any manner, and yet, this seems to be the way
of not only the Corinthians, but also of people today. We must
“glorify” and “credit” Jesus with His “gospel”, and
should the Lord choose us to share His “good news” with others,
let all glory be to God Almighty and His Son Jesus Christ.
Next
time Paul shares how he “planted”
and
“Apollos
watered, but God gave the increase”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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