1 Corinthians 16:10-16 - “No Lone Rangers 1”

Translation and Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS 07 Feb 2010

Translation

10. Now, if Timothy happens to come,

            continue to see that he be fearless toward y’all,

                        for he is working in the work of the Lord, just as I also am.

            11. There is not anyone therefore who should make him out to be a nobody,

            but send him forward in peace in order that he might come to me,

                        for I am waiting with the brothers for him.

12. Now, concerning the brother Apollos:

            I encouraged him many [times] in order that he might go to y’all with the brothers,

            yet he was not at all [of] a will that he should go now,

            but he will go whenever it is a good time.

                        13. Stay alert;

                        keep standing fast in the faith;

                        keep being manly;

                        continue to be strengthened;

                        14. let everything about you continue to happen in love.

15. Now, you know the household of Stephanas,

            that it is a first-fruit of Achaia,

            and they organized themselves for service to the saints –

            I encourage you, brothers,

                        16. that you also be organized under these guys and any who is a co-worker and laborer.

Introduction

Quotes from When People are Big chapter 12

· Call is broader than Jesus and me.

· Promises of God are for you and your children and … (Acts 2:39)

· Our call to Christ, the head of the church.

· Self reliance = mental instability in Asia!

· How often do we consult, pray with others?

· Don’t generalize hurt from one party to whole church!

· Isolation leads to fear of people; Participation with church is freedom!

· We can’t “go into all the world”, “pray without ceasing”, help all the widows, and teach all the men, women, and children alone. We can only engage the calling of the church as a community!

· O.T. Day of Atonement was forgiveness for whole community (Deut 6).

· Promises were to whole community for obedience (Deut. 26-27).

· Sin of one person brought curse on whole community (Achan, Josh. 7:11)

· No one in church should wonder what their spiritual gifts are – tell them!

· During the Lord’s Supper, discern the body, think corporately!

· Warning: Community is for God’s glory, not for self-fulfillment.

As we look at Paul and his ministry in 1 Cor 16, we see that he is not working alone, he is very much connected to a whole community of people. I want to highlight three of these people mentioned in vs. 10-16 today, then next week pick up on four more mentioned in the final verses of the chapter. The three for this week are Timothy, Apollos, and Stephanas. Who were these guys, and what can we learn from Paul’s interaction with them?

1. Timothy - Disciple & partner in ministry

Who was Timothy?

· Timothy was the son of a faithful Jewish mother and a Gentile father who may not have been involved in Timothy’s life.

· Home was in Lystra, and Paul converted him during his first missionary journey. Paul may not have had any children of his own, and Paul became like a father to Timothy.

· On his second missionary journey, Paul picked Timothy up in Lystra (Acts 16:1) and took him on the rest of his journey, so

· Timothy was there with Paul when the church was planted in Corinth (Acts 18:5, 19:22).

· On the third missionary journey, Paul took Timothy with him again, so Timothy had been with him in Ephesus, but Paul sent Timothy ahead to Macedonia along with Erastus. Timothy may have visited Corinth on that trip, but I’m not sure. It appears he did wait for Paul in Macedonia and Paul met up with him and they travelled together through the rest of the third missionary journey.

· On the fourth journey, he was in Rome with Paul for at least a time, since his name is on some of the letters Paul wrote from Rome – Philippians and Colossians.

· Timothy probably delivered the letter to the Philippians for Paul. In Phil 2:19-22, Paul said, “I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy shortly to you… for I have no man likeminded, who will care truly for your state, for they all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ. But you know the proof of him, that, as a child serves a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the gospel.”

· Later on, Timothy settled in Ephesus to be a pastor there, and Paul wrote pastoral letters to coach him then (2 Tim 1:4).

Role: Disciple

· Timothy was a young man who was a disciple of Paul’s.

· Here we have an important example: Disciples are an important part of Christian community.

· Do you have any disciples? If you have children, they count!

· If you don’t have any disciples, begin by making one of someone around you – ask God to help you see who it should be. We are all called to fulfill Matthew 28:18ff – “…Make disciples…”

· Look for someone who is real FAT: Faithful, Available, and Teachable.

The issue: Graciousness with an inexperienced leader

The problem with disciples is that they are inexperienced, so they feel awkward as they begin to join you in ministry to others.

In Timothy’s case there was apparently some reason to be afraid:

· In 1 Cor 4:17, Paul said he was going to put Timothy in a challenging role of leadership: “…I have sent Timothy to you, who is my child, beloved and faithful in Christ, who will remind y’all of my ways…”

· Can you imagine this young Christian walking up to this dysfunctional church and saying, “Now, you’d better shape up because Paul does things like this and you’re doing it like that!” I’d be intimidated if I were Timothy!

· In 1 Tim 4:12, Paul exhorts Timothy not to be intimidated as a leader by the fact that he’s young.

· There may have also been some social reasons to feel inferior as a low-class Lystrian among snobbish Corinthians (Chrysostom, JFB)

Imperatives:

To counteract this awkwardness of an inexperienced leader, Paul issues three commands:

1. See to it that he be fearless toward you – make him feel safe around you, not threatened by enemies, poverty, or complaints from the church people.
2. Don’t despise him
3. Send him forth

Paul writes to the Corinthians in such a way as to hold Timothy up in honor:

• “Timothy is doing God’s work just the same as I am”
• Timothy should be treated just as you would treat me – as I said in v.6 that I expect you to “send me forward” with food, money, travelling companions, and transportation, so I expect that you will send Timothy forward too with the same courtesies.
• Furthermore, Timothy is precious and valuable to me. So valuable, that I would put my ministry on pause to wait for him to join me. If I think he is that valuable, you should too!
• See how he builds Timothy up as a young leader?

Application:

• Our church is always going to be a training ground for church leaders because of the university and the fort next door, so we need to be careful to follow Paul’s instructions for their sake:
• “See to it that [they] have no fear:” In more than one church I’ve attended, there have been guys that packed concealed weapons for the very purpose of being able to protect the congregation and the pastor from violence.
• But it’s more than just threats of violence that might unsettle an inexperienced leader:
• See to it that our church leadership feels secure enough and respected enough that they can hold you accountable to obey God without fear of getting sacked,
• secure enough in the support of their congregation that they are not afraid to confront evil in society at large either.
• Don’t look down on young, inexperienced guys who are just blowing through.
• And let us be diligent to be good senders. We’re going to send a lot of graduates and soldiers out into the world, let’s be sure that they are equipped with everything they need to minister!

2. Apollos

Who was Apollos?

• Apollos was a Jew from Alexandria, Egypt (Acts 18:24).
• He was well-studied in the O.T. scriptures and was a powerful speaker.
• He travelled to Ephesus to bring spiritual revival to the Jews there, and while there, encountered Aquila and Priscilla, Christians who had been converted by Paul in Corinth and who had moved to Ephesus. Aquilla nd Priscilla took Apollos into their home and told him about Jesus. Apollos became a Christian as a result and became an evangelist himself.
• He went to Corinth and pastored the church that Paul had just planted there (Acts 18:27-19:1, 1 Cor 3:6).
• Some people liked his preaching more than Paul’s, but it became a problem when they tried to separate themselves from the people who still appreciated Paul (I Cor 3:4-7).
• At some point, Apollos returned to Ephesus and met up with Paul there.
• Far from feeling threatened by the Corinthians’ love for Apollos, Paul actually encouraged Apollos to go back and pastor them further.
• Apollos, however, refused. Why? The consensus of Bible scholars is that Apollos feared his presence would further divide the church in Corinth, so he said NO to Paul for the good of the church there.
• Paul apparently managed to talk Titus into going instead (giving the same “urging” he had given Apollos - 2 Cor 12:18)
• Apollos continued to travel and minister to churches, including a visit to help Titus in Crete later on (Titus 3:13) and even later going back to Corinth apparently after Paul had ironed things out there (according to Jerome).

Role: Peer

• As a peer, Paul could exhort Apollos, but did not have authority over him. Apollos could say no.
• As a peer, Paul was not threatened by Apollos, even though he knew some people in the church liked Apollos’ style in teaching and pastoring better.
• Who are the peers like that in your life? Who can you have an argument with and walk away undisturbed?
• We would all do well to have peers in our life that we can learn from.
• Fellow parents that we can compare notes in child-raising with.
• Fellow workers in ministry projects that we can work together with.
• Fellow professionals that we can rub shoulders with.

Issue: Wise, independent action

• The problem is that when we are in a group of peers, we’re all-too-easily tempted to be copy-cats or people-pleasers. It’s all too easy to follow the crowd with whatever they’re doing.
• It takes a real man to handle the freedom of being among peers and continue to be guided by the internal compass of the Holy Spirit.
• It must have taken a real man to say NO to Paul, but that’s what Apollos did.
• The imperatives in vs.13-14 may or may not have been related in Paul’s mind to this, but in my mind, I see a clear relationship between these commands and the challenge of maintaining wise, independent action among peers:

Imperatives:

4. “Watch/be alert,”
• like a guard constantly scanning the horizon for enemies (such as those within the church who don’t love the Lord in v.22),
• avoiding distractions and excesses that would dull our alertness. Stay awake!
5. “Stand fast in the faith”
• Not just stubborn, but clinging steadfastly to Jesus as your savior and not groping around for something else to comfort and save you.
• Galatians 5:1 …Christ set us free; stand fast therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage.
• Phil. 1:27 …stand fast in one spirit, with one soul striving for the faith of the gospel
• Php 4:1 ASV  Wherefore, my brethren beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my beloved.
6.  “Be manly,” which includes being courageous (NIV), brave (NKJV), and mature (Arnold)
• This is the only place this verb occurs in the N.T., but it can be found in the Greek translation of the O.T. in:
• Joab’s pep talk to the Israelite army which was surrounded by the Ammonites on one side and the Syrians on the other. 2Sa 10:12 Be of good courage, and let us play the man for our people, and for the cities of our God: and Jehovah will do what seems good to Him.
• Psalm 27:14 Wait for Jehovah: Be manly and let your heart be strengthened; Yes, wait for Jehovah. (cf. Ps. 31:24)
7. “Be strong”
• The voice of the original Greek word is not active, but rather passive, and could be translated, “Be strengthened/strengthen yourselves.” The implication is that our strength does not come from ourselves but from outside of ourselves – from God.
• Exodus 15:2  Jehovah is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation...
• Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
• Psalm 68:35 …The God of Israel gives strength and power unto his people…
• Eph 6:10 be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.
• 1 Peter 4:11 …if any man serves, let him serve as of the strength which God supplies...
8. Be charitable – (v.14) “let everything you do be done in love”
• Selfishness was the cause of all the problems mentioned in 1 Cor – being puffed up with pride, sectarian disputes, lawsuits, sexual sin, despising weaker brothers, boasting over spiritual gifts, and neglecting to give the money they had pledged.
• This reminder to love reminds us of the treatise on love in chapter 13 and ties together the message of the book.

Application:

• The fact that you are in church today indicates that you are willing to associate with peers who are brothers and sisters in Christ.
• Dig in with them; confess sin to them; ask them to hold you accountable to God’s standards of righteousness;
• compare notes with them on best practices for maintaining a healthy marriage
• or best practices for raising kids
• or best practices for working or studying to the glory of God.
• Even talk to people outside your family or church tradition, read books and listen to speakers and find out what other people think.
• However, stay alert to God and don’t budge from what the Bible says.
• Be courageous enough to be different from your peers and say NO.
• Be willing to hold convictions even if they don’t have the same convictions.
• And yet, let love guide your every move around your peers. There is always a balance between being so nice that you have no spine and no conviction and, on the other hand, being so arrogantly manly and offensive that you make yourself odious. “Let all be done in love.”

3. Stephanas

Who was Stephanas?

• Stephanas and the people living in his household are called the “first-fruit” of Achaia in v.15.
• This word was used last in chapter 15 where Christ was spoken as the “first-fruit” from among the dead.
• The NIV & ESV interpret the Greek word for “firstfruit” as “first converts,”
• This is a reasonable interpretation, especially since the word seems to be used that way in Rom 16:5 of the “first [person] to come to Christ in Asia.”
• Since Paul had preached in Athens before Corinth, this would make Stephanas perhaps one of the Aeropagites who became a Christ-follower and perhaps followed Paul to Corinth.
• It would also indicate that this conversion was not done individually, but as an entire household, including Stephanas’ wife and children as well as his slaves. This may seem strange to us individualistic Americans, but it is not such a strange concept in the rest of the world.
• Some, (such as Chrysostom) instead interpret “firstfruit” as the result of Paul’s ministry which was “best” and showed the most promise and had endured the longest. “They took the lead in good works” as A.T. Robertson put it.
• Whatever the case, Paul mentioned back in 1:16 that he had baptized this household, so I assume that no local church leadership was yet in place to baptize the people in this house – they were some of the first baptized in Corinth as the church was just beginning to form there.
• They immediately became devoted to ministering to/serving the saints/the people in the church. Chrysostom noted that they not merely ministered but “set themselves to minister” indicating a chosen path of devotion in which they are always busy.
• The only other thing we know about this exemplary man is that Stephanas and a couple of other guys made a trip to Ephesus to visit Paul in Ephesus, as we’ll see in v. 17, representing the church to Paul and then returning to Corinth.

Role: Elder?

• The fact that Paul exhorts the church in v.16 to submit to a man like Stephanas makes me think Stephanas was an elder in the church.
• Who baptized the others in Corinth if Paul says he did not in chapter 1? Perhaps local leadership like Stephanas did.
• The word “labor” which Paul uses at the end of v.16 seems to be used as a term to describe the work of ministry carried on by elders and apostles in the church:
• Paul has already used it to describe the apostolic work he did in 4:12 and 15:10, but he also applies it specifically to elders in local churches:
• 1Thess. 5:12 But we beseech you, brethren, to show recognition to the men who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;
• 1 Tim. 5:17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and in teaching.
• So I think it is reasonable to consider Stephanas an elder in the church at Corinth.

Issue: Submission to church leadership

How easy it is to avoid submitting to authority. We don’t want to get tied down or obligated to commitments. Our flesh fears giving up the freedom to be careless and sinful and so it naturally avoids accountability. That’s why my little girls hide when they steal a cookie – they want to eat it away from the gaze of parental authority.

And yet, in God’s providence, it doesn’t work when there are “too many chiefs and not enough Indians.” That’s why Paul singles out an exemplary man with a good track record of faithfulness and issues this command:

Imperatives:

9. “submit to such men as these”

• There is a play on words that is hard to translate into English, but the Greek word for “devoted themselves” in v.15 is actually the same root as the command in v.16 “submit yourselves,” so the progression goes from an extraordinary man and his family who “organized themselves” to serve God’s people in the church to the people in the church “organizing themselves under” the leadership of that man and his house.

• cf. Heb 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit to them: for they watch in behalf of your souls, as they that shall give account...

Application:

• Authority for leadership is earned through humble service, not official titles, charismatic personality, or a large bank account. (Jack Arnold) Are you willing to work hard for the body of Christ?
• If so, I’d like to welcome you to come to the Friday morning steering committee meetings. The purpose of this meeting is to prepare men to be candidates for eldership in this church.
• “Great leadership and great following… would solve all church problems” (A.T. Robertson) If you are leadership material, let’s work on making you a great leader! If you are not called to be a leader in the church, what will it look like for you to be a great follower?
• Stephanas’ household is a home-centered model of ministry where an entire family is serving the Lord together in the context of a local church.
• I am so thrilled to see the various households in this church each developing their own unique ministries.
• “Never underestimate the power of a whole family committed to doing ministry for the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Jack Arnold)
• EXAMPLE: The impact of one family: John & Lois Kyle, friends of my family.
  After a very successful business career, John went into missions. Now he mentors younger missionary leaders worldwide through the Senior Leadership Exchange.

Show Photo of their 2009 Reunion. Here’s what their children & grandchildren are up to:

1. One is married and doing mission work in China. One of her children is working with Teach for America in Spokane WA

2. Another is married and is a mission leader at Food For The Hungry in Arizona and has children serving as missionaries in China and Honduras.

3. Another is married and living in Manhattan, NY, where he leads the Global Church Planting Program of Redeemer Presbyterian Church. His son works in the U.S. headquarters of Mission to the World, and he has two daughters, one of which married a C-130 Navigator in the TN Air National Guard, and the other is helpmate to a pastor at Key Biscayne Presbyterian Church.

4. John and Lois’ fourth is a daughter who is married and serves with Jungle Aviation and Radio Service in NC and has a daughter who manages and apartment complex there.

That could be you, or you could even surpass that in a couple of decades!

Conclusion

1. Christianity is not for Lone Rangers.

2. Ask God to give you those Disciples like Timothy, those Peers like Apollos was to Paul, and those authorities in your life like Stephanas was to the church in Corinth.

3. I encourage you to enter into the network of relationships that is the church.