A. Concluding Exhortations (16:13–18)
13Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. 14Do everything in love.
15You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people. I urge you, brothers and sisters, 16to submit to such people and to everyone who joins in the work and labors at it. 17I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you. 18For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.
This hortatory part of the conclusion is in three parts. The first (vv. 13–14) is a series of five seriatim imperatives that appear to be a series of generalized admonitions that could fit any of Paul’s letters; at the same time, however, some of them in particular seem to reflect the Corinthian situation. These are followed (vv. 15–16) by an appeal (parakaleō = “I beseech you”) of a kind that appears elsewhere in Pauline conclusions. As in other instances they are concerned with relationships within the community addressed, in this case with the proper recognition of the household of Stephanas. To this is added a word about the presence of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus (vv. 17–18), who are almost certainly the bearers of the Corinthian letter to Paul, and probably will return to Corinth with this letter.
The latter items (vv. 15–18) are full of interest, both in terms of how these men relate to Paul, on the one hand, and to the quarrels noted at the beginning of the letter (1:10–12), on the other. Both the fact that Paul devotes this amount of space to this matter and that Stephanas at least probably represents someone who is loyal to Paul suggest that this is one more reflection of the tension between him and the church. But on these matters no certain word can be given.
13 This first series of imperatives is as surprising as it is abrupt. Their presence is probably best explained formally: As noted above, and especially in the earlier letters, Paul seems to have developed the habit of beginning his conclusions with words of exhortation, as though reluctant to sign off without a final word of urgency. These first four imperatives are related in that they all call to watchfulness and steadfastness as to the faith itself (cf. 15:58). In light of all that has preceded Paul is probably urging loyalty to the gospel as they received it from him.
First, the Corinthians are urged to “be watchful” or “alert.” This imperative occurs elsewhere in the NT, including Paul, in eschatological contexts, urging watchfulness in light of the Lord’s return. But it can also be a call to watchfulness with regard to the enemy (1 Pet. 5:8) or to corrosive influences (Acts 20:31). Given the full context of our present letter, the latter is most likely what is intended, hence “be on your guard.” This seems the more so in light of the second imperative, “stand firm in the faith,” which is a modified version of the concern expressed at the beginning and end of the preceding instruction/correction (15:1, 58; cf. 10:12). In Paul this verb invariably has the sense of “standing” firm in Christ, as opposed to “falling.” The use of “in the faith” in place of “the gospel” is clear evidence that in Paul from the very beginning this noun can refer to the content of what is believed as well as to the activity of trusting itself.
The third and fourth imperatives in this list are calls to courage, in which Paul seems to be recalling the language of the Psalter (Ps. 31:24). Ordinarily, one would expect such imperatives in a context of outside opposition; but in the present context Paul is probably urging them to remain steadfast in the gospel he preached, and to do so courageously in the face of the errors and behavioral aberrations that are rife among them.
14 The preceding imperatives have basically to do with their remaining faithful to the gospel itself, this final one with their relationships to one another. “Do all things in love” echoes the marvelous “interlude” (chap. 13) in the preceding argument (chaps. 12/14). Apart from that passage this word does not occur frequently in this letter, but its appearance there and in the crucial passage at the beginning of the issue of idolatry (8:1–3), as well as at the heart of all of Paul’s ethical instructions, makes it certain that in Paul’s understanding this is the imperative that covers much that has preceded. “All things” would include the quarrels in the name of leaders (chaps. 1–3), their attitude toward him (chaps. 4 and 9), the lawsuits (6:1–11), husband-wife relationships (chap. 7), the abuse of the weak by those with “knowledge” (8:1–10:22), the abuse of the “have-nots” at the Lord’s Supper (11:17–34), and the failure to edify the church in worship (chaps. 12–14). If they were to “do all things in love,” then these other things would not be happening. It is therefore no surprise that this is the final expression of parenesis in the letter.
15 The appeal of this brief paragraph (vv. 15–18), that they honor Stephanas’s household and others like him who labor among them, has its precedent in Paul’s earliest letter (1 Thess. 5:12–14). However, as with what has immediately preceded (vv. 13–14), this material is not to be explained simply on formal grounds. This is made clear in the present case by the very awkwardness at the beginning of this appeal, through which Paul’s emphases emerge. The later clause (v. 16) is properly the (objective) complement of the opening verb, “Now I urge you, brothers and sisters.” But it is suspended to make room for the explanatory parenthesis that gives the reason they should submit to Stephanas and his household: “You know the household of Stephanas, that they are, etc.” The result is a singular emphasis on Stephanas, and the Corinthians’ need especially to recognize him, to which then is added that they need to be in submission to all who so labor among them. This strong commendation of Stephanas implies that he had been loyal to Paul in the present tensions within the community. The language of the next clause (v. 16) further makes certain that he is a leader in the church. Very likely he is also a source of further information about the condition of the church, quite apart from their letter.
In calling attention to the “household of Stephanas,” Paul reminds them of two things about Stephanas that they already well know. First, his “household” were “the first converts in [the province of] Achaia.” It is impossible to determine who would have made up the household, which included at least two or more adult members, since the second verb is plural, “they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints.” It is possible, though not provable, that Fortunatus and Achaicus were themselves members of his household, perhaps as slaves or attached freedmen.
Second, Stephanas and his household are noted among the Corinthian believers for having “devoted themselves unto service for the Lord’s people.” Here are people who in self-dedication took it upon themselves to minister to others in Corinth. One cannot be certain as to the specifics of this “service” since the word is ambiguous enough to cover a number of “ministries,” including that of teaching and preaching. It may be that Stephanas’s house also served as one of the places of meeting, in which case he would also be one of the “patrons” of the Lord’s Supper. But that, too, cannot be known. The content of the following appeal (v. 16), including both the urging of “submission” to “Stephanas’s household” and the addition of “everyone who joins in the work and labors at it,” implies that their ministry was probably not limited to good deeds of service among the believers, but also included some responsibility for the ministry of the Word.
16 This sentence functions as the object of the verb “I urge,” with which this appeal began. Paul’s concern is that the Corinthians give proper recognition to Stephanas and his household. Thus, “I urge . . . that you also submit to such as these and to everyone who joins in the work, and labors at it.” The verb “submit” is used only here in the NT to refer to the relationship of a Christian community to those who labor among them. Although this could possibly mean to be in submission to them in some form of obedience, both the context and the similar passage in Paul’s earliest preserved letter (1 Thess. 5:12–13) suggest rather that it means “submission in the sense of voluntary yielding in love” (BDAG), much the same as in a later letter (Eph. 5:21), where all are urged to be “subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
In the first instance this refers to “the household of Stephanas,” which is what the words “to such as these” must mean. That is, Paul is not simply generalizing with this language; that is what the next phrase will do. Here he is referring particularly to Stephanas and other members of his household, which very well might include his wife and slaves and/or freedmen. In any case, for Paul the key to such respect or “submission” is not sex or socioeconomic status but ministry, as becomes clear in the addition “and to everyone who joins in the work, and labors at it.” The collocation of these two words almost certainly refers to the ministry of the gospel. This final addition expands the appeal (that began in v. 15) to include all who so labor among them for the sake of the gospel. But the fact that it occurs merely as an addition implies that the real urgency of the passage has to do with their attitudes toward Stephanas. Although as earlier (vv. 10–11) one cannot be certain, this looks like one more attempt on Paul’s part to urge the Corinthians not only to accept him and his own ministry, but also to extend that acceptance to those who are his co-laborers.
17 This sentence helps to put some things from the two preceding verses into perspective. Paul “rejoices over the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus.” Of the latter two men nothing more is known. Fortunatus is a common Latin name, meaning “blessed” or “lucky”; it appears to have been common especially among slaves and freedmen. Whoever this Fortunatus was, he was undoubtedly from among the large number of Romans who made up this Roman colony. Achaicus means “one who is from Achaia.” This name, too, appears to be the kind that is given to slaves, or taken sometimes by freedmen. Such derivations may mean little or nothing as to their present socioeconomic status. On the other hand, they do add weight to the possibility that these two men are attached to Stephanas in some way. In any case, that is as probable as the oft-repeated assumption that the three men were independent of one another as members of the church in Corinth. If they belonged together in some way, as members of Stephanas’s household, then they might very well have been traveling together to Ephesus, perhaps on business, in which case the church would have asked them to carry their letter to Paul. In that sense the three together would become a kind of “official delegation” from the church. If the suggestion regarding these three men is correct, it would serve as further evidence that for Paul the new relationship to Christ of “master and slave” as “brothers” turns the Roman worldview of such a relationship on its head!
In any case, that at least is how Paul himself treats them. By their coming to be with Paul, “they have supplied what was lacking from you.” The words “to fill up your lack” mean that Paul’s absence from Corinth had left a gap in his life; in these three men, therefore, he has in effect welcomed the whole congregation, of whom they are the representatives, even if they do not in themselves truly “represent” the various elements and points of view in the community. That is, as bearers of the Corinthian letter, they are “officially” from the church, even if they do not represent the point of view of the letter itself. If this is the correct view of things, then there is a degree of irony in this accolade.
18 With two sentences Paul concludes these brief words about the brothers from Corinth. First he explains how it is that they have made up for his not being able to see the whole church in person: “For they have refreshed my spirit.” This sentence scarcely needs comment for any who have ever been thus visited by longtime friends in the faith, especially those with whom one has worked. Such visits are always “seasons of refreshing” in the Lord, both because of the personal relationships involved and the news of other believers. But what they did for Paul is no surprise; they had already often done so to the Corinthians themselves, as the words “and yours also” attest.
“Therefore,” Paul concludes, “recognize such men.” Although the NIV captures the sense of this with its “Such men deserve recognition,” it misses too much by omitting the imperative and inferential conjunction. These words at the conclusion of this paragraph further add to the supposition that even though they have come on behalf of the church, they are among Paul’s people in the community. Thus, this final sentence has the effect of being a “letter of commendation” (see on v. 3) for the very ones who came to Paul from the church in the first place. In any case, the language implies that they are now the bearers of Paul’s letter back to the church.
Although one cannot be certain of the reconstruction here suggested, it has the advantage both of fitting the letter as a whole and of making good sense of the language and apparent concern that Stephanas continue to be well received in his own community. If so, then one should probably also be somewhat cautious as to the usefulness of the paragraph in helping us understand the role of leadership in the local church. It seems unquestionable that Stephanas at least was a leader in the church in Corinth; probably also Fortunatus and Achaicus, even if they were attached to Stephanas’s household in some way. That the church should honor and submit itself in love to such is first of all a local concern, probably related to their relationship to Paul and the church’s somewhat antagonistic attitude toward the apostle. On the other hand, there is no reason why such should not always be so in the church, provided of course that one is talking of those who lead by serving the saints (v. 16) and refreshing them (v. 18). Such people, whether in leadership or otherwise, are always worthy of proper recognition in the community of believers.