Conclusion of Paul’s letter (5 things)

• 1^st – Concerning giving… vs. 1-4
  • The church in Jerusalem was not doing well financially…
    • Acts 4:34 – the first church in Jerusalem tried a form of socialism…
      • Those who had land/possessions sold them and contributed to a communal fund…
      • The idea was to have no rich or poor in the church – share the wealth…
      • The NPA might have felt really at home in the early church in Jerusalem…
    • The problem was the money did not last…
      • It did not take long before the money raised – was all spent…
      • Those who had possessions had already sold them – so now everyone was poor…
      • Before long the church in Jerusalem was in a desperate position and needed help!
      • Communism/Socialism is a doomed system of government…
      • It sounds good – share the wealth evenly – take from the rich and give to the poor…
      • But the system fails because of the greed and selfish nature of men…
      • Any government based on socialism is doomed to go financially bankrupt!
  • Paying back a debt of gratitude…
    • The gentile churches in Greece – Corinth / Philippi – wanted to help…
      • The Gospel had blessed them – and they wanted to bless back…
      • * Romans 15:26-27 – “The believers in Greece have eagerly taken up an offering for the Christians in Jerusalem, who are going through such hard times. They were very glad to do this because they feel they owe a real debt to them. Since the Gentiles received the wonderful spiritual blessings of the Good News from the Jewish Christians, they feel the least they can do in return is help them financially.”
      • They volunteered to put together a special offering for the saints in Jerusalem…
    • Paul did not want them to take a collection while he was there…
      • Paul commanded them put aside a little each week on Sunday – before he came…
        • Then Paul would collect the gift  – deliver it with representatives from Corinth…
• Don’t let your left hand know what you right hand is doing – Matthew 6:1-4
• Paul wanted the giving to be done with secrecy – no one knew what another gave…
  • When an offering plate comes around people make a show of their gift…
  • People prefer to drop in LOTS of coins – so you can hear how generous they are
  • Or a name ends up on a plague – or an announcement made about a donation…
  • They are not giving to God – they are giving for the recognition of other men!
  • Jesus says – they have their reward – the temporary praises of others…
• That is why we don’t pass a basket – an ‘offering plate’ – give anonymously…
• It was not a mandatory offering – they were to give freely…
  • Giving 10% of your income was only a command in the Old Covenant – Malachi 3:8
  • The New Covenant command is to give cheerfully as you purpose in your heart…
  • II Corinthians 9:7 – “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”
  • We are not required to give anything to God – we give because we want to…
  • Like a little child who wants to help out his dad – it is not needed…
  • God does not need our money – He is the creator of all heaven and earth!
  • But He does love to get His kids involved in His work!

• But the more we give – the more we receive…
  • If I have 100P – and I give away 20P – that means I have 80P left…
  • In the same thought – if I have 100P and don’t give anything – then I have 100P…
  • So it would seem to be better for me in the end – not to give anything away…
  • But in reality if I give to others – I will end up with more than I stared with!
  • Pressed down – squished together (make more room) – overflowing – Luke 6:38
  • * II Corinthians 9:6 – “This I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”
  • A man who sows only a few seeds – will only harvest a small crop…
  • A man who sows a LOT of seed – will end up with more than he started with!
  • If we are generous towards others – the tendency is for them to be generous back…
  • But if we are ‘sigorista’ towards others – they will likely repay us in kind…
  • The same measure we use to give – is how it will be given back to us!
• Side note: God knows the motives of our heart – you cannot give to try and get…
  • If you have a friend who only ‘gives’ to you expecting ‘more’ back in return…
  • It won’t take long before you try and avoid that ‘friend’…
  • If we only give our time/money to the Lord expecting back – we will be disappointed
    
• 2^nd – Returning to Corinth… vs. 5-9
  • Paul let the church know he would be coming there soon…
    • This letter was written while Paul was in Ephesus on his 3^rd missionary journey…
      • His plan was to go from Ephesus (modern day Turkey) to Philippi (northern Greece)…
      • From there he would travel down to Corinth (southern Greece) to visit the church…
      • He hoped he would be able to at least spend the winter there with the saints…
      • All of this Paul planned to do – ‘if the Lord permits’…
      • As it turned out – this is exactly what happened – Acts 20:2-3
    • It is good to have a plan – but we need to be flexible to the leading of the Lord…
      • We often lay out ‘our plans’ for the future – and treat them as if they are fact…
      • But we do not see the future – and really have no idea what is going to happen…
      • The only one who knows for sure is the Lord – so what we should say is…
      • James 4:15 -“ ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’”
      • Trusting the Lord doesn’t mean we do nothing – it is good to have a plan…
      • But it means that we do not do anything before seeking the Lord…
      • We never want to get a head of God – we don’t want to miss His plan for our life!
  • Paul did not want to leave Ephesus yet though – because of a HUGE opportunity…
    • It was the month of May – the festival of Artemis – the goddess of the Ephesians…
      • Paul knew thousands of pagans would be flooding into the city – people to preach to!
      • But there were also many enemies – in particular the idol maker – Demetrius…
      • Paul ended up causing a riot in the theatre of over 25,000 people – Acts 19:28-41
      • He tried to go in and preach Jesus to the enraged mob – but his friends kept him out…
      • If he had gone in the crowds would have beaten him to death!
      • It would be like standing up at a disco – trying to stop the music – and preach Jesus!
    • Paul was willing to risk his own life – to share the life-giving message of Jesus!
      • I love Paul’s passion for the Gospel – nothing more important than sharing Jesus!
      • In Acts 14 he was stoned to death – dead – and God sent him back…
      • He got up and returned to the very people who had just killed him…
      • He was not done yet – he had not finished the message – they still needed Jesus!
      • People need to hear the Gospel – even if they don’t want to hear about Jesus…
      • If they do not receive Jesus – the only other option is hell – so we need to tell them!
      • The worst they can do is kill you – then you go to heaven (not a bad thing)…
      • In most cases the worst thing that happens if we preach Jesus – we are made fun of…
      • But keeping people from Hell is worth a little ridicule – worth being made fun of…
      • We are talking about men’s eternal destination – people are worth fighting for!

• 3^rd – Timothy & Apollos… vs. 10-12
  • Timothy was not with Paul in Ephesus…
    • Paul knew he wanted to go to Philippi – then on to the city of Corinth…
      • So he sent Timothy ahead – he was still in Philippi – but Corinth was next – Acts 9:22
      • Paul had already told the church Timothy was coming – I Corinthians 4:17
      • Now he tells them to be nice to Timothy – not to give him a hard time…
    • Paul’s letter to the church was hard – there were a lot of problems he had to address…
      • If some of the people were not happy with Paul – they might take it out on Timothy…
      • Often when someone corrects us when we are ‘out of line’ – we lash out at them…
      • But it is not fair to attack the messenger – they are just lovingly telling us the truth…
      • If you are convicted by the message – don’t attack the person sharing the truth…
      • Recognize the reason for the conviction – God is working on your heart!
  • Paul urged Apollos to return to Corinth…
    • Apollos had been saved in Ephesus – before Paul had came into the city – Acts 19:1…
      • From there Apollos had preached Jesus in Corinth – while Paul was in Ephesus…
      • But apparently Apollos was through with the division in the church…
      • I am of Paul / I am of Apollos / I am of Peter – I Corinthians 1:11-13
      • He left Corinth in disgust – because of the division – and returned to the Ephesus…
    • He was absolutely completely unwilling to return to Corinth…
      • When we choose to divide over denomination/religion – we become ugly…

• Division causes the church to be ineffective for Jesus – keeps us from shining…
• Rather than seeing the love of Jesus in us – the world sees us fighting each other…
• It is only as we are united in Christ – Love – we are shine for the Lord!
  

And you get to look forward to the soon return of Jesus for us – His church!

4^th – Follow godly examples… vs. 13-18

Paul gives 5 simple closing commands…

1^st – Keep watching – do not fall into apathy – Jesus is coming soon for His church!

2^nd – Stand firm in faith – do not compromise your morals – hold tight to God’s Word!

3^rd – Be a man – don’t give in to the temptations of the world around you!

4^th – Be strong – not in your own might – but in the power of Jesus – Zechariah 4:6

5^th – Do all things in Love – the mark of a believer in Jesus – John 13:35

The example of Stephanas…

The first family to believe in Jesus when Paul came to Corinth – I Corinthians 1:16

They devoted themselves to helping out the saints in the church…

They even took the time to go and visit/encourage Paul in Ephesus!

Paul tells the church to use them as an example – a pattern to follow after!

Choose wisely the example you choose to follow – I Corinthians 11:1

We need to be careful whom we spend time with – who we are influenced by… 

We all follow someone’s example – they lead us either towards or away from God…

I Corinthians 15:33 – “…bad company corrupts good character.”

We will become just like the people we choose to spend our time with…

If you don’t like the life of the people you hang out with – you might want to change…

Surround yourself with godly men – those who encourage your walk in the Lord…

5^th – Farewell greetings… vs. 19-24

The churches of Asia greet you…

Including a hearty greeting from the house church of Aquila and Pricilla in Ephesus…

All the brethren also greet you – greet each other with a holy kiss

In Israel it is still a custom to great one another with a kiss on the cheek…

It was meant to be a sign of the love within the church – a since of family…

The church should be a family – knit together by the Love of Jesus for one another…

So the world can look and see Jesus in us!

Paul’s signature…

Paul apparently had a hard time seeing – Galatians 6:11 – so he dictated all his letters…

He loved the church enough to write this letter – to correct and teach them!

And he sealed it by signing the letter at the end in his own handwriting…

Paul concluded with a choice – Anathema or Maranatha…

The most important choice every person must make – to love Jesus or not…

If you do not believe in Jesus – you are ‘Anathema’ – literally cursed to hell…

If you do believe in Jesus  – then the Grace of God is with you – ‘Maranatha’!