1 Corinthians 3:5

What then? (ti oun;). He does not say ti (who), but ti (what), neuter singular interrogative pronoun. Ministers (diakonoi). Not leaders of parties or sects, but merely servants through whom ye believed. The etymology of the word Thayer gives as dia and koni "raising dust by hastening." In the Gospels it is the servant ( Matthew 20:26 ) or waiter ( John 2:5 ). Paul so describes himself as a minister ( Colossians 1:23 Colossians 1:25 ). The technical sense of deacon comes later ( Philippians 1:1 ; 1 Timothy 3:8 1 Timothy 3:12 ). As the Lord gave to him (w o Kurio edwken). Hence no minister of the Lord like Apollos and Paul has any basis for pride or conceit nor should be made the occasion for faction and strife. This idea Paul enlarges upon through chapters 1 Corinthians 3 ; 1 Corinthians 4 and it is made plain in chapter 1 Corinthians 12 .