1 Corinthians 16

1 Corinthians 16 … In this, the closing thoughts of the first letter to the Corinthians, there is guidance about regular giving in the church. We might note that the reference to sending money to Jerusalem is not sending off funds to the central church, but is pure charity, because during this time, there was both famine and political turmoil in Jerusalem that made livelihood impossible. So Christians back in Jerusalem were suffering greatly and many of the churches Paul planted in the Mediterranean region sent financial support back to Jerusalem for this purpose. The closing also tells us that Paul has written this letter from Ephesus, where he was then teaching, and that he planned first to go through Macedonia (which is northern Greece, then and now … where Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea are located), while Athens and Corinth are in southern Greece or Achaia (mentioned in v.15). As Paul does in all his letters, he names people and places in sending greetings and blessings. One thing we might glean from these closing verses is that the fellowship of believers should be close, loving and supportive. Would that all of our Christian relationships have that kind of bond.