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1 Corinthians 16 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
Paul begins with a collection for the saints. The Nelson’s New Illustrated Commentary provides a solid summary of what this means for Jesus followers today.
“Paul once again addressed a question asked by the Corinthians about giving. The first day of the week was the regular weekly meeting day of the early church. Lay something aside expresses the concept of Christian giving in the NT. The OT tithe (altogether coming to about 23 percent) was not adopted by the NT church, though certainly Christ practiced it. NT believers were encouraged to give liberally, but never a specified amount or percentage (Rom 12:8). Paul wanted to make sure that the Corinthians’ offering would be collected before he arrived so that he would not need to pressure the people when he saw them (2 Co 9:5).”
Nelson’s Commentary
Paul ends this letter with the same focus that he began. He urges the Corinthians to put love first. Anyone who does not receives his strongest rebuke. As we reflect back on this letter, it is interesting to consider how specifically Paul responds to the issues that were ongoing in Corinth. We only know of Paul’s answers; we will never know the questions the Corinthians asked him. However, those answers still have relevance today.
Paul illustrates the destructiveness of division and placing one pastor against another. He shows us how infancy and compromise can affect the overall body and lead others into sin. Overall, there were many who demonstrated their spiritual gifts who did not possess love.
“There were in the Church at Corinth many highly gifted and very gracious people; there were also there many more, who, though they might have been partakers of some extraordinary gifts, had very little of that religion which the apostle describes in the thirteenth chapter of this epistle.”
Adam Clarke
Clarke goes on to quote an old theologian who writes, “Knowledge that is not applying, is only like a candle which a man holds to light himself to hell.” The lesson we can learn today from Paul’s epistle is that we all lack love in varying degrees of our life. We all desparately need the love of Jesus in our lives to illustrate how we can and should love others. If our goal is only to gain knowledge, we have missed the message of Christ.