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1 Corinthians chapter 16 and
verse 15 through to verse 18. And I'll read these words and
we'll come to our message. So Paul continues writing, and
just keep in mind verse 14 when he says that all your things
be done with charity. We dealt with that last week.
And now we see the charity coming to the fore, we might say. So
in verse 15, he says, I beseech you, brethren, ye know the house
of Stephanus, It is the first truths of Achaia, that they have
addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints. And now he carries
on this exhortation, that ye submit yourselves unto such and
to everyone that helpeth with us and laboreth. I am glad of
the coming of Stephanus and Fortunatus and Achaicus, for that which
was lacking on your part they have supplied, for they have
refreshed my spirit and yours. therefore acknowledge ye them
that are such. So we'll finish there at verse
18. Now for the main part of Paul's
letter, as we know this evening, Paul has been addressing grievances
and the troubles and the difficulties and the schisms and all the things
we can think about this evening which had arisen and which were
made known unto him by way of correspondence. And in so doing,
we have not only learned so many practical truths about Christian
conduct and behavior and how we interact with each other and
what the unity of the Christian church should be and why it's
so important, but we've also seen at the heart of all of this
the vital need to understand correctly what the gospel of
Jesus Christ is as the foundation of all things at all times. So in the main it's been quite
a challenging letter because the starting point is a difficult
one. You're dealing with problems, you're dealing with contention,
you're dealing with falling outs and so on and so forth. But the
end is good because here we see how these things are going to
be resolved and the importance of knowing what we believe and
how we live and conduct ourselves as Christians. But remember not
all is doom and gloom when it comes to this particular letter.
we think of it and how we feel towards it in terms of the problems
in Corinth because Paul at the end of his letter takes time. He takes time to think about
individuals and families whose presence was a great blessing
to Paul and whose presence and company must be a great blessing
to the rest of the church in Corinth. This got me thinking
and I think probably We all think the same along these lines and
should think the same along these lines, but in every church sometimes
there is an unhealthy tendency, and I'm not pointing the finger
at ourselves or any other church in particular, but just an observation
of the broad Christian church in the world in which we live.
There is sometimes an unhealthy tendency to be so fixated with
difficulties that do arise, and they will always be there in
one form or another, that we then overlook the individuals
or families that are there in the church who demonstrate such
exemplary godliness to the child of God and to every Christian.
Paul does not forget those who have been a great encouragement
to him. And in fact, he spends time as the Lord moves him to. This is the inspired word of
God, of course, to reflect upon, in particular, the house of Stephanus,
which we shall deal with in verse 15, but also others who have
been a great encouragement and blessing to him in his Christian
ministry. And I believe that when Paul
does this, He's keeping in line with what he has previously challenged
the church with. And you only have to think back
to last week for those of us who were here. The balanced believer. What is the balanced believer?
Remember, there is a need to be resolved and to stand fast
and to be vigilant and watchful and contend for the faith. But
you do all this with Christian love and charity. And Paul is
going to show us something of that Christian love in practical
action. And so we can all learn from
it this evening by the grace of God. He also knows that addressing
the whole church with the heart of love and highlighting the
areas of God's blessing is one of the most effective ways of
dealing with error. and with problems which arise.
Because don't get me wrong, Paul had very good reasons for spending
a considerable length of time, many chapters devoted to challenging
errors and confronting issues which had arisen. Paul did not
sweep these things to one side. He did not think that any good
could ever come of just overlooking things and ignoring things. He
doesn't do it. He deals with it. He addresses
it. He confronts it. These are courageous
things. that we are reading of in this
great book, but the way in which he does it is the most important
thing. And that's how we need to think
about these words and contemplate our message for this evening.
So as we come to this next message, we're very simply looking at
godly examples in the church, godly examples in the church.
And dear Christian, what a great challenge for you and for me,
for every single one of us, just even to ask the question, I ask
the question, am I a godly example to my brother and sister that
I sit next to? Maybe you know the person who
sits next to you very well, or maybe not so well, or the ones behind
you, or believers in other churches, or maybe in our family. And the
question we bring to ourselves is not so much worrying about
them and things which are going on in their lives, but is my
life a godly example to another? Because that's what Paul is going
to highlight in these verses. So two things to finish with
before we pray, as we think about godly examples in the church.
First of all, godly members who provide a reminder, and then
godly messengers who provide a refreshing. So that's what
we're gonna think about this evening. Godly members who provide
a reminder, first of all. And that's verse 15 and verse
16. Now notice that when Paul begins
to write in verse 15, he then has a side thought. Now this
is God's word, so you know what I mean when I'm referring to
the human aspect of Paul as the penman here. Look at verse 15
and you'll see what I mean. Then you've got what you call
a parenthesis or the words in a bracket. And then he stops. He carries on that first thought
in verse 16. So if you remove the words in
the bracket, it should read like this. I beseech you brethren,
verse 16, that you submit yourselves unto such. But he steps back
from the whole picture and he brings to them, by way of living
example and illustration, a family within the church, referred to
as the house or the household or the family of Stephanus. and that's who we're going to
think about for a few moments. And he says that you submit yourselves
unto such, such a family like this, such an example as this. Now what do we know about this
family that we read of here in verse 15? The household of Stephanus,
the first troops of Achaia. Well, this particular area which
is mentioned, okay, whether it's the right pronunciation or not,
I don't know, you can fight with me afterwards. This is a specific
region of Greece in which Corinth was one of the main cities, if
not the main city, a particular area of Greece in its proximity. So I sat down thinking to myself,
what's the modern-day equivalent for ourselves? Well, of course,
we're gonna think of North Down, we're gonna think of County Down,
and I thought, Am I going to split the church if I start saying,
is Bangor the main town? Is Newton Ard's the main town?
And I'm probably safe with saying Newton Ard's this evening, although
I don't know if there's any differences. Crossgar, I think, for down is
maybe an essential one. You can tell me afterwards and
you can correct me accordingly. Roy is laughing in unbelief here,
so I don't want to upset the man any further. We'll just say
Newton Ard's is the county city of the world. will be settled
along those lines. That's what you're dealing with
here. So it was a very important place and here was a family,
the family of Stephanus, the household of Stephanus. Well, have you noticed what Paul
refers to them as, the first fruits? It's a lovely description
of this particular region of Achaia that we read of here.
It's most likely the case that they were one of, if not the
first family converted when it came to the church in Corinth.
Maybe how the church began in the first place. You know, if
they were to have a plaque upon the wall, these were the founding
members of this particular church. And Paul brings the whole church
back to founding members. Maybe they had aged since then,
maybe there's a degree of maturity now. Over the years they were
the first in, they were the ones that set the tone and set the
example. And Paul says, As he writes to
the church, he says, I beg you, brethren, there's a passion in
the heart of Paul here. And he says that you submit yourselves
to such a people as these. Well, Paul, who are you talking
about? The household of Stephanus. Why do you bring them to our
attention, Paul? What's so important about them?
He refers to them in two ways, in terms of time and in terms
of usefulness. They were the first fruits of
this region. and they had addicted themselves,
quite a strong word, isn't it? Addicted themselves to the ministry
of the saints. Here there is a reminder of two
things. A reminder, Christian, that conversion is vital for
the church. Conversion is absolutely crucial
for the health and the well-being of the church of Jesus Christ,
and we cannot lose sight of that. We cannot lose sight of it. And
when he mentions them as the firstfruits, no doubt Paul glances
back upon those first days, the first ones maybe saved or some
of the first ones saved, and what that did, the impact it
made, the growth that came as a result. Well, Christian, what
do we often pray for? We pray for tokens for good,
don't we? We pray that God will answer our prayer. What we want
to do is challenge ourselves this evening and get back to
this sort of centre ground. How much fervency is there, whether
collectively as a church, individually as Christians, for the unsaved
and for the lost around us? Lord, save a family and save
the individual and save a people within the community. We never
want the conversion of the lost to be something which is lost
before us. Wouldn't it be a terrible thing
if weeks and months, maybe years could go by, and we've never
had such a heartlessness? Well, Paul goes back to it, and
after all of the dilemmas and problems he's dealt with, this
is still very much on his mind. Christians and saints need to
be edified, and we've dealt with that in this book to quite some
length, and we must all grow in grace, but the church of Jesus
Christ needs new stones. We need new stones. And that
remains true. And folks, I say this on a personal
level, even in light of news that you didn't really want to
hear maybe on Sunday, and I don't want to go over ground again
and again and again, that doesn't change my heart in terms of whatever
time frame is left for the souls of lost men and women in this
town to be saved, because it's fundamental. And the prayer meeting
must be a prayer meeting that is fixed around this, that we
have a heart for the lost. We want to be reminded of what
Paul was so encouraged by, that conversion for the church in
Jesus, Jesus Christ, is absolutely fundamental. And may God even
burn afresh that into our souls this evening. So we must be reminded
of how conversion is vital. But there's another reminder
here. There's a reminder of the commitment which is needed within
the church of Jesus Christ. They were the firstfruits of
our care, and they have addicted themselves to the ministry of
the saints. Many, many years ago, I sound
as if I'm really old when I'm saying that, but it seems a lot
like when I think back to when it was, it was a brother, over
in Phillip Garden who's there in Perth and we took a trip up
to Lisbon. We were both in Bible college
at the time and Phillip had been asked to speak to what he thought
was the senior youth fellowship and he says, do you want to come
along with me? I said, sure, I'll come along with you and
keep you company and criticise you along the way when it comes
to the preaching. Of course, I didn't do that. But when he
turned up, there had been miscommunication along the lines and it wasn't
the senior youth fellowship he was speaking to, but it was just
the younger ones, the very younger ones. And as you do in Bible
college, you probably always bite off more than you can chew
when it comes to preaching. And he probably spent hours preparing
this message, you know, a great treatise on theological subjects
and going to inspire this older generation. And he had this message
from Corinthians. I remember sitting there looking
at the age demographic and turned to this particular chapter I'm
dealing with now. And this message he called about being addicted
to the ministry of the saints, I thought, oh, the best chief
when it comes to how you're going to get around this one. But give
the man tremendous credit. The Lord gave him all the wisdom
he needed to turn it into a younger form or a younger approach to
the message. But the text always stayed in
my mind because I'd never come across it with the same understanding. I've always appreciated his ministry.
And it's this thought of being addicted to the ministry of the
saints. What is Paul teaching here? It's
a strong and a very particular word, that word addicted. And
it's the idea of a level of commitment, a level of setting themselves. And that's why we're dealing
with these godly examples. Examples among a family, among
members that were there to remind the Church of Christ what they
should be. Because this particular family's household of Stephanus,
they weren't trying to sort of rule the roost. They weren't
trying to disrupt things. They were demonstrating what
it means to serve. What it means to serve. And one
of the truest definitions of a Christian, whether it's the
Christian minister, whether it's an elder, a deacon, whether it's
a Sunday school teacher, a children's worker, an evangelist, a Christian
in the family, in the community, is that we serve. Our Lord Jesus
Christ came to minister. He came to serve and to lay down
his life, a ransom for many. And here we're a family of great
note, we might say, a noteworthy family. And they could have been
forgiven for thinking, look, we've been here from the start
and we can take it easy. But they were nothing like this.
They had set themselves to commit themselves to the ministry of
the saints. It's remarkable. And I asked
the question, is that the type of ministry I have amongst you?
and you have amongst each other as a church. Paul doesn't qualify
it much more as to what they did. I don't particularly think
it meant they had an official capacity. Apart from maybe Stephanus,
notice in verse 17, he's sent with two others, could be a deacon,
maybe an elder or something along those lines. But I believe the
whole point is that it was a family that was dedicated to practical
needs in the church, and to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The whole
ministry of the saints, they just gave themselves to it. And
whatever cost it was and whatever it meant, they would do it. Isn't
that the type of Christian we need to be? And the type of families,
if we have families here, that we must have? And that we long
for, we desire in the church of Jesus Christ? What a reality
check here. You see, while many in Corinth
were proud, and there were many that were proud, And there were
many that were seeking only their own interests. And there were
many that were contentious, weren't there? Many that were divisive.
Many that were pernickety. Many that were jealous. Many
problems which had arisen. The Lord is able to say, and
yet I still have these. I have these shining and burning
lights. And thank God for families and
believers like the family of Stephanas. and may God make us
to be like these individuals. And we all know from this letter
that gifts differ, and abilities differ, and opportunities differ,
and I think you should take that home with you with respect to
abilities, and age, and circumstances. We're not all gonna do the same,
we're not all gonna be the same as Christians, but remember 2025
is really no different from the year in which this letter was
written in the sense that at the heart of all that we are
as Christians, whatever we put the hand to, we do it with dedicated
commitment. That's the thought that whatever
God gives us to do, we addict ourselves to that and we commit
ourselves to it. And that passion and that earnestness,
if it's prayer, if it's just a word in season, if it's just
to encourage someone, these are ministries. but how we dealt
with one of the gifts, a help. If you're just a help in the
church, edict yourself. In other words, dedicate yourself
to this. And do it not for the accolades
of men and the applause of women, but for the glory of God, because
that's what we are called unto. And so in light of that, he says
in verse 16, that ye submit yourselves unto such. And to every one that
helpeth with us and laboreth. I'm gonna just put that in a
nutshell. Very simply saying this, as they serve, you serve. As they labor, you labor. Learn
to cooperate with them. Learn to go alongside them. Learn
to learn from them. And with regard, that's the type
of Christian we would be. And it's something to pray over,
isn't it? Something to challenge ourselves with again and again.
So you have godly members who provided a reminder. And then
lastly, we've got godly messengers who provided a refreshing. And
that's verse 17 and verse 18. Paul was a very grateful man,
Christian. He was a very grateful man, wasn't he? Have you noticed
this? Verse 17, I am glad. He says, I'm glad. He's going
to tell us why he's glad, but just think about that. He's a grateful
man. I had a bit of a rebuke when I read those words. Imagine
if it was my duty to write this whole letter. You know, if one
little problem arises, I know how my heart faints. I know,
you know, you get nervous and you get fearful and all these
things overcome you. And Paul, by the grace of God, has dealt
with enormous mountain size issues. He really has. And you could
sort of forgive him if he got to the end of the letter and
just said, that's enough. I'll see you later on. Not worried
so much about the salutations and the greetings and the niceties
that he gives you. But you know what, this is Paul.
This is the man of God in whom the Spirit of God works and everything
he says he means. And he says, I'm glad. Whereas
many would be crushed by a heavy burden, this man is glad and
he's glad for good reason. He's glad because of whom had
been sent to him. Are you glad Christian? Are we
a glad congregation? It doesn't mean that we're naive
to issues that arise or difficulties we'll have to face up to but
the undercurrent underneath is that genuine peace, that genuine
contentment, that gladness because where we can rest upon all of
God's providences and His marvelous ways. This is Paul, the man of
God, and it's why he's the chosen vessel. Paul was glad for the
visit of these men. Simple things, just a visit of
men. That's what he's glad for. I'm
not so glad about their names because they're hard to pronounce.
So, you know, we'll call them Stevie and something else along
these lines. But Stephanos, we can do that.
It gets more difficult as you progress through these names.
Fortunatus and Achaicus. And I'll learn one day if I've
got their names wrong or right. Stephen was giving me lessons
on Friday again about his surname, weren't you brother, about the
pronunciation. It's taken me these years to
get it wrong. And it's just gonna carry on,
I think, until the bitter end. But yeah, we'll get there one
day, Stephen. So I'm glad we don't have the
surnames of these men. But they were such a blessing to Paul.
And what is it that he's refreshed by? He's refreshed by a welcome
presence. These were members of the church,
and they came to Paul when he was in Ephesus. Remember, that's
where Paul was at this time, he's in Ephesus. as this letter
is going to be sent back with them. So these members have been
chosen, possibly they've got an office, something of deacon
or that nature, and they've been given a letter from the church
in Corinth, okay, so that's how it all works. He's there in Ephesus,
they've calmed these three men, we have the letter, and that's
how he knows about what is happening, and possibly they're going to
fill in the blanks and a few more details along the way. And he says, I'm glad for them.
their presence has refreshed me. And he says something else
in part of his welcome presence. Have you noticed? Verse 17, for
that which was lacking on your part they have supplied. Now
you could approach those words, think to yourself, oh this is
negative. That which was lacking they've supplied. As if Paul's
at this stage criticizing them. I'm off the mind. that this particular
point is not a criticism because the whole tone is a very affable,
friendly one. It's a very warm, loving tone
to these verses. So it's not as if Paul's sneering
at what you couldn't do, they're doing. That wouldn't fit with
the rest of the verses. It wouldn't fit with verse 18. So Paul is not speaking negatively
at this particular stage. I believe what he's saying is
this, it's very special. He says, I'm glad for these men
because these three men make up for me not being able to have
all you before me. Now you just let that sink in. Think about that this evening.
Never forget that Paul's heart for the people of Corinth was
filled with love. Go back to the very first chapter,
chapter 1, verse 4. I thank my God always on your
behalf for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ.
That's how he felt towards a wayward church. He loved them and he
genuinely longed to see them again and to be with them and
to nurture them. In fact, he's going to do that
very soon, isn't he? He's going to go back and spend those three months
as we've dealt with that already, but until that moment comes,
he's just so glad that there's a representation, that he can
see a glimpse of them and it thrills his heart and it thrills
his soul. And I liken this maybe to when a denomination or a church
will send a delegation to a mission field or to maybe a worker who's
on their own and make representation. And why is it so important? Because
it strengthens the hands. It strengthens the hands. It
encourages them. Paul may have needed great encouragement.
Who knows what he was going through at Ephesus, what his needs were.
And it shows that coming alongside and encouraging other believers
and building them up is so important. Christian fellowship and company,
it's so important for us. Paul relied upon it, he depended
upon it, and he was so glad for it. And I wonder if that's how
we feel and how we think when it comes to the Christian church.
But we will see also something else, not just a welcome presence,
but we see a worthy people. He was refreshed not just by
their presence, but in a sense by who they were. Verse 18, and
what they did, for they have refreshed my spirit and yours.
Therefore acknowledge ye them that are such. Remember how in
verse 16 he urged the church here to submit to this godly
family of Stephanas, to support them. When he's saying the same
to these messengers or with respect to these messengers, he says,
they've lifted my soul. So when I send them back and
they come with this letter, receive them as such and they will be
ever refreshing to you. You know Christian, we're always
in a better place when we take the place of just submitting
ourselves to the word of God, whatever it is. Is it a challenge? Is it rebuke? Is it a word in
comfort? Is it a word in season? They're
gonna come back, these three men, with this letter, and it's
not gonna be an easy read. And Paul is saying, may they
be of refreshing and blessing to your soul. And so acknowledge
them as such. And so we see godly examples
in the church, a godly family, a godly member, and godly messengers,
and it shows what an encouragement such can be. And so the question
is put to you this evening, is that us, are we an encouragement
to brethren and sisters who are around us? May God bless His
precious and His holy word to all of our hearts, amen.
Godly Examples in the Church
Series Studies in 1st Corinthians
- Godly members who provide a reminder (v.15-16)
- Godly messengers who provided a refreshing (v.17-18)
| Sermon ID | 21225202411573 |
| Duration | 28:18 |
| Date | |
| Category | Midweek Service |
| Bible Text | 1 Corinthians 16:15-18 |
| Language | English |
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