Before I Close... 1 Corinthians 16:1-4

We are getting near the end of our study of Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth. He has just led us through an entire chapter of explaining to us the intricate details of the implications of Jesus’ resurrection both for the present life and the life to come. The importance of Jesus’ resurrection can’t be downplayed or underestimated in any way. Jesus’ resurrection gives shape and purpose to our present life, how we are to go about living the life God has given us right now. Jesus’ resurrection also gives us such incredible hope and assurance for how we are to face the certainty of our own death and what we have to look forward to when Jesus comes for us. You would think such an incredible study would be the exclamation point on Paul’s letter, but he has a few things to share before he ends his letter. Let’s read together 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 and then we will see what we can learn.

1 Now about the collection for the Lord's people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2 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. 3 Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me. (1 Corinthians 16:1-4 NIV)

Paul begins to wind things down by saying, “Now about…” This is the sixth time in Paul’s letter he has used that Greek phrase. Each time he is getting ready to address something the people in the church at Corinth had written to him about, something they had a question about. The first instance is found in 1 Corinthians 7:1. Take a look and you’ll see what I mean. 

1 Now for the matters you wrote about: "It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman." 2 But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. (1 Corinthians 7:1-2 NIV)

Someone in the church was saying that celibacy was the way to go. Evidently this person, or people, were having some influence because it became a big enough issue that the church leaders decided to write Paul and ask him to address it. Some of the other topics Paul addressed were “food sacrificed to idols” (1 Corinthians 8:1f). Can a follower of Jesus eat food that had been sacrificed to Zeus or Hermes or some other Greek god? Then, in 1 Corinthians 12:1, Paul said, “Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.” Paul spent three chapters, 1 Corinthians 12-14, teaching the people of Corinth about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, how they were to be used and they could be misused in the assembly of God’s people. Now, as we turn to the 16th chapter, Paul writes, “Now about the collection for the Lord’s people.” Evidently the church in Corinth had heard about a collection Paul was gathering for the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. Even though this is a very specific collection, more like what we would call a “special offering,” there are principles here that we can learn from, and use, to help us understand the resources God has given to us and how we are to use them in His service. Marion Soards writes,

It is to be done regularly (“on the first day of every week”), universally (“let each one of you”), systematically (“set aside,” “save up”), proportionately (“as one has been prospered”), and freely (“so that no collections might take place when I come”) (Soards, Marion. 1 Corinthians. pg. 357)

We’ll take a look at this a little later, but before we get to these important points of Paul’s instruction let’s take a look at this specific offering that would be collected by Paul when he arrived in Corinth. Shortly after the birth of the Church, when the Holy Spirit moved in such a powerful way at Pentecost, large numbers of Gentiles were converted and the Jewish believers in Jerusalem began to discuss and debate if Gentiles could really be part of the Church. Paul, Barnabas, and Peter made a trip to Jerusalem to report on how the Lord had been working in such a powerful way among the Gentiles. Some Pharisees in Jerusalem said Gentile converts must be circumcised and obey the law of Moses. When all of the discussion was over, it was agreed that the Gentile converts should “abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality” (Acts 15:29). Paul tells us, in Galatians 2:9-10, that James and the other leaders of the church in Jerusalem asked him to do one more thing. Listen to what Paul told the churches in Galatia. 

9 James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along. (Galatians 2:9-10 NIV)

“Remember the poor.” Were there really poor people living in Jerusalem? We might think that Jerusalem would have been a wealthy city, but that was not the case. John MacArthur writes,

Because it was the religious center for Jews, it was often overpopulated, especially during times of the special feasts and celebrations. Its resources were continually strained, and it was maintained to a large extent by gifts of wealthy nonresident Jews who lived throughout the Roman world. To make matters worse, some years earlier there had been a severe famine (Acts 11:28), from which the people were still suffering (MacArthur, John. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: 1 Corinthians. pg. 450).

There was an added problem for the followers of Jesus who were living in Jerusalem. The wealthy Jews, who were living in other parts of the world and who sent money back to Jerusalem, would in no way allow their money to be used to help Christians. Paul was taking up a collection for the brothers in sisters in Jerusalem from all of the churches in Achaia and Macedonia. Philippi, Thessalonica, Laodicea, Ephesus, Corinth…the list goes on and on. In each of these churches Paul made an appeal to support the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem who were struggling. Paul not only saw this as an opportunity for the Macedonian and Achaian churches to help those who were struggling financially, but he saw it as an opportunity for the Gentile churches to show their appreciation for the Jewish believers in Jerusalem. Paul had such a deep sense of gratitude for the faith of his fathers, which was the very foundation for his faith in Jesus. In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul said the Gentile believers “owed” the help to their Jewish Christian brothers and sisters. In Romans 15:25-27, Paul wrote,

25 Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the Lord's people there. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord's people in Jerusalem. 27 They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews' spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings. (Romans 15:25-27 NIV)

James and the other leaders plea to Paul to never forget the poor comes straight from the heart of Jesus. In Jesus’ first public act, He took the scroll of Isaiah and read, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18 NIV). In one of Jesus’ most powerful parables, the parable of the sheep and the goats, Jesus said,

35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' (Matthew 25:35-36 NIV)

James, the brother of Jesus who only became a believer in Jesus as the Messiah after His resurrection, became the leader of the Christians in Jerusalem. Even though he didn't believe in Jesus during the three years He ministered, James must have been watching and listening to Jesus. In James 2:14-16, he wrote,

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? (James 2:14-16 NIV)

And throughout history the Church has always had a heart for the poor and downcast. Emperor Hadrian, who reigned over the Roman Empire from 117 AD until 137 AD, turned against Christians during the later part of his reign. In response to Hadrian’s persecution, Aristides from Athens wrote what is known as “The Apology of Aristides” in about 125 AD. The “apology” was really an explanation, or defense of the beliefs and practices of the Christians. In his apology, Aristides writes,

And he, who has, gives to him who has not, without boasting. And when they see a stranger, they take him in to their homes and rejoice over him as a very brother; for they do not call them brethren after the flesh, but brethren after the spirit and in God. And whenever one of their poor passes from the world, each one of them according to his ability gives heed to him and carefully sees to his burial. And if they hear that one of their number is imprisoned or afflicted on account of the name of their Messiah, all of them anxiously minister to his necessity, and if it is possible to redeem him they set him free. And if there is among them any that is poor and needy, and if they have no spare food, they fast two or three days in order to supply to the needy their lack of food. They observe the precepts of their Messiah with much care, living justly and soberly as the Lord their God commanded them. Every morning and every hour they give thanks and praise to God for His loving-kindnesses toward them; and for their food and their drink they offer thanksgiving to Him. (Aristides)

I’ve been thinking about this during the past week. Thirty-two years ago today Connie and I arrived at Britton Christian Church. We were a dying church. There’s just no getting around it. There were maybe 70 people here on that first Sunday. The first year I was here we had 13 funerals. We began the “Sweet Hour of Prayer” within weeks. We would pray for one hour. No announcements. No small talk. I would read a Scripture and then we prayed for the needs of our church and we asked God to show us what He was doing in this neighborhood so that we might join Him. Out of that prayer meeting, which is still going on today, God moved and the BritVil Food Pantry, the King’s Klinic, the King’s Kloset, the House of Hope, and more ministries started. Those of you who are new here may not know much about those ministries. What is unique about what God was calling us to do is this: He called us to minister to those outside of the walls of Britton Christian Church. It just doesn’t make any sense does it? We needed new people “in” the pews of Britton Christian Church, yet God was calling us to minister to the needs of those in the community. Let’s move on. Take a look at verses 2-4 with me. 

2 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. 3 Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me. (1 Corinthians 16:2-4 NIV)

This was Paul’s instruction to the people of the church in Corinth. They were to give regularly, “on the first day of every week.” When Connie and I married I had only been a follower of Jesus for about four years. I had never been taught about giving, but Connie grew up in a Baptist church so “tithing” was ingrained in her DNA. I can remember when I brought my first check home and we sat down to do our bills. Connie said, “The first check we write is to the Lord.” She then told me we were going to tithe. I didn’t know what the word meant, but she explained it to me. TEN PERCENT?! We were barely getting by on the scholarship money I received from the athletic department and my part-time job…and Connie wanted to give ten percent of it away. I tried to negotiate, but the girl is hard-headed. She said, “Mike, ten percent is just where we start. We should give more. Everything we have is from God. It all belongs to Him.” There’s two things that are important to learn from that conversation Connie and I had almost 40 years ago. First of all, Connie was so right about everything we have being a gift of grace from God’s hand. Do you remember how Paul reminded the people of Corinth of this important truth, back in 1 Corinthians 4:7? Read it with me.

7 For who regards you as superior? And what do you have that you did not receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? (1 Corinthians 4:7 NAS)

But some of you might say, “But I worked hard to achieve all that I have. Nobody gave me anything. I struggled, I sacrificed, I gave up so much to get where I am today.” I’m afraid you might not like how Paul would answer you. “Who gave you the physical capabilities in order that you might work hard? Who gave you that brilliant mind? Who gave you the wisdom to know that you needed to make those sacrifices?” It is all from God my friends. There is a golden nugget hidden away in verse 2, if you read most versions of the English Bible, but we’ve got to stop and take a look at it. Paul writes, 

2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income… (1 Corinthians 16:2 NIV)

The NIV says, “in keeping with your income.” The New American Standard and most translations says, “as he may prosper.” The Contemporary English Version says, “put aside part of what you have earned.” The Greek word which is being translated is the word, “??????” (euodo?) which means “prosper, succeed, or help along the way.” This word is a verb, but it is in the passive voice which clearly implies that God is the true Source of all of their prosperity and success. I want to show you from God’s Word how the word is used to show that He is our help along the way. In Genesis 24, Abraham is very old and he calls his servant to go and find a wife for his son Isaac. Before he set out on his journey he stopped to pray. 

12 Then he prayed, "LORD, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. (Genesis 24:12 NIV)

God did lead him to a young woman named Rebekah. When the servant realized that the Lord had made his search successful he bowed down and worshiped. Listen closely to what he prayed.

47 "I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?'"She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milkah bore to him.'"Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, 48 and I bowed down and worshiped the LORD. I praised the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master's brother for his son. (Genesis 24:47-48 NIV)

God had given him success and it is God who gives us success, it is God who provides for us, God who prospers us. Why am I making such a huge deal out of this one little Greek word? It is because of one reason: If you and I fail to recognize that all we are and all we have comes from the Lord and belongs to the Lord then we will misuse all that He has given. If we recognize it all comes from Him then we will find much more joy in using our resources to bless the lives of others than in blessing ourselves. There is a second lesson to be learned from my conversation with Connie. Connie said we were to “tithe,” to give ten percent of our income to the church. I don’t find that word anywhere in Paul’s instructions. Tithing was a way of giving that God had prescribed for His people in the Old Testament. If you want to be precise, it was not ten percent that God required, but much closer to thirty-three percent. What’s the New Testament prescription for you and me? That’s easy! Give God your heart and everything else will follow. I learned that principle from the believers in Macedonia. Listen to this.

1 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord's people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. (2 Corinthians 8:1-5 NIV)

That’s a strange recipe for generosity isn’t it? “In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” Their generosity exceeded anything Paul could have ever imagined. How did that happen? “They gave themselves first of all to the Lord…” That’s God's desire for you and me. If He has sole possession of my heart then my time and financial resources are sure to follow. I have a friend who told me about a church where the leaders ask for the member’s financial statements and then they tell each member what they should give. How about that?! My friend’s mother goes to the church and I asked him what she thought about it? He said, “She doesn’t like it.” When I was in Plano we built a new sanctuary. Dinner meetings were set up for the biggest givers in the church. They were wined and dined like blue chip recruits! The leaders wanted to know “what they could give?” When we built the Education Building I thought about what I had experienced while I was in Plano and came to the conclusion, that’s not trusting God. Instead we asked people to pray if the Lord was leading them to help with the Education Building. All of our leaders were amazed. Some people gave a widow’s mite, others gave much more, but everyone joined in the celebration once the project was complete because God used them all to do something much bigger than any one person could have done…and God got all of the glory! That’s awesome! I’ve often heard people say they don’t like to go to church because all the church wants is their money. I seriously doubt letting go of money is the real problem. They give their money to all kinds of causes all over town and never bat an eye. The electric company comes calling every month. They’ve got five different streaming services they have to pay for every month. Football season is just around the corner. Brent Venables and Mike Gundy love you, but you’re going to have to pay up if you want a seat. The Country Club will greet you with “So good to see you Mr. So-and-so,” that is, as long as you pay those dues. We give our money to all kinds of causes and those causes will cut us off if we don’t pay up. Don’t believe me? Try not paying your mortgage for the next couple of months and see what happens. You can come to Britton Christian Church for the rest of your life, never give a dime, and you will be as welcome as anyone in this church. The real problem is not money. The real problem is my heart. The person who says, “I don’t go to church because all they want is my money” should really say, “I don’t believe in the mission of the church and therefore I’m not giving a dime!”  Wouldn’t it be better if we were just honest with one another? Our time is up for this morning, but before we go I would love for you to stop for the next few minutes and allow the Lord to examine your heart. That is what God truly wants from you, your heart. Have you ever given Jesus your heart? Have you ever said, “Lord I don’t want to live my life for me any longer. I want to live my life for you.” If that describes you then I would love for you to come forward and give me your hand as you give Jesus your heart.” Won’t you come?Mike HaysBritton Christian Church922 NW 91st OKC, OK 73114