I have chosen to include this section with the others that deal with questions the Corinthians had asked Paul rather than with Paul's concluding comments because it begins "peri de"(7:1, 25; 8:1; 12:1; 16:12; cf. 8:4). Probably they had asked about the collection Paul was assembling in a letter or through messengers. This is the least confrontational section in this epistle, though we can detect tension here too.402
16:1 It seems that the Corinthian Christians had heard about the collection (Gr. logeias, extra collection) Paul was getting together for the poor saints in Jerusalem (v. 3) and wanted to make a contribution. James, Peter, and John had encouraged Paul and Barnabas to remember the poor when they were in Jerusalem (Gal. 2:10; cf. Acts 11:27-30). There is no record of the directions Paul gave the Galatian churches, to which he referred here, in any of his other surviving epistles. The churches of Galatia evidently were those in southern Galatia including Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. Paul had passed through this region as he moved toward Ephesus from which he wrote this epistle (Acts 18:23).
16:2 From the earliest day of the church's existence Christians assembled on Sundays to worship in commemoration of the Lord's resurrection. The Lord had not commanded this, but it quickly became customary. The Jews met on Saturdays.
"This is our earliest evidence respecting the early consecration of the first day of the week by the Apostolic Church. Apparently, the name Lord's Day' was not yet in use, and the first day of the week is never called the sabbath' in Scripture."403
Sunday would have been a natural occasion to put money aside for fellow believers since it was particularly on this day that Christians reviewed their responsibilities. Paul did not specify whether the individual Christian should keep the money in his possession or whether a church official should. The former alternative seems more probable in view of the apostle's language.404Note also that he did not say how much to set aside except that it was to be as the Lord had blessed them. The amount was totally up to the givers. Paul mentioned nothing here about giving proportionately to one's income. We saw earlier that both rich and poor made up this church (11:21). Paul's counsel amounted to, Save a little regularly now so you will not have to make a major withdrawal from your bank account later.
16:3 Paul planned to send a representative from each of the contributing churches, or possibly groups of churches, to Jerusalem with the gift. The letters he spoke of may have been letters of introduction from himself since it appears that at this time he did not plan to make this trip himself. Such a procedure would guarantee that the money would arrive safely and that people would perceive the whole project as honest (cf. 2 Cor. 8:21).
16:4 The apostle was open to the possibility of going to Jerusalem as part of the group if this seemed best. After he wrote this letter he decided to go (Rom. 15:25-26) and indeed went (Acts 20:16, 22; 21:17; 24:17).
These few verses along with 2 Corinthians 8-9 provide guidelines for individual Christians and churches in giving. The principles Paul advocated were that saving up for giving should be regular and in response to the Lord's provision materially. The believers should manage their gifts with integrity. Everything they did should not only be above reproach, but other people should perceive it as such.
Notice that Paul made no mention of tithing. Tithing is a method of giving that God prescribed for the Israelites under the Mosaic Law. People practiced tithing as an act of worship commonly in the ancient Near East (cf. Gen. 28:22).405It was also a common tax.406The Mosaic Law really required that the Israelites give back to God about one-third of their incomes. However, Christians are not under the Mosaic Law (Rom. 10:4; et al.). It is therefore understandable that neither Jesus Christ nor the apostles commanded tithing. Some Christians believe that since Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek (Gen. 14:20) tithing antedates the Mosaic Law and is therefore binding on Christians. Nevertheless the absence of any reference to tithing in the New Testament plus the teaching of other guidelines strongly suggest that God wants us to follow a different method. The principles that should govern Christians in our giving appear throughout the New Testament but mainly in 1 Corinthians 16 and 2 Corinthians 8 and 9.
"No pressure, no gimmicks, no emotion. A need had to be met, and the Corinthians were capable of playing a role in it. In a day of highly visible campaigns for money on every side, there is something to be said for the more consistent, purposeful approach outlined here."407
As the preceding verse revealed, Paul's plans were tentative to some extent. He wanted the Corinthians to know that he anticipated a return to Corinth and hopefully a stay of several months. Timothy and Apollos might return too.
16:5 At the time he wrote, Paul planned to head north from Ephesus and then spend some time in Macedonia. Macedonia was the Roman province north of Corinth where Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea stood. He then planned to travel south to Corinth. Paul later changed this plan and travelled directly from Ephesus to Corinth (2 Cor. 2:1; 12:14; 13:1-2) and returned to Ephesus (cf. 2 Cor. 2:5-8; 7:12). Later he visited Macedonia and then Corinth (2 Cor. 2:12-13; 7:6-16).408
16:6-7 Paul did spend the winter in Corinth, but it was the winter after the one when he expected to be there, the winter of 57-58 rather than 56-57 (cf. Acts 20:2-3; Rom. 16:1, 23). He sensed the need to spend a good long visit in Corinth, and in view of the problems in the church that he mentioned in this letter we can understand why.
16:8 The Jews celebrated Pentecost in late May or early June so Paul probably wrote 1 Corinthians in the spring of the year (cf. 5:7; 15:20). It is not unusual that since he was a Jewish believer with the evangelization of the Jews on his heart he would refer to important events in the Jewish calendar such as Pentecost (Lev. 23:15-21). Perhaps the early Christians paid more attention to the significant events in the life of the church than many independent churches do today.409The feast of Pentecost, of course, also marked the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2).
16:9 Paul occasionally used the door as a metaphor for opportunity (cf. 2 Cor. 2:12; Col. 4:3). He stayed in Ephesus three years to take advantage of his opportunities there. He did not regard adversaries there as an indication of a closed door or as a sign that God wanted him to move on to more comfortable ministry. He followed his own advice and remained immovable abounding in the work of the Lord in Ephesus (15:58).
16:10-11 Timothy's visit to Corinth from Ephesus was not very tentative. Paul had already sent him (and Erastus; Acts 19:22) or was about to send him when he penned this epistle (4:17). Evidently Timothy's relative youth tended to make some people despise him, and he tended to be fearful (cf. 1 Tim. 4:12). Paul advised the Corinthians, who judged by external appearances, to give him the respect he deserved for doing the Lord's work as Paul did, not just for Timothy's own sake. We do not know the names of Timothy's travelling companions.
It may have been Timothy's report of conditions in Corinth when he returned to Ephesus that moved Paul to go directly to Corinth himself rather than waiting until he had visited Macedonia. Paul referred to this visit as painful because while in Corinth he encountered strong opposition (cf. 2 Cor. 2:1-8; 7:12; 12:14; 13:1-2).
16:12 This verse may contain Paul's final response to the questions the Corinthians had asked him. It is the sixth instance of that key phrase "peri de"("Now concerning"). Paul's relations with this eloquent brother were perfectly friendly, as this verse reveals (cf. 1:12). We do not know why he did not want to revisit Corinth with Timothy or whether he ever did visit that city again.
