Principles for Giving Studies in 1 Corinthians Series [41] 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 May 17, 2015 Pastor Paul K. Kim

1 CORINTHIANS: A LETTER TO THE TROUBLED CHURCH CONCERNING TRUE SPIRITUALITY 1 Corinthians 1-6: Replies to the reports of Chloe’s household.  Divisions in the church (1:10-13) & Worldly wisdom (1:17-2:16)  Spiritual immaturity (3:1-4) & Doubts of Paul’s apostleship (4:1-7)  Incest in the church (5:1-13)  Lawsuits between believers (6:1-8)  Sexual immorality (6:15-20) 1 Corinthians 7-16: Replies to the letter from the church.  Singleness, marriage & divorce (7:1-40)  Meat offered to Idols (8:1-13)  Head coverings in worship (11:1-17) & The Lord’s Supper (11:20-34)  Spiritual gifts (12:1-14:40)  Resurrection of the dead (15:1-58)  Collection for the Jerusalem church in need (16:1-3)

THE CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COLLECTION [1 COR. 16:1-14] THE NEED: Because of the famine, and persecution, many Jewish Christians in Jerusalem became devastatingly poor; one of Paul’s goals in his missionary journeys was to urge the Gentiles churches to give to their need. THE SIGNIFICANCE: Paul’s reasons for this collection were... 1.To encourage giving to help other churches/believers in need. 2.To bring greater unity among the Jewish and Gentile churches (i.e., legitimacy of Gentile believers as ONE family of God in Christ). 3.To urge the Gentile churches to share generously for a spiritual debt owed to their “mother church” in Jerusalem (Rom. 15:27). 4.To make a testimony to the unsaved world—especially to the unbelieving Jews (Isaiah 66:18-21).

WHAT PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES FOR GIVING CAN WE DRAW FROM THIS PASSAGE? 1)Giving is to be done by EVERY believer in Christ. 1 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up. (vs. 1-2a)  Giving is a crucial element of acknowledging God as the owner and giver of everything we have.  All Christ’s local churches—in Galatia, Corinth, and also California—ought to give.  Every believer—including older kids, the retired, the unemployed, and the poor as well as the rich—should give to the Lord.

WHAT PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES FOR GIVING CAN WE DRAW FROM THIS PASSAGE? 2)Giving is to be done regularly. 1 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up. (vs. 1-2a)  “The first day of every week" is the New Testament’s expression for Lord’s Day (Sunday) when Early Christians gathered to worship weekly.  The biblical pattern is to give REGULARLY as a rhythm of life.  Giving is a part of worship to God—not just with lips but also with hearts because where our treasure is, there our hearts will be as well (Luke 12:34).

WHAT PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES FOR GIVING CAN WE DRAW FROM THIS PASSAGE? 3)Giving is to be done deliberately and willingly. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. (v. 2) 9 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce. Proverbs 3:9  Giving is to be done NOT as a reaction to an emotional plea or external pressure.  Rather, we are to give willingly and voluntarily.  Willingness moves us to be deliberate—i.e., preparedness and thoughtful plan are required for giving.

WHAT PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES FOR GIVING CAN WE DRAW FROM THIS PASSAGE? 4)Giving is to be done proportionally and cheerfully. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. (v. 2) 6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7  To put something aside regularly is to give proportionally.  The OT prescribes 10% of all income (tithe); the NT is silent about tithing but urges to give generously and cheerfully.  Hence, tithing is a good place to start to begin and practice “grace giving” of the New Testament teaching.

The tithe is a way to get us started on the path of Christian giving. It is not the finish line of giving, but only the starting blocks. Tithing is the training wheels of giving. Steady bicyclists no longer need training wheels, but wobbly bicyclists do. If they don’t have training wheels they won’t learn to ride. Likewise, most people who never learn to tithe never really learn to give. Obviously, we need those training wheels! Randy Alcorn

WHAT PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES FOR GIVING CAN WE DRAW FROM THIS PASSAGE? 5)Giving is to be handled with accountability and integrity. 3 And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me. (vs. 3-4)  Paul was intentionally releasing the delivery duty for the collection. Why? It was for integrity.  To handle all giving with integrity requires an intentional/preventive plan and accountability.  Hence, we are to also follow the critical principle of accountability and integrity in all financial matters as a local church.

THREE PRACTICAL QUESTIONS FOR OUR EVERYDAY LIFE 1.In what ways are you more convinced of the truth that giving is a tangible part of true spirituality? 2.What would it mean for you to live out the principle of giving deliberately and willingly? 3.What would it mean for you to live out the principle of giving proportionally and cheerfully?