June 4, 2014: Corinthians I Chapter 16

First Corinthians Chapter 16

Originally posted Friday July 25, 2008

First Corinthians Chapter 16:1-4 The Collection for Jerusalem

In Rom. 15:25-27 we read of Paul's plan to travel to Jerusalem to deliver a promised collection for the poor, which is being taken up in a number of churches in Macedonia and Achaia. While the motive for the collection is charitable it would also serve to demonstrate the Gentile concern for and solidarity with the Jewish Christian community, the Mother Church. As we read in Acts, the opposition to allowing Gentiles to become Christians apart from Jewish piety was strong. There is no doubt this opposition played a role in Paul's arrest in Jerusalem.

He may have mentioned the collection during his first visit to Corinth and is now providing more details. In this letter to Corinth (in Achaia) he reminds the community of the collection and instructs them to have it ready when he arrives. The collection is to be taken at a successive number of Sunday gatherings. (This is the first time we read of Sunday as the official community gathering for worship. Although the church includes a number of house churches there is reason to believe larger gatherings were held in the homes or on the property of wealthy patrons. The time would have been early morning, perhaps at sunrise, as a commemoration of the resurrection). The offering was to be based on "whatever extra you earn" for each week. The majority of the members would have been artisans working in small shops in the large Agora District in the heart of the city. Their daily income depended on the number of items they produced and could sell that day. The "extra" they might earn would be income beyond their family needs for food and shelter. The text describes the collection as an ongoing practice at every gathering and its use would have been for the needs of the members. Paul has already told the church of his upcoming visit. He proposes to send the offering with members chosen by the church leaders. However, if they think it advisable, he will travel with them rather than separately as originally planned.

First Corinthians Chapter 16:5-12 Travel Plans

This is a passage of "news from Paul." He relates his itinerary through Macedonia on his way to Corinth. He doesn't want to just pass through Corinth on his way somewhere else but hopes to spend the winter with them (which he will). In the meantime and before he strikes out for Macedonia, he has found in Ephesus a greater than expected opportunity to continue his mission. It might take some time because he will have to deal with "many adversaries" so he will stay at least until Pentecost. It is not clear if Paul still regards Pentecost as a Jewish festival day which he will celebrate. The absence of any mention in Paul's letters of the Pentecost event as described in Acts 2 leads us to believe that Paul, a devout Jew, continued to participate in the various festivals whenever he could. His understanding of "freedom in Christ" did not mean casting off the traditions which had nourished him his entire life.

He lets the Church know that Timothy may be arriving soon and he asks that they welcome him and treat him well. What he implies is that he does not want them to see Timothy's youth as a hindrance to their accepting him as one who is "doing the work of the Lord" just as Paul is. In other words, Timothy will serve as Paul's presence until he arrives. As for the apostle Apollos who had been instrumental in the formative days of Corinth's beginnings as a Christian community, Paul had urged him to visit Corinth but he has other plans. From what we have read of Apollos in Acts we might expect he had a mind of his own, independent of Paul's instructions. Paul does hope that he will eventually visit Corinth.

First Corinthians Chapter 16:13-24 Final Messages and Greetings

Paul closes his letter with words of encouragement, with a reminder of the centrality of love in all they do. He makes a special mention of Stephanas (1:16) who was the first person to be converted and baptized along with his family in Corinth during his first missionary visit. He along with several others has been working with Paul in Ephesus and apparently are now returning to Corinth. He urges the community to receive them and help in whatever work they may do. Stephanas represents Paul's organization of areas he has visited. Stephanas and others used Corinth as a base of operations and continued Paul's evangelistic mission in the surrounding cities and towns of Achaia. This method proved very effective in the rapid spread of Christianity throughout the Roman provinces.

Paul sends along greetings from the churches of Western Asia Minor, a statement of Paul's insight into the value of connectional relationships among the churches in all provinces. The result of his efforts became apparent at the end of the first and beginning of the second centuries as evidence by the rise of strong leaders and the church wide sharing of their many letters as well as the collection and distribution of letters attributed to Paul. He mentions Prisca (Priscilla) and Aquila who had been instrumental in teaching Apollos in Ephesus. As with many leaders, they host a church in their home. He asks that the Corinthians greet one another with a holy kiss on his behalf. The holy kiss was a typical greeting among members of organized associations and guilds. It is interesting to observe that in our time it is hard enough to hold hands during a benediction let alone a kiss!

Paul personalizes the closing by writing his own words. He calls down a curse - a strange way to end a letter, on anyone who does not love the Lord. Certainly he means this to apply to the Corinthian community and not the world in general. He opens the benediction with the Aramaic words "Marana tha," Let Our Lord Come. This phrase relates to the Parousia and is traceable to the earliest layer of Palestinian Christianity. Whenever it was that the early followers of Jesus came to understand the continuing presence of Jesus even after his death, this phrase was used as an utterance of hope and an amen at the end of every prayer. It certainly was Paul's expectation that this prayer would be fulfilled during his lifetime.