So Long, Farewell

The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. All the brothers and sisters here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.                                            I Corinthians 16:19-24

 

Paul closes his letter with an epilogue of sorts – what we might call a post script. These verses give us an inside look at the relationships among the people of God, what Peter described as a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation (I Pet. 2:9). The greetings sent are heartfelt and tender.

 

The unity and solidarity of the community reverberates in Paul’s passionate defense of our Lord. Although it seems harsh, he is only reiterating what our Lord said, that those who reject the unconditional love, unending grace and ultimate sacrifice of God’s only son are cursed already (John 3:18).

 

Finally, Paul begs for the coming of the Kingdom of God in its fullness, the second coming of our beloved Lord. The combined voice of the global church cries out yet louder today, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20).

Short Orders

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.           I Corinthians 16:13-14

 

A military leader commands his troops with very short, yet clear phrases: Attention! About face! Fall in! At ease!

 

By the time Paul wrote this letter he was on his third missionary journey and was responsible for the churches across the whole of Asia. He commanded the soldiers of the cross into fierce battle against persecution and demonic attack. In these two verses we see the divine authority Paul wielded expressed in succinct commands for every believer who fights the good fight of faith.

He starts with a warning – Be watchful (ESV). Of what should we watch for? The answer is multi-faceted. We watch for danger (Is. 62:6-7), both physical and spiritual (Matt. 26:41). We watch to protect that which we care about (Neh. 4:15-20). We watch for our deliverance (Ex. 12:42), and we watch for the second coming of Christ (Matt. 25:1-13).

 

Next Paul gives the believers an encouragement to “Stand firm in the faith.” A Christian who stands firm doesn’t waver in their beliefs (Jas. 1:5-8). They know their foundation is firm, so they can face the storm with confidence (Matt. 7:24-25). A tree that has deep roots has the benefit of being able to bend in the wind without breaking. Standing firm doesn’t mean being stiff and inflexible. It is a matter of what we’re holding onto, both when things are calm and chaotic.

 

Next Paul exhorts the believers to “Act like men (ESV).” This echoes his sentiments to “put away childish things” (I Cor. 13:11). It is a call to maturity and responsibility. It ties closely to his next command to “Be strong.” Strength comes with training. One is not physically strong unless they either work hard or train for a sport (I Cor. 9:24-27).  Strength implies effort. Recently I heard at a retreat that “Effort is not the opposite of grace. Works are.” Effort is the strength with which we hold on to God as He carries us through life.

 

Paul closes with a word about motivation. He challenges us to look into our hearts and see what lies at the root of our actions. What stimulates our actions? Many things may influence them, such as self-preservation, self-interest, professional or personal gain. As a follower of Christ, however, our ultimate motivation for everything we do should be love. It was for love that God created us, chose us, saved us and called us. It should be for love that we work, relate and fulfill His will in our lives.

Mutual Affection

When Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am. No one, then, should treat him with contempt. Send him on his way in peace so that he may return to me. I am expecting him along with the brothers. Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. He was quite unwilling to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity. You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people. I urge you, brothers and sisters, to submit to such people and to everyone who joins in the work and labors at it. I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you. For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.      I Corinthians 16:10-12,15-18

 

The relationship between church leaders and their constituents is a mysterious and fragile blend of encouragement, respect, loyalty and reciprocal support. A good pastor knows that he needs his congregation as much as they need him. Paul explores this mystery in the context of his own co-laborers and those whom are under their care. It is a bit surprising to us that Timothy would need to be put at ease or that Paul would be lonely and worn down.

 

Leaders are people too. They need as much help as everyone else, probably more. Their journey is fraught with criticism, demanding schedules, constant harassment from the enemy and a lifestyle void of privacy. They need us to be there for them when they are overwhelmed, in need of hospitality, and we need to be understanding when they cannot fulfill every request.

 

God has chosen them to be our guides and visionaries. As an act of obedience to God’s ordained order, Paul encourages us not to despise our leaders. Rather, we are to be responsive to their authority over us and properly recognize their service to God’s people.

 

What is evident in Paul’s discussion of his friends is a strong mutual affection. Respect for our leaders does not exalt them above us; it stimulates an atmosphere of family where the parents are loved and honored.

Across the Miles

Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me. After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you—for I will be going through Macedonia. Perhaps I will stay with you for a while, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. For I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.                             I Corinthians 16:1-9

 

If you have attended church for very long you have undoubtedly witnessed the visit of a visiting pastor or missionary requesting support from your congregation. Often the visit includes opportunities to hear stories of the work they are doing and the people they are ministering to. Sometimes the visitor is in need of financial support for their work, but often the need goes deeper than that.

 

As Paul says in this passage, they often just need our time. God uses these opportunities to not only give the home congregation a chance to contribute in something beyond their city, but He also uses the folks at home to encourage, refresh and recharge the visitor so they can return to their work with new energy.

 

God also uses visits to sow vision in the hearts of future global workers. When I was a young girl I remember our pastor’s son coming home from his missionary work in Africa and how much that influenced my heart for mission work. This influence continued in my life for the next 30 years and affected my choice of college, career and church ministry involvement.

 

Visiting pastors and missionaries also give a focus to the offerings of the church. Often churches in the West want to help, but don’t know who needs help the most or what the money will be used for once it’s sent. A visitor can often talk about the areas of greatest needs and explain how the money will be spent. This is God’s way of providing the home church with guidance for planning their financial giving oversees.

 

Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.                                                  Ecclesiastes 11:1

Work for a Prize

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

I Corinthians 15:54-58

 

Motivation is a funny thing. Often it is fleeting and fickle. Some say it is a law of physics – a body at rest tends to stay at rest. Others would say motivation is directly related to how desirable the prize is. In this passage, Paul says our prize is victory.

 

Yet success does not come without labor and sacrifice. The ultimate of which was the life, ministry, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we cannot rest on His laurels.

 

Paul gives us two commands: stand firm and give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord. Be strong, letting nothing move us except the Holy Spirit. Work hard, for our labor is not meaningless. Follow Jesus in holding onto all His teachings about how to live our lives. Put our shoulder to the plow to continue His work in the world.

 

The power of sin will be overcome by the victory we have through Christ. The condemnation of the law is lifted and the grace of the Lord flows like a river over us. We find ourselves humbled and thankful to be a part of this imperishable victory.

The Temporal and the Eternal

But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.                                       I Corinthians 15:35, 42-53

 

Since we were born, we have only known this fallen world where pain, death and decay have the upper hand. For those who are of heaven, this is not the world in which we will experience eternal life.

 

Our bodies will die, but we will be raised into new life in the eternal kingdom of our God. When we are resurrected, we will have an opposite life experience. Life, health and beauty will reign.

 

In this mortal life, most of our attention and energies are expended tending to the care of our natural bodies. Unfortunately, it often seems a hopeless cause as we all eventually face diminishing health and death.

 

How glorious it will be in the day of our resurrection when we will receive our imperishable bodies! Our attention and energies can then focus on the spiritual. It is exciting to think that the spiritual life we have now is but the tip of the iceberg compared to what lies ahead of us. Who knows what God has in store for one who is of heaven?

 

For starters, I think I’ll spend a few decades hearing first-hand testimonies about all God has done in the world over the millennia. Then I want to learn every language so I can praise the Lord in any tongue. Then I think I’ll spend a few years writing songs and books of worship and reflection about the goodness of God. Finally, I want to meet all the animals on the new earth, hold them and tell them how beautiful God made them.

 

Regardless of how we spend our time in eternal life, we’ll never stop basking in the likeness of the life-giving man from heaven.

Kinds of Bodies

How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.  When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.                                          I Corinthians 15:36-41

 

There is a scene in the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves  where Morgan Freeman’s character is asked by a little girl why God painted him black. He responded, “Because [God] loves diversity.” The creative genius of our Heavenly Father is beyond our understanding. The vastness and complexity of His creation is more developed than we will ever know. His attention to detail is unmatched.

 

In this passage, Paul scratches the surface of the wonders of God’s creation. He discusses the bafflement that comes when we ponder how God creates life out of death, fits the genetics of large bodies into tiny seeds, and gives even the stars unique attributes and identities. We wonder why He went to such lengths to make every star different or every snowflake its own design. Perhaps it is because He likes it that way. Perhaps it reflects how deeply He cares about every atom and cell. Assuredly, it lends evidence of intelligent design for our planet.

 

How unchanging God is in the consistency of His creation. Apple seeds only produce apple trees. A deer only gives birth to fawns. Only heavenly bodies can create the splendor of other heavenly bodies. We can bend the lines of God’s creation with cross-breeding and hybridization, but God only allows the rules to be bent so far. A hybrid plant cannot reproduce itself, giving only smaller, sterile seeds or producing a plant that flashes back to one of the original varieties. A hybrid animal, such as a mule, cannot produce offspring.

 

Man can manipulate God’s gift of life, but we cannot create life from that which is dead. That power is in God’s hands alone. In fact, He has imbedded it into the very fabric of nature itself so that a seed must die before it can bring forth fruit. Jesus also had to die to give us eternal life.

Led Astray

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”[a] 34 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.                                                                 I Corinthians 15:33-34

 

The power of peer pressure cannot be underestimated. There is a deep need inside us to belong. Many times we go along with others, not because of any personal investment in the right or wrong of what we are doing, but because of our need to be accepted by those we are with.

 

When our conscience tries to tell us one thing and we ignore it then we are listening to a voice that, for the moment, is louder. Over time we find the voice of our conscience gets softer and we may even find ourselves enjoying behavior that at one time was distasteful to us. This is a degradation of our moral character.

 

Paul tells us to wake up and stop going along in the sinful patterns our companions have drug us into. We need to ask ourselves, “Where is the voice of God in this?” If we cannot tell or cannot say with confidence that He is right beside us, then we need to stop what we are doing.

 

Society views us as innocent or guilty by association of those around us. We may need to find new friends; people of integrity. We become like those we spend time with. We should find someone we admire and hang out with them. People will assume the behaviors of our companions are ours as well.

 

My husband is a very friendly, likeable person. Many people think I am friendly and likeable, too, since I am married to him. The truth is that I had precious few friends before I met him. I am an odd duck with unusual interests and I find it hard to relate to people on my own. He is an invaluable help to me in social situations.

 

We should not be content with mediocre companions to go through life with. We need to make time to find the best; people who will improve us as a person and a follower of Christ. The opposite of what Paul says in this passage is also true. Good company builds good character.

Danger and Death

Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I face death every day—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”                                          I Corinthians 15:29-32

 

Christianity is a risky business. When you stand with Christ, His enemies are your enemies. You are in danger. You are a target. Our enemies will come at us in any way they can. They will attack our livelihood, our reputation, our well-being. For some of us, they will take our lives. From the very beginning, disciples of Jesus have been killed for their faith and it will not stop happening until Jesus comes again.

 

However, there is no need to fear the attacks of the enemy. The simplest solution to the fear of martyrdom is to give our lives willingly. In another of Paul’s letters he speaks of being crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20); in another he writes of giving his life as a burnt sacrifice (Rom. 12:1). The enemy cannot take what we have already given freely.

 

If our life is not our own then it matters little when it ends. We know that our life will not end until the time appointed by God (Heb. 9:27). What good does it do to fret over when that will be or how it will come about? Scripture tells us not to fear the one who can destroy our natural bodies, but rather to fear God who can destroy our body and soul in Hell (Matt. 10:28).

 

The secret to an anxiety-free life is to live every day as if it is our last. Jesus said not to worry about tomorrow, but focus on the trouble that each day brings (Matt. 6:34).

 

Neither should we worry for our loved ones who have died. Our concern or actions on their behalf do not affect the inevitability of their own resurrection. When Christ defeats the final enemy of death, He does it for them as well.

 

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

I Corinthians 15:55

The Last War

Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all. I Corinthians 15:24-28

 

There is a conflict raging, a war being fought every minute of every day. Our glorious King Jesus is attacking His enemies on every front in order to root out all who do not recognize His right to have power, dominion and authority over all things. This right to reign was given to Him by His Father, the Creator of all things. When the war is over and He has conquered the final enemy, death, Jesus will give His kingdom back to His Father in homage to Him. “For from him and through him and for him are all things” (Rom. 11:36).

 

When we face the enemies of Christ in our lives, whether it be sickness, loss, want or abuse, it helps to know that we have Jesus fighting on our side. Not only will he stretch out His hand to restore, but He also uses even the bad things so they work for good in our lives (Rom. 8:28).

 

In my own experience, one of the greatest benefits of life’s pitfalls is to remind me of my need for a Savior. When I am sick, it reminds me that I need a Great Physician to heal me. When I am betrayed or manipulated, it reminds me of my need for a Protector. It is a healthy realization that I am not invincible; I am not God.

 

Yet Jesus beckons me to join in His fight and bring restoration to this world in any way I can. Should I win a crown for anything I accomplish, I’ll lay it at my Lord’s feet, even as He will lay His crown down at His Father’s feet. And the righteousness and holy one shall reign supreme forevermore.