Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: 1 CORINTHIANS # 23 - 16:1-24)
VI. 16:1-24 PRACTICAL WISDOM AND BENEDICTION
A. 16:1-18 PRACTICAL DETAILS CONCERNING NORMAL CHURCH LIFE
1. 16:1-4 HOW TO AVOID REPERCUSSIONS IN MONEY MATTERS
a. 16:1 PAUL'S ORDER RE COLLECTIONS
PeRI de tes loGIas tes eis tous haGIous,
Now concerning the collection :for the saints,
HOSper diEta-xa [1299]tais ek-kleSIais tes Ga-laTIas, HOUto kai huMEIS poiEsa-te.
as I gave order to the churches of :Galatia, so also do you.
b. 16:2 THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK
kaTA MIan sabBAtou HEkas-tos huMON par' he-auTOtiTHEtothe-sauRIzon [2343],
Upon thefirst dayof theweek let each of you lay by him in store,
HOti eAN eu-oDOtai [2137], HIna meHOtan ELthoTOte loGIai [3048]GInon-tai.
as he may prosper, that when I come no collections be then made.
c. 16:3-4 COURIERS FOR OFFERINGS
HOtan de pa-raGEno-mai [[3854]hous eAN do-kiMAse-te [1381]di' e-pis-toLON,
And when I arrive whoever you shall approve with letters,
TOUtous PEMpsoa-pe-negKEIN [667]ten CHArin huMON eis Ie-rou-saLEM:
them will I send to carry your :bounty to Jerusalem:
eAN de Axi-on etou ka' 'ME poREUes-thai, sun eMOI poREUson-tai.
4 and if it be proper for me to go also, they shall go with me.
2. 16:5-9 HELPS THAT GOVERN MINISTRIES
a. 16:5-6 SAINTS CAN HELP MINISTRIES FORWARD IN THEIR CALLING
E-LEUso-mai de pros huMAS, HOtan Ma-ke-doNIan diELtho;
But I will come unto you, when I shall have passed through Macedonia;
Ma-ke-doNIan gar diERcho-mai; pros huMAS de tuCHON ka-ta-meNO [3887]; e pa-ra-cheiMAso [3914],
for I pass through Macedonia; 6but it may be that I shall abide with you; or winter,
HIna huMEIS me proPEMpse-te [4311]hou eAN poREUo-mai.
that you may set me forward on myjourney wherever I go.
b. 16:7 VISITING OTHERS MUST BE IN THE LORD'S PERMISSION
ou THElogar huMAS ARti en paROdo[3938]iDEIN;
for I do not wish to see you now by theway;
elPIzogar CHROnon tiNA e-piMEInai [1961]pros huMAS, eAN ho KUri-os e-piTREpse[2010].
for I hope to tarry some time with you, if the Lord permit.
c. 16:8-9 ADVERSARIES DO NOT SHUT OPEN DOORS
e-pi-meNOde en E-PHEsoHEos tes pen-te-kosTES [4005];
But I will tarry at Ephesus until :Pentecost;
THUra [2374]GAR moi aNEo-gen [455]meGAlekai e-nerGES [1756], kai an-tiKEIme-noi [480]polLOI.
9for a great door and effectual is opened to me, and adversaries are many.
3. 16:10-11 HOW TO HELP A LESSER CHURCH MINISTRY
a. 16:10-11a PAUL'S COMMENDATION FOR TIMOTHY
E-AN de ELtheTiMOthe-os, BLEpe-te HIna aPHObos [870]GEne-tai pros huMAS;
Now if Timothy come, see that he be with you without fear;
to gar ERgon KuRIou erGAze-tai [2036], hos eGO: ME tis oun auTON e-xou-theNEse [1848].
for he works theLord's work, as I also: 11 let no one therefore despise him.
b. 16:11b TIMOTHY AND PAUL
proPEMpsa-te [4311] de auTON en eiREne [1515],
But set him forward on his journey in peace,
HIna ELthe PROS me: ekDEcho-mai gar auTON meTA ton a-delPHON.
that he come unto me: for I expect him with the brethren.
4. 16:12 NEWS ON A POSSIBLE VISIT BY APOLLOS
PeRI de A-polLO tou a-delPHOU,
But as touching Apollos the brother,
polLA pa-reKAle-sa [3870] auTON HIna ELthe pros huMAS meTA ton a-delPHON:
I besought him much to come unto you with the brethren:
kai PANtos ouk en THEle-ma [2307] HIna nun ELthe;
and it was not at all the will to come now;
eLEUse-tai de HOtan eu-kaiREse [2119].
but he will come when he shall have opportunity.
5. 16:13-14 MANLY EXHORTATIONS ON THE CHRISTIAN WARFARE
a. 16:13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
Gre-goREIte [1127], STEke-te [4739]en tePIStei, anDRIzes-the [407], kra-taiOUSthe [2901].
b. 16:14 Let all you do be in love. PANta huMON en aGApe[26]giNEStho.
6. 16:15-18 HOW TO RECEIVE OTHER GOSPEL WORKERS
a. 16:15-16 PROPER TREATMENT FOR GOSPEL MINISTRIES
Pa-ra-kaLO [3870] de huMAS, a-delPHOI (OIda-te ten oiKIan Ste-phaNA,
Now I beseech you, brethren (you know the house of Stephanas,
HOti esTIN a-parCHE [536] tes A-CHAIas,
that it is a first fruit of Achaia,
kai eis di-a-koNIan [1248] tois haGIois [40] Eta-xan he-auTOUS),
and they have set themselves to minister to the saints),
HIna kai huMEIS hu-poTASses-the [5293]tois toiOUtois, kai panTI tosu-nerGOUNti kai ko-piONti [2872].
16 that you also submit to :such, and to every one tht helps in thework and toils.
b. 16:17 THREE HELPFUL MINISTRIES
CHAIro [5463] de ePI te pa-rouSIa Ste-phaNA kai Phor-touNAtou kai Acha-iKOU:
And I rejoice at the presence of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus:
HOti to huMEte-ron husTEre-ma [5303] HOUtoi a-nePLEro-san [378].
for what was lacking on your:part THEY supplied.
c. 16:18 For they refreshed my :spirit and :yours: acknowledge you therefore :such.
aNEpau-san [373] gar to eMON PNEUma kai to huMON: e-pi-giNOSke-te [1921] oun tous toiOUtous.
B. 16:19-24 CLOSING GREETINGS
1. 16:19-20 SALUTATIONS AND GREETINGS
a. 16:19a The churches of :Asia salute you.
AsPAzon-tai [782] huMAS hai ek-kleSIai tes A-SIas.
b. 16:19b Aquila and Prisca salute you much in theLord, with the church in their house.
asPAze-tai huMAS en KuRIo polLA A-KUlas kai PRISka, sun te kat' OIkon auTON ek-kleSIa.
c. 16:20a All the brethren salute you. asPAzon-tai huMAS hoi a-delPHOI PANtes.
d. 16:20b Greet one another with a holy kiss.
AsPAzon-tai alLElous en phiLEma-ti [5370]haGIo[40].
2. 16:21-24 VERY STRONG CLOSING
a. 16:21 The greeting of me Paul with my :hand. Ho as-pasMOS te eME cheiRI PAUlou.
b. 16:22a. If any loves not the Lord, let him be anathema
ei tis ou phiLEI [5388] ton KUri-on, EtoaNAthe-ma [331].
c. 16:22b. Maranatha. MaRAN aTHA.
d. 16:23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ bewith you.
he CHAris tou KuRIou IeSOU meth' huMON.
e. 16:24 My :love with you all in Christ Jesus.
he aGApe [24] mou meTA PANton huMON en ChrisTO IeSOU.
NOTE: The Church of Corinth failed to come up to the standard of Romans' understanding of “Justification by Faith,” and how the “Passover” in Christ sets it forth in His “Finished Work.” Just to have the Spirit manifestation through all of the gifts of the Spirit - is not enough.We also need understanding of and commitment to Christ - the “Truth!”
Now see how the Holy Spirit through Paul seals this corrective letter! How we handle financesis most important. Much in the Charismatic field of last century has fallen woefully below Gospel standards in this regard. Oral Roberts came to Billy Graham and asked for help in this area. Billy opened all their records in Minneapolis to Oral, and invited him to look through them all, and adapt all he wanted as a help. He did, and it made a difference!
Then consider how Paul protected Timothy when he sent him to Corinth (16:10-11). Paul made Timothy equal to himself! What a high commendation for the result of mentoring that Paul had put into his chosen, spiritual son!
Then see Paul's treatment of a fellow leader and apostle (16:12). He did notseek to force his will on Apollos. He shared how he saw Apollos could be a help in Corinth - but left the timingof his going there up to him!
Next look at 16:13-14. We allshould pay careful attention to these 5. As we meditate on them, and seek the Lord's grace to work them into our normal habit patterns - what a blessing this can be.
Chapter 16 of 1 Corinthians is a peculiar chapter. It could easily be passed over. But let us not do so. It has indeed rich and practical lessons here, given by the Holy Spirit through Paul, that if missed, would make us but the losers. - J.A.W.