The Collection for the Saints

As Paul closes out his epistle to the Corinthian church, he expresses his concern that Corinth participates in the collection for the saints in Jerusalem. We explain the issues with the persecution of Jewish believers and Paul’s expressed desire that the church stays unified.

He did not want a Jewish church in Judea to be separate from Gentile churches elsewhere in the Roman Empire. This matter is addressed in Galatians and other epistles. As we deal with this, we also cover days of worship, Christian liberty, the unity of the church, and Paul’s strong teaching against elitism and divisions based on social status.

Because Paul uses tentative language regarding his travel plans, it is clear that not every decision was due to direct, divine revelation. Things change, but God’s overall purpose does not.

We discuss God’s promise to bring every believer to glory. Even though there are trials and setbacks, God promises to conform us to the image of Christ. He brings every one of His adopted sons and daughters to Himself in glory.