CLOSING COMMENTS

1 CORINTHIANS 16:1-24

In the last chapter, Paul dealt with the most glorious subject imaginable -- the teaching of the resurrection. The most glowing and fantastic promises were given as we saw a vision of our future destiny. Then, as we turn the page, we read: Now concerning the collection for the saints. What a contrast!

Yet this is the very character of Christianity. It contains both the glorious and the mundane. It deals with the dynamic and the everyday.

There is a reason for this contrast. It is because the glorious vision of the future riches of the heavenly kingdom ought to serve as an impetus to our present service. Because we shall be so richly blessed in the future, we should be all the more ready to share in today’s earthly riches.

In this chapter we see Christianity in action. This call to action is seen in several different venues:

• A collection of money for needy Christians (16:1-4).
• Paul’s plans for future ministry (16:5-9).
• Exhortations to stand strong (16:13).
• Exhortations to continue in love (16:14).
• A call to obey church authorities (16:16).

This is shirtsleeve Christianity. It is as though Paul has taken off his coat and tie and kicked off his shoes to close this letter with some informal greetings and goodbyes.

There is a principle here that we have already mentioned but which will bear repeating. It is that the prophecies of the Bible are not given merely to satisfy our curiosity or to allow us to draw up a prophetic timetable. They are given to encourage us to live differently.

The believers in Jerusalem had come into hard times. A famine had come over the land. This is the same famine that had been prophesied by Agabus in Acts 11:28. The prophecy had come true and this had brought economic depression to Palestine. Jerusalem, as the capital city, was especially hard hit due to the over-population in the city.

The suffering of the Christians in Jerusalem was exceptionally heavy since, in addition to the normal economic woes, there was added to their lot a persecution for their faith. As a result, the other churches throughout the ancient world began a program of supporting the needy Christians in Jerusalem with gifts of money.

The way in which Paul speaks of "the collection" indicates that it was not a new subject to the believers at Corinth. They had apparently already been informed of the needs at Jerusalem and had decided to partake in the ministry of meeting those needs.

This section seems to be given in the form of a postscript -- a "P.S." You’ve done that in a letter before. You have said everything you planned to say and you have practically finished the letter and then you remember something else. You jot down the letters, "P.S." and you give this last, short, final message.

If this is indeed what Paul is doing, then you might be asking yourself what relevance it can have for believers today. Outside of a bit of early church trivia, of what importance is this section? I believe there are some worthwhile lessons that we can learn.

1. The Lesson of Goal-Setting: But I shall come to you after I go through Macedonia, for I am going through Macedonia (16:5).

It is evident as we read this passage that Paul had some very definite goals. He is presently in Ephesus. That is Anatolia in modern-day Turkey. He plans to come to the Corinthians and he plans to go by a specific route that shall first take him through Macedonia. That is not a direct line. It is a carefully thought route that will take him through each of the churches he has planted during his second missionary journey.

There are some Christians who seem to think that it is wrong to set goals -- that you are not really trusting in the leading of the Lord if you make definite plans. You can usually recognize these people by the fact that they are the ones sitting in the same spot and doing nothing.

The Bible is full of examples of godly men who set goals for themselves and who then worked to see those goals accomplished. At the same time, you must be balanced when you are setting your goals. The necessary ingredient that needs to accompany your goal-setting is flexibility.

2. The Lesson of Flexibility: Perhaps I shall stay with you, or even spend the winter, that you may send me on my way wherever I may go (16:6).

Although Paul had some very definite goals, he was flexible enough to realize that they might be overruled. He sees several different possible outcomes of his planning and he will be ready to change his plans as needed. He is flexible enough to cover the various contingencies.

What is your attitude when you come to a life detour? Do you become frustrated and angry when your well-laid plans are pushed aside? You need to realize that plans are your timetable while detours are God’s timetable. You will only be able to believe this as you believe in the sovereignty of God.

3. The Lesson of Sovereignty: For I do not wish to see you now just in passing; for I hope to remain with you for some time, if the Lord permits (16:7).

In forming his plans, Paul recognizes the sovereignty of God. Although he has some special plans to spend some quality time with the Corinthians, he is quick to add, "if the Lord permits" (16:7).

Paul recognizes that the Lord has His own timetable and it is the one that counts. He is willing to view the unexpected as a part of God’s sovereign agenda.

4. The Lesson of Quantity Time: For I do not wish to see you now just in passing; for I hope to remain with you for some time, if the Lord permits (16:7).

Paul isn’t satisfied with merely touching base with the Corinthians in a short visit. He does not want to see them only "in passing." He wants to spend some time with them. He realizes that the process of discipleship takes time.

We tend to speak of spending "quality time" with people and that is a good thing. It is possible to be with someone physically yet to have the time poorly spend. But while quality time is important, it cannot be at the expense of quantity time. You don’t develop disciples in occasional meetings. You develop disciples by being with people and by letting them watch how you live.

Parents, you need to spend real time with your children. It needs to be both time of quality and it also needs to be time of quantity.

5. The Lesson of Opportunity: For a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries (16:9).

Timothy had accompanied Paul for several years. He had been in Corinth during the two years of ministry as the church was first planted. When Paul departed from Corinth ad the end of that time, Timothy had accompanied him on his way.

Paul is now in Ephesus. From this base of operations, he has sent Timothy and Erastus back to Greece to check up on the church and to see how they are doing. We have a reference to this return mission in the book of Acts.

Timothy and Erastus evidently took the land voyage across the Hellespont into Macedonia. From there, they turned southward, coming down the Greek peninsula. If all goes well, they will soon arrive at Corinth. It is in this context that Paul delivers his instructions to the Corinthians.

1. Their Care for Timothy: See that he is with you without cause to be afraid (16:10).

The Corinthians had a tendency to be arrogant and intimidating toward anyone whom they did not consider to be their intellectual equal. In their pride, they have even begun to look down on Paul. If they had treated the master harshly, what would they do to the student?

Yet it is not for Timothy’s benefit that Paul speaks, but for their own. Paul had not sent Timothy to Corinth for his own benefit, but to benefit the Corinthians.

2. Timothy’s Care for the Corinthians is seen back in the 4th chapter of this epistle: For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church (1 Corinthians 4:17).

Apollos was the young preacher from Alexandria, Egypt. He reminds me of one of my heros in the faith, Steve Brown. Steve told me not to call him that, but I’m going to, anyway. Apollos reminds me of Steve because they are both exceptional preachers, especially when it comes to their delivery. Apollos also reminds me of Steve because they were both preachers before they heard the gospel and were saved.

It was while Apollos was preaching at Ephesus that he met Aquila and Priscilla and they discipled him in the Word (Acts 18:24-26). He had subsequently gone on a preaching tour through Greece that took him through Corinth. During this time at Corinth, he had become known to the church and had ministered there.

Apollos had eventually returned to Ephesus. There he met the Apostle Paul. Upon their meeting, Paul encouraged the young Apollos and, more specifically, encouraged him to make a return trip to the church at Corinth. But Apollos did not want to go at the moment. It was not an opportune time for Apollos to come now. We don’t know why. Perhaps he didn’t want to be involved right now in a problem church. Or perhaps his ministry in preaching at Ephesus was more pressing. His reason doesn’t really matter. He just did not want to go at the moment.

What is interesting is Paul’s attitude toward the matter. Although he had him greatly to go to Corinth, he was willing to relent when Apollos was dead set against going at the moment.

There will be times when you think the Lord is leading in a specific direction. At the same time, there might be another Christian brother who is just as convinced that the Lord is leading in the opposite direction. What is the answer? How can you tell? Sometimes you can’t. Sometimes it is better to take a wait-and-see attitude.

This is what Paul did. He had encouraged Apollos to make the return trip to Corinth. Perhaps he even felt the Lord to be leading Apollos to Corinth. There was only one problem. Apollos did not feel the same leading.

We can learn a lot from Paul’s reaction. He does not panic. He does not berate Apollos for defying the will of God. He does not issue an ultimatum to Apollos. He is instead content to let Apollos wait for that leading form the Lord. He recognizes that it will come in the Lord’s good time.

In these two very short verses, Paul gives five commands. They are all positive in nature. As I read them, I am impressed that these positive commands correspond to the negative situations with which Paul dealt throughout this epistle.

1. Be on the alert (16:13).

2. Stand firm in the faith (16:13)

3. Act like men (16:13)

4. Be strong (16:13)

5. Let all that you do be done in love (16:14)

One of the lessons we see illustrated time and time again through the Bible is that God works through individuals. He doesn’t call a crowd. He usually chooses an individual and gets him to move in the right direction and pretty soon the crowd starts to follow.

That is what a leader is. He is someone who influences people. He is someone whom people follow.

There was such a man in Corinth. His name was Stephanas. We don’t know a lot about him. We know that he and his family were among the first converts in all of Greece. We know Paul had led them to Christ and then had personally baptized them (1 Corinthians 1:16). From that time on, the household of Stephanas became known as a family that was devoted to the ministry to the saints.

Paul urges the Corinthians to be in subjection to such men and to everyone who helps in the work and labors (16:16). Do you see the exhortation? You might have missed it the first time you read the verse because of the parenthetical section that described Stephanas and his family and their conversion experience.

This is a call to subjection. Paul uses Stephanas and his family of examples of what godly leadership is and what our attitude ought to be toward those who manifest that kind of leadership. That attitude is summed up in one word -- SUBJECTION. That is a word that isn’t very popular these days. Today’s heros are those who buck the system. They are rebels. The refuse to subject themselves to anyone.

Christianity is a religion of subjection. It teaches subjection to government, to authorities, and to the church. It tells wives to be subject to their husbands, children to be subject to their parents and slaves to be subject to their masters. Nor does it stop there.

We recognize every believer as a priest of the living God. In the Old Testament, God communicated through certain men, but today we all have a royal priesthood. Because of this, God can use all of us in revealing His will to others. You can exhort me to godly living and I can exhort you to godly living and we are called to be subject to one another in the face of such exhortations.

Paul is saying his final goodbyes. There is a genuine bond of fellowship pictured in these verses. It is a fellowship that flows from the love within the body. This bond transcends cultural and geographical boundaries. It breaks the barriers of race and age and gender. It passes through all social and economic strata.

1. The Physical Signature of Greeting: Greet one another with a holy kiss (16:20).

In the ancient world, the kiss was a common sign of affection, not only between men and women, but also for people of the same gender. Such a kiss was given on the cheek or on the forehead and signified what a warm embrace signifies in today’s culture.

Notice it is called a "holy kiss." The outward manifestation of the bond that exists between Christians is to be special and holy. The holy kiss is to be something special. It is something that has been set apart by God for His own people to show their love for one another.

Paul gives this injunction concerning the holy kiss on four different occasions (Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26). It would seem that he thought it important.

The holy kiss has fallen out of use among most Christians in the west. That is probably unfortunate. But at the very least, we ought to be regular in our use of a "holy hug."

2. The Written Signature of Greeting: The greeting is in my own hand-- Paul (16:21).

With these last few words, Paul comes to the close of his epistle. He has given his warnings. He has called for love. He has demonstrated the grace of God. Now he gives a final reminder.