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VIII: Final Recommendations and Greetings[a]

Chapter 16

The Collection. Now in regard to the collection for the saints,[b] you should follow the instructions I gave to the churches of Galatia. On the first day of every week,[c] each of you should set aside and save whatever you can spare, so that when I come to you, no collections will have to be taken. And when I arrive, I shall send those who have been approved by you with letters of recommendation to deliver your gift to Jerusalem.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 16:1 The collection for the Church of Jerusalem—the “saints”—had an important place in Paul’s outlook, because it was a sign of communion between the Churches that originated in the Gentile world and the mother Church that had grown up at the heart of Judaism (see Acts 24:17; Rom 15:25-26; 2 Cor 8–9; Gal 2:10).
  2. 1 Corinthians 16:1 The saints in Jerusalem were obviously in dire need—possibly as a result of the famine recorded in Acts 11:28 (about A.D. 44 or 46) or the persecution to which they were subjected (Acts 8:1).
  3. 1 Corinthians 16:2 On the first day of every week: i.e., Sunday, the Lord’s Day (see Acts 20:7; Rev 1:10). Each of you should set aside: each Sunday Christians were to bring what they had set aside for the Lord’s work. It was then probably collected at the worship service. Justin Martyr indicates in his Apology (1:67-68) that during his day (c. A.D. 150) offerings were brought to the altar on Sundays.