SEV Biblia, Chapter 1:12
quiero decir, que cada uno de vosotros dice: Yo soy de Pablo; pues yo de Apolos; y yo de Cefas; y yo de Cristo.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 1:12
Verse 12. Every one of you saith] It seems from this expression that the whole Church at Corinth was in a state of dissension: they were all divided into the following sects Paulians, or followers of St. Paul; 2. Apollonians, or followers of Apollos; 3. Kephians, or followers of Kephas; 4. Christians, or followers of Christ. See the introduction, sec. v.
The converts at Corinth were partly Jews and partly Greeks. The Gentile part, as Dr. Lightfoot conjectures, might boast the names of Paul and Apollos; the Jewish, those of Kephas and Christ. But these again might be subdivided; some probably considered themselves disciples of Paul, he being the immediate instrument of their conversion, while others might prefer Apollos for his extraordinary eloquence.
If by Kephas the apostle Peter be meant, some of the circumcision who believed might prefer him to all the rest; and they might consider him more immediately sent to them; and therefore have him in higher esteem than they had Paul, who was the minister or apostle of the uncircumcision: and on this very account the converted Gentiles would prize him more highly than they did Peter.
Instead of Christ, cristou, some have conjectured that we should read krispou, of Crispus; who is mentioned ver. 14. And some think that cristou, of Christ, is an interpolation, as it is not likely that Christ in any sense of the word could be said to be the head of a sect, or party, in his own Church; as all those parties held that Gospel, of which himself was both the author and the subject. But it is very easy to conceive that, in a Church so divided, a party might be found, who, dividing Christ from his ministers, might be led to say, "We will have nothing to do with your parties, nor with your party spirit; we are the disciples of Christ, and will have nothing to do with Paulians, Apollonians, or Kephians, as contradistinguished from Christ." The reading krispou for cristou is not acknowledged by any MS. or version.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 12. Now this I say that everyone of you saith , etc.] This the apostle affirms not upon his own personal knowledge, but upon the credit of the report the house of Chloe had made unto him; and his meaning is not that every individual member of this church, but that many of them, and the far greater number of them, were in the following factions, some being for one minister, and some for another: one part of them said, I am of Paul ; he had been instrumental in their conversion: he had baptized some of them, and first laid the foundation of a Gospel church among them; was a solid, brave, and bold preacher of the Gospel, and was set for the defence of it; wherefore he was the minister for them, and they were desirous of being called and distinguished by his name: but there was another party that said, and I of Apollos ; in opposition to Paul, whom they despised, as a man whose aspect was mean; his bodily presence weak, made no figure in the pulpit; his speech low and contemptible; his discourses plain, not having that flow of words, and accuracy of expression, as Apollos had; who was an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures, who coming to Corinth after the Apostle Paul, many were taken with his way of preaching; he was the preacher for them, and they chose to be called after him, and in distinction from others: whilst another company of them said, and I of Cephas ; or Peter, in opposition both to Paul and Apollos; who with them were new upstart ministers, in comparison of Peter, who was with Christ from the beginning, and saw his miracles, and heard his doctrines; and, besides, had the apostleship and Gospel of the circumcision, on which account they highly valued him; for these must be supposed to be the converted Jews among them, who still retained a regard to the ceremonies of the law; wherefore they fixed on Peter as their minister, and to be called by his name: but others said, and I of Christ ; which some take to be the words of the apostle, declaring who he was of, and for, and belonged unto; intimating that they, as he, should call no man father, or master, on earth, or be called by any other name than that of Christ. Others consider them as the words of the Corinthians, a small part of them who were very mean and contemptible, and therefore mentioned last, who chose to be known and called by no other name than that of Christians; but I rather think that these design a faction and party, to be condemned as the others. These were for Christ, in opposition to Paul, Apollos, and Cephas, and any other ministers of the word. They were for Christ without his ministers; they were wiser than their teachers; they were above being under any ministrations and ordinances; as the others attributed too much to the ministers of the Gospel, these detracted too much from them, and denied them to be of any use and service. Some persons may be, in such sense, for Christ, as to be blame worthy; as when they use his name to deceive men, or divide his interest.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 10-16 - In the great things of religion be of one mind; and where there is no unity of sentiment, still let there be union of affection. Agreement in the greater things should extinguish divisions about the lesser. Ther will be perfect union in heaven, and the nearer we approach it of earth, the nearer we come to perfection. Paul and Apollos both wer faithful ministers of Jesus Christ, and helpers of their faith and joy but those disposed to be contentious, broke into parties. So liable ar the best things to be corrupted, and the gospel and its institution made engines of discord and contention. Satan has always endeavoured to stir up strife among Christians, as one of his chief devices agains the gospel. The apostle left it to other ministers to baptize, while he preached the gospel, as a more useful work.
Greek Textus Receptus
λεγω 3004 5719 V-PAI-1S δε 1161 CONJ τουτο 5124 D-ASN οτι 3754 CONJ εκαστος 1538 A-NSM υμων 5216 P-2GP λεγει 3004 5719 V-PAI-3S εγω 1473 P-1NS μεν 3303 PRT ειμι 1510 5748 V-PXI-1S παυλου 3972 N-GSM εγω 1473 P-1NS δε 1161 CONJ απολλω 625 N-GSM εγω 1473 P-1NS δε 1161 CONJ κηφα 2786 N-GSM εγω 1473 P-1NS δε 1161 CONJ χριστου 5547 N-GSM
Vincent's NT Word Studies
12. Now this I say (legw de touto). A familiar classical formula: What I mean is this. Rev., Now this I mean. This usually refers to what follows. Compare Gal. iii. 17; Eph. iv. 17.I am of Paul and I of Apollos. The repeated de and, expresses the opposition between the respective parties. The followers of Apollos preferred his more philosophical and rhetorical preaching to the simpler and more direct utterances of Paul. Others ranged themselves under the name of Peter.
Cephas. Aramaic for Petrov Peter. See on John i. 42. It is Paul's usual name for Peter, Petrov occurring only Gal. ii. 7, 8. Peter would be the rallying-point for the Judaizing Christians, who claimed him as the apostle of the circumcision. The state of the Corinthian church offered the most favorable ground for Paul's Jewish-Christian adversaries, who took advantage of the reaction created by the looser views and practice of Gentile Christians, and by the differences of opinion on important questions, to press the necessity of legal regulation, and of ceremonial observances in non-essentials.
Of Christ. Many modern authorities hold that Paul thus designates a fourth and quite distinct party. This view rests mainly on the form of statement in this verse, and has no support in the epistle. The peculiar characteristics of this party, if it were such, can only be conjectured. It seems more probable that those who were "of Christ" belonged to the party of Peter: that they were native Jews, coming from abroad with letters of recommendation to Corinth, representing themselves as ministers and apostles of Christ, and using His name as the watchword under which they could most successfully prosecute their opposition to Paul and the gospel which he preached. The allusion in this verse would therefore link itself with those in the tenth and eleventh chapters of the second epistle.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
1:12 {Now this I mean} (legw de touto). Explanatory use of legw. Each has his party leader. apollw is genitive of apollws (#Ac 18:24), probably abbreviation of apollwnius as seen in Codex Bezae for #Ac 18:24. See on Acts for discussion of this "eloquent Alexandrian" (Ellicott), whose philosophical and oratorical preaching was in contrast "with the studied plainness" of Paul (#1Co 2:1; 2Co 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 (#1Co 16:12). cefa is the genitive of cefas, the Aramaic name given Simon by Jesus (#Joh 1:42), petros in Greek. Except in #Ga 2:7,8 Paul calls him Cephas. He had already taken his stand with Paul in the Jerusalem Conference (#Ac 15:7-11; Ga 2:7-10). Paul had to rebuke him at Antioch for his timidity because of the Judaizers (#Ga 2:11-14), but, in spite of Baur's theory, there is no evidence of a schism in doctrine between Paul and Peter. If #2Pe 3:15f. be accepted as genuine, as I do, there is proof of cordial relations between them and #1Co 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. {And I of Christ} (egw de cristou). Still a fourth faction in recoil from the partisan use of Paul, Apollos, Cephas, with "a spiritually proud utterance" (Ellicott) that assumes a relation to Christ not true of the others. "Those who used this cry arrogated the common watchword as their _peculium_" (Findlay). this partisan use of the name of Christ may have been made in the name of unity against the other three factions, but it merely added another party to those existing. In scouting the names of the other leaders they lowered the name and rank of Christ to their level.
