Paul finishes up this letter to the Corinthian church of holy-people with more details regarding how they were to behave themselves, including information about his own travels, greetings, etc.
I Corinthians 16:1-4:
16:1But concerning the collection, the (collection) for the holy-people, wholly-as I throughly-arranged the churches of Galatia, thus also you must do: .2according to (day-)one of the sabbath(-week) each of you must put with himself treasuring that-which if-ever he may be prospered something, in order that whenever I may come then collections may not come-to-pass, .3but whenever I may arrive, whom you approve, by means of letters these-people I will send to carry-away your grace into Jerusalem, .4but if-ever it may be worthy of me also to journey, they will journey together with me.
Concerning the collection (the picking-out or accounting of physical items) for the holy-people (the sanctified-people, Christians, saints, children of the only true God) to whom the Corinthian holy-people wanted to give what they collect to help them in the physical category at that time, Paul tells them that wholly-as he arranged through and through (put fully in order) throughout the churches located in Galatia, it is in this manner also that emphatically they were to do (perform) it.
During the first day of each week which is Sunday, the day when the holy-people used to meet in Paul's day (because the sabbath day was a Saturday, the seventh day, the Judean rest-day ending at sunset), each one of them must put (place) at rest with/beside himself treasuring (storing-up, laying in store) in the central location whatever he may presently be prospered (being led having a good-journey, a way that is well) as he proceeded during the previous week. Why do it this way? For the purpose and result that the entire church collection did not happen at the time when Paul arrived there (when he became beside them). They were to do this themselves on a weekly basis so that it was ready when the right time came to give it to the other holy-people.
Paul writes: at whatever time I arrive in Corinth, through letters (of authentication from myself) I will send those-people whom you Corinthian holy-people will have already proved by testing or examination and thus have approved to perform this responsibility of carrying-away (bearing, bringing from you to others) your grace (your unmerited, undeserved favor) into Jerusalem (the location of the holy-people's "headquarters" at that time) to the holy-people living there.
He refers to what they collect for the other holy-people as their grace. Grace is what is freely bestowed without any merit on the recipient's part; it includes reference to the attitude and quality of the one giving something favorable to another. What they collected to give to the Jerusalem holy-people was freely and willingly given on their part, and not given as a wage or a corresponding-reward for something the recipients had or had-not done.
And Paul adds: if it should be worthy (of equal-value, like-worth) and thus deserving for myself also to journey (pass from one place to another) to Jerusalem, then they will journey in conjunction with me.
[Reference: Acts 11:29, 20:7; II Corinthians chapters 8 and 9.]
A printed paperback book of the complete study of First Corinthians may be purchased at:
or
True Bible Study - First Corinthians
