But I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the first-fruits of Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the saints for service,)
Paul ends a letter full of correction by pointing the Corinthians at one family. That church was full of disorder. Yet one household there — the first converts in the region — had given itself to serving God's people, and Paul asks the rest to honour them for it.
The verb Paul uses here comes from army life. One writer explains what it pictures:
The word etaxan, which we have rendered "have devoted," means to appoint an officer to a regiment, or, in general, a man to any post. But here it concerns a service of love. The family of Stephanas — the first converts in Achaia — were moved by their desire to serve the Lord and by their love for the saints. In what related to service, they had placed themselves at the head of the saints. They took this place towards the saints so as to serve them with all their heart. So they were set over the saints to serve them, but they had appointed themselves to it. And Paul begs the saints to obey them.
They posted themselves. Some have found that troubling, but Paul does not:
The house of Stephanas had no such prominent, wide, or energetic sphere; but they devoted themselves in an orderly way to the saints for service. It was their regular work, not a thing taken up carelessly now and then. Some dare to mock this as self-appointment. Yet the apostle upholds and commends it in the name of the Lord. He is just as clear that it is unscriptural for a patron or a congregation to call a man to the ministry of the word... They were not elders. Even so, the apostle calls on the saints to put themselves under such people, and under everyone who shares the work and toils.
We know very little about this family. One writer says the little we know is enough:
Of the family so honourably mentioned, we know only this: they devoted themselves in this way, and received an early foretaste of their Lord's applause. But the Spirit records them as models to encourage those whose hearts may prompt them to do the same... The point to notice is this. They had no special call, and, as far as appears, no marked, distinctive gift. The love of Christ alone moved them, and they boldly took the path to which that love invited them... The Lord has volunteers as well as slaves.
Who was such service really for? One writer answers, and links it to a gift named earlier in the letter:
They laid themselves out to serve the saints. They knew that in this way they would be serving Christ in His members on earth. Much in such work might be commonplace and humdrum, but they rendered it to Christ. Such service is not very common, we fear. It receives mention and commendation in verse 16. It illustrates, we judge, what is meant by "helps," mentioned among the gifts in 1 Cor. 12:28.
This house appears twice in the letter, and the two mentions do not use the same Greek word:
This later Scripture might seem to show that those in the household of Stephanas were old enough to serve the saints. In that case they had passed the age of infants or children. But the Greek word used for the household of Stephanas in the first chapter is wider than the word used of it in the sixteenth. This would suggest that all the house of Stephanas was baptised, but that only part of it — a narrower circle, perhaps not including little children — devoted themselves to the service of the saints.
Where no one holds office, what gives such service any claim on the rest? One writer answers:
There is a moral action on the souls of those making up the assembly, and it is available when official rule does not exist. It is remarkable that 1 Corinthians mentions no elders, though there was such disorder there, and gives no directions to appoint any. The word of God meets the evil... All this can be practised when there is no official appointment.
- Devoted — the word. Etaxan is a military word. It means posting a man to his station. Stephanas' house posted itself, and the station it chose was serving God's people.
- Devoted by love. No special call, no marked gift — only the love of Christ. They were volunteers, and the Spirit keeps them as models for anyone whose heart prompts the same.
- Devoted in the ordinary. Much of it was humdrum work, but they did it for Christ in His members. One writer links it with the gift of "helps."
- Devoted as a family. Chapter 1 speaks of the wider house, baptised. Chapter 16 names a narrower circle inside it who gave themselves to the service.
- Devoted, therefore honoured. Paul asks the church to submit to such people. Where no one holds office, faithful service still has a real claim on the conscience.
that *ye* should also be subject to such, and to every one joined in the work and labouring.
Paul closes a letter full of correction by pointing the Corinthians to one household — and then to everyone else who shares the work. Who are "such as these," and what gives them any claim on the obedience of others?
The word translated "devoted" in verse 15 is the language of appointment.
The Greek word etaxan, which we have rendered "have devoted," means to appoint an officer to a regiment, or, more widely, a man to any post. But here it is a service of love. The family of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia. Their wish to serve the Lord and their love for the saints moved them, and in the matter of service they placed themselves at the head of the saints. They took that place to serve them with all their heart. So they stood over the saints to serve them, but they had appointed themselves to it; and Paul asks the saints to obey them.
Not everyone respects that kind of self-appointment.
They devoted themselves in an orderly way to the saints for service. It was their regular work, not something taken up half-heartedly now and then. Some dare to mock this as self-appointment. Yet the apostle upholds and commends it in the name of the Lord — as surely as a call from a patron or from a congregation to the ministry of the word is completely unscriptural.
What did their service actually look like?
The household of Stephanas had "devoted themselves to the service of the saints." They laid themselves out to serve the saints. They knew that in this way they would be serving Christ in His members on earth. There might be a lot that was commonplace and humdrum in such work, but they rendered it to Christ. Such service is not very common, we fear. It receives mention and commendation in verse 16. It illustrates, we judge, what is meant by "helps," mentioned among the gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:28.
Their qualification was love, not office or a striking gift.
They had no special call, and, as far as we can see, no marked gift. Only the love of Christ moved them. They boldly took the path that love invited them to, and their work met with prompt acceptance — and that was not for their sakes only. The Lord has volunteers as well as slaves.
One thing is missing from this letter. Corinth was full of disorder, yet Paul never mentions elders.
He begged them to be subject to such, and to everyone working together and labouring. This is all the more striking, since we never hear of elders in the two letters to the Corinthians. If there had been any, they would have come in for special blame. Elders needed appointment by those who had discernment and full authority. Apart from them there were also labourers, and the saints owed subjection to these too. We find the same in other letters. This fact is of the greatest importance for the church as things now stand.
If no one appointed these workers, what makes their claim binding?
There is a moral action on the souls of those who make up the assembly. It works when official rule does not exist... All this can be practised where there is no official appointment. That would need apostolic authority, and it does not exist... This rests on the action of the word in the conscience of those who have to submit. If someone comes to me as an official elder, he has no scriptural authority to make good his claim.
Paul does not stop at one household. He widens the call to every fellow worker. So how should an assembly treat workers no one appointed?
Certain among them, seeing the need, set about and did the work, though no one had formally appointed them. Such were to be recognised... No one was to put them down, or brush them aside as irregular because no apostle had appointed them. The saints were to accept them with thanks, value them in love, and submit to them.
Does this mean following a leader no matter what?
In general, the saints should submit themselves to such leaders, those who voluntarily, as led of God, do the work of God. Of course, in cases of abuse of leadership, it is a different matter. Diotrephes, who loved to have the pre-eminence, was not to be followed (3 John 9-11).
- Love starts it. Love for the Lord and for His people moved Stephanas' household to serve. No call or appointment stood behind them.
- Love steadies it. Their work was regular and ordinary — the kind that answers to "helps" — and they did it to Christ in His members.
- Love earns it. Paul asks for submission to people with no office at all. Corinth had plenty of disorder, but no elders for him to address.
- Love, not rank, binds it. The claim is moral, not official. It rests on the word in the conscience, not on a title.
- Love widens it. The call reaches every fellow worker who labours. But no one has to follow a leader who abuses the place, as Diotrephes did.