1 Corinthians 16

Throughout the body of 1 Corinthians, Paul deals with various problems, issues, and questions within the Corinthian church. But with chapter 16, he turns to more personal matters as he begins to wrap up this letter. This first section deals directly with a pressing and practical matter.

At this time, Paul was gathering an offering from the churches of Greece and southern Turkey to take to the Jerusalem church. When writing to the Romans (probably from Corinth), he explains his plan: “But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.” (Romans 15:25-26) 

This is not the first time Paul had done something like this. For instance, when Paul was at Antioch, before his first missionary journey, there was a prophecy that there would be a time of famine. “Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.” (Acts 11:29-30)  The church at Jerusalem (and in Judea generally) was, seemingly, very poor. This makes sense when you remember how the Jews, generally speaking, felt about Christianity at this point. The Jews caused quite a bit of trouble for the church, even in places like Thessalonica or Corinth; it's easy to imagine how much worse it was in Jerusalem. This seems to have been an issue that was very important to Paul. But it wasn't just Paul. In the verses we read from Romans, we see that the churches of Greece had willingly contributed to this offering. This is what Paul says regarding this offering in 2 Corinthians. “For as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you: for I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many.” (2 Corinthians 9:1-2) Corinth was willing, even eager, to give to this offering, so much so that Paul held them up as an example to other churches. Given that this was something important to Paul and also important to the Corinthians, it makes sense that Paul would give commands relating to it. 

Paul's main concern was that the offering would be gathered beforehand so that when he came, there was no need to take up an offering. Most commentators think that Paul wanted to focus on giving some much-needed spiritual help from the church, and that was why he wanted these other matters cleared out of the way first. So he gives this practical advice. He wants the church to regularly collect an offering on the first day of the week. (This is very similar to how many offerings are conducted in the modern church.) 

It is important to notice that this was done on the first day of the week—that is, Sunday. The implication is that this is the day when the church would meet for its regular services, most likely as a commemoration of Christ's resurrection, which was also on the first day of the week. 

Paul also so specifically that he wanted them to give “as God hath prospered him.” The idea seems to be that Paul expected them to give based on what they had. God doesn't expect poor people to give vast riches. As Paul writes later, “For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.” (2 Corinthians 8:12) The point was not so much the amount, but the fact that they were giving willingly to this cause. As Paul also says in 2 Corinthians 9:7: “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” 

In the first century, as today, there were some men who used religion as a mask for greed. Some think that Paul was deliberately arranging things so that no such accusation could be leveled against him. As he said earlier in 1 Corinthians, he wanted to live in such a way that no hindrance would come on the gospel. He was not driving people to give; he even wanted the offering to be taken before he got there. And he would not be carrying this offering to Jerusalem—a delegation chosen by the Corinthians would take it—Paul might accompany them; he might not. (We know that in fact he did end up taking it.) But the point was that other agents—presumably people from the Corinthian church—would be the ones actually carrying the offering to Jerusalem. They would be able to see firsthand that their money got to the intended target and wasn't secretly siphoned off into Paul's secret Ephesian bank account. (We do not read of any Corinthians accompanying Paul to Jerusalem, so it may be that they chose to entrust Paul with the offering and waive the necessity of sending others.)

 One brief note about the word 'liberality' in verse 3. In modern English, liberality refers to a religious or political movement that emphasizes change and rebellion against established norms. The word liberal comes from the Latin word liber meaning free; hence liberty or liberation. Therefore, those who want to free people from tradition call themselves liberals. However, in older English, the word 'liberal' meant generous—a liberal man is one who gives freely. So liberality, in this context, means a gift, a freely given contribution. The Greek word here is actually the word usually translated grace—the free gift. 

In the next few verses, Paul talks about his future plans. It seems clear that Paul was at Ephesus at the time of writing and his plan was to stay there at least until Pentecost. There were two reasons for this determination. On one hand, there was a great work to be done. Paul said that a door had been opened to him. Ephesus was seemingly a fertile field for the gospel. Paul was seeing results, and he didn't want to leave while there were still those who were willing to hear and accept the gospel. But on the other hand, there were many enemies. Back in chapter 15, Paul mentioned facing some kind of great trouble, something he compares to fighting wild animals. (Or maybe he literally did fight some wild animals.) There were those who opposed Paul and his mission. Paul didn't want to run away from a fight; he didn't want to give in to these enemies. Perhaps, especially, he didn't want to leave the fledgling Christians to face this opposition without him. However, his plan was to leave Ephesus after Pentecost and travel through Macedonia and eventually reach Corinth and stay there for a while, at which point he would deal with their offering. 

In the meantime, he had sent Timothy to Greece to help the churches there. Paul wasn't sure whether or not he would get to Corinth, but if he did, he wanted to make sure that the Corinthians would receive him and make him welcome. Perhaps Paul was afraid that after the stern rebuke of this letter, there would be coldness to him and to Timothy as his representative. But there may have been another reason. The beginning of verse 11 is very reminiscent of what Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12: “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” Timothy was young enough that Paul knew some might not take him seriously. And that was probably written five or more years after 1 Corinthians, so Timothy was even younger at this point. But though he was young, he was doing the work of God, just like Paul. And Paul wanted them to treat him well and send him on his journey so he could rejoin Paul. 

In verse 12, we have an interesting note. You'll remember Apollos as being one of the ministers who worked in Corinth after Paul left. Paul gave him this comment earlier: “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” (1 Corinthians 3:6) They had both helped establish the church in Corinth. Now, seemingly, both were working with the church in Ephesus. Now, you'll also remember that the church in Corinth was divided into smaller parties or groups, and two of them, particularly, had gathered around Paul and Apollos. Those who followed and claimed Paul didn't get along with those who followed and claimed Apollos. But Paul calls Apollos his brother. There was no division between them. Even though there was disagreement. Paul wanted Apollos to go to Corinth, but Apollos chose to remain. Christians do not always agree, even about the ministry of the church. But they can still remain in love and charity with one another. That was what happened with Paul and Apollos—and that is what should have been happening among the parties in Corinth. (Many theorize that the reason Apollos didn't want to go was that he was afraid his presence would only inflame the partisanship.

Paul begins this final section of his letter with six injunctions. 

(1) “Watch ye.” This is a repeated command throughout the New Testament. Often, it has the idea of expecting and living in the light of Christ's second coming. Here it seems rather to have the idea of being aware of their surroundings—to be awake and alert—having situational awareness. The one thing that is very clear in studying 1 Corinthians is that it was a church with a lot of problems. But perhaps its biggest problem is that, on some issues at least, the church at large didn't realize they had a problem. Remember that they had a member of the church who was having an affair with his stepmother. And this was their reaction to that fact: "And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you." (1 Corinthians 5:2) They were not treating this sin as a serious matter. They were not alert to the danger this situation presented. For all the problems the church had, they seem to have generally had a certain sense of pride in themselves. That is why Paul cautioned them in the end to watch. To watch means not to fall asleep. It is often said the people who fall asleep best are those with a clean conscience—or those who are too smug and overconfident to know their conscience isn't clean. 

(2) "Stand fast in the faith." Back in the beginning of our study, I said that the main problem at Corinth was this: the Christians were acting and thinking too much like the world. They did have faith—their faith in God and in the truths of the Christian religion. This was something the other people around them did not have. And every day, there was that pressure to give up that faith and become more like the world. Many of the issues we see in 1 Corinthians were because the church wanted to surrender this or that principle or practice to be less distinct. They needed to stop that. They needed to stand fast; they needed to remain faithful to their faith. 

(3) “Quit you like men.” This phrase translates a single word in Greek; it is a verb derived from the Greek word for man. It could be roughly translated as “be a man” or “man-up.” The NET Bible translates it as “show courage.” Barnes explains it as “not to be a coward, or timid, or alarmed at enemies, but to be bold and brave.” It is closely connected with the fourth admonition: 

(4) “Be strong.” The whole picture of verse 13 is military. Paul is speaking to the Corinthians as soldiers in enemy territory, preparing for battle. Hence, the injunctions to be watchful and to hold the line. And now encourages them to be brave and strong; not to give up or run away, but to hold true in the middle of the fight. 

(5) Verse 13 is strong, even violent. But Paul counterbalances with his the fifth admonition in verse 14: “Let all your things be done with charity.” The Christian life may be warfare, but it is a fight driven not by hatred but by love. The Corinthian church was in danger of splintering; it was full of internal strife and division. There was competition and sectarianism. Paul had already shown them the path of love as the way par excellence. Here he reminds them again. They must fight the devil, but they must not fight one another. If the church is to stand strong, it must be united; it cannot stand together if it is falling apart. And love is the glue that holds the church together. As Adam Clarke puts it: “Let love to God, to man, and to one another, be the motive of all your conduct.” 

(6) There is a sixth admonition in verses 15-16, though it is broken up in a way that makes it less obvious. Paul mentions the house of Stephanas. We know that Stephanas and his family were converts of Paul and were some of the few that Paul personally baptized; they were some of the first converts in the region. But this family had not just become Christians; they had become very active in Christian work. They were devoted to the ministry of the saints, to helping and forwarding the gospel. That is the fact. Paul's injunction is that the Corinthians should respect Stephanas for his work—and this goes for anyone like him who labors and helps the ministry—specifically the ministry of Paul, but I think this applies to the Christian ministry as a whole. Robertson puts it that men like Stephanas were leading the way and that the other Christians ought to follow their lead. 

Paul continues this idea in verses 17-18. Here, he mentions Fortunatus and Achaicus as companions to Stephanas (probably members of his family); they had come to Paul in Ephesus, perhaps bringing him the letter from the church which some of 1 Corinthians was written to answer. Certainly, they were able to clarify some things about the church—that seems to be the meaning of the end of verse 17. A letter can't tell everything, and so these men had helped give Paul a clearer picture of the state of things in Corinth. Perhaps, in addition to all the problems they had to tell him, they also had good things to tell him. Certainly, their communication gave Paul comfort—they refreshed his spirit. And because of this, Paul was able to write this epistle, and that would bring rebuke but also encouragement to the Corinthians—it would refresh their spirits. Without the work of Stephanas and his companions, this might not have happened. That is why Paul wanted to make sure the Corinthians acknowledged them for their work. With all the petty politics going on, Paul wanted them to recognize those who were truly helping the church and respect them for it. 

 In verses 19-21, we get some greetings. The churches of Asia (i.e., Turkey) sent their greeting. Even though most of these people had probably never met anyone from the Corinthian church, they still shared a bond of Christian fellowship. Aquila and Priscilla, along with the church they were hosting, had a more direct connection since they had lived in Corinth. They were also responsible for teaching the gospel to Apollos, who would go on to have an important part in the Corinthian church. Beyond that, all the brethren sent their greetings. And finally, we have the greeting of Paul himself. This was in his own hand—it is generally understood that Paul dictated his letters to a scribe or secretary, but he would add his signature in his own handwriting. 

In verse 20, we have the added injunction to greet one another with a holy kiss. This was a common practice in the early church. Paul says almost the same thing in Romans, as does Peter in 1 Peter 5:14: "Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen." In modern Western society, we associate kissing with either Romantic love or familial affection. But among the Jews, at least, it was also used as a sign of friendship. You remember that Judas greeted Jesus with a kiss in the garden. This practice was also used in the church as a symbol of the shared bond of affection. The Corinthian church was sorely divided; Paul's advice was that they kiss and make up. They should have had the bond of friendship or even family, not the separate, competing factions of a political party. 

 Verse 22 may be one of the strangest choices in the KJV. We have these two words: anathema and maranatha, both of which are simply transliterated instead of being translated. Moreover, they are grouped together as if they represent a single idea when really there should be a period or at least a semicolon between them. So, first we have: “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema”--that is, let him be accursed, judged under the sentence of judgment. Love stands at the heart of the Corinthian letter—it was the thing they lacked in so many ways. And Paul here lays down a stern and solemn commandment. Without love, there can be no salvation. If the church has all the gifts and accomplishments and has not love, it is nothing. There is a line around the church; a line which marks those who are part of the church and part of God's family and divides them from those who are on the outside, those upon whom rests the condemnation and the wrath of God. And that line is the line of love. This might be a warning to those inside the church. They were lacking in their love for one another. And that might be a symptom of a lack of love for God. They probably should do some serious self-examination, because to be without that love is a spiritual death sentence. These being declared anathema might also refer to church discipline. This is something Paul talked about earlier. The church has a duty to remove those members who are not living righteously; those whose sin mars the reputation of the church. And the greatest (though not always the most obvious) sin is failing to love Jesus. But this might also refer to those outside the church. To those in the church, the world around them might seem brighter and more inviting than the church. Certainly, it might seem safer. Perhaps it seemed more powerful. They were plagued with the temptation to stray back to that world; to return to Egypt. And Paul reminds them that there is nothing there. Everything out there, everything in the world that is not founded on God's love—that is all accursed. Someone compared the church to Noah's ark—sometimes it can be noisy and smelly inside, but it still still better than being outside. 

Now we have the word maranatha. The word (or rather phrase) is Aramaic and not Greek. Literally, it means “The Lord cometh” or even “The Lord has come.” That is the foundation for our faith as Christians—we believe that Jesus is God and that he came to earth to live and die and rise again for our salvation, and we believe that He will someday return for His people. That is our hope, as we saw in chapter 15. Maranatha is an assertion of Christ's return or even a prayer for Him to return. 

There was no punctuation in the original New Testament and no verse divisions. Those were added later. It is possible that maranatha—this statement regarding Christ's return—should be treated as a completely separate thought from the rest of verse 22. But it might connect. Paul asserts that those who do not love Jesus are accursed, are under the threat of judgment. And when Jesus returns, it will be to enact that judgment. God's law has teeth. The cry of “the Lord cometh” is a comfort to those who love God; it means something very different to those who do not love Jesus. 

In verse 23, we have Paul's typical closing words: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” But he adds a special note afterwards: “My love with you all in Christ Jesus.” Paul had had to speak some very harsh words to the Corinthian church, but they all came from a heart of love. The Corinthian church may have lacked love for one another or even for God. Based on 2 Corinthians, it seems there were some, at least, who lacked love for Paul. But Paul had nothing but love for them. Paul lived according to the way of love, even when that meant rebuking and condemning. Matthew Henry writes: “We should be cordial lovers of all who are in Christ, and who love him in sincerity. Not but we should love all men, and wish them well, and do them what good is in our power; but those must have our dearest affection who are dear to Christ, and lovers of him. May our love be with all those who are in Christ Jesus! Amen.”