I have a little bit of a smile on my face as I write this today. Paul starts out this chapter with, “Now concerning the collection for the saints: . . . .” Hmmm, what an interesting topic!
Paul often ends his letters with words of exhortation and reminders. As he wraps up this letter he turns to giving. I receive a pretty steady barrage of letters that basically say, “concerning the collection for” – starving children, support of missionaries, training of seminarians, men’s ministry, building homes for the homeless, etc, etc, etc. Then you get letters from your local church (written by people like me!) saying, “Remember your tithe!”
We are privileged to give back to the Lord as He has prospered us. This is a normal part of our worship. It is also an example of God’s grace at work in us when we see the things of this world as tools to do God’s will and shower His love on others. Many people live to horde and accumulate worldly wealth, as children of God we begin to see that we have been blessed to be a blessing to other. This is part of what Solomon learned and taught in Ecclesiastes – enjoy and use the fruits of our labor, but recognize that we cannot keep them so use them wisely – that is, with God’s wisdom.
Paul also speaks on behalf of a couple of his fellow evangelists: Timothy and Apollos. I’m not going to dig too deeply into this other than to say it is good to treat God’s servants with honor and to be at peace with them. Pastors, teachers, and other full time church workers are gifts from God to His people – just as the people are gifts from God to pastors, teachers, etc. We do well to love one another and thank God for putting us together!
I also like the ESV translation of vv. 13&14 – “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” Let’s look at those a bite at a time.
“Be watchful.” – The day of resurrection is coming. Be alert. Watch your life and conduct, but also watch at God does His work in and through us as his people. Even as we work hard to share the Gospel with those who are lost there is still an element of sitting back and watching what God will do.
“Stand firm in the faith.” – There is no other name given under heaven given among men by which we must be saved than then name of Jesus. Do not compromise! Also, do not be intimidated. The world will try to push us around, but we can stand firm in God’s salvation.
“Act like men.” – This does not mean scratch yourself, spit and fart. It’s calling out that we behave as the best men have to offer - and yes, woman do this too, so please pardon the stereotype. Be courageous. This is a battle we are in. Don’t give up. Don’t be afraid to sacrifice. There are things worth dying for, and our hope in Jesus is one of them! If our faith is worth dying for, it is also worth living for.
“Be strong.” – Again, we are in a world of conflict. Where does our strength come from? “My help is in the name of the Lord!” At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, and He is the one that gives us strength.
“Let all that you do be done in love.” – Here is that agape word again. God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son . . . . We are bearers of that love. We are sharers of that love. That which we received we pass on as of first importance – Jesus loved us so much that he died, was buried, rose and was seen because He loves us.
Paul often ends his letters with words of exhortation and reminders. As he wraps up this letter he turns to giving. I receive a pretty steady barrage of letters that basically say, “concerning the collection for” – starving children, support of missionaries, training of seminarians, men’s ministry, building homes for the homeless, etc, etc, etc. Then you get letters from your local church (written by people like me!) saying, “Remember your tithe!”
We are privileged to give back to the Lord as He has prospered us. This is a normal part of our worship. It is also an example of God’s grace at work in us when we see the things of this world as tools to do God’s will and shower His love on others. Many people live to horde and accumulate worldly wealth, as children of God we begin to see that we have been blessed to be a blessing to other. This is part of what Solomon learned and taught in Ecclesiastes – enjoy and use the fruits of our labor, but recognize that we cannot keep them so use them wisely – that is, with God’s wisdom.
Paul also speaks on behalf of a couple of his fellow evangelists: Timothy and Apollos. I’m not going to dig too deeply into this other than to say it is good to treat God’s servants with honor and to be at peace with them. Pastors, teachers, and other full time church workers are gifts from God to His people – just as the people are gifts from God to pastors, teachers, etc. We do well to love one another and thank God for putting us together!
I also like the ESV translation of vv. 13&14 – “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” Let’s look at those a bite at a time.
“Be watchful.” – The day of resurrection is coming. Be alert. Watch your life and conduct, but also watch at God does His work in and through us as his people. Even as we work hard to share the Gospel with those who are lost there is still an element of sitting back and watching what God will do.
“Stand firm in the faith.” – There is no other name given under heaven given among men by which we must be saved than then name of Jesus. Do not compromise! Also, do not be intimidated. The world will try to push us around, but we can stand firm in God’s salvation.
“Act like men.” – This does not mean scratch yourself, spit and fart. It’s calling out that we behave as the best men have to offer - and yes, woman do this too, so please pardon the stereotype. Be courageous. This is a battle we are in. Don’t give up. Don’t be afraid to sacrifice. There are things worth dying for, and our hope in Jesus is one of them! If our faith is worth dying for, it is also worth living for.
“Be strong.” – Again, we are in a world of conflict. Where does our strength come from? “My help is in the name of the Lord!” At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, and He is the one that gives us strength.
“Let all that you do be done in love.” – Here is that agape word again. God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son . . . . We are bearers of that love. We are sharers of that love. That which we received we pass on as of first importance – Jesus loved us so much that he died, was buried, rose and was seen because He loves us.
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