Three Final Commands

Rory Mosley

3 Final Commands

1 Corinthians 16:15-24

December 27, 2009

Well tonight we conclude a study we began about a year and a half ago.

We are bringing an end to Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.

And tonight I want to do a little more

Than just cover the last portion of text.

When we started this study we began by talking about

All the problems that were present at the Corinthian church.

Tonight, by way of introduction let me just remind you of them

One more time, in hopes of simplifying the solution.

Turn back to chapter 1 and travel with me one more time

Through the shameful highlights of the Corinthian church.

Division over their leaders (1:11-12)

Childish (3:2-4)

Sexual Immorality (5:1)

Tolerance of sin (5:2)

Extortion (6:8)

Prostitution (6:15)

Discontentment (7:20)

Stumbling Blocks (8:10)

Failure to honor leaders (9:11)

Idolatry (10:21)

Role swapping / Feminism (11:4-5)

Drunkenness during the Lord’s Supper (11:20-21)

Jealousy over gifts (12:16)

Mystical chaos and a lack of edification (14:26)

Denial of the Resurrection (15:12)

When you travel through the book and see all the problems they had,

One might quickly assume that the best way to fix the problems

Is to declare them all lost and lock the doors.

It looks like an absolute nightmare to try and sort out.

How in the world would Paul (or anyone) be able to right this sinking ship?

And that is why we are so thankful for the ministry of the Holy Spirit

To inspire Paul to write such an insightful letter.

For while Paul did address each of those situations individually,

He also gave the blueprint for quickly fixing them all.

THE MAIN PROBLEM AT CORINTH?

A lack of love.

That is why at the heart of this great letter sits chapter 13.

1 Corinthians 13:1-7 “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

The solution for the many problems at Corinth was simple.

They needed to start to show true love for one another.

And this is a sure fire way to victory.

1 Corinthians 13:8 “Love never fails;”

If the Corinthians would just give love a shot,

They would certainly save their church.

1 Peter 4:8 “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”

And that is why Paul has been returning to that theme

As he closes this letter.

1 Corinthians 16:14 “Let all that you do be done in love.”

And tonight Paul summarizes that idea one last time

In order to leave this thought fresh on the Corinthians’ minds.

He gives 3 final commands and they all deal with love.

#1 LOVE YOUR LEADERS

1 Corinthians 16:15-18

Here Paul has three men in his mind as he pens this portion of the letter.

“Stephanas” – who was the first to be saved from Achaia

“Fortunatus”

“Achaicus”

And the command is seen in two ways.

(16) “that you also be in subjection to such men and to everyone who helps in the work and labors.”

(18) “…Therefore acknowledge such men.”

And so it is clear that Paul wants the Corinthian church

To show their love in their submission and acknowledgement

Of these three men.

BUT WHY THEM?

WHAT DID THEY DO?

(15) “Now I urge you, brethren (you know the household of Stephanas, that they were the first fruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the ministry of the saints),”

And I really like the concept here.

“devoted themselves”

No one asked them…

No one paid them…

No one guilted them…

They were volunteers who determined to sell themselves out

On behalf of the ministry of the saints.

“devoted” translates TASSO

And it is actually translated by the King James as “addicted”

John MacArthur wrote:

“Because of its association with narcotic drugs, the term addiction today has an unfavorable connotation. But it is appropriate to the type of service Paul is talking about here. The apostle himself was addicted to the Lord’s work and strongly encouraged all believers to be like him. Paul did the Lord’s work habitually, out of a powerful, driving compulsion. The more he ministered the more he felt compelled to minister. His tolerance for godly work caused him never to be satisfied with what he was doing, much less with what he had done. He became dependant on the Lord’s work in order to function. He could not live normally if he were not engaged in some needed service for his Lord, for the Lord’s people, or for the unsaved. I am sure that, had he tried to “take it easy” and relax for any length of time, he would have had severe “withdrawal symptoms.” He was not a workaholic, compelled to work for work’s sake. He was addicted to ministry for love’s sake.” (pg. 481)

And it was this ministry addict that wrote that

Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus

Were addicted to the ministry of the saints.

Paul wanted these men to be honored

And he wanted the Corinthians to be in subjection to them.

The other reason Paul wanted them honored:

(17b-18a) “because they have supplied what was lacking on your part. For they have refreshed my spirit and yours.”

Certainly the Corinthian church was anything but refreshing to Paul.

They were a pain in his spiritual neck,

But these men “supplied what was lacking” and “refreshed” Paul.

By the way that word “refreshed” is the same word Jesus uses in:

Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

These men were devoted to the ministry and one way they served

Was in giving rest to those who toiled in ministry.

And because of their great commitment and love

Paul commands the Corinthians submit to them and acknowledge them.

He was commanding to the Corinthians to love their leaders.

And certainly this includes ministers who lead the congregation.

Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”

But it most certainly is not limited to them.

These three men were not the pastors at Corinth,

These men were the leaders in service.

When service needed to be done, they led out in getting it done.

They were leaders by example, not leaders by title.

And those types of leaders are worthy of the same respect and honor.

Philippians 2:25-30 “But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need; because he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard; because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me.”

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 “But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another.”

Paul is simply telling the Corinthians that one solution to their many problems is for them to start loving their leaders.

Both those who hold the title and those who lead out by action.

Now we said that among the problems at Corinth were:

Division over leaders

Childish in that division

Failure to compensate ministers

Mystical chaos / non-edifying services

All of those would be fixed if the Corinthians

Would simply show love for those who are presently leading them.

A little bit of love would go a long way

Towards fixing the problem at Corinth.

Love Your Leaders

#2 LOVE YOUR BROTHERS

1 Corinthians 16:19-21

Paul starts this point in a very interesting way.

He first reveals all the love that others have for them.

“The churches of Asia greet you.”

“Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord,”

“the church that is in their house” [greets you heartily as well]

“All the brethren greet you”

What Paul is reminding the Corinthians of

Is how good it feels to be loved and thought about.

And it does, doesn’t it?

We love to know that other people are thinking about us.

A phone call…

A card…

An email…

Simple little gestures go a long way

In making a person feel loved by someone else.

And after allowing the Corinthians to remember how good it feels

He brings in the command.

“Greet one another with a holy kiss.”

Now before anyone tries to storm the stage and give me a kiss

Thinking they have biblical grounds, understand the culture of the day.

Of all the times that kissing is referenced in Scripture,

Only twice does it refer to romantic kissing between a man and woman.

In their culture a kiss on the cheek was just a warm sign of affection.

Today we see an arm around someone, or a warm hug.

It was a gesture meant to portray the feeling of love to another.

And even Paul was getting in on the gesture.

(21) “The greeting is in my own hand – Paul.”

And there is a reminder that the more personal, the better

In regard to showing love to other people.

And the idea here is that Corinth

Needed to start showing love to one another.

The Corinthians had division:

The Corinthians were extorting from one another…

The Corinthians were being stumbling blocks…

They were drunk (out of greed) at the Lord’s Supper…

They were jealous of other’s spiritual gifts…

And all of those things could have been easily solved

If they just loved one another.

Colossians 3:14 “Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”

Love was the solution at Corinth.

Furthermore it is an absolute necessity

In regard to living the Christian life.

1 Thessalonians 4:9 “Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;”

1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”

Galatians 5:14 “For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."

Hebrews 13:1 “Let love of the brethren continue.”

Psalms 133:1-2 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron's beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes.”

If the Corinthians would just start loving one another,

Most of their problems would be solved,

And that is certainly true of congregations all over the world.

Love your Leaders

Love your Brothers

#3 LOVE YOUR GOD

1 Corinthians 16:22-24

And here it is not phrased as a command,

But as the irreducible minimum of Christianity.

If you want to break Christianity down to it’s simplest form, this is it:

LOVE GOD

So much so that Paul says:

“If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed.”

In other words, if you don’t love God

You will go to hell and be judged for all eternity.

Paul then says, “Maranatha”

This was an Aramaic word meaning “Our Lord Come”

You may remember in Paul’s last letter he said this to Timothy:

2 Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Paul said there that God would reward all those who loved the appearing of Christ. He would reward all who love His return.

Paul is saying the reverse here.

That God will judge all those who don’t love His return or His appearing.

It constitutes a basic lack of love for Christ.

· Not desiring to see Him return…

· Not desiring to see Him reign…

· Not desiring to be with Him…

And so the easy application is to understand that

Paul wanted the Corinthians to love God.

And of course this is the greatest commandment.

Matthew 22:37-38 “And He said to him, "'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' "This is the great and foremost commandment.”

And we even see how much greater it is:

Mark 12:33 “AND TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THE HEART AND WITH ALL THE UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL THE STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE ONE'S NEIGHBOR AS HIMSELF, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

And it is so much the greatest that all those who break it

Are judged by God.

Luke 11:42 "But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.”

The Corinthians needed to love God.

They had sexual immorality

They had tolerance of sin

They had prostitution

They had discontentment

They had idolatry

They had a denial of the resurrection

All of these problems could easily be fixed

If the Corinthians had just loved God and His word.

And so the solution the Corinthian problem really comes down

To 3 simple commands.

Love your Leaders