Collecting Money From and For God's People (1 Corinthians 16:1-4)

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.

I. Giving and a Renewed Mind

I think we know what it looks like (outside, but also inside the church) to think about money and giving in a worldly way. As you know, as with most of human history, money and materialism are common idols in our culture. And because they are so common, they have infected the way that many talk about and live out their confession of Jesus. That unhealthy influence can be overt, as with, for example, what's called the 'prosperity gospel' movement. Or it can be more subtle, as with things like our forms of ministry, ones that often depend more on money and programs and staff, and often to the neglect of service and relationships and the involvement of every part in Christ's body. But Christians can also react to these distortions in unhealthy ways, ways that do not honor what God has actually said about the right use of money. As those who love Jesus, what we should desire is to think with a renewed mind about this topic of money & giving, rather than squirming when the topic arises, or being suspicious of or dismissing every call to give.

II. The Passage: “Concerning the Collection for the Saints” (16:1-4)

I believe our passage this morning can help us in that regard, so look with me at 1 Corinthians 16:1-4. Building on what Kedrick shared with us last time about 1 Corinthians 15:58, I believe it's also helpful for us to think about how that closing verse of chapter 15 also serves as a kind of closing verse for the entire letter. From one perspective, if you think about everything Paul has shared with the Corinthians, beginning in chapter 1, all of the clarifications and corrections, all of the calls to action, then 15:58 really is a fitting conclusion: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast [in what I've written], immovable [in terms of what you've received], always abounding in the work of the Lord [in light of what you've heard about your ministry to one another and your witness to a watching world], knowing [remembering] that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

But the other reason we can think about verse 58 of chapter 15 as also functioning as a kind of conclusion to the whole letter is because of the nature of chapter 16. Even the most basic review of chap. 16 confirms that these verses really are what we might call 'closing comments'; things that were, not unimportant, but less pressing; things which Paul considered appropriate for the very end of the letter (just like many of his other letters as well). As we've already heard, this would be things like instructions about this charitable collection, and then Paul's travel plans, short notes about Timothy and Apollos and their travel plans, greetings from other believers, etc.

And yet, as I just mentioned, these matters are not unimportant. In fact, I can add to that by reminding you and myself of what we accept by faith: that these 'closing comments' are also words inspired by the Holy Spirit. No. These aren't usually the 'big ticket', the 'primetime', the oft-quoted, the beloved verses that people claim as their 'life verse' or about which devotional books are written. But there's a reason God preserved these chp. 16 verses and a way in which God wants to work through these verses... in your life! That's what we want to discover, right?

So in order to discover what God might have for us in the opening four verses of these closing comments, we need to answer a few questions. First, what exactly was this “collection for the saints” as Paul calls it in verse 1? Second, why did Paul instruct them to collect it the way he did in verse 2? And, finally, third, why did Paul want them to accredit certain individuals to carry this gift, as we see in verses 3 and 4?

My hope in working through those questions about the passage is not only that you and I would have a better understanding of what Paul wrote, but that we would have a better understanding of why Paul wrote what he wrote; and in doing this, that you and I would, more and more, think about money and giving with a renewed mind, not with a worldly perspective.

So, first, what exactly was this “collection for the saints” that Paul mentions in verse 1? Well, he tells us more in passages like 2 Corinthian 8-9, and in Romans chapter 15. Listen to how Paul later (maybe 2-3 years later?) explained this project to the disciples of Jesus in Rome...

At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints [“saints = 'holy ones']. For Macedonia [northern Greece] and Achaia [southern Greece, incl. Corinth] have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles [the non-Jews] have come to share in their spiritual blessings [blessings that come through the Jewish Messiah], they [the Gentiles] ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. (Romans 15:25-27)

As was prophesied in Acts 11, several years of famine (44-48 AD) under the reign of Claudius had probably left the region of Judea economically fragile. Paul and Barnabas had collected an earlier offering while serving in Antioch in the mid 40s. But now, seven to eight years later, the need was still present. But as we just heard in Romans 15, Paul's overriding ambition was not the rushed delivery of critical funding with a kind of 'crisis urgency'. If that was the case, this years-long project would have been considered a failure. No. Paul cared most about the spiritual implications and spiritual benefits of this offering. As he would tell these readers in a later letter...

For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints [in Jerusalem] but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. [13] By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your [Gentiles] submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, [14] while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. (2 Cor. 9:12-14)

So, though it isn't spelled out in this passage, one of the things Paul models for us in terms of a renewed mind, is that he was able to think rightly about money as a spiritual resource. As I mentioned at the outset, when some people think about money and 'the spiritual', they either end up mixing them together in a very unhealthy way, or they make the equally troubling mistake of keeping money and spiritual things too far apart. Though Paul did care about the physical well-being of fellow Jews in Judea, in light of the repeated teaching and the finished work of Jesus, his renewed mind (empowered by the Holy Spirit) was also able to see money as a resource that God could use to accomplish spiritual goals: to communicate care and concern in Christ, to help foster unity in His body, to create opportunities through good works for the life-changing message of the gospel, and to support pastors and evangelists laboring in the work of the gospel. Do you think about your money in this way? As a spiritual resource? To make, not simply a material impact, but through various means, to make an eternal impact in others' lives?

But second, if you accept that idea that money really can be a spiritual resource, then you also need to consider why Paul instructed them the way he did in verse 2. Look back at that verse: “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.” So these are instructions about how the money for this charitable gift should be collected in Corinth: each Sunday (that's the first day of the week), each believer should set a little money aside, something proportional to how God might be prospering them financially, so that, in some way, the church, at their gathering, would collect these funds, to have them ready for Paul when he finally returned to Corinth.

Now, as we think about why Paul might be giving them these specific instructions, we need to consider the reason he provides in the verse itself: do this...” so that there will be no collecting when I come”. Paul did not want to arrive and have to lead some kind of capital campaign, that was hastily put together, and might end up being more about in-the-moment pressure than faith-inspired generosity. In contrast to that scenario, what Paul describes here is the kind of thought-fulness that should characterize their giving. Godly giving is intentional. It is regular. It is con-sidered. It is prayerful. It is not rushed. It is not pressured. It is not thoughtless. It is thoughtful.

Similarly, third, there is another quality standing behind Paul's words in vs. 3-4. Why did Paul want others from the church to carry this gift? Because, as we saw in chapter 9, there was a carefulness that Paul practiced when it came to the faith and finances of the church to whom he ministered. As we talked about concerning v. 2, Paul did not want to show up in Corinth and have to lead a fundraising effort for this Jerusalem offering. As he said in 9:12, “...we have not made use of this right [to accept financial support], but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.” To that end in Corinth, it was never the Apostle's intention to carry these funds to Jerusalem himself. No. He wanted to be totally above any kind of questioning or suspicion or criticism in this matter. As he said, he may not even make the trip himself. But whether he did or didn't, he wanted their people to be responsible for their gifts.

So if the renewed mind understands that (1) money can be a spiritual resource, that same mind (in both leaders and non-leaders) should also be (2) thoughtful and (3) careful about our spiritual management (or stewardship) of that resource; thoughtful and careful about what God has rev-ealed, about our own temptations, and about our testimony or witness before a watching world.

III. What If You Were Called to Participate?

In the spring of AD 57 or 58, Paul finally arrived back in Jerusalem with this collection for the impoverished believers there. By God's grace, and after many years, this offering did come together, and we believe (based on Romans 15:25), that money from the Corinthian church was a part of this offering. But what about us today? By the grace of God, and the new heart Jesus Christ has made possible through his death and resurrection, have our minds been renewed when it comes to this topic... not just concerning money, but concerning your money. If you have confessed Jesus Christ as Lord, as King, then in what ways is his loving leadership evident in your finances? Whether you have a little or a lot, every disciple of Jesus is called to trust God when it comes to the material resources God has entrusted to you. That's called stewardship!

Please remember what the closing comments of 1 Corinthians 16 ultimately are: the inspired words of God, for you and me. If somehow you lived 2000 years ago in, for example, Corinth or one of the churches of Galatia, would you be ready to give to this collection? Would you be thoughtful and prayerful about this collection? Would you be regular in giving to this collection? Would you be concerned about the carefulness with which this collection was handled? And ultimately, would you be joyfully eager to give (remember our responsive reading today)? Your honest answers to those questions are, most likely, going to expose ways God wants to grow you by helping you better understand your thinking about, again, not just money, but your money. If we are to honor God in this area, will it look like what Paul is describing here? Yes and no. Though it may not always be used to help impoverished believers, it should be willing, it should be regular, it should be proportional, and it should be inspired by a heart that is deeply concerned about spiritual things; about the things of God; about the work of the gospel. And it's that very same gospel (Good News) that forgives the greedy and selfish. It's that very same gospel that promises us renewal, not just for the age to come, but for what you do today, even your spending.