The grace of the Lord Jesus

Good morning. This morning you'll have to excuse me, I'm going to be talking twice as loud so that the people who aren't here can hear me. Okay? Alright. So just brace yourself. There is an expanded explain for these last two chapters of 1 Corinthians available if you'd like to pick that up. If you happen to overlook that or forget it or run out, we will send it out also as an email attachment. So you'll get it that way. This chapter 15 that we just finished, I kind of went through it a little bit at a time.

Really neat chapter. All kinds of great things about the resurrection and the rapture and the evidence for the resurrection. Those kinds of things. Just really wonderful stuff in there. We're going to be stepping into chapter 16 now and finish up the entire chapter in one week, which will be certainly a change of pace. The chapter in summary, chapter 16, goes like this. It covers giving, planning, final greetings and pleadings. Those three things. And it goes like this.

The first four verses convey, I think, some really important New Testament teaching on giving among believers and some important principles different from what was required in the Old Testament. On the one hand, we have it rather uniquely here, not entirely, but more or less uniquely. The other hand is, though, that he makes it very clear and rather succinct. When we get into 2 Corinthians, we'll certainly get into more detail on that. Verses 5 through 12 talk about plans for Paul and for Timothy and for Apollos, and in each case there's something kind of uncertainty, but I think we'll find in it some principles about the will of God. And then the rest of the verses, 13 through 24, finishing up the chapter there, include the final greetings from the churches and individual people, along with urging and exhorting the saints there in the city of Corinth. in various ways.

Some of Paul's urging here comes in very brief statements. As a matter of fact, in some cases, just one word. As a matter of fact, we'll take a look at that in a bit here. Now, what we're going to do here, just to let you know, this has been kind of the summary, and I thought what we might do here is for the rest of our time here this morning, just focus in on one part of the passage.

Greet one another with a holy kiss. Or not. Maybe not. Anyway, let's go on to what we really had in mind. The first four verses, as we mentioned there, talk about giving. I call it dense truth on giving for believers who aren't. Dense. I'm not talking about giving. Okay? Alright. Those four verses have a lot packed into them. We're going to go on essentially for the rest of the first side of your handout dealing with the principles on giving. Now this may put some of you into shock. I'm glad you're sitting down. Because at Holly Hills, you'd have to twist arms and really press people to talk about money.

So this will be one of those rare moments when we do treasure it. Okay. Paul packed a great deal of truth into these four verses here. And it amazes me when I look at it how much he put into those verses. A great deal is pressed into them. And we hope to draw it out.

These are principles on financial giving. And among those things that Paul lays out in these verses, we find this is collection for the saints. It's possible for people to be asked to give to a church or to a ministry, and sometimes you wonder, what are they doing with all that?

The ultimate purpose, this is for the saints, is the ultimate purpose here. It's a part of building up the body of Christ. We're to build up the body of Christ, not just all the other things that churches and Christian organizations can get wound up in. But building up the body of Christ, it is for the saints. Ultimately, it's for benefiting other believers.

It isn't just to keep a program going. Why? Because we've always done it that way, right? It isn't for lining pockets. That's unfortunately what's happened in a great deal of so-called Christian ministry these days. There are Christian ministries that make a great many millions of dollars a year And you wonder what they do with it all. It is not for lining pockets, or making life cushy, or just keeping a program going, or building lots of big buildings.

Paul's directions were not just some private deal for the Corinthian church either. One of the things he makes clear, he says, I've already told this to other churches, and specifically the churches of Galatia, which included a number of others there. The instructions here are given objectively, in other words, he makes his point briefly and openly in front of everybody. He says, this is the same thing I've told other churches as I directed the churches of Galatia, which is a fair number of churches right there. What this does is it helps us to see and have assurance that this applies to us as well. This is the way we do it at the Corinthian church. But this is for all the believers. This is the way it ought to be done everywhere.

Paul's first missionary journey established the Gentile churches in southern Galatia. Each missionary journey after that, the second and the third, he went also into those same churches. We don't have his instructions to the churches of Galatia. However, we're getting it here, and he said it's the same.

So we actually do by its inclusion in 1 Corinthians. Paul also wrote all of the churches. Just to kind of get the idea, these are truths that apply to all the churches. A church at Rome, he wrote it earlier a couple of times here in 1 Corinthians. And we'll see it again when we get into 2 Corinthians.

He was conveying consistency. These are principles not just for some special deal, but for all the churches, for everybody to be included in here. Paul then said to set aside funds in the first day of each week, we would call that Sunday, later called the Lord's Day by the time of John's writing the book of Revelation.

There are several records to that effect. That implies a regularity and a consistency. I wouldn't necessarily think that it has to be that specific day, but the idea is it implies a regularity and a consistency. Not a jerky or panicked affair at all.

And the next thing he says, each one of you. So it's also something that applies throughout the church. These principles aren't just for certain special people, but these principles are for all the believers. Each one of you. I have in here this, true for you, but not for me. Ever hear that? Ever hear that in our culture? Yep. We are oftentimes inclined to think that that's some modern idea.

It was very common in the New Testament era. Imagine during the New Testament era living in a place where you could mix and match different religions. If you wanted to have three different religions, that's fine. If you want to worship several different gods, that's fine. If you don't want to worship any, that's fine too.

Everything was mix-and-match. True for you, but not for me. People were inclined to exclude themselves at various points. So this principle doesn't just apply to some, but to all. He had to say it that way since many times the Gentiles with their mindset of sort of mix-and-match spirituality and all the principles that went along with it, they would think of themselves, oh, that doesn't apply to me. I'm a special case. And so he had to lay it out for them. No, everybody is included.

When he wrote to the church at Ephesus, he had to tell the husbands, he'd already told them several times, love your wives, love your wives. But he'd done it in such a way that they could think, oh, that's just kind of a generalization, but that's not for me. And so he finishes off, each individual among you is also to love his own wife as himself. Guys, that's a Valentine's Day hint. each individual among you.

It is because they would have a tendency to kind of exclude themselves. They say, no, that's not part of my mix-and-match religion. And he'd say, yep, that includes you. The next thing, he says, they put aside so they are to take the initiative to do so. It isn't, whoops, some money fell out of my pocket, that must be for the offering. No. It is a deliberate act. It's something that they intentionally do so. They do so personally, each individual one taking the initiative to do so.

Importantly, and I would say very importantly, Paul's next phrase is, whatever he may be prospered in. By the way, this is also the principle that comes out of the book of Acts as well in giving. So it wasn't something that Paul himself just cooked up. It was something that was done by the Apostles commonly. Whatever he may be prospered in, and notice that's past tense up to this point as well. This has a very strong implication, whether you're prospered small or prospered big. A very strong implication of accumulating, forgiving, not on presumption of future income.

Sometimes churches and ministries will fall into that where they're asking you to make some sort of a promise or a pledge. This doesn't seem to reflect that. It's what does it look like up to this point? Not presuming some future income. So it's as you have prospered up to this point. What do you see now? Not promising some future flow of income. It's presumption.

One of the things that frequently happens is Christians can get mixed up and confuse what faith is. Faith is believing what God has revealed. Faith in the facts. That's faith. If we kind of throw a dart at the dartboard and come up with some number, that's not faith if we believe the dartboard, where the dart lands. Faith is believing what God has said is true. That's what faith is. Not presumption. Presumption is not faith.

It's in keeping with real actual income up to that point. Collection for the needs of the saints is then not to be a panicky affair. Notice he talked about regularity. He talked about collection up to that point once a week. The first day of the week is the way he put it. It's not to be panicky, rushed, last minute.

Oh, quick! Somebody's here! Pass the offering plate! Right? It is not something that you do at the last minute. Something to be considered carefully and personally. There is also this proportionality that comes out. He brings it out in this passage. It's also brought out in Acts. This proportionality is not some holy percentage.

The number that's frequently given is a tenth for the tithe, right? That was given to Israel. And some very important things to make note of about the tithe. The tithe was specifically for Israel. They had storehouses in different parts of the land. And the tithe was a tenth of their basically crop that they would bring into these storehouses at different parts of the land. And the Levites and orphans and widows were to be provided for out of that one-tenth. But a few things to note. You know that if you were too far, and by the way there was never a definition for what too far is, you were still required to set aside 10% and throw a party. Yes. You still had to set aside 10% and throw a party.

And the other thing is in the chapter right before The tithe is spelled out in Deuteronomy. That's also the chapter where it gives all the lists of food not to eat. So don't let any pastor tell you that you have to give a tithe and then let them go out and eat shrimp for lunch. Because that's not kosher.

This tithe was specifically for Israel. It was to provide for people in the land of Israel. There was actually no way to carry out the tithe in the other lands. It was specifically for Israel and specifically for the Jews. Furthermore, that's only a part of what the Jews were required to give.

Everything that they were required to give, the percentage varies because it would differ depending on how much a person made. But for an average wage, it would be closer to 30%, not 10%. So there is no magic number. There isn't some number that if you give that amount, that's holy, less is evil, and more is somehow generous. There is no magic number. And we're going to talk when we get into 2 Corinthians about, well, how do I figure out how much to give? Well, there is no magic or holy number, no spiritual percentage. He doesn't give it here. He doesn't tell them, give this amount.

It's in proportion. to how you've been prospered, that's it. Next thing, Paul wanted to see that the gifts from the Corinthian saints were then escorted with adequate security. We see instances of this spelled out again in Acts where they brought in gifts to people in other areas. And they would oftentimes send several people along, and they would have letters of authorization and that sort of thing to make sure that, you know, the money, the whole amount of money is given and credited properly. Theft along the roadway was really common. And because after all, theft was not a crime, believe it or not. Theft was not a crime. Theft was a civil matter. And if you got robbed, that was your problem, okay?

Paul's point then, applicable to us, is that the gift should get where it's truly needed and helpful. As we give as believers, we need to make sure that we're giving wisely, giving appropriately, where it is helpful, and making sure it's getting there. It's called stewardship. All the principles above apply to our giving in the body of Christ, of course, but The last part, seeing that the funds reach their intended goal and are put to use, that is important. Christians shouldn't be just throwing the money at some ministry or some church and just kind of saying, okay, I gave my amount, God will get off my back and leave me alone. Right? It is indeed a matter of, is that being effective? Believers are to be discerning about where their funds are given and how the funds are used to build up the body of Christ.

Not every ministry and everyone who asks for money is valid. As a matter of fact, there's a good chance if they're asking for money a lot, you probably better not give them a lot in general. Ministries certainly need money and churches need gifts to operate off of. But just because people ask doesn't mean they're supposed to get it. We need to be discerning about where it's given.

Paul goes on in verses 5 through 9 talking about open doors and also adversaries. He tells of his hope to come to them there at Corinth and stay a while. But as we go through these next few verses, I think there's some things for us to consider about how do we know God's will? How do we know what God has in mind?

He writes in these verses that there are some uncertainties. He's not quite sure how this is going to work out. He wants to stay with them long enough to have an effective ministry with them. At that, he wants to stay with them long enough to have an effective ministry, not just blow through. He's writing from Ephesus. It was clear that he did, in fact, have an effective ministry in Ephesus.

Acts 20 is where Paul talks to the elders from Ephesus for the last time. He spells out that he'd been there for a period of three years all total, teaching day and night. In Acts 20, 31 and 32, he says this, Therefore, be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. He wanted to stay with them long enough that he could have an effective ministry, not just show up and say, Hi, I'm Paul, see you later. He wanted to have an impact.

It takes time to have an effective ministry. It's one reason I'll just share something private if you don't mind. When I sat down with Hal when I first came here, I told him, I said, Hal, the Lord can certainly have something else in mind, but I'd like this to be my last job. It doesn't mean to stick around for two weeks, right? In order to have an impact, it can take time. That's probably why the Lord has us take 20 years to raise our kids, right? It takes time to have an impact. And one of the things when you're looking at God's will, you notice what He wanted to have is what's the spiritual impact of my decision? And I would suggest to you that that's a question for us to ask. If we're asking, should I move here? Should I go there? Should I take this job? Should I do this? Should I buy the yellow Chevy or the blue one?

The question is, in everything, what's the spiritual impact of the decision? What will be effective spiritually? It's a key point of guidance in knowing God's will. What will be the spiritual impact of this decision? Whatever it is. And it may seem to be something fairly minor and trite. But, you know, should I take on this new position? Should I go here? Should I do this? Should I not do that? What's the spiritual impact?

Paul measured that. He says, I want to come there when I'm going to be able to have an impact, a spiritual impact upon your life. Then he says, if Timothy comes, he wrote, and now there's an interesting thing about the way the word if comes across. In the original language, there were different ways of writing if. in the Greek, and this particular one said that Timothy would probably come. So the if was not a, well, I don't know if he's going to come at all. It meant if Timothy comes and he probably will.

He mentioned that coming earlier in 1 Corinthians 4.17. But the warnings about how to treat Timothy are curious and unique. Very interesting. When Paul comes, he talks about coming and wanting to be effective. I was stunned, rather, by what he wrote. See that he is with you without cause to be afraid. Whoa. What does that mean?

It's interesting, as Paul wrote to Timothy, we have 1 and 2 Timothy, there are indications that Timothy might have been a little bit timid. And so maybe part of this has to do with Timothy's personality. The other part of it might have to do with the aggressive character of some of these Corinthians. You know, if you guys keep behaving like you are, he's not going to want to stay.

Okay. So let no one despise him. Oh, that must be a risk, right? Send him on his way in peace, which, what would be the opposite of sending him on his way in peace? Running him out of town on a rail, right? These are all imperatives in the original language.

Three times, okay? Three times he underscores with them, you know, when Timothy comes, don't let him, you know, have anything to be afraid of. Nobody's supposed to despise him. And when he leaves, send him away in peace. Wow, that's some intense warnings, okay?

These are musts in the original language there. Next one, Apollos will come when the time is right. Paul had previously encouraged the teacher Apollos to go and meet the needs of the saints there in Corinth. Apollos, of course, was a teacher. The believers in Corinth needed good, solid teaching, so there was no question about that. You can understand why Paul would encourage Apollos, you know, go there, these people really need some decent teaching.

So that would be clear. But Apollos said that he would come when the time is opportune, when the time is right. So there wasn't a question in Apollos' mind, is this the right thing to do? The question in Apollo's mind was, is this the right time? And another key thing, there may be things in our lives that we look at and we say, you know, that's a good opportunity. But is it the right time? Is it the right time? Is this God's time? Does God want that to happen now? So as we look at Paul's kind of planning here, we see some principles of God's will.

And the other thing is the need did not dictate that Apollos must come now. Oftentimes we will see needs in front of us. The need is not automatically a dictation to us that we're to step in. It might be. But we need to consider it carefully. Every need is not a call. Every need is not a call. Lots of needs out there. Oh, a great many. But every need is not a call.

Apollos recognized that. So what God wants us to commit time to and where he wants us to spend time are things that we need to weigh carefully. Is this really what God wants me to do at this time? Is this what God wants me to do or is this need just calling really loud? A need does not mean a call.

This next slide we have right at the start, at the outset, and I have it slightly differently translated, and we'll explain why. Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, and be strong. Those four ideas. What's interesting is, be alert is one word in the Greek, be courageous is one word in the Greek, and be strong is one word. Stand firm in the faith, that's multiple words. That's the only part of that verse that's actually multiple words in the original language. Let's step through them one at a time.

This being alert is being aware and prepared and ready to act in the spiritual realm. Now what would be the opposite of that? Not being aware of the spiritual issues that are out there in front of us. Not understanding What's going on spiritually? What's spiritually at stake?

Looking at both the dangers and the opportunities. Dangers and opportunities. Paul used that same word with the elders from Ephesus that we quoted earlier. Therefore, watch. Watch. Paul told the elders there. Be aware of the dangers and the opportunities. Be alert. Be ready. The next one, standing firm in the faith. Now that's the one part of this verse that is actually multiple words in the original language. Standing firm and it's very specific.

The faith. The faith was a term used starting in Acts chapter 6 through the last book of the Bible in Revelation. The faith is all the set of teachings and doctrines that were taught by the apostles. But notice, it's not, oh, we've got this group over here, and they think this, and we have this denomination here, and they've got that teaching. And this church over here, they teach this way. No, it is one singular, the faith. All the way from Acts, where the church starts, to Revelation, the last book of the Bible. The faith. The one singular set of teachings of the apostles.

That is where we're to stand. Stand firm in the faith. He used the same word when he wrote to the Philippians. Philippians 127, you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind striving together for, here it is again, the faith of the gospel. There is a singularity in our standing firm, which is why I showed the picture of the Roman soldiers all standing together as one.

There is a singularity of where we stand as believers. It's not, oh, we've got some folks standing over there, and some folks standing over there, and these people, they believe this, and some other people feel kind of like this is what we ought to be teaching and focusing on. De-faith. Singular. Stand on it. Now, this is the fun one.

The translation in the New American Standard is, act like men. There's some men you wouldn't want to act like. But anyway, I think in the King James it says something like, quit ye like men, or something like that. The translators have been real puzzled by this, and I'm a little puzzled by their puzzlement, if you don't mind.

The word really means courage. Let me give you an example. In the Greek Old Testament, that is the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the word shows up repeatedly at the end of Deuteronomy where Moses is about to send Joshua and the Israelites to take the promised land. And this word courageous, the exact same Greek word shows up again and again and it goes like this. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or tremble at them. For why? For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Sound like Hebrews? He will never leave you or forsake you, right?

Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and what? Courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give to them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance." Verse 23, guess what? Moses stands in front of all Israel and charges Joshua, be strong and courageous. You get into Joshua chapter 1. Joshua got it. So what did he do in verses 6 and 7 and 9?

He tells all the people in Israel, Be strong and courageous. Why? Because just like Moses told Joshua, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. So what is Paul telling the believers at Corinth? Be courageous. Say the exact same word. And why? Because the Lord is with you. Be courageous. The Lord is with you. The next one, be strong.

Interestingly, he didn't use the same word as is used in Deuteronomy and Joshua. He used a different one and that's on purpose. He uses the same word that he used in Ephesians 3, 14 and 16 when he's telling the Ephesian believers he's praying for them. He says, for this reason I bow my knees before the Father.

That's verse 14. I'm jumping to verse 16, that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory, the wealth of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man. He doesn't want them to just be strong in their own strength. He wants them to be strong by the Holy Spirit's empowerment.

See, at first He said be alert, right? Everything that the Lord has us to do as an opportunity is something that He has prepared us for. If there's a good work to do, He's prepared it beforehand that we should walk in it. If He asks us to do something, He doesn't ask anything of us for which He has not already dealt with it in our position in Christ and for which He has not already provided for enablement and empowerment in energizing through it all. Be strong, not in your own strength, but through the power of the Holy Spirit and the inner person. So be alert. Stand firm. Be courageous and be strong. He didn't tell them to go and attack the enemy. He said stand firm.

Why is that? Because Israel had to go and invade and take the promised land. We as believers All we need to do is stand on the truth. Everything that needs to be taken has already been taken by Christ. We don't have to go and conquer. We don't have to go and take on Satan or anything of that sort. Christ has already won anything that has to be taken. Don't do anything. Stand there. Don't just do something. Stand there. Be courageous and be strong and be alert. But stand there, stand there in the truth, the faith.

Then he follows that up with after these strong words in verse 13, he comes up with this next qualifying word in verse 14, all that you do must be done in love. He's given some definitions of love earlier in the book, chapter 13, 1 Corinthians 13. He started back in chapter 2 and then several times brought up love. Chapter 13, of course, focused substantially on love. He's brought up love three times in chapter 16. He's told us in chapter 13 what love is and what it isn't, as well as what love does do and doesn't do.

So it says, all that you do must be done in love. He is not leading them to define it. He has spelled it out carefully. Everything that they do among themselves should be done with love. Have you ever heard of a church split? A church split. I wonder how many of those happen in love. I would guess not too many.

God's love as to its source and its character is what he's calling for here. This is not an I love you because you're lovable. This is a love with God as the source, not depending on the lovability of the one who's receiving it. By the way, it's perfect for Valentine's Day, right? This is God as the source and God also as to its character. Christ died for us when we were friends and real friendly and lovable? No. When we were yet sinners. It's a love that doesn't depend on the lovability the one receiving it. It's God's kind of love. It's love from him. He didn't write this as a suggestion or option either.

That's another one of those imperatives. As I looked at verses 15-18, I thought of trying to make slides and it just didn't work. I thought the best thing I could do was to put the verses there and underline. What I see in this set of verses, 15-18, is the interaction among people in the body of Christ. Building up the body of Christ.

So Paul says, now I urge you. Now that word urging means to come alongside. I come alongside. He says, I'm not ordering you. I could do that. He says, I'm an apostle. I could come in and just order you to do stuff. Do this. Do that. Don't do this. Don't do that. He could do that, but that's not what he does. This urging means to come alongside as one alongside and not over. I urge you, brethren.

Oh, there's some body life information too. So he talks about the household of Stephanas. They were the first fruits of the region of Achaia, and they have devoted themselves for ministry to the saints. Apparently they're in Horeb. But that you also be in subjection.

Now here's this word, subjection, is one our culture has rebelled against that idea. Subjection is to deliberately place oneself under authority and for support. Place oneself deliberately under the authority of another, but also for support of another. It's a deliberate action. It's not being put under the thumb. It's a deliberate action of the one who is in subjection to do that.

To such men and to everyone who helps in the work and labors, getting in a place of support underneath those who are pitching in in various ways. He says, I rejoice over the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have supplied what was lacking. They met needs. They met needs. Supplied what was lacking in your part. For they have refreshed my spirit. Spiritual refreshment. That's pretty hard to turn down, isn't it? Spiritual refreshment. Therefore, acknowledge such men. It is simply a matter of saying, you know, how has the Lord gifted this person? Let's acknowledge that.

We go back to Acts chapter 20. Paul talking to the elders at Ephesus. He said, the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. You see, it's the Lord who puts people in place of service in our church body here. And it's simply a matter, you know, we don't put somebody here or there so much as the Lord has brought them in. And what we do is we recognize, we acknowledge what the Lord is doing.

That's really the situation. Greetings from. Now, imagine, here's the Apostle Paul. He can't get on his cell phone and just text these guys, right? He can't just call them up and, you know, hey, I need to talk to you about this or that, or I'll send you an email and it'll be an attachment in Word format. None of that, OK? Can't do that.

So when you get a message from one place to another, in fact, it's rather rare. The postal system had a lot to be desired in those days. I won't even comment. about our day, but the postal system had a lot to be desired in those days, and so for a letter to get from one place to another was frequently just simply a personal delivery. And so letters were not all that common from one area to another, and so everybody tried to get in there high, right? It's sort of like being on television where everybody crowds in front of the camera when they have a chance.

It was, hey, say hi from me, say hi from me. So Paul goes through it like this. Greetings from the churches in Asia. That was those who are on the western end of what we now call Turkey, headquartered in the city of Ephesus, where obviously he was at the moment. And he later wrote a letter to them. So those from that area, all those churches, Say hi. And that's quite a few, actually.

It says there in Acts 19.10, all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. It's also Paul's friends and fellow tent makers, Aquila and Priscilla, or Prisca, as the name is somehow nicknamed, and the church that meets in their house as well. House churches was the order of the day.

And finally, instead of giving all the names, what does he say? And all the brethren greet you. Right? So he sums it up, instead of giving all the names of the different people who wanted to say hi, all the brethren greet you. Then he says, greet one another with a holy kiss, I would say, but keep it holy. Okay? All right? And I think one of the things to look at is this isn't just do the usual high. There is something special about that greeting. And a part of it is this.

After believers greet one another, they never say goodbye for the last time. When we leave here this morning, we'll probably have a lot of people say goodbye in some fashion or another. But you know, it'll never happen for the last time. No, that's not the way it works. All relationships between believers are forever. I think that's especially a good thing to remember even as we think of this last week and then head to this next week and with Carole King's home going. At some point, you probably said goodbye to her, but that won't be the last one. It won't be the last one. Paul would often dictate letters. He would speak and have somebody else put it down on paper. He would also real commonly write at the end with something with his own hand.

It was sort of a, yes, this is official. This is really my handwriting. And Galatians is an example of that. See with what large letters I'm writing you with my own hand. Some people speculate that that has to do with an eye problem. It may also have been just capital letters, I don't know. Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon each have some statement that he is writing with his own hands.

So a fairly common occurrence with Paul. That was one way of, if people recognize someone's writing and their way of doing things, one way of kind of authenticating the letter. There were people who wrote phony letters, and Paul even made reference to that. as he wrote to the church at Thessalonica. He says, even if somebody writes with a letter supposedly from us.

And interestingly, in the letter to the Colossians, he says, have my letter to the Colossians read also to the church at Laodicea. And have the letter from the church at Laodicea read to the church at Colossae. You know, we don't have any letter that Paul wrote to the church at Laodicea.

So guess what? Somebody made one up. Somebody faked one. And that was one of the things that was common. So it was a way of him certifying that it was indeed his letter. The next thing he talks about is loving the Lord or being accursed. And at first that might hit us as sort of, wow, that's kind of intense, isn't it? But if you think about it, those who love the Lord, it's not only a matter of, you know, Not being a curse, it's a matter of being blessed. What did he write to the church at Ephesus? You've been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Loving the Lord is a day and night difference. It's not a small thing, it's a huge thing. You're blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Those who love God, Romans 8, 28 and 29, are those for whom God works all things for good.

It doesn't mean that everything is good. Some things aren't, right? Some things are just really nasty. But He works all things for the good that we are conformed by that set of circumstances, whatever it is, into the image of His Son. That's the good. Even though you may look at things in life and say, that's not good. And there are things in life like that. We can still say with everything, God's going to make a good of it. What's the good?

That we're conformed to the image of the Son by those circumstances. Next, he says, here's another one of these one-word things. Maranatha. That's Aramaic for, O Lord, come. It's our blessed hope. Lord, come. Today would be fine. Our Lord, come. To the Jews, they said, Thy kingdom come. But the church was taught to say, Our Lord come. Our Lord come. We want to see Him.

As we're going to sing here in a few minutes, Oh for that day when we see Him face to face. Then he expressed towards the end of the letter, the grace of the Lord, and his own love for them. Interesting, he didn't just say the Lord's love, but his own love for them. Why would he have to say to them, my love to you? Here as a church, he has had to tell them some hard things.

He has had to tell them, chapter 3, you guys are fleshly, and you're not wise. Chapter 2. And how dare you do this? He says, I actually hear you people are suing each other. You guys are all divided. I follow this one. I follow that one. He's had to tell them some really hard things. But he wants them to know. When the day is done and the letter is done, my love, my love, brethren, beloved, those whom he loves, He does love these people. He cares about them very greatly.

And He has had to tell them, in the midst of telling them about what love is and what love isn't, He has had to tell them the truth. And one of the things He told them in 1 Corinthians 13 is love rejoices with the truth. Love and truth are not at odds. Love and truth are, in fact, biblically paired together. God is love, right? And Jesus, our Lord, said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Love and truth are together. Amen means so be it. That's the truth. I think in their vernacular of several decades ago, they might have said, right on, right? But that's old now.

As we look at this first Corinthians letter, it's been quite a letter. We're going to step next week, starting in the second Corinthians. And it's actually the fourth letter that we're aware of, second Corinthians. We've been going through a second letter in first Corinthians. So he's going to step into the next set of issues with these Corinthians, including some resolution of things that is addressed in this letter we just got through studying today.

Let's pray. Lord, we thank you. As we've been reading through 1 Corinthians and studying through it and looking at it, we've gotten a lot of insight, a lot to hope for, even to this very day. A lot of understanding of what love is and what love isn't, what love does and what love doesn't do. And the eternal hope that we have as believers, even at the very first chapter, that it is your doing by your doing that we are in Christ Jesus. Thank you for the ways that you have blessed us, even having placed us into Christ. We thank you for what you've revealed. In Jesus' name, amen.