The Meaning of 1 Corinthians 16:12 Explained

1 Corinthians 16:12

KJV: As touching our brother Apollos, I greatly desired him to come unto you with the brethren: but his will was not at all to come at this time; but he will come when he shall have convenient time.

YLT: and concerning Apollos our brother, much I did entreat him that he may come unto you with the brethren, and it was not at all his will that he may come now, and he will come when he may find convenient.

Darby: Now concerning the brother Apollos, I begged him much that he would go to you with the brethren; but it was not at all his will to go now; but he will come when he shall have good opportunity.

ASV: But as touching Apollos the brother, I besought him much to come unto you with the brethren: and it was not all his will to come now; but he will come when he shall have opportunity.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

As  touching  [our] brother  Apollos,  I  greatly  desired  him  to  come  unto  you  with  the brethren:  but  his will  was  not  at all  to  come  at this  time; but  he will come  when  he shall have convenient time. 

What does 1 Corinthians 16:12 Mean?

Verse Meaning

This verse may contain Paul"s final response to the questions the Corinthians had asked him. It is the sixth instance of that key phrase peri de ("Now concerning"). Paul"s relations with eloquent Apollos were perfectly friendly, as this verse reveals (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:12). We do not know why Apollos did not want to revisit Corinth with Timothy or whether he ever did visit that city again.

Context Summary

1 Corinthians 16:1-12 - Systematic Beneficence
It is remarkable that the Apostle can turn from one of his sublimest flights of sacred eloquence to deal with so ordinary a matter as the collection. But, after all, there is no incongruity. The thoughts to which he has given expression should surely lead to some tangible response of Christian duty and activity, or they would injure rather than help. Nothing is more injurious to the Christian conscience than trumpet-sounding which leads to no response in action. If the foregoing chapter does not stimulate Christian generosity, nothing will.
Note the time-the first day of the week, indicating the reverence with which the early Christians regarded that day. The method-the definite appropriation for God's work of a certain proportion of income, as it accrues. The proportion-as the giver may be prospered. Paul disliked vehement collection appeals, and advised that we should give according to a system, and not merely by impulse.
Remember it is God who opens great and effectual doors before His servants. It is of no use to force them. Let us wait for the Lord Jesus, who has the key of David, to open them, for then none can shut. Our duty is to be prepared to enter when the moment comes and the door swings wide. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Corinthians 16

1  He exhorts them to a collection for the brothers at Jerusalem
10  Commends Timothy;
13  and after friendly admonitions,
16  concludes his epistle with various salutations

Greek Commentary for 1 Corinthians 16:12

And it was not at all his will to come now [και παντως ουκ ην τελημα ινα νυν ελτηι]
Adversative use of και — kai = “but.” Apollos had left Corinth in disgust over the strife there which involved him and Paul (1 Corinthians 1-4). He had had enough of partisan strife over preachers. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for 1 Corinthians 16:12

Acts 17:21 Spent their time [εὐκαίρουν]
The word means to have good opportunity; to have leisure: also, to devote one's leisure to something; to spend the time. Compare Mark 6:31; 1 Corinthians 16:12. [source]
Acts 19:10 So that all they which dwelt in Asia heard [ωστε παντας τους κατοικουντας την Ασιαν ακουσαι]
Actual result with ωστε — hōste and the infinitive with accusative of general reference as is common (also Acts 19:11) in the Koiné{[28928]}š (Robertson, Grammar, pp. 999f.). Paul apparently remained in Ephesus, but the gospel spread all over the province even to the Lycus Valley including the rest of the seven churches of Revelation 1:11; 2; 3. Demetrius in Acts 19:26 will confirm the tremendous influence of Paul‘s ministry in Ephesus on Asia. Forty years after this Pliny in his famous letter to Trajan from Bithynia will say of Christianity: “For the contagion of this superstition has not only spread through cities, but also through villages and country places.” It was during these years in Ephesus that Paul was greatly disturbed over the troubles in the Corinthian Church. He apparently wrote a letter to them now lost to us (1 Corinthians 5:9), received messages from the household of Chloe, a letter from the church, special messengers, sent Timothy, then Titus, may have made a hurried trip himself, wrote our First Corinthians, was planning to go after the return of Titus to Troas where he was to meet him after Pentecost, when all of a sudden the uproar raised by Demetrius hurried Paul away sooner than he had planned. Meanwhile Apollos had returned from Corinth to Ephesus and refused to go back (1 Corinthians 16:12). Paul doubtless had helpers like Epaphras and Philemon who carried the message over the province of Asia, Tychicus, and Trophimus of Asia who were with him on the last visit to Jerusalem (Acts 19:22, Acts 19:29; Acts 20:4). Paul‘s message reached Greeks, not merely Hellenists and God-fearers, but some of the Greeks in the upper circles of life in Ephesus. [source]
1 Corinthians 1:12 Now this I mean [λεγω δε τουτο]
Explanatory use of λεγω — legō Each has his party leader. Απολλω — Apollō is genitive of Απολλως — Apollōs (Acts 18:24), probably abbreviation of Απολλωνιυς — Apollōnius as seen in Codex Bezae for Acts 18:24. See note on Acts 18:24 for discussion of this “eloquent Alexandrian” (Ellicott), whose philosophical and oratorical preaching was in contrast “with the studied plainness” of Paul (1 Corinthians 2:1; 2 Corinthians 10:10). People naturally have different tastes about styles of preaching and that is well, but Apollos refused to be a party to this strife and soon returned to Ephesus and refused to go back to Corinth (1 Corinthians 16:12). Χηπα — Cēphā is the genitive of Χηπας — Cēphās the Aramaic name given Simon by Jesus (John 1:42), Πετρος — Petros in Greek. Except in Galatians 2:7, Galatians 2:8 Paul calls him Cephas. He had already taken his stand with Paul in the Jerusalem Conference (Acts 15:7-11; Galatians 2:7-10). Paul had to rebuke him at Antioch for his timidity because of the Judaizers (Galatians 2:11-14), but, in spite of Baur‘s theory, there is no evidence of a schism in doctrine between Paul and Peter. If 2 Peter 3:15. be accepted as genuine, as I do, there is proof of cordial relations between them and 1 Corinthians 9:5 points in the same direction. But there is no evidence that Peter himself visited Corinth. Judaizers came and pitted Peter against Paul to the Corinthian Church on the basis of Paul‘s rebuke of Peter in Antioch. These Judaizers made bitter personal attacks on Paul in return for their defeat at the Jerusalem Conference. So a third faction was formed by the use of Peter‘s name as the really orthodox wing of the church, the gospel of the circumcision. [source]
1 Thessalonians 3:2 Our brother []
Comp. 2 Corinthians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; Philemon 1:1; Romans 16:23; 1 Corinthians 1:1; 1 Corinthians 16:12. [source]
2 Timothy 4:2 In season [εὐκαίρως]
Only here and Mark 14:11. lxx once, Mark href="/desk/?q=mr+6:31&sr=1">Mark 6:31; 1 Corinthians 16:12: εὐκαιρία opportunity Matthew 26:16: εὔκαιρος seasonableconvenient, Mark 6:21; Hebrews 4:16. [source]
Philemon 1:1 Timothy, our brother []
Lit., the brother. Timothy could not be called an apostle. He is distinctly excluded from this office in 2 Corinthians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; compare Philemon 1:1. In Philippians and Philemon, after the mention of Timothy the plural is dropped. In Colossians it is maintained throughout the thanksgiving only. The title brother is used of Quartus, Romans 16:23; Sosthenes, 1 Corinthians 1:1; Apollos, 1 Corinthians 16:12. [source]
Hebrews 13:23 Our brother Timothy [τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἡμῶν Τιμόθεον]
Paul's habit, when using ὁ ἀδελφός brotherwith a proper name, is to put the proper name first. See Romans 16:23; 1 Corinthians 1:1; 1 Corinthians 16:12; 2 Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 2:13; Philemon 2:25. [source]

What do the individual words in 1 Corinthians 16:12 mean?

Concerning now Apollos the brother greatly I exhorted him that he should go to you with the brothers and at all not was [his] will now he should come he will come however when he shall have opportunity
Περὶ δὲ Ἀπολλῶ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ πολλὰ παρεκάλεσα αὐτὸν ἵνα ἔλθῃ πρὸς ὑμᾶς μετὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν καὶ πάντως οὐκ ἦν θέλημα νῦν ἔλθῃ ἐλεύσεται δὲ ὅταν εὐκαιρήσῃ

Περὶ  Concerning 
Parse: Preposition
Root: περί 
Sense: about, concerning, on account of, because of, around, near.
δὲ  now 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
Ἀπολλῶ  Apollos 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: Ἀπολλῶς  
Sense: a learned Jew from Alexandria and mighty in the scriptures who became a Christian and a teacher of Christianity.
ἀδελφοῦ  brother 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: ἀδελφός  
Sense: a brother, whether born of the same two parents or only of the same father or mother.
πολλὰ  greatly 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: πολύς  
Sense: many, much, large.
παρεκάλεσα  I  exhorted 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: παρακαλέω  
Sense: to call to one’s side, call for, summon.
ἵνα  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ἵνα  
Sense: that, in order that, so that.
ἔλθῃ  he  should  go 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἔρχομαι  
Sense: to come.
ἀδελφῶν  brothers 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: ἀδελφός  
Sense: a brother, whether born of the same two parents or only of the same father or mother.
πάντως  at  all 
Parse: Adverb
Root: πάντως  
Sense: altogether.
θέλημα  [his]  will 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root: θέλημα  
Sense: what one wishes or has determined shall be done.
νῦν  now 
Parse: Adverb
Root: νῦν  
Sense: at this time, the present, now.
ἔλθῃ  he  should  come 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἔρχομαι  
Sense: to come.
ἐλεύσεται  he  will  come 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἔρχομαι  
Sense: to come.
δὲ  however 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
εὐκαιρήσῃ  he  shall  have  opportunity 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: εὐκαιρέω  
Sense: to have opportunity.