This final chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Church at Corinth is so typical of him. In chapter 15 he waxes eloquent about the resurrection, but immediately in chapter 16 he moves on to more mundane matters. That is Paul. His mind is in the heavenly clouds, but his feet are planted firmly in first century earthly soil.
More than anything else, this final chapter of this letter is about people, because that is what the church is all about. The church is not primarily a building, or an institution, or even a movement. The church is people. Paul calls them saints, which the NIV translates as “the Lord’s People”. The word literally means “holy ones”. This word designates not perfect people but rather ones set apart to belong to Jesus. In this final chapter Paul has a word about The Collection for the Saints, a word of Commendation of the Saints, a word of Courage for the Saints, and a final word of Final Greeting to the Saints. Listen for God’s word to you from 1 Corinthians 16…
Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.
After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you—for I will be going through Macedonia. Perhaps I will stay with you for a while, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. For I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you if the Lord permits. But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.
When Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am. No one, then, should treat him with contempt. Send him on his way in peace so that he may return to me. I am expecting him along with the brothers.
Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. He was quite unwilling to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity.
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.
You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people. I urge you brothers and sisters, to submit to such people and to everyone who joins in the work and labors at it. I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you. For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.
The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. All the brothers and sisters here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.
If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord!
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.
The Collection for the Saints
When Paul visited Jerusalem for the second time after his conversion, he promised the apostles there that he would do what he could to help the poorer members of the Jerusalem Church (Galatians 2:10). To fulfil this promise, Paul organized a collection for the Jerusalem Church to which the other churches he founded were to contribute. This collection is mentioned in Romans 15:26 where we read that the congregations of Greece were taking a collection for this purpose. And in 2 Corinthians 9:2 we learn that the Corinthian Christians were keen to help with this project.
This collection demonstrated the unity of the church, and it gave Christians a practical way to show their love. In the various places where Paul talks about this collection, he uses nine different words to describe it. Here in 1 Corinthians 16 Paul calls the collection a “logia”, which means an extra piece of giving. This was a collection over and above the Corinthians’ regular giving to the church. But it is interesting because this is the first reference in the New Testament to the Christian meeting on the first day of the week, Sunday, and it mentions a collection. I know some people think the Church is all about taking people’s money. We aren’t. But it is funny that the first reference to the Sunday meeting of the first century church connects it with a collection.
These verses raise some questions for each of us. Do we give to the poor? Our church certainly does, but do we participate in such giving individually? Even the poorest among us here in this church are probably wealthier than the vast majority of the inhabitants of the earth. Do we share that wealth with those in need?
Do we set aside money on the first day of the week? Do we see our offering to and through the church as an act of worship? Are we systematic in our giving?
Do we give in keeping with our income? In other words, do we give proportionately? The New Testament nowhere commands a tithe, which is a tenth of one’s income. In the Old Testament times the Israelites actually gave as much as 23% of their income to their leadership. But for the ancient Israelites their church and their government were one. When you consider how much most of us give to the government and to the church and to other charitable organizations, it is probably more than 23% for some of us. Suffice to say, the New Testament does not command a tithe for Christians, but Paul does recommend proportionate giving. We should give according to the way the Lord prospers us.
The Courage of the Saints
Chapter 16 reveals that 1 Corinthians is a real letter, not a theological treatise. Paul closes out this letter by telling the Corinthians what is on his mind. Another thing that is on his mind, besides the collection for the saints, is his plan to visit Corinth again, but that plan has a very important caveat attached: “if the Lord permits.”
Whether we voice those words aloud, or actually write them in print, or simply think them in our minds, those words should be attached to all our plans in life.
Robin Mark, from Northern Ireland, is my favorite praise and worship artist. Many years ago, he wrote a song entitled, Jesus All for Jesus. The goes like this…
Jesus, all for Jesus
All I am and have
And ever hope to be
All of my
Ambitions, hopes and plans
I surrender these
Into your hands
I wonder: are we continually surrendering our ambitions, hopes and plans into the Lord’s hands?
Paul goes on to say that despite his desire to revisit Corinth, he plans to stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, “because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.”
It is so interesting to me how often these two things go together. Wherever God opens a door for effective ministry there is almost always, along with that open door, opposition.
My father often used to quote Isaiah 59:19, “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.”
So, even though Paul does not use the word until a few verses later, it occurs to me that it takes courage on the part of the saints, it takes heart on our part, to, on the one hand, submit our whole lives to the Lord’s guidance and control, and secondly to step through the open doors God gives us despite sometimes fierce opposition. Paul had such courage, and I believe Jesus gives such courage to all his saints, especially when we ask for it.
The Commendation of the Saints
Paul moves on in verses 10 through 12 to commend two particular saints to the Corinthians. The first one is Timothy. Paul sent Timothy to the Corinthians to remind them of his way of life in Christ and his teachings (1 Corinthians 4:17; Acts 19:22). This suggests to me that Timothy could very well have been the messenger carrying this letter to the Corinthians. That was an important job.
Timothy was one of Paul’s traveling companions who had come to faith in Christ through Paul’s ministry in Lystra, a city in Galatia, part of modern-day Turkey. Timothy was apparently a naturally timid soul, as suggested in these verses and in the words that Paul later wrote to him…
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:6-7)
It is beautiful, to me, that Paul doesn’t tell Timothy to man up or be more forceful, to pull himself up by his own bootstraps, so to speak. No. Paul says, “Fan into flame the gift of God and that will take care of everything.” In other words, “God will give you courage!” There’s that word again!
So that was Paul’s message to Timothy. But on the other end, Paul told the Corinthians to go easy on Timothy, to be kind to him, or else they would have Paul (who could be a force of nature) to answer to! I love it!
Still, Paul sends Timothy from the frying pan into the fire, knowing that is the best way for Timothy to learn. And apparently, Timothy did learn, because later on, Paul felt confident enough in Timothy to appoint him as the Pastor of the Church in Ephesus, and that is where Timothy was still serving the Lord when Paul wrote his two letters to him at the end of his life.
So, hey, if you think of yourself as a timid soul—that is not God’s final word about you. God can use you powerfully, in ways you might never imagine possible, if you will simply yield yourself to his Spirit.
The second saint that Paul commends to the Corinthians is Apollos. Now, Apollos, we know from the book of Acts and from this letter, was almost the exact opposite of Timothy. He was a very confident and polished preacher. So much so, that some of the Corinthians liked Apollos better than Paul. And they played off the two against each other. But though the Corinthians created factions around their allegiance to various leaders, apparently neither Paul nor Apollos bought into such divisions.
The way Paul speaks of Apollos at the end of this letter reveals that the two men were on good terms with each other and felt a sense of unity in Christ. And Apollos, for his part, wasn’t about to let the Corinthians sweet-talk him. That is apparently why he was reluctant to go back to Corinth alone.
I speak from experience on these matters. When I was an assistant pastor in a church, I thought the whole matter of being a pastor was easy-peasy. Oftentimes I received praise from members of the congregation, and I heard how they would play one leader off against another. Then when I became a senior pastor, I found out where the buck stops. I suddenly realized all the flak the senior pastors I served under must have been taking, completely without my knowledge. My estimation of the character of those faithful pastors I had served under shot up immensely once I realized more deeply the challenges of the ministry.
The Christian Greetings to the Saints
Finally, in verses 13 through 24, Paul offers Christian greetings to the saints. Paul leads off with some beautiful words of encouragement in verses 13 and 14.
The phrase “be on your guard” is one word in Greek: “watch”. Jesus told his disciples to “watch” for his coming (Matthew 24:42) and so Paul repeats this command. And a few verses later, Paul utters the prayer: “Come, Lord Jesus” which was really one word in Greek: Maranatha, a transliteration of an Aramaic word. The early Christians never forgot Jesus’ promise that he would return and in fact they longed for that return. I wonder, do we long for Jesus’ return? And do we pray for it?
“Stand firm in the faith” is another lovely phrase. Sometimes we may feel like we are not making much progress in life. But that’s ok. It is enough just to stand firm in the faith once delivered to us. It is enough just to abide in Jesus.
Paul also urges his readers to “be courageous”. Literally the word means “play the man”.
As you know, we named each of our sons after biblical characters: James, Jonathan, and Joshua. James and John were, of course, disciples of Jesus. They were brothers. And Jesus nicknamed them “the sons of thunder”. I guess that means I am thunder.
Joshua is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek name for Jesus. I suppose it was kind of daring to name our two older sons after the disciples and to name the youngest one after the Lord. But when we named Josh, we were especially thinking of Joshua who fit the battle of Jericho in the Old Testament. There is this lovely verse in Joshua 1:9, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” That, in essence, was Paul’s closing encouragement to the Corinthians.
But then Paul balances that message with, “Do everything in love.” Craig Blomberg writes, “Love without strength deteriorates into mere sentimentality; strength without love risks becoming tyrannical.”
Jesus had the perfect balance in his life between strength and love. And he can give us that perfect balance too.
As Paul often does at the end of his letters, so too here, he sends greetings from the saints where he is to the saints where he is writing. The household of Stephanas were the first converts in Corinth. Fortunatus and Achaicus may have been slaves in Stephanas’ household. But then when they all became followers of Jesus, these two slaves became voluntary and valued servants of Stephanas, no longer slaves. So, even in these simple greetings that we might be tempted to skip over at the end of this letter, we see the transforming power of God’s grace at work.
Paul also sends greetings from Aquila and Priscilla. We mentioned them when we began this series on the Corinthian correspondence. Priscilla was such a prominent woman that 4 out of the 6 times Paul mentions this couple, he mentions Priscilla first. She and her husband were Jews, expelled from Rome by Claudius. They were tentmakers like Paul and met him in Corinth. Through their friendship with Paul, they became followers of Jesus. And in each place where they lived, Corinth, Ephesus, and Rome, Priscilla and Aquila hosted the meetings of the church in their home.
Speaking of the worship services of the church, Paul says to the Corinthians, “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” This command, which is given more than once in the New Testament, is the origin of the passing of the peace ritual which continues in Christian worship to this day. The only difference now is that we usually give a holy handshake instead of a holy kiss.
Paul does have one more seemingly harsh statement before he closes out this letter. He says, “If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed!” These words sound very harsh. But we must remember what Paul said earlier in the letter, that no one speaking by the Spirit will say, “Jesus be cursed.” Apparently, there were some people in Corinth who were saying this. So, in essence Paul is saying, “Look, if you reject the only way of life, the life that is found in Jesus, by cursing him, then all that is left for you is death.”
But Paul does not end this letter on that tough note. He ends on a note of grace and love. “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus.” The earliest manuscripts of 1 Corinthians do not have the “Amen” at the end. Paul personally signed his name and greeting to this letter, a letter that was dictated, like all of Paul’s letters, to a secretary. But then the very last word of the letter is: “Jesus”. Isn’t that something! This letter begins with the name of Paul, but it ends with the name of Jesus. It reminds me of John the Baptist’s statement about Jesus, “He must become greater; I must become less.” This last chapter of 1 Corinthians is all about the saints; it is all about people, but there is one person who towers over all the rest in love. I wonder, does the person of Jesus take priority over every other relationship in our lives?
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