Verse 10 says, “Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without fear; for he is working the work of the Lord, even as I.” In order for Timothy to be with the Corinthians without fear, they would have to be obedient and submissive to Paul’s word. In this verse Paul seems to be saying, “You must be in the first day of the week, living in resurrection. You must also be under the headship of Christ and of God, you must discern the Body, desire the greater gifts, practice the gifts in love, and be in resurrection. If this is your situation, then my young co-worker will have no fear when he is with you. See that Timothy is with you without fear, for he is working the work of the Lord even as I am.”
In verse 11 Paul continues, “Let no one therefore despise him. But send him forward in peace, that he may come to me; for I am awaiting him with the brothers.” Here Paul urges the philosophical Greek believers not to despise his younger co-worker. How could the Corinthians have sent Timothy forward in peace unless they were living in resurrection? This would have been impossible. In this verse we actually have a very pleasant picture. Paul was awaiting Timothy with the brothers, hoping that the Corinthians would send him forward in peace.
In verse 12 Paul goes on to say, “Now concerning our brother Apollos, I urged him much that he would come to you with the brothers; and it was not at all his desire to come now, but he will come whenever he has opportunity.” By this, the Corinthians should realize that Paul’s attitude toward Apollos and his relationship with him were in sharp contrast to their preferences (1:11-12). His attitude and relationship kept the oneness; their preferences caused division.
Both Paul and Apollos were persons living in the Spirit. Yet one urged the other to visit the church, but that one did not have the desire to do it. This shows that both had freedom in the Spirit, and the Spirit had freedom in them. This also shows that no one exercised any control over the work for the Lord.
In verse 10 Paul simply refers to Timothy. But when speaking of Apollos in verse 12, he uses the expression “our brother.” This is a dear, intimate expression. We know from the early chapters of this Epistle that certain of the Corinthians preferred Apollos over Paul. Their preferences were a cause of division. Now Paul’s reference to “our brother Apollos” indicates that there was nothing between him and Apollos. It seems as if Paul was saying, “You Corinthians make a difference between Apollos and me. But I would like you to know that there is nothing between us. Apollos is my brother; he is our brother. I urged him much that he would come to you.” Even though Paul realized that certain of the Corinthians preferred Apollos, he still encouraged him to go to Corinth. In fact, he urged him much to go. However, it is not likely that very many Christian workers today would encourage another worker to go to a certain place if they realized that those in that place had a preference for that other worker.
We have pointed out that although Paul urged Apollos to go to Corinth, it was not Apollos’ desire to go at that time. Who, then, was living in the Spirit, Paul or Apollos? The answer is that both were living in the Spirit. But although both Paul and Apollos lived in the Spirit, they had different feelings about Apollos’ going to Corinth.
Some have condemned me and accused me of being a dictator; they have claimed that I have autonomous authority to control all the churches and all the saints. It is a fact that I do not exercise control over the churches or over the saints. As many can testify, when others come to me for advice, I encourage them to go to the Lord and pray. I tell them that it is not for me to decide what they should do. Paul did not exercise control, and we do not exercise control today.
In verse 13 Paul says, “Watch, stand firm in the faith, be a man, be strong!” Here Paul charges the Corinthians not to be shaken by any heresy, especially the heresy that says there is no resurrection. The faith in this verse is objective; it refers to what we believe. To be a man is to be a full-grown man, strong in the faith and firm in his standing, not like a child in understanding (14:20), or a babe tossed by waves and carried about by the wind of teaching (Eph. 4:14). Growth in life is needed (1 Cor. 3:1, 6).
Verse 14 says, “Let all you do be done in love.” This is the love defined in chapter thirteen.
In verses 17 and 18 Paul says that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus “refreshed my spirit and yours.” This must have been by the riches of Christ ministered by their spirit in order to touch the spirit of others. This indicates that our contact with the saints and our relationship with them must be in and by our spirit, not our soulish emotion. If these brothers had come to Paul with a lot of gossip, they could not have refreshed his spirit. The fact that they refreshed the spirit of the apostle and of all the Corinthians indicates that they lived and behaved in the spirit.