47Doing the Lord’s Work in the Lord’s Way (16:5-12)
But I shall come to you after I go through Macedonia, for I am going through Macedonia; and perhaps I shall stay with you, or even spend the winter, that you may send me on my way wherever I may go. For I do not wish to see you now just in passing; for I hope to remain with you for some time, if the Lord permits. But I shall remain in Ephesus until Pentecost; for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without cause to be afraid; for he is doing the Lord’s work, as I also am. Let no one therefore despise him. But send him on his way in peace, so that he may come to me; for I expect him with the brethren. But concerning Apollos our brother, I encouraged him greatly to come to you with the brethren; and it was not at all his desire to come now, but he will come when he has opportunity. (16:5-12)
This passage near the close of the letter does not explicitly teach or exhort, except for the advice about receiving Timothy (v. 11). It is more in the form of explanation. Yet we can learn a great deal from these eight verses. The things Paul speaks about here have to do with the work of the Lord, in which all Christians should be abounding (15:58) as were Paul and Timothy (16:10).
The work of the Lord consists basically of two things: evangelizing and edifying, the two outstanding marks of Jesus’ own ministry. “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Throughout the three years of His ministry Jesus also carefully taught His disciples. Until just before His ascension He continued teaching them “the things concerning the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). He preached the gospel to those who did not know Him and He taught those who did. Throughout His ministry He alternated between preaching to the lost and teaching the saved. Those two tasks are the heart of the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit [evangelism], teaching them to observe all that I commanded you [edification]” (Matt. 28:19-20).
As Paul made clear at the end of the previous chapter, when we truly do the work of the Lord our “toil is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58). It will not be empty, useless, or unproductive. But the “toil” (kopos) Paul is speaking of is not merely keeping busy; it is arduous work. G. Campbell Morgan comments: “Paul has in mind the kind of toil that has in it the red blood of sacrifice, the kind of toil that wearies and weakens along the way.”
There can easily be a lot of activity without much work of the Lord genuinely being done. When the work we do is of little importance, is done in the flesh, or is done halfheartedly, it will never be fruitful for the Lord. That sort of work, though in the Lord’s name, is “in vain.”
A building must be constructed according to the architect’s plans and the required building codes. Before it can be used it must pass inspection to see that the codes were followed. The church’s work for the Lord is done in the same way. To truly be His work, what we do must be done according to His plan and code, revealed in Scripture, and must continually be subject to the divine supervision and inspection of the Holy Spirit. We must “be diligent to present [ourselves] approved to God as [workmen] who [do] not need to be ashamed” (2 Tim. 2:15). Doing the Lord’s work in the Lord’s way is building “with gold, silver, precious stones” (1 Cor. 3:12). It is that sort of dedicated, spiritual service to the Lord of which Paul speaks in this passage, allowing us to see a number of implied principles that lay behind properly doing the Lord’s work.
VISION
But I shall come to you after I go through Macedonia, for I am going through Macedonia. (16:5)
The Lord’s worker must have a vision for the future. The Christian who is motivated and consumed by God’s love will see needs that are not yet filled and opportunities that are not yet met. He cannot help planning ahead, looking for more ways to serve and for more doors to open.
At the end of a three-year stay in Ephesus, Paul wrote this epistle and probably gave it to Timothy to deliver (16:10). The apostle originally had planned to follow Timothy a short while later (4:19), visiting Corinth both on the way to and from Macedonia (2 Cor. 1:15-16). But he had to change his plans and decided to visit Corinth later, after I go through Macedonia. He had to change his plan, but he had a plan to change. Even while he was busy in Ephesus, he was planning the next steps in his ministry—what he would do in Macedonia, Corinth, and then Jerusalem.
The Lord’s faithful worker plans and strategizes, he looks ahead with a sense-of vision and expectancy. One writer has suggested that Paul was haunted by distant regions, that the apostle never saw a ship at anchor but he wished to board it to carry the good news to the people across the water, and that he never saw a mountain range but he wanted to cross it to build up the saints. As far as his own welfare and satisfaction were concerned the apostle had “learned to be content in whatever circumstances” he found himself (Phil. 4:11). But he was not content with resting on what he had already accomplished. He always saw more work waiting to be done, more souls waiting to be saved, more believers waiting to be edified and encouraged.
Several years after he wrote 1 Corinthians, Paul wrote the letter to the church at Rome. Near the end of the letter he mentioned twice that, after he visited Rome, he planned to go to Spain (Rom. 15:24, 28). Spain was then a flourishing and influential province of the Roman empire, having produced three emperors and the famous philosopher-statesman Seneca. But as far as we know the gospel had not yet reached Spain, and Paul was anxious to preach there. He wrote the letter to Rome while he was in Corinth completing the collection mentioned in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4. Again we see that, while faithfully working where he was, he nevertheless was planning and preparing for what he would do next. Like a general poring over a map to determine where the next battle should be fought, Paul constantly surveyed the lands about him to see where to begin his next effort for the Lord.
When Nehemiah approached King Artaxerxes for permission to go to Jerusalem, he had a specific purpose and plan in mind. Nehemiah already had prayed earnestly and penitently that God would allow him to do this work and that He would open the king’s heart to give permission. He then explained to the king the city’s great need for its walls and its gates to be rebuilt. When Nehemiah’s initial request was granted, he made additional pleas in order to secure the timber and other materials he knew he would need (Neh. 1:1-2:8). Because of vision and careful planning his great success as the rebuilder of Jerusalem began long before he left Persia.
While he was working as a cobbler in England, William Carey was moved by the great spiritual needs of other parts of the world. He placed a world map in front of his workbench, and, as he worked, he thought, prayed, and wept about what needed to be done and how the Lord could use him to meet those needs. When he finally arrived in India, his first mission assignment, he was ready to begin work. He not only was used directly to make outstanding contributions through teaching, preaching, translation, and printing of Christian literature, but helped prepare the way for every missionary who has served there since. Because he had prayed, planned, and prepared, he was ready when the opportunity came.
We may only guess at the number of works the Lord has for His people to do but for whom there are few with a vision and readiness. In fact, our true willingness to work for the Lord can be measured by what we are doing at the present to analyze needs and to prepare—even if we do not know exactly what or where the work might be.
FLEXIBILITY
And perhaps I shall stay with you, or even spend the winter, that you may send me on my way wherever I may go. (16:6)
While we ought to have vision, and plan ahead about what we will be doing and how, we also must be flexible. Our plans should always be subject to the Lord’s revision. The future does not always come together as we think it will. Our original understanding of God’s will for us may not have been entirely right or complete, or His plans for us may change. In any case, we should always qualify our intentions as James advises: “If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that” (James 4:15).
Our spiritual gifts and talents, as well as our desires as prompted by the Holy Spirit, may give us clues as to the type of work the Lord has for us to do, but He may want us to use our gifts in ways that we have not imagined. If we are rigidly convinced in advance about what God wants us to do, we can become insensitive to His leading when the call to a specific ministry comes. Our vision, no matter how sincere and how carefully thought out, is not infallible. Inflexibility can be a great barrier both to knowing and doing the Lord’s work. Flexibility is not a sign of weakness but of humility.
Though Paul had a good purpose in mind and a strong personal desire to visit Corinth after “going through Macedonia” (v. 5), he went on to say that perhaps he would stay with the believers there, or even spend the winter. Both perhaps and even, along with wherever and “if the Lord permits” (v. 7), express Paul’s concern that his own plans and thinking not become presumptuous and inflexible, usurping the Lord’s prerogative to change them as He saw fit (cf. Prov 16:9).
The apostle was not fickle or indecisive, as the Corinthians later accused him of being, but realistic and humble. He was realistic because he knew that no one can be “captain of his own fate and master of his own destiny.” There are far too many things in life that are completely out of our control. He was humble because he knew that God is sovereign and has the absolute power and right to change any person’s plans whenever and however He chooses. “Therefore, I was not vacillating when I intended to do this, was I?” he later explained. “Or that which I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yes, yes and no, no at the same time?” (2 Cor. 1:17). We are not always able to go where we want to go or do what we want to do, no matter how sincere, selfless, and spiritual our motives may be. Apostles were no exception.
Modifying the trip to Corinth was not the first time God had adjusted Paul’s plans. On his second missionary journey Paul planned to “visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are” (Acts 15:36). They were able to visit most of the places as planned, but the Holy Spirit specifically forbade them “to speak the word in Asia” or “to go into Bithynia” (16:6-7). It was the Lord’s will for Paul and Silas, with their new companion, Timothy, to revisit some of the churches on the original schedule, but before all of them could be visited, God sent the group to a completely new field, Macedonia (vv. 9-10), where they became the first to preach the gospel in Europe.
All of his life, David Livingstone wanted to be a missionary to China. Even in old age he longed to have the opportunity to go there and minister. But God sent him instead to Africa, where he worked and died opening up that great continent to mission work, much as Carey had done in India. He never went to the place where he personally wanted to go, but he served willingly, unreservedly, and fruitfully where God put him. He had a great vision for China, but because he wanted, above all else, to do the Lord’s will, he was flexible. He was willing clay in the Potter’s hands (Rom. 9:21), to be molded and remolded in whatever ways God pleased.
Wherever Paul was to go, he wanted the support of the Corinthians. That you may send me on my way implies their equipping and encouraging him on the mission, whatever God had in mind.
THOROUGHNESS IN PRESENT SERVICE
For I do not wish to see you now just in passing; for I hope to remain with you for some time, if the Lord permits. But I shall remain in Ephesus until Pentecost. (16:7-8)
Doing the Lord’s work in the Lord’s way also demands thoroughness in work we presently are doing. If Paul were to accomplish anything worthwhile during his next stay in Corinth, he knew he would have to visit them more than just in passing. He therefore hoped to remain with them for some time, if the Lord permits. He had a strong commitment to thoroughness. Superficiality and temporariness had no part in his ministry. He wanted everything he did to be sound and permanent, worthwhile and lasting.
The Great Commission cannot be fulfilled with anything less than thoroughness. Evangelism, making “disciples of all the nations,” is only the beginning. To go on and teach new converts “to observe all that [Jesus] commanded” (Matt. 28:19-20) is a long and demanding process. It cannot be done quickly, carelessly, or superficially.
Paul had spent a year and a half establishing and pastoring the church at Corinth. He knew that the letter he now was writing would only begin to help solve the serious problems the Corinthians were having. If possible, he wanted at least to “spend the winter” (v. 6) with them before he went on to Jerusalem.
Paul wanted to teach every Christian everything he could at every opportunity he had. “And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ. And for this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me” (Col. 1:28-29). To the Thessalonians he wrote, “We night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face, and may complete what is lacking in your faith” (1 Thess. 3:10). To the Ephesian elders who met him at Miletus he was able to say, “I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God” (Acts 20:27).
Thoroughness does not depend solely on the length of time we spend at a particular place doing a particular ministry. The earthly ministry of the Lord Himself lasted only three years, but at the end of that brief time Jesus could say, “I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do” (John 17:4). Paul spent about three years at Ephesus, less than a total of two years in Corinth, and only weeks in Thessalonica. But the time he spent in each place was characterized by thoroughness, by using to the fullest advantage the time he had. He always followed his own advice. What he said to the Ephesians, he no doubt had said many times to himself: “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time” (Eph. 5:16).
Paul spoke of some believers in the Thessalonian church as “doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies” (2 Thess. 3:11). The Greek has a play on words, which could be translated, “not busy workers but busybodies.” These particular busybodies were, probably among other things, spreading fantastic speculations about Christ’s return (cf. 2:1-5). Not only were they misleading and confusing other church members, but they were financially sponging off them as well. They had given up productive work of every sort, and certainly were not doing the work of the Lord, despite the theological air of their activities.
Even with work that we know is the Lord’s, we should never take on a ministry that we are not willing to thoroughly prepare for and work at. We should not attempt to give a message or teach a lesson that is not carefully based in Scripture and thoroughly prayed about. We should not seek to disciple a person to whom we are not willing to give the necessary time. Good purposes, intentions, and plans are worthless if they are not faithfully executed.
Because he still had necessary work to do there, Paul intended to remain in Ephesus until Pentecost. He could not go on to something else until he had done all the Lord wanted him to do where he was.
Almost every day I receive letters or phone calls from churches or Christian organizations requesting names of prospective pastors or other workers. Invariably they specify that they want someone with a proven record, someone who has been successful in the work he has been doing. Only the person who is “faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10). To that person the Lord says, “Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things” (Matt. 25:23). Only the Christian who is doing his present work for the Lord thoroughly and faithfully can expect his ministry to grow and be extended, even into the kingdom of our Lord. The scope of eternal service to God in heaven will be determined by the strength and dedication of service rendered here and now, as the parable of the talents teaches (Matt. 25:14-30).
We should not expect the Lord to open doors of greater ministry in time or eternity if we have not entered doors He has already opened for us. Because he had faithfully entered the door God opened for preaching to the Gentiles (Acts 14:27) and the door He had opened to Troas (2 Cor. 2:12) and other places, Paul had a right to ask his Colossian brothers to pray that God would open still more doors, so that he could continue to “speak forth the mystery of Christ” (Col. 4:3). The opening and closing of doors for ministry is entirely God’s doing (Rev 3:7). Our job is to enter the doors, and only the doors, He opens to us.
A young seminary student who was a dear friend to me discovered that, because of an inoperable brain tumor, he had from six months to perhaps two years to live. While a student at UCLA he had started a number of Bible studies, which were remarkably successful. Students he discipled began leading other Bible studies and discipling other students. Some of those he led to the Lord went on to seminary, as he did. After learning of his illness he continued to minister, working for the Lord in whatever ways he could. He had many visions and plans for a future in missions, and, though terminally ill, he never ceased to be faithful and thorough in the work he had at hand. He died before graduating from seminary and was given his degree posthumously. Today, his young widow has taken up her husband’s desire for reaching a lost world and has gone to the mission field alone.
Stephen and Philip started out as deacons, doing the practical, mundane work of feeding the widows in the Jerusalem church in order to relieve the apostles for “prayer, and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:2-5). Starting as waiters, they both became outstanding evangelists. Not only did Stephen’s and Philip’s doing that “lesser” work allow the apostles to increase their ministry, but it also prepared those two deacons themselves for preaching ministries of their own (see Acts 6:8-8:40). Stephen’s powerful, Spirit-filled preaching and his martyr’s death are almost certain to have been used of the Lord to soften the heart and lead to the conversion of Paul himself (see 8:1). Philip evangelized much of Samaria and, through witnessing to the Ethiopian eunuch, indirectly was responsible for taking the gospel into Africa.
Becoming a faithful servant of the Lord does not begin with some great opportunity, but with doing the best possible work for Him in the routine things. If we do not give God our best where we are, there is no assurance we will give Him our best anywhere else. The only opportunity we can be sure of having is the one we have now
ACCEPTANCE OF OPPOSITION AS A CHALLENGE
For a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. (16:9)
A fourth necessary principle for doing the Lord’s work in the Lord’s way is accepting opposition as a challenge rather than as a hindrance. In the present age there is no such thing as an authentic ministry without problems and opposition of some sort. Satan will see to it. A work that has little opposition from the antagonistic system of Satan is one that is doing little work for the Lord. G. Campbell Morgan said, “If you have no opposition in the place you serve, you’re serving in the wrong place.”
Paul was not intimidated by opposition. He seemed even to flourish on it, perhaps because he realized that the devil’s greatest opposition is to the Lord’s greatest work. The fact that there were many adversaries of the gospel in Ephesus (cf. Eph. 6:12) simply meant that a wide door for effective service had opened.
He was not indifferent to the harm that Satan could do to God’s people, and consequently was determined to “remain in Ephesus until Pentecost” (v. 8) in order to help fight the adversaries. Ephesus had a great system of organized idolatry, centered in the famous temple of Diana, or Artemis. Ritual prostitution and sexual perversion not only were tolerated but were promoted in the name of religion. In addition, there were certain Jewish exorcists who went around claiming to cast out evil spirits in Jesus’ name (Acts 19:13-14). The city was full of occult practitioners of every sort (vv. 17-19). Paganism, idolatry, occultism, demonism, superstition, sexual vice, racism, religious animosity—of pagans against Christians, Jews against Christians, and of pagans and Jews against each other—were common and considered normal. Probably no New Testament church had more direct opposition than the one at Ephesus.
To Paul great opposition presented great opportunity. When he arrived in Ephesus, he began his work by straightening out the theology of some new believers (Acts 19:1-7). Then he proceeded to preach in the synagogue for three months and in the school of Tyrannus for two years (vv. 8-10). He performed miracles, cast out evil spirits, and rebuked false exorcists (vv. 11-19).
Of his experience in Ephesus Paul later wrote, “We do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia [the Roman province in which Ephesus was located], that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope” (2 Cor. 1:8-10).
It was not that Paul considered opposition as of no consequence or concern. He was far from naive. He did not underestimate or discount the strength or potential danger of his adversaries. Almost daily he personally and directly felt pain and torment from opposition. “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2 Cor. 4:8-11).
In spite of fierce opposition—in fact, partly because of it and through it—“the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing” in Ephesus (Acts 19:20). It was after that experience that Paul wrote the letter of 1 Corinthians and determined to visit Corinth (which was in Achaia) on his way to Jerusalem (v. 21).
He was not quite through in Ephesus, however. Apparently some new opportunities or problems developed, which he describes as a wide door for effective service. He was still needed for a while, and would not leave until he was sure that it was the Lord’s will for him to minister somewhere else. He had made a great investment there and wanted to secure it.
When we are looking for a place to serve the Lord, we should look for a place with problems, for a church that is discouraged, for a group in our own congregation that needs to have a better understanding of God’s Word, for people who have never heard God’s Word or have heard it only in a perverted or unbalanced form. That is where the Lord can truly use us.
While John Paton was a university student in Scotland, God called him to missionary work in the New Hebrides. After graduation he and his bride sailed to the southwest Pacific and began work among the savage cannibals on the island of Tanna. His wife and infant son died a few months later, and Paton slept on their graves for several nights to prevent the cannibals from digging up the bodies and eating them. After almost four years of faithful work he left without seeing a single convert. Many years later his son by another marriage resumed work on Tanna and eventually saw the entire island come to Christ. When the elder Paton revisited the island, the chief of the former cannibals asked the missionary who the great army was that had surrounded his hut every night when he first came among them. God’s angels had protected him. Because of his faithful work and that of his son, when he left the New Hebrides for the last time, after ministering on another island as well, it is reported that he said with tearful eyes, “I don’t know of one native on these islands who has not made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ.”
TEAM SPIRIT
Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without cause to be afraid; for he is doing the Lord’s work, as I also am. Let no one therefore despise him. But send him on his way in peace, so that he may come to me; for I expect him with the brethren. (16:10-11)
Paul was a team worker. Though he was an apostle and was privileged to receive great revelations from the Lord, he always worked closely with other Christians in whatever he did. He was never an ecclesiastical superstar, lording it over those “below” him.
Paul had sent Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia (Acts 19:22), and Timothy was to go on down to Corinth, perhaps carrying this epistle, to remind the Corinthians of Paul’s “ways which are in Christ” (1 Cor. 4:17). The apostle was concerned that Timothy might be ignored or mistreated. The Corinthians were proud, self-sufficient, and strong-willed. If they had so strongly resisted Paul’s authority, they likely would pay much less attention to Timothy.
Paul admonished the Corinthians not to give Timothy any cause to be afraid. Timothy was God’s servant and a trusted and respected fellow worker of Paul’s. He is doing the Lord’s work, as I also am. The Corinthians were to treat him with respect and were not to intimidate or frustrate his work among them. Paul was an apostle and was Timothy’s father in the faith, yet he considered his young friend to be the Lord’s faithful worker, as I also am. They were equal in the faith, and because Timothy was doing the Lord’s work, he was worthy of honor and respect, just as was Paul. No one was to despise him, that is, to think little of him. On the contrary, he was to be sent back to Paul in peace … with the [appointed] brethren, not alone. He wanted all servants of the Lord treated as he was.
Even when Paul was imprisoned and a group of leaders in the Philippian church was maligning the apostle and striving for self-glory, he refused to be resentful or jealous. His great concern was “that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice” (Phil. 1:15-18).
In the reports of the missionary journeys in the book of Acts, we read of Paul and Barnabas, Paul and Silas, Paul and Luke, Paul and Aristarchus, Paul and Mark, Paul and Timothy. Except when prevented by being in prison, Paul always had a joint ministry. In the book of Romans, Paul’s deepest and most theological letter, he devotes the last chapter to commending a long list of co-workers, twenty-four individuals and two entire households, in the work of the Lord. Both as a believer and as a leader Paul closely identified himself with other Christians. He was not ashamed to call the worldly and carnal Corinthian believers His brethren (1 Cor. 1:10; 2:1; 3:1; etc.) or to call the young and timid Timothy a minister of the Lord’s work, as I also am. He ranked Timothy with himself because of the glory of the work.
Paul not only acknowledged his dependence on the Lord but also his dependence on other Christians. In no way did he think of himself as self-sufficient. Epaphroditus was to Paul “my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need” (Phil. 2:25). John Mark, in whom Paul once was greatly disappointed (Acts 15:37-39), later became a beloved friend whom Paul considered especially “useful to me for service” (2 Tim. 4:11). Even the runaway slave Onesimus, whom Paul had won to Christ while in prison, became “useful both to you [Philemon, the slave’s owner] and to me [Paul].” He was so dear that Paul told Philemon that in sending Onesimus he was “sending my very heart, whom I wished to keep with me, that in your behalf he might minister to me in my imprisonment for the gospel” (Philem. 12-13).
God calls some people to be leaders and others to serve leaders. Sometimes those who serve leaders do that throughout their lives. Often, however, they are being prepared by God to be leaders themselves. But whatever the roles of the workers, when the Lord’s work is done in the Lord’s way, it will always be done with a spirit of unity, teamwork, and mutual dependence.
SENSITIVITY TO THE SPIRIT’S LEADING OF OTHERS
But concerning Apollos our brother, I encouraged him greatly to come to you with the brethren; and it was not at all his desire to come now, but he will come when he has opportunity. (16:12)
The last principle we see in this passage for doing the Lord’s work in the Lord’s way is that of being sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading of other believers.
Paul had a strong feeling that Apollos (see Acts 18:24-28) should accompany the other brethren, Timothy and Erastus, to Corinth. In fact Paul encouraged him greatly. In his own mind the apostle was convinced that that was the right thing for Apollos to do. Apollos had leadership qualities that Timothy lacked, and seemed to be just the right person to complete the team. Paul, along with some of the Corinthians, thought that Apollos was just what Corinth needed. Apollos, however, was convinced that the Lord wanted him to stay in Ephesus for a while longer, just as Paul was convinced that he (Paul) should stay (v. 8). So when Apollos objected (it was not at all his desire to come now) Paul respected his convictions. He knew that even an apostle was not a mediator between God and other Christians. God may use many different persons to show us His will, but His basic leading is always direct.
When the right time would come, when he has opportunity, Apollos would go to Corinth if the Lord so led. In the meanwhile, he would continue to serve where the Lord wanted him now He doubtlessly had great trust in Paul’s wisdom and judgment, but his first trust was in the Lord Himself and in the Lord’s direct guidance. With that trust Paul would be the last to interfere.
It is absolutely essential that God’s workers work as a team. That is what unity is all about. If we are one in Christ, we are one in each other. And if all the true work of the church is the Lord’s work, then we have to work together in Him because we are one in Him. It goes without saying that the Captain and Play-Caller of the team is the Holy Spirit. This text gives much insight into the Spirit’s subjective leading.