Addicted to the Ministry of the Saints

The house of Stephanas was addicted to the ministry of the saints, 1 Cor 16:15-17.  

The house of Stephanas was the first fruits of Achaia.  Achaia is the region in which Corinth was located.  North of Achaia was Macedonia where Thessalonica was located.

These regions are between the Adriatic Sea and the Aegean Sea.  They are modern day Greece and Macedonia.

The house of Stephanas were some of Paul’s first converts in Achaia. In 1 Cor 1:14-17, Paul baptized the household of Stephanas, before he limited himself to just preaching the gospel.  

Sometime after the house of Stephanas had believed on Jesus, they addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints.  To addict oneself is to attach oneself as a follower of a person or an adherent to a cause.  They addicted themselves to a cause.  Their cause was the ministry of the saints.

The Ministry of the Saints is Giving

We can find references to the ministry of the saints in three places.  In 2 Cor 8:1-4, what is ministering to the saints?  Is it not giving? In 2 Cor 9:1-7, what is the ministering to the saints?  As you can see, it is giving to meet their needs. And in Rom 15:25-26, how was Paul going to minister unto the saints in Jerusalem? The answer is in the context. Paul was delivering the gift given by the churches in Macedonia and Achaia to meet the needs of the poor saints in Jerusalem.

The ministry of the saints is a ministry of giving.  In 1 Cor 16:15-17 Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus supplied what Paul was lacking.

If you want to be addicted to something, be addicted to the ministry of the saints.  We have missionaries, and orphans, and widows, and ministries that have needs.  When you addict yourself to the ministry of the saints, God will use you to supply their needs.