I Corinthians 16:1  Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
2  Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
3  And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.
4  And if it be meet that I go also, they shall go with me.

God’s gift of salvation is worth more than all the money this world has. It is worth more than fine gold. It is free to man. Jesus Christ came to this earth and became a man. He laid down His life and shed His blood to make it possible for you and I to be forgiven and saved. He was buried and rose again and is seated on the right hand of His Father in Heaven now. He provided the gift of salvation/eternal life for those who would turn to God in repentance and put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The gift is free. However, it is necessary to make that gift known to man. Man is not interested in that gift on his own. The Holy Spirit works in the heart of each person, to convince the person of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. Every person is also brought into the world with a conscience. Man knows he is guilty. The devil has developed many ways to keep man guilty and somewhat comfortable in that position. He has helped man to develop alcoholic drink and other illicit drugs that are designed to alter the consciousness of man. He has also worked through music and helped man to develop music styles that are also designed to alter the consciousness of man.
All people are born as lost sinners and most are content to remain in that state for their entire time on this earth. When a person yields to the convicting work of the Holy Spirit and is saved, God designed for that person to serve Him. God puts His love inside the saved individual. That love motivates the saved person to want to tell others of the good news he has received. The person who is saved and called to be a spiritual leader, i.e. a prophet or a priest in the Old Testament time, or a pastor or evangelist in the New Testament time, needs to eat and buy clothing, etc. There is a need for those who are saved to give toward the work of making God’s gift of salvation known to man. God could have chosen many different ways to proclaim His truth. He chose to involve saved individuals in the work of making God’s Word known to others.
In chapter 16 God directed the apostle Paul to remind the saints of the importance of giving toward the work of proclaiming the good news, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to the lost. There is also the need to teach the saints how to live right. The local church is God’s design for doing this, in the New Testament era. Today we have many ‘para-church’ organizations that think they are doing a good work. They are not structured according to God’s will and Word. In a para-church organization there is a board that is made up of people with differing theological ideas. Thus, para-church organizations do not teach the truth. Beside that problem, many churches have big ambitions and much debt, and in order to fund that, they need money. They need to find ways to entice people to give to their ideas. They may dress those ideas up as being there to win souls, but many of those ideas are diversions. Lost people love distractions. They need them.
The Bible teaches us that the primary and predominant purpose of the local church is the preaching of the Word. True Biblical fellowship is found around the preaching and study of God’s Word. We find that every conversation Jesus had involved some spiritual teaching. We do not read of Him getting involved in any worldly events. We do not read that for any of the apostles or any other true saints. We find that the church in Corinth was very carnal and the result was that they were extremely deficient of spiritual discernment and training.
The church in Corinth had a completely wrong set of priorities. They were pre-occupied with the flesh; thus giving to the needs of others like the apostles was a foreign concept to them. They needed to be taught the importance of investing in the work of the Lord.
In verse 2 we see that on the first day of the week, Sunday, they were to lay by him in store, as God prospered him. It should be an automatic part of the born again Christian’s life, to look at what he makes and lay aside God’s portion every week. In today’s world, people ‘lay aside’ money to go to Tim Horton’s or MacDonalds or some other place. We also lay aside money for groceries and gasoline, etc. There should be that laying aside of that which belongs to the Lord, first. God taught that in the Old Testament with the firstfruits and with the firstborn.
God does not expect us to give of that which we do not have. God does not rob anyone of anything. He desires to bless His children. He expects us to learn good stewardship and put Him first, if we are saved. We are not told what day the apostle Paul would arrive in Corinth, but he did not want a special offering just because he was there. Some lost people have a sour taste in the “mouths” because they believe the local church is just there to get their money. They stay away because they do not want to give. Some are poor stewards and lack the knowhow to spend money wisely. According to God’s Word, the giving should not be by coercion. It should come from a heart of love. Churches should not be setting up fundraisers in the hope of getting money from the lost. God’s people should support God’s work.
In verse 3 we see that the apostle Paul would be the courier together with whomever else the saints in Corinth would appoint, to take their offerings to Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the location of the first New Testament church. It was the place where the temple was as well. The temple would soon be destroyed. It was no longer necessary. It had become a material symbol with no spiritual significance. While Jesus was on earth, He had to cleanse the temple twice because it had been turned into a den of thieves. It had become a money making venture.
In the book of Acts we read that the area around Jerusalem had been hit with a famine and thus the saints there needed some help to keep going. The apostle Paul was not interested in getting rich. He did not have a mansion up in the mountains somewhere. He was not writing books so that he could collect royalties to buy a jet or some other luxury. He lived with little material substance. He depended on the goodness of God to live and travel. The goodness of God does not generally fall from the sky. It comes from the gifts of other saints who are obedient to the Word and will of God.
There are many people like Kenneth Copeland, and David Jeremiah and Joyce Myer and Joseph Prince, etc, who love money. They love to have this world’s goods. They have all kinds of gimmicks that they offer to get you to part with your money. They want it. They are not faithful to the Lord. They are faithful to their budgets and greed. They have smart business managers and they have production managers who can help them to put together enticing programs and they know how to talk like a salesman. They know which buttons to push on their audiences.
The apostle Paul was not an eloquent speaker. Apollos was but he did not use that to get rich either. Both of them were humble servants of God, seeking to make His name known. They did not develop their own heresies. Paul was directed by God to expose the heresies in Corinth.
The need for the preaching of the true Gospel of Christ is great. There is a great need for people to be reminded of the need of salvation. There is a great need to preach the truth. The truth is precious and yet not well received. There are a few people who appreciate the truth and many more that need to come to see the importance of the truth. Giving to a faithful local church is an investment in eternity. It is one of God’s ways to worship Him and to demonstrate His love for others. The local church is responsible to disperse the gifts given in an honest manner. A good church will never have an overabundance of funds. There are not that many people who are interested in a good church and thus there will not be boatloads of funds given to a true work of God. God knows that and He helps a true local church to make do with what comes in. We see that demonstrated throughout the New Testament.
God is good and He will supply all our needs if we trust in Him. The world needs the true Gospel. They do not need flashy things; they can find them all over the place. They need the Gospel. That is the most precious gift anyone could receive.
Pastor Bartel