1 Corinthians 3:5

“What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Ministers by whom ye believed, and that, as the Lord gave to each.”

There is no difficulty, whatever Hofmann may object, in connecting the then with the previous verse, provided we see in this verse the conclusion and consequently the summary of all that goes before from 1 Corinthians 1:17 and even from 1 Corinthians 1:12: “Now if, in virtue of the very nature of the gospel (which is a salvation, not a system), its preachers are not what you make them when you say: I am of Paul or of Apollos, what are they then? ” Rückert regards this question as an objection raised by an interlocutor of the apostle. But it belongs to the train of his argument; it is the theme of the whole following passage. Besides, Paul indicates such interruptions more precisely (1 Corinthians 15:35). The Greco-Lat. and Byz. MSS. read τίς : who are they (as individuals)? The Alex. read τί : what are they (as to their office)? The second reading is more in keeping with the context. It is no doubt, as Meyer thinks, the personal names which have led to the substitution of the masculine for the neuter.

T. R. places the question relating to Paul before that which concerns Apollos, probably under the influence of the preceding verse and of 1 Corinthians 1:13. But the apostle has not here the same reason as formerly for putting himself first. For he is no longer dealing with a personal preference to be condemned; here he begins a matter of doctrine.

The ἀλλ᾿ ἤ, other than, in T. R. is probably a gloss; the answer is more direct: ministers. Such is the great word, that which without any roundabout states the nature of the position: not heads of schools, not founders of religious societies, as having a work of their own, but simple employés labouring on the work of another. This situation of ministers is characterized by two features: “ By whom ye have believed.” As Bengel well says: “ By whom, and not in whom;” simple agents (διά). The ye believed applies also to Apollos, though the Church was already founded when he arrived at Corinth; for he had increased the number of believers and contributed to sustain the faith of those whom Paul had led to believe.

Καί, and that; and moreover: Neither do those agents who labour on another's account do anything at their own hand. This is the second feature and, in a sense, the second form of their dependence: as the Lord gave to each. The following verse shows that Paul is here thinking of the kind of work which the Master commits to each labourer, while rendering him fit for it by personal gifts which He confers on him and by the special commission which He gives him.

The ἑκάστῳ, to each, is placed by inversion, as in 1 Corinthians 7:17 and elsewhere, before the conjunction, to bring out clearly the distinction between those different tasks. For hereby is completed the idea of dependence: All for a master, as all by this master! This master is denoted by the term ὁ Κύριος, the Lord, in opposition to the preachers who are only διάκονοι, servants. This Lord, according to Chrysostom, de Wette, Meyer, is God; comp. 1 Corinthians 3:6. But in general in the New Testament, when the term Κύριος does not belong to an Old Testament quotation, it denotes Jesus Christ. This is particularly the case in the first chapter of this Epistle. And 1 Corinthians 3:6 proves nothing in favour of the opposite sense, for the action of Jesus and that of God, though distinct, are not separate. Comp. 1 Corinthians 12:5, where the functions of ministers are also put in relation to Christ, as Lord of the Church, and their efficacy in relation to God, as the last source of all power.