Having wrapped up his points about the problems in Corinth, Paul spends the final paragraphs of this letter as he does so many of the other letters: hitting a few housekeeping matters. Let’s break these down point by point.

The Collection (v. 1-4)
So, there’s a little controversy here. At this point in Paul’s ministry, to aid the financially struggling Jerusalem church, Paul was taking up a collection from several of the Gentile or Jewish/Gentile mixed churches he had started. Now, there are a number of ways to read this collection, so let’s start at the most charitable and go from there:

1) The collection is a charitable gesture and a truly global example of those in the church “having everything in common” (see Acts 4:32-35). Paul saw the Jerusalem church was struggling to take care of its own and received appropriate help from the other churches he had started.

2) The collection is a way for Paul to prove the value of Gentile inclusion. Even after Peter’s vision in Acts 10 and the move for Gentile inclusion in the young church, the disciples-turned-apostles struggled with their Jewish identities. Paul’s Gentile converts weren’t trusted, and rivalry continued within the church, so to prove once and for all the Gentiles had a place in this new religion, Paul directed a gesture of good will. Paul’s collection from the Gentile churches proved their validity once and for all to the other apostles. (I ascribe to this theory.)

3) The collection is a straight-up bribe from Paul to the apostle James, the brother of Jesus. James wielded significant influence in the Jerusalem church and was a known opponent of Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles, so this gesture went a long way in not only establishing the Gentile churches’ legitimacy, but Paul’s as well. The gesture would ultimately blow up in Paul’s face, as Paul also used his visit to enter the temple, leading to his arrest. Could the whole thing have been a set-up? Maybe. (Jessi favors this theory.)

The true intention of the collection is likely lost to history, but it’s fun to theorize.

Paul’s Travel Itinerary (v. 5-9)
From here, Paul addresses his next stops on his journey, and reading this passage should remind us how deeply Paul loved the Corinthians. He talks about coming to visit them, but this isn’t some threat of a surprise inspection; he wishes to spend time with them. In the meantime, Paul will remain at Ephesus and send in his stead… wait for it…

Paul’s Comrades (v. 10-18)
So, a few fun notes here. Let’s look at these characters:

Timothy
Paul’s protege and eventual stand-in at Ephesus and other churches, Timothy was the son of a Gentile father who was then raised by his Jewish mother and grandmother; in many ways, Timothy represents the new culturally diverse church Paul seeks to create. Despite his youth, Timothy was already a competent teacher and a crucial ally to Paul by the time of 1 Corinthians. These words to the Corinthians imply Timothy is on his way to their church, and he will likely report to Paul on their progress.

Apollos
As previously discussed in this series, Apollos probably didn’t intend the hero worship he received from the Corinthians. Here, Paul states he wanted Apollos to return to Corinth, but Apollos refused (perhaps not wanting to further inflame his cult of personality there). Paul assures the Corinthians Apollos will eventually visit them again, but he doesn’t specify when this will be.

Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus
For these last three, it’s important to note these early church leaders were not selected by committees or cardinals or any of the modern selection means we think of. The earliest converts and the most dedicated servants naturally fell into positions of leadership, and Paul indicates Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus have been such servant-leaders. He applauds them and urges the Corinthians to do the same.

Priscilla and Aquila
The last of Paul’s companions to get shoutouts in this letter, Priscilla and Aquila are the original ministry power couple. They helped start the church in Corinth, so Paul informs the Corinthians their church’s founders are still with him and send their warmest greetings.

The Holy Kiss (v. 19-20)
Okay, this is a weird footnote, but what many modern churches call “the passing of the peace” probably originated with this ancient ritual of a light friendly kiss in worship to signal forgiveness and freedom from sin. Some time after Paul’s writings, observers were likely put off by the kiss, and it was toned down into the gentler “Peace be with you” greeting we see in many more traditional churches today. Of course, this toning down didn’t stop an octogenarian matriarch at one of my earlier churches from deciding we should reinstate the ritual (leading to my experience of a very nonconsensual on-the-lips kiss from a great grandmother during the middle of a worship service). Though I trust the gesture was well intentioned, it’s probably best the holy kiss went away.

Paul’s Final Words to Corinth (v. 21-24)
While all of Paul’s letters were dictated, he was notorious for occasionally taking the pen from the scribe and finishing letters in his own large blocky handwriting. He famously does this in Galatians 6:11, where he interjects, “See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!” Paul ends 1 Corinthians in the same way, wishing the Corinthians the grace of Jesus and Paul’s own love in his distinct large letters.

And that’s the end of 1 Corinthians, a letter which convicted and corrected its original readers, admonishing them to love one another as Christ loved them and correcting a few finer points of doctrine in the process. When we read the letter today in a church fractured by prejudices, theological debates, and all manner of social divides, it’s hard not to feel just as convicted. A serious read of this letter should leave us asking a difficult but necessary question: Are we living out the love of God to our fullest ability?

May we never stop asking this question of ourselves and our churches.

Peace be with you,
Tom

A Quick Logistical Note:
This will be the last recap series from our Aardwolf bible study for a while. To better meet the needs of this community, we’re taking a short break and then restructuring things a bit. But stay tuned because there will be plenty of other new series and individual posts coming to barchaplain.com in the coming months. As always, thank you for going on this journey with us!