Plans Subject to God’s Will

Transcript

GR 1374
04/13/08
Plans Subject to God’s Will
1 Corinthians 16:5-12
Gil Rugh

We're in the closing chapter of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 16.  And as is true with letters, as Paul gets to the end, he makes a series of comments on various matters.  They are loosely connected, the main issues he has dealt with so he is wrapping up the letter.  In the first four verses he talked about the offering that was being gathered in the various churches including Corinth that would be sent onto Jerusalem to help the mother church there, the founding church, a church which still is the center for the churches, because that was the headquarters of the apostles.  And they were going through difficult times—persecutions and famines and difficulties like that.  The church was in an impoverished state and so these churches under Paul's direction are collecting money to send to them.  Interesting to see the change in circumstances and situations.  Remember in the early chapters of the book of Acts we have thousands of people being saved.  But over time the situation of those who are part of the church in Jerusalem has come to be one of poverty.  So this offering will help.

Now Paul indicated that he planned to come to Corinth and oversee the sending of the offering to Jerusalem.  And perhaps [he] himself accompanies others, including some from Corinth to Jerusalem with the offering.  So the end of verse 2 he talked about that no collections be made when I come, and then the beginning of verse 3, when I arrive.  Well those comments naturally lead him, beginning with verse 5, to talk about his travel plans.  When will Paul be going to Corinth?  What about his visit there?  So really verses 5-12 talk about travel plans, first of the apostle Paul; then of Timothy, Paul's co-worker and representative; and then of Apollos’, whom the Corinthians would like to have visit them at Corinth.  So really verses 5-12 are about the travel plans of three different men.  Of course that all focuses in Paul, the writer of the letter.

We led into this because an offering is being collected, Paul will be coming.  So let's talk about his plans, while we're doing that we'll talk about Timothy who is on his way to Corinth.  And then we'll wrap that up  . . .  Some of you have asked about Apollos coming to Corinth, let me tell you about his situation.  So in some ways we'd say rather mundane matters, travel plans, but they are ministry plans as Paul sets them forth.

Look at his plans, beginning in verse 5. “But I will come to you after I go through Macedonia, for I am going through Macedonia.”  Paul is writing this letter from the city of Ephesus, down in verse 8, I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost.  When Paul leaves Ephesus, now we're over in Asia Minor, we are east of Corinth, Paul anticipates you could take the boat and go across the water directly to Corinth, that would be the short, quick route.  But Paul anticipates going north by land, probably up to Troas.  Then from Troas he'll take the short trip by boat across and he'll come over into Macedonia.  Macedonia is the northern province of Greece, Achaia is the southern Roman province, and that's where Corinth is.  So he plans to follow basically the route in Greece that he did on his second missionary journey when he established the churches in Greece.  And he'll cross over and come into Macedonia, visit Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea and come down into Corinth.  So when he says I'm going to visit Macedonia, that's the region he's talking about.  Macedonia is the Roman [ province] that encompasses the cities like Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea and so on.

Back up to Acts 20.  In Acts 19 Paul was in Ephesus, as he indicates in the letter we are reading now, we read that in 1 Corinthians 16:8.  Then in chapter 20 verse 1 of Acts, after the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples.  And when he had exhorted them and taken leave of them he left to go to Macedonia.  And when he had gone through those districts and given them much exhortation, he came to Greece.  And there he spent three months.  So there you see the plan.  When he went into Macedonia he was in Greece as we would know it, but he's in the Macedonian portion of Greece.  Then he came down into the region where Corinth is that he refers to as Greece.  So he just followed that basic travel plan of going up and crossing over and coming down through Macedonia.

Come back to 1 Corinthians 16.  Verse 6, “and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter so that you may send me on my way wherever I may go.  For I do not wish to see you now just in passing, for I hope to remain with you for some time if the Lord permits.”  Paul emphasizes here, his travel plans are built around his desire to stay for an extended time in Corinth.  So when he talks about his travel through Macedonia, indication is he'll be visiting the churches there, but they'll be short visits.  But when he gets to Corinth, he's arranging things so that he'll be able to spend extended time with the Corinthians.  So when he says perhaps I will stay with you, the idea is that he anticipates a little longer stay there.  Maybe even I'll stay the winter.

Paul is writing this letter about the spring of the year, because he's going to say he's going to stay in Ephesus until Pentecost.  Pentecost would occur seven weeks after Passover.  It occurs the last half of May or the first part of June, depending on the calendar.  So Paul is in the spring of the year here.  He stays until Pentecost, then does his travels.  He's thinking he'll get to Corinth a little before winter.  If that's the case, shipping comes pretty much to a halt for the winter season because of the weather.  Storms come up, the coldness, you have a lot of cloudiness and they needed stars to navigate on the seas, and so on.  So Paul is saying if I arrive there about the time we're getting ready for winter, I'll just stay the winter with you.  Now he's emphasizing his desire to stay with them for some time.  And then you might be able to send me on my way wherever I go, the end of verse 6.  But again his plans are somewhat indefinite.

Verse 4 he said, if it's fitting for me to go also with those who take the offering to Jerusalem, then they'll go with me.  So that's an option.  But he hasn't fixed his plan yet after he's in Corinth.  But he says you could send me on my way.  And that verb translated send me on my way doesn't just mean to stand in the doorway and say, goodbye, have a good trip.  But it's a word that carries the idea you provide for them whatever is necessary for the trip.  So food, money, traveling companions, usually in this time period with conditions as they were, you didn't travel by yourself.  You had traveling companion or several of them.  So Paul is saying you could make provisions for me for my trip, wherever I might go.  That verb is used that way half a dozen or so other times in the New Testament, indicating you make preparations.

Paul wouldn't take money from the Corinthians when he ministered to them, remember, because he didn't want to be accused of their preaching the Gospel for personal benefit.  But now that a church has been established, he will allow them to contribute, not only to help the church in Jerusalem, but also to help his ministry as he moves onto other places.  Because now it wouldn't be an issue of him peddling the Gospel, it's a matter of believers in the church sharing in the support of the ministry.

In verse 7 he reiterates his desire to spend time with them.  For I do not wish to see you now just in passing.  I'm not just interested in a short stay—a few days, a week, whatever—as I'm on my way to some place.  But I want to be able to stay and spend some extended time with you.  I hope to remain with you for some time if the Lord permits.  Paul has already indicated his plans earlier in the letter to come to Corinth.  Come back to chapter 4 verse 18, “Now some have become arrogant as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you soon if the Lord wills.”  Note that expression, if the Lord wills.  He has just used it in chapter 16 as well.  And I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant, but their power.  Verse 21, “What do you desire?  Shall I come to you with a rod or with love and a spirit of gentleness?”  As you are aware, things aren't always as they ought to be in the church at Corinth.  And there were people who were quite arrogant and did not respect the Apostle Paul and were not willing to acknowledge his position as an apostle and the authority that God had given him.  Paul said, I'm ready to deal with those people when I come.  But I hope you will have already taken care of those issues so that when I come, I can come with love and gentleness, not with a rod of correction.

So it's interesting, as he closes the letter you get a sense of warmth—I really want to spend time with you.  But already in the letter there has been an indication this could be a pleasant visit or an unpleasant visit.  But obviously his desire is that it will go well, they will have made the corrections he's told them they need to make.  But whatever it is, he's coming, he's going to spend enough time there to help them develop, get things in order and so on.

We see in verse 19 of chapter 4, I will come to you soon if the Lord wills.  Come back to 1 Corinthians 16:7, I hope to remain with you for some time if the Lord permits.  Paul conditions what he is going to do on the Lord's plans.  His plans are always subject to the Lord overruling his plans.  I remember when I was younger and our church back east, commonly the people would refer to the fact, well, I hope to see you tomorrow if the Lord wills.  I don't know we use that expression quite as much today.  But the idea has to be in the mind of every believer.  I may tell you, I'm looking forward to having lunch with you on Wednesday, if the Lord wills.  Now I may not say if the Lord wills, but in my heart and mind I'd better be ready for such a thing.  And so Paul, even when he is telling them the plans he has made, they are tentative to the extent that I don't know sovereignty what the Lord will determine to do.  And he may change my plans.  So these are my plans as best I can tell.

This kind of qualification is used often.  Flip back to Acts 18:19, you see he's at Ephesus and then verse 20, they asked him to stay for a longer time.  He did not consent, but taking l eave of them saying, I will return to you again if God wills.  Now this is not an expression that gives you an out.  Well I'll say if God wills, that way if I decide I don't want to do it I just won't do it and we'll determine it was God's will.  Because when you give your word, it's your word.  That means as much as I can determine, that's what I am going to do.  But God may overrule, and it will be different.

Come over to Hebrews 6:3, and this we will do if God permits.  Turn over to James 4:13, “Come now you who say, today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.”  Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.  You are just a vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes away.  Instead you ought to say, if the Lord wills we will live and also do this or that.  But as it is you boast in your arrogance.  All such boasting is evil.  See how strongly James puts it.  If you establish your plans and think they are set in concrete, you're arrogant, you're boastful, you're being sinful, evil.  You say, I wouldn't do that.  But think about it, how often have you made plans and something has happened and interrupted those plans and it wasn't possible to follow through on them and you were really upset. If someone else did something that interrupted your plans, then you were upset with them.  The very fact I'm upset . . . . You know I've planned this, maybe it's my vacation, we're going to have such a good time and then this comes up and now we can't do it and it just irritates me.  Well wait a minute, whose plans do you follow?  You know I have to come back and remind myself of what James says.  You boast in your arrogance.  In other words, you make those plans and no one including God was supposed to interfere and interrupt your plans.  That's why it is arrogant.  God is not allowed to interfere with your plans.  Your plans are your plans, God should just work to accomplish and carry out your plans, my plans.  Any wonder he says, all such boasting is evil?  Sometimes I think I don't do this as I sit and just talk to someone or preach it, but then I realize.  Think back, when my plans get interrupted, something I really was planning on doing and then something comes up, what's my attitude?  Well, Lord, it's clear to me You've changed the plan and I'm glad it's clear.  Now I need Your direction for how I adjust.  Why should I be upset with so-and-so because what they did ruined my plans?  Or the weather changed and ruined my plans.  Or whatever.  My boss said I had to work that day, now my plans are ruined.  Well maybe your plans are, maybe my plans are.  But you know what?  God's plans are never ruined, right?

So Gil, don't be arrogant and be evil and make your plans without taking God into consideration.  So whether I use the expression “If God wills” or “God willing,” it ought to always be in my mind.  I'll have lunch with you on Wednesday.   I'll see you there at 11:30.  That is as much as I can tell what I plan to do, and my word is good.  But you understand, it is subject to God's will.  So when I give you my word, it's my word; when you give me your word, it's your word.  But “if the Lord wills” always conditions it.

Now I stress this because you know what happened at Corinth?  Pretty soon the Apostle Paul is being criticized by the church at Corinth for changing his plans.  Back up to 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians was written shortly after 1 Corinthians, probably in the same year.  And we're not going to go into the travel plans here, because that would become its own extended little consideration.  But look at 2 Corinthians 1:15, “[And] in this confidence I intended at first to come to you so that you might twice receive a blessing.”  That is to say, pass your way into Macedonia and then from Macedonia come to you, be helped on my journey to Judea by you.  Therefore, I was not vacillating when I intended to do this, was I?  But what I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh so that with me there should be yes, yes and no, no at the same time?  But as God is faithful, our word to you is not yes and no.  In other words, they were accusing him of saying yes one time, no the other, changing his plans.  So you couldn't just trust him.  Paul said no.  But God changes things and there are reasons why I didn't come.  So he gets into those and expresses some of it down in verse 23.

What I want you to note, shouldn't the Corinthians as believers without Paul having to go into this further explanation, have already said in their mind, Paul said he is going to come see us.  This will be his itinerary.  Of course as believers we realize that is subject to the Lord's will, isn't it?  What does this say about the character of the Corinthians, that they are using this as an occasion to try to discredit Paul, he didn't keep his word?  I mean, what does that say about their spiritual condition?  We know something about their spiritual condition, that he didn't keep his word.  Of course, I should keep my word, I've obligated myself.  Now I need to be careful when I give my word that I give my word and I will follow through on it.  I don't provide outs for that.  But by the same token Paul's travel plans, the Lord changed them.  Does that mean he is not a spiritual man, you can't trust him?  No.  So in our dealings we need to be careful.  Is that the way you live your life?  Is that the way I make my plans?  We're coming up towards summer. We have plans for summer vacations.  Are they tentative or fixed?  Well they are fixed as much as I can make them.  Will I be frustrated and grumpy if those plans change?  Well I'm not going to give any confessions, but if I am it will be that I need to make some adjustments before the Lord.  Right?  And function accordingly.

Back up to 1 Corinthians 16.  Verse 8, “I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost.”  That's his plan.  You know what?  Back in Acts 20:16, for Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem if possible on the Day of Pentecost.  You know what?  That's one year later.  He's going to remain in Ephesus, then he makes his trip and a year later he is hurrying, he doesn't stop for a second visit at Ephesus on a follow-up visit on his way back from Corinth here because he wants to make time and coming from Greece to get to Jerusalem for the Day of Pentecost, which would be one year after the Pentecost he's talking about in 1 Corinthians 16.

Why is he going to remain in Ephesus until Pentecost?  For a wide door for effective service has opened to me.  God has given me unique opportunities.  There is an open door.  An expression used a number of times in the New Testament to refer to an opportunity.  We use it the same way.  I had an open door.  It meant you had an opportunity.  We'll sometimes say a window of opportunity.  Same idea.

And this door is great and effective.  I mean this just isn't a little bit of opportunity, this is a great opportunity and [an] effective ministry is taking place.  In other words, Paul has a unique and great opportunity in presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ at Ephesus during this time.  During his first missionary journey he didn't come down to Ephesus, he was in the region of Galatia.  And on his second missionary journey the Spirit of God has him bypass Ephesus, didn't permit him to go into Asia, and he went over into Greece.  Now on his third missionary journey here he is in Ephesus and the Lord is blessing the ministry of the Word.  So he says I intend to stay longer in Ephesus because there is a great door for effective ministry that has opened for me.  And obviously it has been opened by the Lord.

Look over in 2 Corinthians 2:12, “Now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord.”  So another opportunity, the open doors are the occasions for preaching the truth.  Turn over to Colossians 4.  The Apostle Paul is in prison when he writes the letter to the Colossians and he asks them to pray for him.  Verse 3, praying at the same time for us as well that God will open up to us a door for the Word so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ for which I have been in prison.  That I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.  Pray for me that the Lord would open a door for speaking His Word.  When I speak that Word, I would make it as clear as I must make it.  That's the open door, the ministry of the Word of God.

Come back to 1 Corinthians 16.  A door is opened, it's a great door, it's an effective door, effective ministry is the result of it.  And there are many adversaries, there is much opposition.  Isn't it interesting?  You have a great opportunity for effective ministry and you have much opposition.  For Paul this is the normal ministry.  We need to understand this.  We are trying to make a case today that the most effective ministry is the ministry in the context of everybody likes you. [That is] a ministry of carrying the Gospel to the lost, being a strong testimony with the Word of God.  Well if we're functioning properly, everyone will appreciate us and like us.  Paul thought just the opposite.  The more the Lord is working, the more the devil ratchets up his opposition.  Isn't that what you would expect?  The devil doesn't have to ratchet up the opposition in places where the Word of God is not heard, where it is not proclaimed.  Those people live in darkness.  He just has to keep them comfortable in their darkness, in the misery of their sin.  But when the Word of God comes, you brought light to the darkness.  Now you are attacking the forces and people of Satan and there is war.  So there is much opposition, not a little but much.  Many are opposed.

Come back to Acts 19.  Here is Paul's ministry at Ephesus and it's an effective ministry.  Look at verse 8, he's in the synagogue, he's speaking boldly for three months, but in verse 9, some of them are becoming hardened, speaking evil of The Way that he is preaching.  So he has to move his center of ministry.  But you know what?  Look at verse 10, this took place for two years so that all who lived in Asia heard the Word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.  You see the Word of God is going out effectively here, but there is also opposition.  Down at the end of verse 17, the names of the Lord was being magnified.  Verse 20, the Word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.  Verse 23, at that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning The Way.  There is great opposition stirred up.  The whole city is put into turmoil.  They end up in the stadium, thousands of people chanting for hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.”  And finally you begin verse 20, Paul has to leave.  So a great ministry, great opposition.

Turn over to Philippians 1.  The Apostle Paul writes to the Philippians, another one of his prison epistles, written while he is in prison.  And he tells them in verse 27, they are to “Conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel.”  Paul wants to hear they are standing firm in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel.  “In no way alarmed by your opponents [note this] . . .  which is a sign of destruction for them but of salvation for you, and that, too, from God.”  You know what?  The fact that you are opposed in your preaching and sharing the Gospel is a sign you belong to the living God.  For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear to be in me.  You know we need to be careful that we don't present an artificial, counterfeit Christianity.  We think I presented the Gospel, people became very hostile and you say, well, probably not your gift.  Or maybe you didn't go about it in the right way.  You know what Paul says?  Praise the Lord!  That's great to hear.  You don't understand, Paul, the opposition in Philippi is getting more intense.  Don't be alarmed by your opponents.  God has given you the privilege for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but to suffer for Him.  You have the same pattern I have.  You preach the Gospel and you get persecuted.  That's the normal pattern.

Look over in 1 Thessalonians 2.  Here is another church Paul established in Macedonia along with Philippi.  In chapter 1 he told them in verse 6, you became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the Word in much tribulation, with the joy of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit produced joy in their lives, but when they received the Word the persecution intensified.  Down in chapter 2, “For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain.  After we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition.”  You see for Paul the doors that were open was when he could speak about Christ, not when people would necessarily be positive toward him.  The very fact that there were some people that will listen, never surprised him there would be much opposition.

Let me read you some statements from Christ from the Sermon on the Mount.  Matthew 5:11-12, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great.  For in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  Christ hasn't called us on a mission of avoiding difficulty and opposition.  In the Sermon on the Mount recorded by Luke in Luke 6:26, “Woe to you when all speak well of you.  For their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.”  I don't expect everybody to have good things to say about us.  If we are presenting the truth there will be those that the Spirit of God graciously moves and opens their hearts to respond to the truth.  But you understand, we will stir up opposition, we will be viewed as narrow, bigoted, we think we're the only ones right, and on it goes.  And deep down people seethe because they don't want to hear the truth.  This is not just another religion, this is  . . .  You know we're open to all religions.  And everybody can have their views.  But you present the truth in that context and it stabs people in the heart, their animosity, their hatred is stirred up.

Listen to Jesus in John 15:20, “Remember the word that I said to you.  ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’  If they persecuted Me they will also persecute you; if they kept My word they will keep yours also.”  What did Jesus say?  Don't think you are better than Me.  When you represent Me those who hate Me will hate you, those who respond and accept My word will respond and accept your word.  That's the dividing line.  We spend too much time psychoanalyzing ourselves—well maybe our approach is too direct.  So live in the day, people tell us, people do not respond to a direct approach.  I was reading some material on evangelism in the last couple weeks.  A person was saying, the day of confrontational evangelism is over. You know another way of saying that?  The day of biblical evangelism is over.  Now we're going to do it the psychological way.  What is confrontational evangelism?  I take it, it's confronting sinners with their sin and the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, is it not?  How else can you come to a sinner and tell him he's lost and on his way to hell and there is only one Savior, only one who died for their sin, only one who is raised from the dead and only one hope of life.  And that is faith in that Savior.  You confront him with the truth.  But now the article I'm reading says the days of confrontational evangelism are over.  I tell you when I read it, I get the idea what they're saying is the days of evangelism are over.  We are now in the Dale Carnegie days of how to win friends and influence people, and I tell you that does not include the Gospel because that does not friends and influence people.  I'm not saying you ought to have a mean personality, you ought to get that taken care of.  But the Gospel is the Gospel.  Jesus indeed said, [John 14:6] “I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father but by Me.”  There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.  That's it.  No one gets to God except through Christ.  Period.  Done.  Over.  There is only one way to heaven.  Everyone else is wrong, everyone else is going to hell.  I hate to confront you with the facts, but those are the facts.

The beautiful thing in those harsh facts is there is a cure for your disease of sin.  That is the Savior we're offering to you.  But you understand there are no alternatives to this Savior.  You think people will like you for that?  We appreciate those people at that church, they are so open and they are good people because they think that people who disagree with them are also going to heaven.  I want you to know you can disagree with me and go to heaven, you cannot disagree with God and go to heaven.  And God says no one comes to heaven but through Jesus Christ.  The result of that message is antagonism.  People are antagonized.

All right, come back to 1 Corinthians 16.  That's the ministry Paul is carrying on.  I think if we had traveled with the Apostle Paul we would be amazed and dumbfounded that his ministry “wasn't more successful,” his churches weren't larger, they weren't more in agreement.  I mean the church at Corinth is only about five years old and look at all the troubles it has.  He has spent more time there than he spent in most places.  And everywhere he went he had trouble.  I think we'd pull into Philippi, into Thessalonica, look at these churches and say, these are the churches Paul was so excited about and proud of and held up as an example?  This is all there is?  I thought there would be lines all around the block to get in.  I thought people all over would be positive in saying good things about the changes that had been brought about in these people's lives.  We'd be looking and saying, that handful makes the church there?  And along with that they have the whole church stirred up in opposition.  Instead of the whole city coming into the stadium to say, great is Jesus Christ, I want to hear more, they are saying, great is Artemis of the Ephesians.  I'd say, Paul, it takes them backwards instead of forward.  Paul says that's the door the Lord opens and I present the truth.

All right, some other men that will or will not be coming to Corinth.  Timothy will be.  Apollos will not be.  Verse 10, now if Timothy comes. And that if does not mean he may not come, it means whenever he comes.  It's not doubtful that Timothy is coming, Paul has already sent him on his way.

Come back to 1 Corinthians 4:17, “For this reason I have sent to you Timothy who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church.”  Timothy has already been sent.  He is on his way.  But Paul anticipates that his letter will arrive before Timothy because Timothy also went north and is coming down through Macedonia.  Paul will send the letter by mail and it will come by boat directly to Corinth from Ephesus.  So it will arrive before Timothy does.  So Paul says I sent Timothy to you, so he's already left and he's somewhere on the way.  He's my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, he will remind you of my ways, just as I teach in all the churches, everywhere in every church.  Paul's message didn't changes wherever he went.  Well when you're in Jerusalem and their culture and Jewish setting you have one way and one message.  When you get to Greece and the Greek culture and the Greek ways you've got to adjust.  Paul says, no, everywhere I go I teach the same thing.  When Timothy comes he'll remind you of those things because Timothy doesn't have anything else to say but what I've said.  But he's going to be there to help stabilize the situation.

Come back to 1 Corinthians 16.  I find it terribly sad, Paul has to tell this church, now if Timothy comes or whenever he comes, see that he is with you without cause to be afraid.  What a thing to have to tell a church.  I'm going to send a godly man to you who is my trusted fellow worker and servant, and he's going to share the same truth with you that I teach, and don't try to intimidate him and make him afraid.  What kind of church is that?  You're going to come with the truth of the Apostle Paul and you have to tell them not to intimidate the messenger and make him afraid?  All Timothy is going to do is share with them the Word of God that has been entrusted to them through the Apostle Paul, Timothy will come and further give that out.  And I have to tell you, don't be aggressive toward him and make him afraid.  That doesn't mean Timothy was a timid, shy, hang back person.  I mean, here is a man who is traveling, he's traveling with Erastus, as Acts tells us, on this trip.  Erastus was the city treasurer of Corinth, so a man of prominence who had been saved.  He had been Ephesus and now he's making the journey back to Corinth with Timothy, going up and coming down through Macedonia, the book of Acts tells us.  And Paul has to tell the Corinthians, Timothy is on his way, he'll be arriving sometime here in the not-too-distant future.  Don't you try to intimidate him and make him afraid.  Timothy is a man of boldness.  He is traveling, he is visiting these churches, he's giving forth the Word.  But Paul knows how difficult it can be.  He had to tell them back in chapter 4 that he's coming and he'll deal with those who are so arrogant.  There are those in the church who are opposed to Paul, who don't respect Paul.  And now you have Timothy, and Timothy is a young man.  He's probably in his 20's when he's making this trip.  I've read a number of different writers who have tried to figure out the age and most of them agree that Timothy would be in his 20's yet here.

Part of the reason is in 1 Timothy 4:12, when Paul writes to Timothy in his first letter, he says, let no one despise or look down on your youthfulness.  The word youthfulness there was used of men up to the age of 40.  Well 1 Timothy is written about ten years after 1 Corinthians and Timothy is not yet 40.  So you just subtract.  If he's not yet 40, ten years earlier he would still be in his 20's.  He was probably somewhere between 20-22 when Paul took him to be his traveling companion in the opening verses of Acts 16.  [He is] the man who has had years of experience with the Apostle Paul.  Paul has great appreciation for Timothy.  In half a dozen of his letters he included him in the greeting.  Like 2 Corinthians 1:1, Paul and apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and Timothy our brethren.  He does the same thing with the letters to the Thessalonians and so on.  He's a trusted, faithful worker.  When he writes to the Philippians, he'll tell them, I don't have anybody like Timothy who was trusted and proved like him.  And now he has to tell the Corinthians, don't do anything to try to intimidate Timothy, think you could make him be afraid.  You are to welcome him as my representative and support him.

Now if Timothy comes see he is with you without cause to be afraid.  Good reminder.  The Lord uses people of different ages and young people.  What do we think here?  Easy for us white-haired people, now that I'm one of them and thankful for whatever hair, [white, green, blue, doesn’t matter] somebody in their 20's.  Well, you don't expect me to respect them and submit to their teaching.  I mean, they're still green in their ministry, wet behind the ears.  We look at the Corinthians and say, their terrible spiritual condition and had that attitude.  But you think here's a young man in his 20's and he's going to come and authoritatively present the truth and the church is going to be open to his ministry and receive it as the Word of God and submit to it.  Now we transport it today and bring 20-year-olds in who are going to be faithful with the Word.  We say, I just don't think he's ready, I have a lot more experience in things than he does and blah, blah, blah.  So we have to be careful.  Our spirituality is better when we are sitting in judgment on the Corinthians' lack of it than sometimes when we might implement it.  That doesn't mean every 20-year-old, we've carried on adolescence to into the 30s today.  We ought to appreciate God raises up young men.  Here is Timothy around the age of 20 and Paul says he is the traveling companion I need, he matured and grew obviously very rapidly and became perhaps Paul's most trusted companion in so much of his ministry.

He is doing the Lord's work as I also am, the last part of verse 10.  I mean, you understand, when you are opposing Timothy you are opposing the work of the Lord, you're opposing the Lord, you're opposing me as the Lord's apostle.  He's doing the same work.  Has nothing to do, well at least Paul is an apostle.  You don't think we're going to take this guy and he's just starting out and just learning.  He's doing the same work, gives forth the same Word of God as I am.

I remember one of our young men here who was on staff, has moved on to other things and it goes back many years, but he said, you know I've realized I'll never be old enough to be an elder at Indian Hills because all of you guys are getting older and as you get older you think the age should get older.  So I finally get to be the next age but you've gotten older so you raise the age.  And he was saying it humorously, but it was true.  And of course now that I'm in my 60's no one under 50 really knows anything.

All right, we'll move on.  Verse 11, so let no one despise him.  I mean, this is serious business.  Don't make him afraid, don't despise him.  This is a serious matter.  You have that kind of attitude.  A word that means to think nothing of someone, to view them as worthless. [I’m going to] say he's a nobody, he's nothing.  I don't consider him worth being a servant of the Lord.  You know, even Paul can see the potential.  When he in chapter 4 had to say, some of you are arrogant in Corinth, you don't think I'll come.  When I come, I'll come with a rod if I need to.  Now Timothy has to come before Paul is coming and represent Paul.  And he warns them, don't you think of Timothy as a nobody, don't you treat him as worthless. What a condition in the church that you have to tell a church, you shouldn't function that way.  But you know right down to this day we have these kinds of personal issues and how sad it reflects on our true spirituality.

Send him on his way in peace.  There is that verb, send him on his way.  Up in verse 6, so that you may send me on my way.  Means you provide whatever is necessary for him to return back to me.  And you make provision for him as would be fitting a servant of the Lord so he can return to me.  I am expecting him to return with the brethren, which is a reminder I'll be getting a report about your condition as well.

One more man has to be mentioned, we mention him quickly, and that's Apollos.  And you'll note that expression, but concerning.  He's used it a number of times, we've looked at it, beginning in chapter 7 verse 1.  And every time he does he used it to pick up on something that they had asked about or requested in the letter that they sent him.  And evidently in the letter they sent Paul they had asked that Apollos be sent to them.  We want Apollos to come visit with us.  Remember there was an Apollos Party in the church at Corinth, Paul dealt with that in the opening chapters of this letter.  Some say that they are followers of Apollos.  Apollos was a man mighty in the Scriptures, he had ministered in Corinth.  You read about Apollos in the last part of Acts 18 and then into Acts 19:1.  You see he was powerful in the Scriptures, he was eloquent.  And he was so thoroughly versed, he was an Alexandrian for Alexandria, Egypt, and he was a man well-versed in the Scriptures.  So he could take on the Jews and publicly refute them and show from the Old Testament Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.  And he'd be a man admired by the Greeks because he was a man of intellect, a man of eloquence.  But he is a godly man.

So verse 12, now concerning Apollos our brother.  Paul identifies himself, he has no problem with Apollos.  I encouraged him greatly to come to you with the brethren.  I really urged him to make the trip to Corinth as you had requested.  It was not at all his desire to come now.  He will come when he has opportunity.  Timothy functions in a different relationship with Paul than Apollos does.  Paul is an apostle but he just doesn't go ordering everybody around.  Now he has those who work with him who are there and represent him and are sent to various places like Timothy.  But Apollos is not one of those men.  Apollos carries on his own ministry.  Now he would be submissive to apostolic doctrine and apostolic teaching.  But he's not part of that group that is used by Paul to be sent out as Paul's representatives.  Apollos is carrying on his ministry.  Paul's position is simply that the Corinthians would like you to come and I'd urge you to respond to that and go.  But Apollos for whatever reason says that's not something that is on my plate right now.  I'll go when I have time.  We're not told why.  Perhaps Apollos was uncomfortable going at this time for fear it might stir up more of the sentiment, we like Apollos.  And he's more comfortable leaving it in Paul's court right now and he'll stay out of it.  And he may have had ministry that he feels is more pressing right now, just like Paul says I have to stay at Ephesus because I have an open door now.  Apollos had his ministry.

And here you realize there is ministry going on in the world that the New Testament does not write about.  Luke has been directed by the Spirit to write about Paul's ministry.  Paul has been selected to be the one who writes much of our New Testament. But Paul is not all there is to the ministry that is going on, Apollos has a great and powerful ministry of the Word of God going on, even though the Scriptures do not take the time to unfold it.

Well, some miscellaneous matters, travel plans.  I was thinking about this as I worked over it and you know these closing remarks give insight into ministry and they reveal a basic fact about our ministries, all of them.  Our ministries are carried on basically in the context of a lot of the everyday affairs of life.  Here is Paul dealing with travel plans, he has to make arrangements, and how am I going to go.  We're going to go up to Troas, we'll have to make plans for that.  What kind of travel will we do?  Trying to avoid personal conflicts, sending someone to represent you to a place and then hoping that they'll get a good and proper reception.  Trying to deal and mediate with the desires and interests of others.  The Corinthians would like Apollos to come.  And Paul could see what happened if Paul doesn't write and clarify things they'll say, Paul probably never passed on our request.  Or Paul probably told Apollos he really didn't want him to come.  But Paul makes clear, I got your request, I passed it on to Apollos, in fact I urged him to come like you requested.  He said, no, that's not what I'm going to do now.

So just a lot of everyday things.  We think, will we ever get done with these things so we can really do the ministry.  That is part of the ministry, folks.  That's what we do.  We think, if I didn't have this to do I could really serve the Lord.  It's like we say, I'm really going to serve the Lord when I retire.  Forget it.  If that's your thinking you'll retire like everybody else does and you won't be any good for the ministry.  We view it as this is part of my ministry, I do life, I live life.  I'm involved in all of these details that seem a distraction and are part of my doing what God has for me to do in my serving Him.  And even in the midst of carrying out a great and effective ministry you have to deal with much opposition.  We need to give up the idea that there will be some day when we get to the point that the battle will be over.  We will get to that day, but it won't be here in these present physical bodies as we are now.  Until then pray that we have open doors for the ministry of the Word and we present that ministry as clearly as we should.  But understand that with every open door will come much opposition.  And so we can praise the Lord for the opposition because it's an indication that the Word is having an impact.

I don't know what your life is like, you don't know the details of mine, but I know you have a lot of details.  A lot goes on.  I am amazed at times, just can't believe what people do, the things they juggle and the things they add to their plate and the way they pour themselves into the ministry and do all the other things they have to do.  And if you didn't do all the other things you have to do you wouldn't be able to do the ministry that God gives you to do as well.  But praise the Lord for His faithfulness to us.  Praise the Lord for faithful people in other places.  Not everybody is part of our ministry in this church.  We're occupied to a large extent with that as Paul was, but praise the Lord there is Apollos as well.  Praise the Lord there are other ministries as well.  And if each one is being faithful then God is being honored.

Let's pray together.  Thank You, Lord, for entrusting us as earthen vessels with the glorious message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.  Thank You, Lord, for these incidental details that were written by the hand of the Apostle Paul but were inspired by Your Holy Spirit.  They are important for us to consider, to understand and apply to our lives. Thank You Lord that You are the God who is sovereign over all and all the mundane details of our lives are part of Your plan for us carrying out Your work in these days.  Thank You for faithful servants that ministered with Paul and contemporary with Paul. Thank You for the many faithful servants in our own local church.  And thank You, Lord, for the many faithful servants that are part of other ministries as well.  Bless our ministry and bring honor to Yourself.  We pray in Christ's name, amen.