1 Corinthians 16 (6)

Pray Psalm 80.8-11.
You have brought a vine out of Egypt;
You have cast out the nations, and planted it.
You prepared room for it,
And caused it to take deep root,
And it filled the land.
The hills were covered with its shadow,
And the mighty cedars with its boughs.
She sent out her boughs to the Sea,
And her branches to the River.

Sing Psalm 80.8-11.
(St. Theodulph: All Glory, Laud, and Honor)
You set us free from sin, LORD, and planted us in grace.
We rooted in Your strong Word have spread from place to place.
Our shadow covered mountains, our branches reached the sea;
Your grace flowed like a fountain of life, abundantly.

Read 1 Corinthians 16.1-24; meditate on verse 19-24.

Prepare
1. Who sent their greetings to the Corinthians?

2. What did Paul wish for them?

Meditation
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” So began Paul’s difficult but crucial letter to the churches in Corinth (1 Cor. 1.3). “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” So ends that same epistle (1 Cor. 16.23). Paul’s great desire for the Corinthians is summed up in these verses, that the believers there might be renewed in the grace of God for the praise of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians was a powerful channel of grace to those first readers. Grace can be a little hard to swallow sometimes, but it always comes with healing and renewal for those who will receive it. Here at the end, Paul mentioned others who were concerned for, and doubtless praying for, the Corinthians: the churches of Asia (southwest Asia Minor, around Ephesus, from where Paul was writing); Aquila and Priscilla, the church that met in their house, and all the brethren around Paul. Grace was going out from them all for the Corinthians, in prayer and through Paul’s greeting.

Consequently, the Corinthians should receive that grace and share it with one another (v. 20). And especially they should understand that, for all his chiding, scolding, admonishing, and correcting, Paul loved them (v. 24). The grace of God flowed through Paul and his letter to restore and bless the believers in Corinth.

I take verse 23 more as a reminder than a wish. The state of being verb (be) is not in the original text, so how it is translated is a matter of interpretation. I do not think Paul was saying, after 16 gracious, truth-filled chapters, “Well, I hope you’ll have the grace of the Lord from here on.” I think a better translation would be, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is with you.” Paul offered a reminder, not a wish. The Corinthians need not continue to flounder in their problems and concerns. They have the mind of Christ. They belong to Him. And His grace is always available to revive and renew them.

And so it is with us as well.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162.
“My heart is overflowing with a good theme;
I recite my composition concerning the King;
my tongue is the pen of a ready writer” (Ps. 45.1).

Paul was the quintessential writer, evangelist, and theologian; sometimes he told it slant, but most of the time he put the truth right out front. And here, in verse 22, he placed the point of everything we do and say and are: We love Jesus. And if we don’t, well, we are accursed (1 Cor. 16.22). No point beating around the bush.

“Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him” (Ps. 2.12).

“He who hates Me hates My Father also” (Jn. 15.23).

“Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by observing them” (Deut. 27.26).

Wisdom said, “But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul;
all those who hate me love death” (Prov. 8.36)

“He who despises the Word will be destroyed,
but he who fears the commandment will be rewarded” (Prov. 13.13).

“He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD,
but he who is perverse in his ways despises Him” (Prov. 14.2)

“You reject all those who stray from Your statutes, for their deceit is falsehood.
You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross; therefore I love Your testimonies.
My flesh trembles for fear of You, and I am afraid of Your judgments” (Ps. 119.118-120).

Jesus said, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent” (Rev. 2.4, 5).

“Oh, love the LORD, all you His saints” (Ps. 31.23).

“We love Him because He first loved us” (1 Jn. 4.19).
“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you;
abide/continue in My love” (Jn. 15.9).

Loving the Lord is the end all, be all, of every Christian’s life.
Not loving the Lord is the accursed end.
No point beating around the bush.

For reflection
1. How would you explain to a new believer what it means to love the Lord?

2. How would you counsel a fellow believer to grow in love for the Lord (2 Pet. 3.18)?

3. What can you do to keep loving the Lord as the defining motif of your life?

Christian salutations are not mere empty compliments; but are real expressions of goodwill to others, and commend them to the Divine grace and blessing. Every Christian family should be as a Christian church. Wherever two or three are gathered together in the name of Christ, and he is among them, there is a church. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on 1 Corinthians 16.19-24

Pray Psalm 80.1-7.
Pray that the grace of God will spread throughout your church and community to bring revival, renewal, and awakening to the praise of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Sing Psalm 80.1-7.
(St. Theodulph: All Glory, Laud, and Honor)
O God of grace, restore us, and shine on us Your face!
O save us, LORD, work for us; renew us by Your grace!
Give ear, O gracious Savior, Who leads us as Your flock:
Stir up Your pow’r and favor, our King and LORD and Rock!

How long will You ignore all Your people’s fervent prayer?
Shall bitter tears fall ever? O LORD, renew Your care!
Our neighbors mock and scorn us, they laugh at our distress.
Renew, O LORD, and turn us, look down on us and bless!

T. M. and Susie Moore

Two books can help you see both the greatness and the smallness of God’s salvation. Such a Great Salvation and Small Stuff will show you how to think small, live big, and know the salvation and glory of God in all your daily life. You can learn more about these books and order your copies by clicking here and here.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter, available by clicking here.