Paul
the apostle shared with the church members in Corinth about Jesus
having “steadfast,
unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord”.
He added that they knew their “labor
is not in vain in the Lord”,
and in
chapter sixteen and verse one of First Corinthians, Paul told the
church members what will happen, “steadfast,
unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord”,
where we read:
Now
concerning the collection for the saints,
as I
have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do you.
The
verse begins, “Now
concerning the collection for the saints,...”
Paul began
with the word, “now” or
“moreover and” “concerning”
which means “about, on account of, because of, around and near”
“the collection”
or “money gathered for the relief of the poor” “for
the saints”
which means “on account of the physically, pure, morally blameless
or religious and ceremonially consecrated”. Paul now addressed the
“money gathered for poor members within the church”.
The
verse continues, “... as
I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do you.”
Paul added
the words, “as I have given order”
which means
“in the way Paul arranged, appointed, ordained, prescribed, gave
order” “to the churches”
or “to the assemblies of Christians gathered for worship in a
religious meeting” “of Galatia”
which means “land of the Galli, Gauls ” and was “the Roman
province of Galatia my be roughly described as the central region of
the peninsula of Asia Minor, bounded on the north by Bithynia and
Paphlagonia; on the east by Pontus; on the south by Cappadocia and
Lycaonia; on the west by Phrygia”, “even
so” or
“also and indeed” “do you”
which means
“did the church members”. Paul desired for the church members in
Corinth to follow his instructions for “giving” that he had
previously given to “Galatia”.
When
we consider these words from Paul, we see how he is interested in the
“giving” practices within the church in Corinth for the “poor
saints”. Paul knew the promotion of the gospel of Jesus Christ
included necessary support for those with meager means who might
otherwise not be able to have sustenance and supply. Jesus Christ is
concerned for both our physical and spiritual needs, and when we give
ourselves to Him, we have the opportunity to provide for others who
are in need.
Next
time
Paul instructs the church members to do on, “the
first day
of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God
hath prospered him”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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