1 Corinthians 16:15-16

The Corinthians had a special problem with submission to authority, as we have seen. Many in the church wanted to do their own thing. 1 Corinthians 16:16-18 would have encouraged them to appreciate some less flashy servants of the Lord.

Stephanus and his family were Paul’s first converts in Achaia, the province in which Corinth stood (1 Corinthians 1:16). They had given themselves unselfishly to serving the Corinthians. They were probably loyal to Paul and may have been the source from which the apostle received some of his information about conditions in this church. Paul urged that his readers appreciate Stephanus and his family for their ministry and not ignore them but submit humbly to them. They should treat others such as them with similar honor. Service, not status, should be the basis for honor in the church.