1 Corinthians 16:15 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Corinthians 16:15
I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Corinthians 1:16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
Romans 16:5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.
Romans 15:25 But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints.
Romans 12:13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
Romans 16:2 That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a…
2 Corinthians 8:4 Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.
2 Corinthians 9:1 For as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you:
1 Timothy 5:10 Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 16:13-18
In this passage the apostle gives,
I. Some general advices; as, 1. That they should watch (Co1 16:13), be wakeful and upon their guard. A Christian is always in danger, and therefore should ever be on the watch; but the danger is greater at some times and under some circumstances. The Corinthians were in manifest danger upon many accounts: their feuds ran high, the irregularities among them were very great, there were deceivers got among them, who endeavoured to corrupt their faith in the most important articles, those without which the practice of virtue and piety could never subsist. And surely in such dangerous circumstances it was their concern to watch. Note, If a Christian would be sec…
first-fruits of Achaia--the first AchÃ&brvbran converts (compare Rom 16:5). The image is from the first-fruits offered to the Lord (Lev 23:10; compare Co1 15:20). The members of this family had been baptized by Paul himself (Co1 1:16).
addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints--Translate, "Set themselves, (that is, voluntarily) to minister unto the saints" (compare Co2 8:4).
Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 16:15
Ye know the house of Stephanas - Ye know that Stephanas and his family have addicted them to the help of the followers of Christ; they have been the chief instruments of supporting the work of God in Achaia, of which work they themselves have been the first fruits. See the note on Rom 16:5.
John Gill on 1 Corinthians 16:15
I beseech you, brethren,.... Entreat or exhort you as brethren in the Lord; this entreaty or exhortation is to submission to fellow helpers and labourers of the ministry, more particularly expressed in the following verse, after the apostle has given a character of the household of Stephanas, who are principally intended, and which contains reasons and arguments why they should be submitted to; and which account stands in the following parenthesis,
ye know the house of Stephanas; a person of note at Corinth, whom the apostle had baptized, together with his family, 1 Corinthians 1:16. The Vulgate Latin version, and some copies, add, "and of Fortunatus and Achaicus", persons mentioned along w…
The Church Fathers
Paul calls these people the "first fruits" of Achaia, either because they were the first to be converted or because their piety was greater than that of others or because they refused to be ordained on account of their great humility and instead dedicated themselves to the service of others.
In the beginning too he mentions this man, saying, "I baptized also the home of Stephanas:" and now he speaks of him as "the first-fruits" not of Corinth only, but also of all Greece. And this too is no small encomium that he was the first to come to Christ. Wherefore also in the Epistle to the Romans, praising certain persons on this account, he said, "Who also were in Christ before me." And he said not, that they were the first who believed, but were the "first-fruits;" implying that together with their faith they showed forth also a most excellent life, in every way proving themselves worthy, as in the case of fruits. For so the first-fruits ought to be better than the rest of those things whereof they are the first-fruits: a kind of praise which Paul hath attributed to these also by this expression: namely, that they not only had a genuine faith, as I was saying, but also they exhibited great piety, and the climax of virtue, and liberality in alms-giving. And not from hence only, but from another topic likewise he indicates their piety, i.e., from their having filled their whole house also with godliness. And that they flourished in good works also, he declares by what follows, saying, "They have set themselves to minister unto the saints." Hear ye, how vast are the praises of their hospitality? For he did not say, "they minister," but, "have set themselves:" this kind of life they have chosen altogether, this is their business in which they are always busy.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Achaia — The name originally of a narrow strip of territory in Greece, on the north-west of the Peloponnesus. Subsequently it was applied by the Romans to the whole Peloponnesus, now called the Morea, and the…
Stephanas — Crown, a member of the church at Corinth, whose family were among those the apostle had baptized (1 Cor. 1:16; 16:15, 17). He has been supposed by some to have been the “jailer of Philippi” (comp.…
Achaia · Paul visitsAc 18;19:21; — Paul visitsAc 18;19:21;
Stephanas · A Christian in Corinth, whose household Paul baptized — A Christian in Corinth, whose household Paul baptized
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
1 Corinthians 16:13-24
13. Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
13. Vigilate, state in fide, viriliter agite, robusti estote.
14. Let all your things be done with charity.
14. Omnia vestra in caritate fiant.
15. I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)
15. Hortor autem vos, fratres, nostis domum Stephanae, primitias esse Achaiae, atque ut se in ministerium sanctorum ordinaverint:
16. That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth.
16. Ut etiam subiecti sitis tallbus, et omnibus qui cooperan…
