Verse 19 says, “The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca greet you much in the Lord, with the church which is in their house.” This indicates that the church in Ephesus met in the house of Aquila and Prisca when they lived there (Acts 18:18-19, 26). When they lived in Rome, the church in Rome met in their home (Rom. 16:5; see Col. 4:15-16; Philem. 2).
Verses 10 through 21 present a picture of the actual practice of the Body life in a beautiful harmony, not only among the apostle and his co-workers, but also between them and the churches for the building up of the Body. As we have seen, this building up is emphasized strongly in chapters twelve through fourteen.
In verse 22 Paul declares, “If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be accursed! The Lord comes!” The Greek word anathema denotes a thing or person accursed; set apart, devoted, to woe. To love God makes us those who are blessed of God to share the divine blessings He has ordained and prepared for us beyond our apprehension (2:9). Not to love the Lord makes us those who are accursed, set apart to a curse. This is a serious warning.
The sentence, “The Lord comes!” is actually a translation of the Greek word maranatha, a phrase taken from Aramaic. It may also be rendered, “Our Lord come!” It is an exclamation that reminds us of the Lord’s second coming with judgment.
Verse 23 says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.” As we pointed out in a foregoing message, this grace is the resurrected Christ becoming the life-giving Spirit to bring the processed God in resurrection into us to be our life and life supply.
As a rule, Paul concludes his Epistles with a word concerning grace. But in this Epistle he ends with a word of love: “My love be with you all in Christ Jesus” (v. 24). This is not natural love, but love in Christ, love in resurrection (4:21), the love of God that becomes ours through the grace of Christ and the fellowship of the Spirit (2 Cor. 13:14). Of Paul’s fourteen Epistles, only this one ends with such a word of the assurance of love. It is because of the apostle’s dealings with strong rebukes (1:13; 3:3; 4:7-8; 5:2, 5; 6:5-8; 11:17). He is faithful, honest, and frank to them in the love of God in Christ (2 Cor. 2:4), without any politics. Hence, the Lord honors his dealings so that the Corinthians accept his rebuke and gain much benefit through their repentance (2 Cor. 7:8-13).
First Corinthians concludes in a pleasant spirit with a pleasant picture of fellowship. Although it is a book of dealings and rebukes, it ends in such a pleasant way. It shows us that in the ancient time there was a sweet fellowship among the co-workers, between the co-workers and the churches, and among all the churches. The co-workers and the churches were all in this pleasant fellowship.
We have seen that the second section of this Epistle covers five matters related to God’s administration: headship, the Body, the gifts, resurrection, and material possessions. God’s administration requires the headship. Then to carry out the divine administration under God’s headship, there is the need of the Body. If the Body is to carry out God’s administration, all the members of the Body need gifts for functioning. Thus, we have the headship, the Body, and the gifts, the abilities. Furthermore, there is the need for power, strength. This is resurrection life. Resurrection life enables the members to function with their gifts so that the Body may operate to carry out God’s administration under His headship. The last item covered in this section—money and material possessions—is a test to prove how much we are living in resurrection life.
The very practical test of material possessions is a matter related to the first day of every week. A day refers to our living. The kind of living we have depends on the kind of day we have. If we are defeated in our living, this means that we have a day of defeat. Moreover, if we live in the old creation, we are living in the seventh day. But if we are living in the resurrection life, we are living in the first day of the week. If we are not in resurrection, we are through with the gifts, the Body, and God’s headship. However, if we live in the first day of the week, that is, live in resurrection life, then we are surely under God’s headship, we are in the Body, and we exercise our gifts in a profitable way. Then we shall have a daily living that declares to the universe that we are those who live a life absolutely in resurrection.
To Christ, the last enemy is death. But to us, the last enemy is mammon, material possessions. Resurrection life enables us to overcome the power of sin. Resurrection is also the power for Christ to rule over the rebellious ones and subdue all His enemies. The last enemy that will be subdued by Him is death. As the continuation of chapter fifteen, chapter sixteen indicates that the resurrection life in us overcomes our final enemy—material possessions.
From observation and experience, I can testify that with many spiritual people, the last matter to be overcome is the matter of money. Some Christians are victorious over their temper, their weakness, and their sin, but they are not victorious in the area of material possessions.
From the time I was a young Christian, the Lord began to discipline me in the matter of money and material possessions. The Lord trained me to use money for Him. Even as a young person, I used any money I had to print gospel tracts I had written. After some experience, I can truly testify that material possessions are the last enemy.
Therefore, from experience I realize that the overcoming of material things in chapter sixteen is both a continuation and a conclusion of the matter of resurrection dealt with in chapter fifteen.
Praise the Lord that we have the headship, the Body, the gifts, the resurrection, and the victory over material possessions! The victory proves that we are living in the first day of the week. We are not those living in the Sabbath, that is, in the old creation. We are a people of the Lord’s Day living in resurrection. By resurrection life, we have overcome everything, and everything is under our feet.