1 Corinthians 16:10-14 If 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, No one, then, should refuse to accept him. 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. Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.
In today's verses, Paul addresses the men in Corinth as brothers, connected spiritually in a familial way by the blood of Jesus Christ. Of course, by mentioning brothers he implies sisters, for all Christians are part of God's family and members of the body of Christ. Our eternal relationships with believers should be stronger than our temporary biological ties. The concept of love in the body of Christ extends far beyond our understanding of love in the flesh. Remember God loved us with no thought of reciprocity, for while we were yet sinners, Jesus yielded his life on the cross. In his teaching, Jesus asked us to love the sinner with a love that goes beyond this world's understanding. The people of the world will hardly ever love their enemies or those who abuse them; probably never would they die for them. This sacrificial love that would die for another is contrary to human nature and is the love of Christ. We should express this love in the family of God. We should love with an everlasting love or as Paul says, we should Do everything in love. In the wayward and chaotic Corinthian church, their immature love troubled Paul. Consequently, he says to the church, If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you. He wants them to treat Timothy as a true brother, as one should treat all of God's family. How sad that Paul has to encourage the Corinthians to treat Timothy well, showing his concern for their lack of growth in the Lord. Paul addresses their weaknesses at the beginning of this letter: I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind ght. My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ." (1 Corinthians 1:10-12) aOf course, in church history a lack of unity has played out thousands of times, with much sorrow and pain in its wake. Rather than loving as eternal brothers and sisters IN CHRIST, we succumb to fleshly quarrels and dissension, loving as the world loves, not as God loves. Some in the Corinthian church must have sought doctrinal soundness, so they disputed who they should follow, believe. By being so much focused on doctrinal purity or the right leader to follow, they lost sight of Christ, they lost the essence of Christianity: the world will know us by our love.
Paul wanted the church to treat Timothy with respect and gentleness because
he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am. Timothy was younger than Paul and without the credentials of Paul: being a Pharisee without fault in following the law. The Corinthians should still unreservedly respect Timothy as a leader in the church. As Paul says, No one, then, should refuse to accept him. Paul and Timothy's mission is the same: to preach the gospel to all who will hear. For Paul, there is no division in this ministry. In fact, Paul argues the preeminence of the Word over the individuals who proclaim the gospel:
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel — not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. (1 Corinthians 1:13-17) For Paul, preaching the word was the reason for his existence: nothing else was important to him. Also, he did not want anyone to claim that Paul's superior intellect or experience gave him a position of superiority or acclaim over others. He emphasizes that his teachings did not come from the wisdom or knowledge of a mere man, but from the power and influence of the Holy Spirit within him. Consequently, he could say with assurance that he preached
not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. He wanted the Corinthians to understand that his teachings came by the Holy Spirit's unction. They were not his words, but God's words. Similarly, he wanted them to recognize Timothy as teaching God's words and not his own words. Therefore, they should accept him completely with love and tenderness as a minister of the gospel.
Paul moves toward the conclusion of his letter with the admonition to stand strong in the Lord: Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Paul's life is one of standing steadfast in the Lord regardless of the temptations or difficulties in life. He encourages the Corinthians not to be ashamed of Christ or to be fearful of their circumstances. Corinth was a wicked city with over a thousand prostitutes, called priestesses, working out of the temple of Aphrodite. This sexual licentiousness was everywhere in Corinth. To stand strong and firm in the faith in such a sinful place surely seemed difficult to the church. Sin was practiced openly throughout society and even crept into religion. In fact, some of this evil had entered into the Corinthian church where a case of incest is mentioned. Paul says they must stand strong in their belief in Christ, for only Jesus offers real life. Without him they are dead in their trespasses and sins, facing eternal death. As Paul wrote to the Romans,
sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like. (Galatians 6:19-21) We can become so exposed to this manner of living that we are inured to the deadliness and bondage of sin. Paul warned the Corinthians, be on your guard. We also should be warned, Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men (and women) of courage; be strong. Today is a day to stand firm in your faith, to love with God's love. Blessings to you!
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17) To remain firm in their faith, the Corinthians could not waver or hesitate. Without unabashed faith in Jesus and his works, the Corinthians would fail to be the brilliant light of Christ's redemption in Corinth. We who live today also live in a sinful world. Our electronic media constantly presents the attractiveness of living fleshly lives. Too often we find the sinful nature of mankind lifted up in our media, even glorified, much as with the priestesses in Corinth. This sinful way of life can become our religion, our pastime, our relaxation. If we are not careful, we will be pacified by viewing
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