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The Wisdom Of joshua hartwigsen, 8.1.21 (pm) THE WISDOM OF GOD Paul’s Jesus-centered approach to church life in 1 Corinthians 1 Corinthians 16 – questions about the collection (the message of the cross requires us to care for others) 1 Corinthians contains Paul’s cross-centered approach to the various problems plaguing the Christians in Corinth (1 Corinthians 2:2). “Cloe’s people,”1 representatives from the household of a member in the church community in the city, made Paul aware of those problems but also brought with them questions troubling the church (1 Corinthians 1:11; 5:1; 7:1; 8:1; 12:1; 15:12; 16:1, 12). 1 Corinthians chapters fifteen contains Paul’s address of Corinthians’ rejection of a bodily resurrection. “Now concerning…” Having finished his address of the issues brought to his attention by people from Cloe’s household and from the Corinthians themselves, Paul concluded the letter of 1 Corinthians with a few instructions regarding a collection (1 Corinthians 16:1-4), Paul’s travel plans (1 Corinthians 16:5-11), and a few final instructions and farewells (1 Corinthians 16:12-24). Now concerning the collection for the saints (1 Corinthians 16:1-4) • Paul closed out his letter to the Corinthians by including instructions about collections (1 Corinthians 16:1-4), which were a part of the monies sent to support the Christians in Jerusalem who were experiencing a severe famine (Acts 11:27-30). • Paul’s discussion of the collection offers more than a bit of historical trivia; the number of times the New Testament talks about that collection reveals that it offered an important evidence of the church’s identity and mission. Consider: o Acts 11:27-30 – in response to the prophetic announcement of a coming famine, the church leaders decided “to send relief to the brothers living in Judea” and commissioned Paul and Barnabas to deliver those funds. o Galatians 2:9-10 – Paul seemingly referred to that commission when he wrote that he had been instructed “to remember the poor” in his work among the Gentiles. o 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 – Paul instructed the Corinthians to collect funds to send to Jerusalem. o 2 Corinthians 8:1-9:15 – for unstated reasons, the Corinthians stopped collecting funds. Paul instructed the Corinthians to resume collecting funds for the Jerusalem Christians and gave a couple reasons for his encouragement: 1 All quotes from the Bible come from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV Permanent Text Edition, Crossway, 2016) unless otherwise noted. 151st Street Church of Christ 13875 W 151st Street, Olathe, KS, 66062 151cofc.com joshua hartwigsen, 8.1.21 (pm) ▪ He urged the Corinthians to follow the example of the Macedonian Christians whose liberality “overflowed in a wealth of generosity” because “they gave themselves first to the Lord” (2 Corinthians 8:1-15). ▪ He encouraged them to resume collecting as “proof before the church of [their] love” (2 Corinthians 8:24). ▪ He finally reminded the Corinthians that “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:6-15). o Romans 15:25-28 – Paul wrote that the Gentile Christians “owed” the collection to the Jewish Christians because they had “come to share in their spiritual blessings”. o Acts 20:4; 1 Corinthians 16:3-4; 2 Corinthians 8:16-23 – Paul selected a group of individuals who represented the Gentile churches collecting money for the Christians in Judea and entrusted the funds into their care. o Acts 24:17; cf. Acts 20:1-21:16 – Paul, along with the representatives of the Gentile churches, journeyed to Jerusalem “to bring alms to [his] nation”. o Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-35 – the church’s generosity both realized God’s plan for Israel (cf. Deuteronomy 15:1-18) and offered evidence of Jesus’ fulfillment of his mission (cf. Luke 4:18-19). Discussion • Considering all the things Paul could have emphasized in his writings, why do you think Paul highlighted the collection from the Gentile churches to the “brothers in Judea”? • What role do you think the collection from the Gentile churches to support the Judean churches played in the divisions that plagued the two groups in the early church (cf. Acts 15; Galatians 1-2)? • What lessons do you think the New Testament’s account of the collection gathered by the Gentile churches holds for us today? • Paul next addressed his plans to come to Corinth, which, despite the hard line he took with the Corinthians in his letter (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:1-4; 5:1-2; 11:22), expressed a genuine interest in his relationship with them (1 Corinthians 16:5-9). His travel plans, announced in 1 Corinthians 16:5-9 (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:19), fell through and became a focus of some of the criticisms about him in 2 Corinthians (2 Corinthians 1:15-2:14). • The letter’s remaining verses includes Paul’s concluding remarks and exhortations (1 Corinthians 16:10-18) and his final greetings (1 Corinthians 16:19-24). 151st Street Church of Christ 13875 W 151st Street, Olathe, KS, 66062 151cofc.com joshua hartwigsen, 8.1.21 (pm) Applications • How would you summarize the book of 1 Corinthians and what lessons do you think that summary holds for us? • What problems characterized the Corinthian Christians and how might their problems represent the issues confronting all Christians? • In what ways did Paul apply the “gospel” to the various problems in the Corinthian church? • What insights did his application of the gospel offer you into how we can apply the gospel in our church family? Notes ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 151st Street Church of Christ 13875 W 151st Street, Olathe, KS, 66062 151cofc.com .
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