1 Corinthians – Chapter 16

Paul finished up the last letter by reminding the members of the Corinthian church their labor was not in vain. In this chapter, he gives examples of practical deeds all Christians should practice.

¹Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. ²On 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. ³Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. ⁴If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.

Because he begins with “now about,” we know he was again responding to one of their questions. Christians in Jerusalem were suffering from poverty and famine, and Paul was greatly concerned about them. He brings it up several times in his letters. He mentions taking up a collection for them here, in Romans and in 2 Corinthians. Paul’s objective was to collect the money the churches collected and deliver it to the Jerusalem church.

The letter we have in our Bible to the Galatians does not mention Paul’s instruction of collecting for the poor. Paul must have told them to do so in person, or there may have been another letter which was not preserved.

“On the first day of every week” was the established day for Christians to worship as described in Acts 20:7. There are written accounts from 150 A.D. of people bringing their offerings to church on Sundays.

The churches chose and approved certain men to be responsible for the funds collected. Paul suggests he might accompany those men to Jerusalem to deliver the gift.

⁵After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you—for I will be going through Macedonia. ⁶Perhaps 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. ⁷For 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. ⁸But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, ⁹because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.

The word “Pentecost” means “50,” (the 50^th day) referring to the 50 days after Passover, when the Jews celebrated the Feast of Firstfruits in the late spring of the year. So Paul is writing this letter in the spring before Pentecost somewhere around 55 - 57 A.D. He spent the summer in Macedonia and went to Corinth in the fall, where he stayed through the winter. Paul had indicated previously in his letter he did not want to be a financial burden to them, so when he mentions them helping him on his journey, he is probably referring to supplies and equipment, as well as prayers.

¹⁰When 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. ¹¹No 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.

Timothy, although young and somewhat timid, had worked closely with Paul and earned his respect and trust. Paul planned to send Timothy ahead to Corinth and asked the Corinthian church to welcome him because he was doing God’s work. God’s work is not limited by age.

1 Timothy and 2 Timothy are letters Paul wrote to Timothy.

Paul refers to “brothers” who were traveling with Timothy. We know there was a believer from Corinth named Erastus who traveled with Timothy at times. Erastus was the city’s director of public works. In Acts we learn he was one of the brothers Paul referred to here.

¹²Now 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.

The members of the church in Corinth had inquired about whether Apollos would be visiting them. Paul tells them he asked Apollos to go to Corinth, but Apollos was hesitant to go there because he knew of the problems they were having with false teachers and arguments within the church. Not wanting to get involved in the situation and not wanting to cause more division within the Corinthian church, Apollos had declined.

¹³Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. ¹⁴Do everything in love.

To those within the church, Paul instructed them about what they should do while they awaited his return. As we wait for the return of Christ, we should be following these same instructions:

1.      Be on guard against spiritual dangers;

2.      Stand firm in the faith;

3.      Behave courageously;

4.      Be strong;

5.      Do everything with kindness and in love.

¹⁵You 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, ¹⁶to submit to such people and to everyone who joins in the work and labors at it. ¹⁷I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you. ¹⁸For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.

The household of Stephanas was among the first Paul had baptized. For Paul to bring them up and defend their faithfulness indicates the Corinthians were not very fond of them. There may have been some biases, discriminations, or other reasons they were not accepted, but Paul urges them to realize that anyone who is devoted to serving the Lord and His people are worthy of respect. These may have been the ones to deliver the letter from the Corinthian church to Paul because he says he was glad when they arrived. They supplied what he was lacking from the Corinthian church by showing him the affection he desired from their entire church. By being willing to come to Paul and get advice from him to take back to the church members, they had restored his spirit.

¹⁹The 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.

The province of Asia was the Roman province (now in western Turkey) in which Ephesus and the surrounding cities were located. During Paul’s ministry in Ephesus, all of that area heard the Word, including the churches of Colosse, Laodicea, and Hierapolis, which were located on the border of the province of Asia.

Aquila and Priscilla were tentmakers whom Paul had met in Corinth. They followed him to Ephesus and lived there with him helping to teach others about Jesus. Many in the Corinthian church would have been familiar with this couple since they had helped Paul establish the church in Corinth. Paul also mentions them in Acts 18:18, Romans 16:3, and 2 Timothy 4:19. They held church in their home in Ephesus. Holding church services in their homes was not unusual during this period of time.

 ²⁰All the brothers and sisters here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

In Paul’s day, kissing was a normal way to greet each other. Paul encouraged the “holy kiss,” a kiss of mutual respect and love in the Lord, as a way for Christians to greet each other and reduce the tension caused by divisions within the church.

²¹I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.

Paul had an assistant, or secretary, to whom he dictated his letters. However, these final words were written in his own handwriting. It was his way of personalizing the letter and served to verify this was a genuine letter from him and not a forgery.

²²If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord!

For those who did not love the Lord, Paul’s wish for them was to endure God’s displeasure and wrath because of their lack of love and obedience to God. The word translated here as “curse” does not mean the type of curse a witch would perform. Jesus forbid that type of curse.

The Greek for Come, Lord (Marana tha) was an Aramaic expression used by early Christians.

Paul was excited about Christ coming back to earth again. He was not afraid of seeing Christ – in fact, he could hardly wait. Those who love Christ are looking forward to His return.

Do you share Paul’s eager anticipation of seeing Christ one day?

²³The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.²⁴My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In his letter to Corinth, Paul lovingly, but forcefully, confronted the problems the church had and pointed them back to Christ. Divisions and conflicts, selfishness, wrongful use of their freedom, disorder in their worship, misuse of their spiritual gifts, and wrong attitudes toward the resurrection were some of the situations he wrote to them about. Every church has problems, causing tensions and divisions. We need to deal with them head on just as Paul did.

The book of 1 Corinthians teaches us that unity and love within a church are far more important than leaders and labels.