5. Who then is Paul ? Here he begins to treat of the estimation in which ministers ought to be held, and the purpose for which they have been set apart by the Lord. He names himself and Apollos rather than others, that he may avoid any appearance of envy. (156) “What else,” says he, “are all ministers appointed for, but to bring you to faith through means of their preaching?” From this Paul infers, that no man ought to be gloried in, for faith allows of no glorying except in Christ alone. Hence those that extol men above measure, strip them of their true dignity. For the grand distinction of them all is, that they are ministers of faith, or, in other words, that they gain disciples to Christ, not to themselves. Now, though he appears in this way to depreciate the dignity of ministers, yet he does not assign it a lower place than it ought to hold. For he says much when he says, that we receive faith through their ministry. Nay farther, the efficacy of external doctrine receives here extraordinary commendation, when it is spoken of as the instrument of the Holy Spirit; and pastors are honored with no common title of distinction, when God is said to make use of them as his ministers, for dispensing the inestimable treasure of faith.
As the Lord hath given to every man. In the Greek words used by Paul the particle of comparison ὡς, as, is placed after ἑκαστῳ — to every man; but the order is inverted. (157) Hence to make the meaning more apparent, I have rendered it “ Sicut unicuique,” — “as to every man,” rather than “ Unicuique sicut,” — “to every man as.” In some manuscripts, however, the particle και, and, is wanting, and it is all in one connection, thus: Ministers by whom ye believed as the Lord gave to every man If we read it in this way, the latter clause will be added to explain the former, — so that Paul explains what he meant by the term minister: “Those are ministers whose services God makes use of, not as though they could do anything by their own efforts, but in so far as they are guided by his hand, as instruments.” The rendering that I have given, however, is, in my opinion, the more correct one. If we adopt it, the statement will be more complete, for it will consist of two clauses, in this way. In the first place, those are ministers who have devoted their services to Christ, that you might believe in him: farther, they have nothing of their own to pride themselves upon, inasmuch as they do nothing of themselves, and have no power to do anything otherwise than by the gift of God, and every man according to his own measure — which shows, that whatever each individual has, is derived from another. In fine, he unites them all together as by a mutual bond, inasmuch as they require each other’s assistance.
(156) “ Afin que le propos soit moins odieux, et qu’on ne dise qu’il porte enuie aux autres;” — “That the discourse may be less offensive, and that none may say that he bears envy towards others.”
(157) An instance of the same kind occurs in Romans 12:3 ἑκάστῳ ὡς ὁ Θεὸς ευερισε μέτρον πίστεως — as God hath distributed to every one the measure of faith.” Calvin, when commenting on the passage, observes, that it is an instance of “ anastrophe, seu vocum inversio, pro Quemadmodum unicuique ;” — “anastrophe, or inversion of words for As to every one. ” — Ed