If you are wondering what has happened to 1 Corinthians 15, I assure you that it’s still there in the bible, but as our brother Malcolm dealt with that chapter when he preached in April I feel it’s appropriate for me to go straight on to chapter 16. In the earlier part of his letter Paul was dealing with issues that were internal to the church at Corinth. He was concerned that they should be living and acting in a way that was distinctly Christian, that they should be the authentic body of Christ there in Corinth. He was particularly concerned that they should live in harmony and unity together. That is so important. For a church to effectively communicate the gospel, its members have got to be seen to be living out the message of love and forgiveness as a community. ‘Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be people of courage; be strong. Do everything in love’ is how he summarises it in chapter 16 v 13&14.

In chapter 16 however, it becomes apparent that Paul is also concerned about there being a unity that spreads far wider than the local church. In this chapter it becomes clear that the early Christians realized that because they all belonged to Christ, they were part of one big family. Although this family was spread across the world, it was bound together in the love of Christ.

In this chapter people are mentioned who came from all around the eastern Mediterranean. Apollos was from Alexandria in Egypt, others were from different parts of what is now Greece, others were from the areas that now make up Turkey; some were from Rome. But they were all bound together in Christian love. They expressed their love in generous giving, as well as in Christian ministry and encouragement.

In the first part of the chapter Paul deals with a particular project that all the churches had embarked upon to send help to the Christians in Jerusalem. We don’t know exactly why this was needed, although we do know that certain problems had occurred for the church there. There were times when they had faced persecution; Act 8 tells us that at one point, many of the believers had actually left Jerusalem as a result of this. It could well be that some of that opposition continued against the Christians there.

We also know that there had been famine in Jerusalem, and we know that Paul had been involved in taking gifts from the church in Antioch to the Jerusalem to alleviate the suffering caused by the famine. In fact the apostles in Jerusalem had asked Paul to continue to help send aid. This is what the first 4 verses of the chapter are about. Paul tells of the way in which he encouraged all the churches to give.

The thing about giving is that people can tend to keep putting it off. There is always another demand for our money, something else we would like to spend it on. Paul tells the Corinthians that every week they should put some money aside. There’s the principle of regular giving. It should be in keeping with their income. Paul doesn’t suggest a percentage, but the implication is there that those who earn more can give more.

Some Christians work on the Old Testament principle of tithing; giving ten percent. That isn’t specified in the New Testament, but it’s a discipline to help people be real about their giving. There are other ways of giving in keeping with your income. John Wesley for example worked out how much money he needed to live. Anything he received or earned over that he gave away. One implication of giving on that principle is that if you don’t earn enough to live on, then the church should give to you. I have actually heard of a church where they tell people that if they need some money, when the collection bag comes round then instead of putting money in they can take some out.

I don’t believe that the early church operated quite like that; but it is clear that they gave to help fellow Christian who were in need. We know that the first task for which deacons were appointed was to distribute to the needy. In fact the offering that Paul was giving instruction about here was no doubt in part to help the poorer Christians in Jerusalem.

Generous material giving is always one expression of Christian love. National barriers should not limit that generosity. God’s people everywhere are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Living as we do in so wealthy a part of the world, we should be concerned for our brothers and sisters in Christ who don’t have enough in other parts of the world, and should express God’s love in our generosity as well as concern for justice in such areas as international trade.

Lets look secondly at the way that the early Christians expressed their love through fellowship and ministries of both encouragement and teaching. There is the example of Paul and his willingness to travel land and sea to share Christian teaching so that the churches might be built up in faith. Paul had spent a year and a half in Corinth. He was now in Ephesus, but he planned to revisit Corinth and spend some time in teaching and encouraging them in the future.

In the meantime, Timothy is en-route for Corinth. Paul tells the Corinthians to make him welcome when he arrives. Paul is a bit concerned that there are some folk who will give Timothy a hard time, and so he affirms that he is a true servant of the Lord just as Paul is and they should accept him. Apollos had visited Corinth before and they would like him to come again. For some reason he doesn’t want to go at the present time, but Paul tells them that he will go when he has the opportunity.

Note that there are two sides to the relationship between preacher and people: the preacher brings God’s word, the fellowship give the preacher encouragement and support. Paul needs encouragement and support, he gives thanks for the encouragement that he has received from Stephanas and his companions, these were the men who had travelled to Ephesus to see Paul, probably bringing the letter with them that Paul has referred to several times in 1 Corinthians.

In fact there seem to be a number of people mentioned in this chapter whose main role seems to be to convey personal encouragement. There is Stephanas and companions whom we’ve just mentioned. There are ‘the brothers’ who are travelling with Timothy. Paul also mentions the fact that some of the people from Corinth in due course will be going to Jerusalem with the gift for the church there.

It all helps us build up a picture of the personal way that Christian related to each other across national barriers, how in reality they lived out the fact that they were one in Christ. There is also another insight that we glean in this chapter about the nature of true leadership in the early church. It seems that in the church at Corinth there was a very real need for good leadership.

Paul had founded the church there; but now he was elsewhere. Apollos had also had a spell there, and had moved on. Paul was sending Timothy for a brief stay, but they seem to have lacked leaders of their own, there had been a tendency to immaturity and cliquishness. Paul perceives that they need leadership, and he has also perceived the folk who can best lead the church there in Corinth.

In verse 15 he mentions Stephanas. Stephanas and his household were the first converts in Corinth. They had devoted themselves to the service of the saints. These good folk right from the start had lived out their faith in love and service to their fellow Christians. Paul says submit to people like that; in other words, let them be your leaders. The Greek world, just like the world of our twenty-first century doesn’t usually choose it leaders on that basis.

The world looks for star quality; the world looks for academic qualifications and ambition. But Paul says look for those who are willing to be the humble servants of all; because they are the ones who Jesus says will be the greatest in his kingdom. The Christian Church is a community of people who don’t operate by the world’s standards; we operate by the standards of Jesus. In fact Paul says ‘I urge you brothers to submit to such as these and to everyone who joins in the work and labours at it.’ It’s the workers who deserve your love and respect. Our world would do well to realise the value of looking for such qualities in its potential leaders.

There is another family mentioned in this chapter who were of the same ilk as Stephanas and his household. That is Priscilla and Aquila. Paul sends their greetings to Corinth. They were Christians who had been living at Corinth when Paul had arrived there. They had welcomed Paul into their home and Paul had worked with them in their business making tents. Now they were at Ephesus, and once again they were using their home for the Lord. There was a church that actually met at their house.

The Gospel was spread and the church was built up in those early days, not just by the preachers of the gospel also by the ordinary people who gave of themselves and their possessions to help create the communities of people who formed the network of the early church. The church only continues to be built up as people give themselves in love and service to Christ and to one-another.

Finally Paul signs off the letter. He does it in a way that might surprise us. Paul says; ‘if anyone does not love the Lord- a curse be on him.’ Paul was really giving a word of warning to anyone in the church who was operating from wrong motives. The only valid basis on which anyone can really be part of the church is on the basis of responding to Christ’s love for us. When other things such as pride, or self-interest or ambition motivate people, then the effect on the church is destructive and divisive. So Paul is saying; ‘be warned!’ Jesus also warned of dire consequences for wolves in sheep’s clothing and for those who caused others to stumble.

The basis, on which we belong, is if we love the Lord. I suspect that many of us might quail at that thought. We know we don’t love the Lord, as we should. But that is the basis of our belonging. Christ says to us as he said to Peter long ago: ‘do you love me? The New Testament was written in Greek and there are different Greek words used for love. For the Love of God, for true pure love the word agape is used. That’s the word Paul used in chapter 13. But where Paul talks about our love for Christ here he uses the word philei, which is weaker type of word, the word used for friendship. Maybe we cannot love Christ in the way that God loves us; but we can give him our friendship.

‘Come, O Lord!’ Paul was looking for ward to the day when he would see Jesus. It’s good if we keep that in view as well.

‘The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.’ Just as Paul did, that is the wonderful way that as Christians we can commit one-another to the Lord. The Gospel is that grace has come into the world through Jesus Christ. By faith, may each one of us know the reality of that grace in our daily lives.  

Amen.

Return to top of page