Benefits of the Larger Church Community

Sunday, November 2, 2025

Start with Application Testimony

[Give people an opportunity to share a testimony from last week’s exhortation]

Last week’s exhortation: Pursue the rewards of generosity in your life, and in the lives of others.

INTRO

We are going verse-by-verse, in a topical study through I & II Corinthians

Current Topic: Church Relationship - The holy work of being the Body of Christ.

We have spent the last 11 weeks on the topic of church relationship, and embracing the challenges and rewards of being in fellowship together. In these lessons we have mostly focused on this as it relates to relationship within a local church.

In today’s lesson, the 12th and final in this series, we are going to explore the benefits that come from different local churches having relationship with one another and working together to expand the Kingdom of God.

READ

1 Corinthians 16 CSB

1 Now about the collection for the saints: Do the same as I instructed the Galatian churches. 2 On the first day of the week, each of you is to set something aside and save in keeping with how he is prospering, so that no collections will need to be made when I come. 3 When I arrive, I will send with letters those you recommend to carry your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it is suitable for me to go as well, they will travel with me. 5 I will come to you after I pass through Macedonia—for I will be traveling through Macedonia—6 and perhaps I will remain with you or even spend the winter, so that you may send me on my way wherever I go. 7 I don’t want to see you now just in passing, since I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord allows. 8 But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 because a wide door for effective ministry has opened for me—yet many oppose me. 10 If Timothy comes, see that he has nothing to fear while with you, because he is doing the Lord’s work, just as I am. 11 So let no one look down on him. Send him on his way in peace so that he can come to me, because I am expecting him with the brothers. 12 Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to come to you with the brothers, but he was not at all willing to come now. However, he will come when he has an opportunity. 13 Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. 14 Do everything in love. 15 Brothers and sisters, you know the household of Stephanas: They are the firstfruits of Achaia and have devoted themselves to serving the saints. I urge you 16 also to submit to such people, and to everyone who works and labors with them. 17 I am delighted to have Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus present, because these men have made up for your absence. 18 For they have refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore recognize such people. 19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla send you greetings warmly in the Lord, along with the church that meets in their home. 20 All the brothers and sisters send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. 21 This greeting is in my own hand—Paul. 22 If anyone does not love the Lord, a curse be on him. Our Lord, come! 23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24 My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus.

EXAMINE

#1 | Larger church community creates a network of support and shared resources

1 Corinthians 16:1–3 “Now about the collection for the saints: Do the same as I instructed the Galatian churches. 2 On the first day of the week, each of you is to set something aside and save in keeping with how he is prospering, so that no collections will need to be made when I come. 3 When I arrive, I will send with letters those you recommend to carry your gift to Jerusalem.”

What we’re seeing in this chapter isn’t one congregation that is spread out - it is actually several different churches/congregations in relationship with one another across the Mediterranean region.

We must remember that we don’t just belong to a church/congregation - we belong more broadly to “the Church” which is everyone who is in Christ. (1 Peter 2:9-10; Eph 2:17-20; 4:4-6)

When congregations act like they belong to a larger body, and build relationships with one another, then the pool of available resources expands and burdens can be shared, which in turn makes them lighter.

#2 | A larger church community can coordinate effort in expanding the Kingdom of God

1 Corinthians 16:5–6 “I will come to you after I pass through Macedonia... I will remain with you or even spend the winter, so that you may send me on my way wherever I go.”

1 Corinthians 16:10–11 “If Timothy comes… send him on his way in peace...”

1 Corinthians 16:17 “I am delighted to have Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus present, because these men have made up for your absence.”

What we’re seeing in this chapter are congregations in different cities working together to send, receive, and provide for missionaries.

“Send me/him on his/my way” meant the local church would provide rest and provision along the legs of these peoples’ journeys - not just a pat on the back as they passed through.

When local churches work together, we can coordinate the gifts and talents that God has given to the different members of our congregations.

In this way we can leverage the gifts and talents God has made available across an area, and not just what we have in our own local church. (1 Cor 12:12, 18-20)

#3 | A larger church community can help vet leaders and share relational connections

1 Corinthians 16:15–16 “...you know the household of Stephanas: They are the first fruits of Achaia and have devoted themselves to serving the saints. I urge you 16 also to submit to such people...”

1 Corinthians 16:19 “The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla send you greetings warmly in the Lord, along with the church that meets in their home.”

Local churches can bless and protect one another by vetting and commending those who move from one area to another, or who are called by God to join another congregation or ministry.

With their previous congregation vouching for them, ministers who have proven themselves can more quickly be trusted and contribute in their new church.

Local congregations can also protect one another by warning when someone who is unsafe or unfit tries to join another ministry and/or seeks leadership.

Relationship between local churches can also serve to maintain relational connection and love, between people in their congregation now and the congregations they used to be a part of.

This in turn further strengthens the relationship between local churches.

REFLECT

Let’s take a moment to pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to guide our attention and lead our conversation, helping us see and understand what He wants us to apply in our lives.

APPLY

Process the passage together with these questions:

[Allow the conversation to go where people take it - we want people to feel the liberty to explore the topics of the passage that stand out to them. Select the questions from below that you think are right for the conversation, or add your own. Questions should be focused, yet open-ended. Wherever the conversation goes, help your group “land the plane” on the core idea of the lesson when you wrap up.]

What kinds of barriers keep local churches from partnering more, when they ought to?

What does Paul's travel planning (v. 5-8) teach us about the benefit of coordinating ministry efforts?

How can leveraging gifts across multiple churches make ministry more effective?

Where we want to “land the plane”

Our local church is not the entire mission, but rather one vital part of the larger Body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 16 reminds us by example that God's design involves interconnectedness, not isolation. Therefore, we must actively look for opportunities to partner with other local churches. This means sharing resources, coordinating our efforts to expand the Kingdom, and celebrating the relationships that bind us together with believers down the street and around the world.

Exhortation for the Week

Make a new friend in another church and expect the Lord to show you a piece of a larger picture.

FOOTNOTES

Why would Timothy have something “to fear while with” the Corinthians? In the meantime Paul intended to send his beloved assistant Timothy to Corinth. The younger man sometimes traveled in Paul’s place (cf. Phil. 2:19–24). That Timothy might have cause to fear while ministering in Corinth confirms, as this letter indicates, that working with the Corinthian church was no picnic. However, it probably says more about the character of Timothy, a man devoted to Christ (Phil. 2:19–21) but lacking Paul’s robust boldness (cf. 1 Tim. 4:12; 2 Tim. 1:7–8; 2:1). David K. Lowery, “1 Corinthians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 547.

Achaia and the Household of Stephanas. Achaia was the Roman province extending over central and southern Greece of which Corinth was the capital. Those in the household of Stephanas were among the first converts in the region (cf. Acts 17:34, for some in Athens believed), and they were among those who assumed responsibility for the general welfare of the church. Sometimes Paul appointed elders (Acts 14:23) but in this instance members of Stephanas’ household voluntarily took on the responsibility (cf. 1 Tim. 3:1). Paul recognized their position as ordained by God and urged others to submit to them. As an aside, it may be said that this text argues strongly against the view that infants were in view when a household was referred to. It is difficult to see how infants could be of service to the saints. One primary qualification for church leadership was a willingness to serve (cf. Matt. 23:11; Luke 22:26). To those who labored with this spirit, submission on the part of others in the church was due. David K. Lowery, “1 Corinthians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 547–548.

The Churches of Asia. The churches … of Asia, perhaps those indicated in Revelation 2–3, joined with Paul in sending greetings to their sister church in Corinth (cf. 1 Cor. 1:2). Aquila and Priscilla were tentmakers whom Paul met in Corinth and with whom he lived. They had followed Paul to Ephesus and remained there in ministry, making their house available as a meeting place (cf. Rom. 16:3–5). They would, of course, know and be known by many in the Corinthian church. David K. Lowery, “1 Corinthians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 548.

The Holy Kiss. The holy kiss (cf. 2 Cor. 13:12; Rom. 16:16; 1 Thes. 5:26; 1 Peter 5:14) was primarily a symbolic expression of the love, forgiveness, and unity which should exist among Christians. As such, it became associated with the celebration of the Lord’s Supper as a prelude to its observance (cf. Justin Apology 1. 65. 2). It was a mark of the familial bond which united believers. There is no indication that it was restricted to one’s own sex in the New Testament era (cf. Luke 7:37, 45). The suggestion to separate the sexes for the exchange of the kiss arose in the late second century due to concern about criticism from non-Christians and the danger of erotic abuse (cf. Athenagorus Supplication 32; Clement of Alexandria Pedagogue 3. 81. 2–4). By the third century it seems that the sexes were separated (Apostolic Constitutions 2. 57. 17), and by the fourth century the clergy and laity were also kept apart (Apostolic Constitutions 8. 11. 9). Such, however, was apparently not the case in the New Testament church where love for one another was openly expressed. David K. Lowery, “1 Corinthians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 548.