Gospel Love in Action - 1 Corinthians 16
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If you have your Bibles, please open them to 1 Cor 16
We are coming to the end of our time in 1 Corinthians
We are going to finish this last chapter tonight, but then next week I want to zoom on two verses in this chapter, and then we will be done with 1 Corinthians.
We have been calling this series ‘Messy Church’ because the Corinthian church was arguably the messiest church that we read about in the Bible. There were all kinds of problems in this church.
divisive
sexual immoral
Christians were being led into pagan worship
The Corinthian’s worship was chaotic and confusing
And there was even false doctrine that was spreading throughout the church
Needless to say, the Corinthian church was a mess… but none the less, they belonged to Jesus. And the reason they belonged to Jesus, and the reason any of us belong to Jesus, is not owing to anything that they or we have done. Rather it is all owing to God’s grace.
One of the things that I have wanted us to see in this letter is just how gracious God is.
If left to my own judgment, I would have never consider a church that has given way to such gross sins such as the Corinthians to be a Christian church. But they recieved and believed the Gospel that Paul preached. And since they believed in the gospel, they too were saved by grace.
But the other big idea that I have wanted us to see is that God’s grace does not give us a license to sin.
Yes the Corinthians belonged to God, but time and time again Paul reminded them of the gospel so that they would repent and turn away from their sin so that they would continue to follow Jesus.
Repeatedly, Paul has demonstrated how a life ruled by sin is incompatible with the gospel. All of the Christian life must be lived in light of the gospel of grace. When the gospel is applied to the life of the church, everything changes.
With this in mind, lets read the final four verses of this letter.
21 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. 22 If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come! 23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Let’s pray
So you’re nearing the end of the school year… some of you are even nearing the end of your time in high school. But here’s something that might be worth your consideration;
Have you ever considered about what the purpose of school is?
Why should you all learn math, and english? Why should we spend so much time learning what has happened throughout history? And why should we care about chemistry or other sciences?
Well for some of us, we might think it’s all about getting good grades. But if you go to school just to get good grades, then I think you might be missing the point.
You see, if a good GPA is your goal, then you probably don’t really enjoy learning. If your main goal is to get good grades, then you can accomplish this simply by taking the easiest classes that you can find. If your goal is good grades, you might even think that cheating on your finals will get you what you want… but if that’s your idea of what school is for, well then I think you’re missing the point.
Others think of school as a place where you get to see your friends. If you go to school, just so that you can socialize and goof off, then again, I think you are missing the point of what school is for.
Yes it is fun to have a social life in school. And I have met some of my best friends by going to school. But this isn’t why we go to school.
The reason you go to school is not to get a good GPA, and it’s not simply to socialize. Rather, the reason we go to school is so that we can learn. And the reason that you should give ourselves to learning even as teenagers, is so that you will be better equipped to be a responsible adult.
Getting a good GPA is important… but cheating and taking the easy classes will not ensure that you have the skills needed to get a job.
Having a good social is a crucial skill as well… but if you’re a social butterfly but you are not motivated to work hard in school and if you can’t meet deadlines, again you’ll have a tough time keeping a job.
School is intended to give us the skills that are needed to participate in society.
Similarly, what is the goal of knowing the gospel?
Is it to fill our mind with information?
Or is it so that we might debate and refute those who don’t know what we know?
Hopefully it the answer is obvious, but if it isn’t... these are not the reason we need to know the gospel…
Yes knowledge of the gospel is needed… but that’s not where the gospel stops
But we can go a step further… the goal of knowing the gospel isn’t merely so we will be resurrected…
(while it is true, that a knowledge of the gospel does save us from death, this is not all that it does)
The gospel is for us today… for the gospel changes everything about the way we live with one another… because of the gospel, everything that we do should be motivated by love for one another.
And this becomes abundantly clear as Paul comes to the end of his letter to the Corinthians. The last chapter has a handful of moving parts to it… and while they might seem random to us, the issues that Paul brings up are very practical for the Corinthians. And in every situation, Paul is demonstrating how they, and he can show gospel love to one another.
If there is one verse that might best sum the chapter up well it is this one;
14 Let all that you do be done in love.
This is not an idea that is unique to this chapter. Remember, the great love chapter in the Bible comes from this same letter.
But if there was any uncertainty as to what love looks like, Paul makes it clear and practical for the Corinthians. This chapter is full of practical instruction for the Corinthians. And while it might not be immediately practical for us, it can help us see what gospel love looks like.
So let’s consider what this love looks like from the top of the chapter.
1 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. 3 And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.
Here Paul is talking about collecting a money from the Corinthians. And the reason he is telling them to collect money is so that htey can give it to another church that is in need.
Is not a collection for himself… rather it’s a collection for the saints
You see, there was a famine in Judea that caused the church in Jerusalem to face hard times. And here Paul writes to the Corinthians to help them through a financial gift.
First of all… I want us to see
1. Gospel love is demonstrated by radical generosity.
1. Gospel love is demonstrated by radical generosity.
Now obviously, we aren’t collecting money for the church in Jerusalem today… This is a specific instruction for the Corinthian church 2,000 years ago. But the principal applies to us just the same. If we love God, and if we love one another, then we will be radically generous towards one another.
The knowledge of the gospel does not just put information in our head. Remember that isn’t the goal of the gospel. Rather a knowledge of the gospel fuels us for radical generosity of a kind that the world cannot understand. And this generosity in the church is the same generosity that is demonstrated by what Jesus did by coming to the earth and dying on the cross.
Paul said it well in 2 Cor 8
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
A right knowledge of the gospel fuels radical generosity in the church. If the gospel just fills your mind with information, but it does not motivate generosity, then consider the gospel again and think about Jesus who gave up all the riches of heaven so that we might become rich by his grace.
This isn’t just for the Corinthians to do… I want us to consider,
How might we use what God has given us to demonstrate generous gospel love to those who are in need?
We will discuss this more during our SG discussions
Let’s keep reading.
5 I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia, 6 and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go. 7 For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
Here, Paul demonstrates his love for the church. And it is expressed in multiple ways. He plans to visit the Corinthian church… this might not seem like a big deal to most of us. But consider what it would take for Paul to visit them.
Map
Paul said he is in Ephesus, and he would go up to Macedonia and then down to Corinth…
This is a huge trip, and it could be dangerous as well especially in the ancient world. And yet, Paul desires to do so to be with the Corinthians…
but not only that look at what he is doing in Ephesus…
8 But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
2. Gospel love is demonstrated through enduring hardship for others.
2. Gospel love is demonstrated through enduring hardship for others.
Paul was willing to go far for the sake of the Corinthians. And he was willing to endure adversaries for the sake of the Ephesian church. This is what Gospel love does… because this is what Jesus did for us! He leaf the comforts of heaven, and even endured the greatest sacrifice because of his great love for us. When God’s people get a vision of this love, what can we do but love others in the same way.
But since Paul couldn’t be with the Corinthians, he didn’t intend to leave them alone for that period of time. Paul continued,
10 When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am.
Here’s what I want us to see
3. Gospel love is demonstrated through care for one another.
3. Gospel love is demonstrated through care for one another.
Paul sent Timothy in his place. Timothy is the young pastor that Paul trained up. This was the same Timothy that Paul wrote to in 1 and 2 Timothy that we are studying on Sunday mornings.
Paul wants the Corinthians to receive encouragement from Timothy. But not only that, but Paul also want the Corinthians to care for Timothy.
Listen to how he said it,
10 When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am. 11 So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.
Remember, the Corinthians weren’t kind to Paul and other teachers like him.Many Corinthians looked down upon Paul while they favored those like Apollos who were more eloquent in speech, because they thought to be wise, and the powerful teachers.
But Timothy is young and likely he would have been looked down upon by the proud Corinthians. So Paul reminds them not to despise timothy for his work, because he is working for the Lord.
Gospel love cares for one another
We will discuss this further in our groups and consider further
How can you care for those in the church?
Let’s continue,
Because while the Corinthians probably didn’t care to have Timothy come visit them, they preferred Apollos for his eloquence. And from what we can tell from the context of what Paul is about to say, they even asked Paul to get Apollos to come visit them. Paul said this,
12 Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.
4. Gospel love is demonstrated in humility.
4. Gospel love is demonstrated in humility.
Remember the Corinthians were divided over who their favorite teacher was, especially between Paul and Apollos. But Paul lays the pettiness of the Corinthians aside and seeks the good of the Corinthians by asking Apollos to come visit the Corinthians for their good. Paul even said he strongly urged him to visit them.
Paul isn’t trying to put himself up on a pedestal among the Corinthians. He is simply trying to serve them the best way he can. If that means he, or Timothy, or Apollos comes, he will do all that he can to ensure that they receive the care that they need.
This is because, the Gospel is not about Paul… it isn not about his glory, or his fame, or his prominence among the Corinthians. The Gospel is about the glory of God. And so Paul does all that he can to ensure that the Corinthians receive the pastoral care that they are in need of for the glory of God.
Then we have these verses
13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love.
We will come back to these verses next week as they sum up the entirety of this letter.
But Paul breaks this conclusion by reminding the Corinthians of other servants who will be returning to them soon.
15 Now I urge you, brothers—you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints— 16 be subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer. 17 I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence, 18 for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such people.
In the Corinthians lack of love, there were a few leaders among the Corinthians who modeled Christian love.
Stephanas, Fortuanatus, and Achaius, who were models of Gospel love.
As they traveled to care for Paul in this scene, we get the sense that they encapsulated all that Paul has been demonstrating previously.
They demonstrate radical generosity and care to come to Paul to refresh him and minister to him. They weren’t going to wait for Paul to come to Corinth so that he could serve them, but instead they were going to meet him so that they could minister to him.
And so Paul says, be subject to them, and recognize them…
That is to say, follow such people. Look for godly leaders who model Gospel love well. And follow them. Imitate them.
Who are some godly leaders in your life, and in what ways do them demonstrate gospel love?
With this, we come to the end of Pauls letter.
19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. 20 All the brothers send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
21 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand.
Here gospel love is demonstrated through this greeting…
The church in Asia is connected to the Church in Corinth… not because they are neighbors who are close, but because of the blood of Jesus who has unified them as one.
Aquila and Prisca met Paul when they too were in Corinth. We read about this in Acts 18. These two Christians love the Corinthian church, and they send their personal greeting to the church with the rest of the saints who gather in their home.
Paul instructs the Corinthians to greet one another as well… One part of gathering and worshiping together is to be just that… to be together… to encourage one another, to build each other up in the faith, to serve one another. We do all of this because we love one another.
Even Paul writes to the church to greet them himself. This letter has had some strong corrections from Paul to the Corinthians. But these corrections were not done out of hate, or frustration. He wrote to them because he loved them… So Paul send this last letter because he loves them. He gives one last word of warning;
22 If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!
At the end of the day, all our love for one another flows out from our love for the Lord.
23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.