1 Corinthians: Conclusion

Conclusion

text: 1 Corinthians 16

Outline:

A. 16:1-12, Unity in three gifts of God: material (1-4), time (5-9), people (10-12).

  B. 16:13-14, final encouragement to the Corinthian congregation.

A'. 16:15-20, Unity through greetings.

  B'. 16:21-24, Blessings.

Comments: At the very end St. Paul returns to the ultimate concern he had for the congregation in Corinth – unity. He will address it in a way of caring for the ministry – utilizing the three main gifts: material resources or money, quality time spent together, and people who dedicate their talents to the work in the Lord's field. At the same time unity can be seen in or even experienced through mutual participation in life of each other. All of this is surrounded by blessings and encouragements.

A. Three gifts. The apostle starts with a remark concerning fundraising for the benefit of Jerusalem church (at that time the believers underwent a period of persecution in Judea). He wants the fundraising to be organized ahead of time – then the collection of the offerings would be complete before his arrival. Same as he commanded the church in Galatia (16:1). This shows that, being in Ephesus, he encouraged all of the churches he had relations with collect donation for the sake of their brothers in Christ in Judea.

Also, he talks about the time he wants to spend with them. He openly states that he doesn't want to see them in passing. His intent to spend quality time, maybe even the whole period of winter (16:6-7). This phrase presents him not a modern fundraiser, concerned about money only, but a father caring for his spiritual children (cp. 4:14-15).

The third gift of God to the church is people or the ministers. At this point St. Paul brings up the names of two of them – Timothy and Apollos. We know that Timothy will eventually settle in Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:3). As of right now, he is a helper of St. Paul, and comes wherever the apostle needs him. Being young, probably even younger than he was during the time when St. Paul wrote him (cp. 1 Timothy 4:12), he needs an emotional support from more experienced minister, which Paul proved with gladness, ensuring that the congregation would care for Timothy.

Concerning Apollos, the apostle looks loose – Paul wanted him to come to Corinth earlier, but allows for the personal inputs from his colleagues. The mission can not be raced, it should be guided by the Holy Spirit (cp. Deuteronomy 20:8).

B. Final encouragement. The apostle lists 5 features of a Christian living:

Be watchful – be vigilante, stay awake

Stand firm in the faith – a posture of being ready for whatever comes one's way (the word appears only 7 times in the NT).

Act like men – meaning, being mature

Be strong – resembles Joshua 1:6,7,9,18

all should be done in love (cp. Chapter 13)

A'. The unity of the church is not an abstract thing – it can and should be seen in the involvement of the congregations and districts (dioceses) in each other's life: praying for each other, helping and supporting the ministry of each other. St. Paul reminds Corinthians the people they new from previous or resent engagements. He starts with Stephanas and his household, the most resent convert in Achaia (the South Greece region around 1 Corinthians). He and two others (Fortunatus and Achaicus) came to see the apostle, which made him happy enjoying fellowship (16:17).

The churches of Asia (current Turkey) – Ephesians, Galatians etc. He also mentiones Aquila and Prisca (short for Priscilla), who at this time hosted a church gathering in their house (in Ephesus). They spent time with Paul at Corinth (Acts 18:1-3). It is always good to hear the familiar names – people you know who continue to work in the field of the Lord in every circumstance.

Then he concludes “all the brothers send you greetings” (16:20). All the brothers – wherever St. Paul is [most likely in Ephesus] + the people he knows about and associates with – they all extend their greetings to the congregation in Corinth. The unity of the brothers is an encouragement in itself to Corinthians to keep peace and unity among themselves.

B'. The blessing. It begins with acknowledgments that the greeting is written by his own hand – see more on this in “Epistolary Opening” lesson. Therefore, the concluding words have a special weight when he again reinforces the theme of love (cp. chapter 13). Yet, here it come even stronger – it is not simply meaningless to engage without love, but the person should be anathematized, same terminology he brings up in the Letter to Galatians talking about the Gospel (1:6-9).

Two last lines are grace of the LORD and my love be with you [in Christ Jesus]. God's grace IS the foundation of the Christian faith and life. And it should be expressed in love (once more, showing how much this word, theme, and attitude means to him). Amen – which is truly so.

ACTS: Beginning of the 3rd Missionary Journey. St. Paul comes to Ephesus

Beginning of the 3rd Missionary Journey. Paul in Ephesus.    

The Passage: Acts 18:23-19:20

Structure:

a. 18:24-28, grow in faith

 b. 19:1-5, [baptism in] the name of the Lord Jesus

  c. 19:6-7, Gift of the Holy Spirit

   d. 19:8-10, All the inhabitants heard the Word of the Lord

  c’. 19:11-12, miracle of Paul

 b’. 19:13-17, the name of the Lord Jesus [held in great esteem]

a’. 19:18-20, grow in faith  

Historical and geographical context:

By now the church or messianic movement has become universal in character. Apollos came from Alexandria (Africa) to Ephesus. He is catechized by Aquilla and Priscilla who came from Rome through Corinth (cp. 18:1). Prior to Paul’s arrival Apollos goes to Corinth with the letters of recommendation. Then Paul came to Ephesus from Antioch, coming through inland country. On his way he most likely visited the saints in Debre, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia – the congregations that he established together with Bar-Nabas during his first missionary journey (cp. Acts 13-14, 16:1-5).  

Theology:

Constant growth. It is vital that the believers will not consider themselves to be fully mature at any point in their life. It does not mean that we cannot have an assurance of salvation. It’s like being a child in a family – from the time of conception and birth, one is born into the family. At the same time if a five-year-old does nothing but sleep and wants to breastfed, you might want to consult a doctor. Same thing here, Apollos comes with an accurate knowledge of the Way, competence in the Scriptures, and preaches Jesus (Acts 18:24-25). Yet, Aquilla and Priscilla catechized him. There is always something else to learn or adjust in skills. Yet, his background raises some questions: being from Alexandria, how did he learn about the Way, and how come he is baptized by St. John the Forerunner? First, he was a faithful Jew knowing the Scriptures. The theology of the Way should’ve been familiar to him from Torah (Deut. 30:11-20), Prophets (Jer. 6:16-21), and Psalms (1:5-6). Also, he could’ve visited Jerusalem during the Pentecostal sermon of St. Peter or hear it [if he didn’t go] from someone else.

Second, the knowledge of the baptism of John does not mean that he was baptized this way. It can mean that he was aware of it and understood how it worked theologically.  

Baptism in the Name of Jesus. Turns out that St. Paul also practiced constant growth. When he found the disciples who were baptized by St. John the Forerunner only, he asks them about their understanding of the Holy Spirit. Confessing that they did not hear anything of the Holy Spirit, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Notice that Jesus is the one who reveals the fullness of Godhead (Col. 1:19). As a result of the baptism in His name disciples experienced the descending of the Holy Spirit.

The reality of the spiritual world. Jesus during the time of his earthly ministry had cured/cleaned the people of demonic oppression (Mk. 1:21-27). So did the apostles, for example St. Paul heals a girl at Phillipi (Acts 16:16-18). Apparently, the seven sons of a High Priest also decided engaging in exorcism. Evil spirit acknowledged the power of Jesus and Paul, but questioned their stand in the faith: Who are you? (Acts 19:15). That’s a question of identity – a weak spot for those priests. Exorcism is a frontier of spiritual warfare… people should be additionally trained and prepared, like special forces in the military.     

Other themes:

Two interesting practices: (1) shawls of St. Paul and (2) the usage of financial means [burning the books] for the glory of God. First, it is helpful to understand that an apparel of a Jew had a symbolical dimension (cp. Num. 15:37-41; Zech. 8:23). The covenantal presence of God was revealed via prayer garment of St. Paul – faithful apostle.

Second, we can (and probably should) make a connection with Judas wanting to sell the oil instead of anointing the Messiah (John 12:1-8). Instead of selling the books that would mislead others to the ways of magic, disciples made an “ascension offering” (cp. Lev. 1), sacrificing the financial gain [50,000 silver pieces] for the glory of the Lord. As a result, the Word of the Lord (Logos, cp. John 1:1) continued to increase and prevail.