10If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am. 11No one, then, should refuse to accept him. Send him on his way in peace so that he may return to me. I am expecting him along with the brothers.
12Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. He was quite unwilling to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity.
13Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. 14Do everything in love.
15You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. I urge you, brothers, 16to submit to such as these and to everyone who joins in the work, and labors at it. 17I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you. 18For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.
Final Greetings
19The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. 20All the brothers here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
21I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.
22If anyone does not love the Lord—a curse be on him. Come, O Lord!
23The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
24My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Dig Deeper
It is normal, even in our time, when writing a letter, to end it with some final words of encouragement, some exhortations, and final greetings. If there is a bit of a strain in the relationship between you and the one to whom you are writing you would probably stress a few items that you and the receiver have in common, things which would bind you together. In a few short verses, at the end of 1 Corinthians, Paul manages to do all of that. He encourages, exhorts, informs, teaches, and ties them together with him in their common relationship in Christ.
Paul plans to send Timothy to Corinth, but he seems to be a bit worried about the reception he will receive. It appears, from reading this and other of Paul’s letters that Timothy, although strong and courageous, did not seem to have an extremely forceful personality. He was probably not the flashy impressive type of teacher; he was exactly the sort of guy that the Corinthians might look down upon. Yet, he is exactly who Paul wants to send. Why? This is another brilliant move by Paul, affording them the opportunity to apply in a real-life situation, the things he’s been teaching them. If they accept a simple man like Timothy with open arms and accept his leadership, then they will have demonstrated the true sort of love and rejection of puffed-up ways that are talked about in this letter. In addition to that, having Timothy there with them, teaching them for a time, will create a strong tie between Paul and the Church in Corinth.
Paul then addresses the situation of sending Apollos. The phrase, now about our brother Apollos, seems to indicate that Paul is responding to something they inquired about. This makes it likely that the Corinthians had requested that Apollos come to them, as it is clear from earlier in the letter, that many in Corinth greatly enjoyed his style of teaching. Paul says he urged him to come (the word Paul uses can either be translated as “strongly” or “often”), but it will not work out right now. It is difficult to translate Paul’s next thought concerning Apollos. It could be that Apollos was unwilling to come at that time, as the NIV translates it. This could also be understood as saying that it was God’s will for him not to come. In either case, the important thing that Paul is stressing is that he desired for Apollos to come as soon as possible. This is another way of Paul tying the Church and himself together, while avoiding any hard feelings. Paul is demonstrating that there is no rivalry or division between he and Apollos, and that he is not in any way trying to keep Apollos from coming. The problem was not with Apollos or his ability to teach, the problem was with the value that the Corinthians were putting on that ability.
Paul then turns to military language to exhort and encourage the Church. Each exhortation builds on and comes out of necessity by executing the previous command. Paul says that he wants them to be on guard, always alert and ready for the attacks that will come on them as followers of Christ. When one stands guard, they will see the coming attacks and they must be firm in the faith. Doing that will require and necessitate them being men of courage, which is a necessary trait when the actual attacks come. Finally, in showing that courage they must be strong. Yet, this must all be tempered with love.
Paul creates another tie between himself and the Corinthians by praising the three men who have come to him from Corinth to bring their letter to him and carry his letter back to them. Paul supports these men not because they are supporters of him (as in those who follow Paul from chapter 1 because then he could just be accused of backing his own people, so to speak), but because of their strong example as men of faith. They have encouraged Paul and reinvigorated his spirit just as they had done for the Church in Corinth.
Even the greeting sent from Aquila and Priscilla was a brilliant act of relational discernment by Paul, one that created another tie between he and Corinth. They were Jewish Christians expelled from Rome (Acts 18:2), who had then gone to Corinth for some time. They were, no doubt, highly loved and respected, so Paul sends greetings from them. This not only reminds them of their affection for this couple but lets the Corinthians know that Aquila and Priscilla are firmly in the corner of Paul. Paul is not pulling out a bunch of political moves to manipulate them, he is trying, very strategically, to demonstrate his genuine love for them. This is demonstrated not only by what he says but even in the fact that he wishes to take the pen from his transcriber (perhaps Sosthenes, 1:1), and writes the final few lines in his own hand.
Paul ends by placing a curse on those who do not love the Lord. (It is possible that he is referring to those who had strongly opposed the spread of the gospel. These were primarily Jews, and thus, the curse mentioned would be specifically the curse of the Covenant from Deut. 28.) The final line is noteworthy in that Paul sends his love, but only to those in Christ, an idea that he has stressed throughout the letter. For Paul, this location and identification are the most important aspect of the Christian life. One to which we must all strive to conform.
Devotional Thought
The final ties that Paul creates between himself and the Corinthians are his salutation of grace and love. Are these two tings that characterize your life? Are you known for your grace and love? In what ways can you improve the manifestation of the grace and love of Christ in your life?
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