1 Corinthians, Chapter 16
© Copyright 2002 Darroll Evans, all
rights reserved
Paul now turns his attention to a collection
for the Saints.
The collection is for Jewish Christians in Judea/Galilee.
The name
Some used the name
The current Palestinians have little except a
hatred of Jews in common with the ancient Philistines.
The ancient Palestinians were of
Indo-European (Greek) stock and were nor Jordanian Arabs as the group today is.
The ancient Palestinians were sea traders who
settled in the area now known as the
Today they are extinct.
Today’s Palestinians were citizens of
This “collection” had absolutely nothing to
do with a tithe.
Such teaching is untrue.
Let’s take this opportunity to study the
tithe.
This study of the tithe is not meant to
ridicule any Pastor for stressing tithing.
However, tithing in the Gentile Christian
Church is anti-biblical.
Is the tithe under the law or grace?
Law!
Are you under the law or under grace?
Grace!
The ten-percent across the board weekly tithe
is not a New Testament teaching.
Many are surprised to find that it is also not
an Old Testament teaching!
Before I start, let me make it perfectly
clear that tithes, firstfruits, and offerings are completely different issues.
They should not be commingled.
The word "tithe/tithes" first
appears in the King James Version of the Bible in Genesis 14:20.
Genesis 14:18-20
18 And Melchizedek king of
19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God,
possessor of heaven and earth:
20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into
thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
Notice that Abram did not give Melchizedek a
tithe of what he earned by tending his flocks and herds.
Instead, he gave him a tenth of the spoils of
war.
The tithe to Melchizedek was a one-time only
event that is not repeated.
Numbers 18:26 "Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them:
`When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you
from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it
to the LORD, a tenth of the tithe.
As we shall see, the tithe was a specific
inheritance of members of the tribe of Levi that consisted of food to be eaten
in a shared meal.
The "heave offering" was a tithe of
the tithe given by the "normal Levites" to the priest Levites.
It was to choicest parts of the tithe they
had received.
As an example, if the normal Levite received
a sheep as the tithe from a family, the tithe would have been the lamb’s right
thigh.
It was to be eaten by the family giving it
and the Priests within the
The family tithe was given to the Levites as
their tribal inheritance!
Under the law, only Levites could receive the
tithe.
And, while many preachers today may claim to
be spiritual Levites, they want real money!
Since the tithe may only be given to the
Levites, the tithe within the church is biblically illegal.
For your information, today’s Synagogues do
not ask for a tithe.
It is illegal among Jews today, because no
one knows who among them is a Levite!
The ancestral records were destroyed in 70
AD.
Leviticus 27:30 `And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed
of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S. It is holy to the LORD.
The tithe is holy to Yahweh, but
Levites were to receive it in a specific manner.
Who paid a tithe?
The tithe consisted only of foodstuffs.
It could include money only if
the one paying the tithe wished to redeem the tithe.
We will discuss that later.
Only landowners and herdsmen paid the tithe.
They paid it based on their increase,
not on the base.
Herdsmen, that is the owners of the herds
(not their employees), needed to have at least ten sheep or cattle before the
tithe was paid.
If the herdsmen had less than ten animals no
tithe was paid.
Let me put this is modern terms.
If you work in a factory , but do not own the
factory, and just "work for wages," you should not pay tithes.
Tithes were paid exclusively on
the increase of your business, not your salary!
Hired herdsmen did not pay tithes.
The animal tithe was determined by making the
animals pass under a rod.
Leviticus 27:32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the
flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto
the LORD.
If a certain lamb passed under the rod and
the owner did not want to tithe that animal, he could redeem it by paying the
price of the lamb plus twenty percent.
Leviticus 27:13 But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a
fifth part thereof unto thy estimation.
The tithe ran in a seven years cycle!
The third year and the seventh year were
special.
Deuteronomy 14:28-29
28 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine
increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
29 And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the
stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall
come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in
all the work of thine hand which thou doest.
Every third year, the tithe was to put aside
by the families who paid tithes, and kept by them for use by the less
fortunate.
It was not to be consumed by the Levites
alone.
The third-year tithe was to be used to feed
wandering Levites, strangers, orphans, and widows, which happened to come to
the tither’s home.
The third-year tithe was not
given to the Levitical Priests to keep or to distribute.
No tithe was given during the seventh year!
Leviticus 25:4-5
4 But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath
for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
5 That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap,
neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto
the land.
As shown in Leviticus 25:4-5, every seventh
year was a sabbatical year for the land and herds.
During that sabbatical year no tithe
was to be collected.
How many times have you heard a sermon on the
sabbatical year?
Let me summarize the yearly tithes.
At the end of the third year in the cycle of
seven, the tithe was to be kept within the home to be used to feed these less
fortunate.
The seventh year was a sabbatical year in
which no tithe was collected.
The tithe (one-tenth of the yearly increase)
was to be taken to the temple only during the first, second, forth, fifth, and
sixth years.
The tithe could only be given
at the temple, or a nationally designated place.
It was never given at a local
synagogue!
Deuteronomy 12:17 "You may not eat within your gates
the tithe of your grain or your new wine or your oil, of the firstlings of your
herd or your flock, of any of your offerings which you vow, of your freewill
offerings, or of the heave offering of your hand.
Deuteronomy 14:23 "And you shall eat before the LORD
your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of
your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and
your flocks, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.
The tithe consisted only of foodstuffs!
It was to be eaten by the Priests and the
tithing family at the temple or a designated place outside of the home.
The tithe is a shared meal!
Numbers 18:26 "Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them:
`When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you
from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it
to the LORD, a tenth of the tithe.
One fact that escapes most is that the
biblical tithe was a shared meal!
The Priests and the tithing families ate
the tithe.
But, what if your family lived too far from
the
In that case (and that case alone) you could
sell the tithe, take the money to the
Incidentally, you could buy whatever you and
your family wanted to eat.
The Priest did not decide what was purchased.
Deuteronomy 14:24-26
24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or
if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set
his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and
shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:
26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for
oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy
soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt
rejoice, thou, and thine household,
That is the problem Jesus had with the
moneychangers.
They had turned the tithe into a racket
worthy of the Mafia.
Today, many Church leaders have prostituted
the tithe.
Matthew 21:12-13
12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and
bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the
seats of them that sold doves,
13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of
prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
For your information---many Pastors do not
know about the tithe.
They just follow the lead of past leaders,
who themselves may have preached in ignorance.
But isn’t the failing to pay the money tithe
robbing God?
How can you steal something from God that he
does not require?
Malachi 3:8-10
8"Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, `In what way
have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings.
9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My
house, and try Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "If I will
not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that
there will not be room enough to receive it.
1. who was robbing God? The whole nation of
2. What were they stealing? Tithes and offerings! While
offerings may be money, tithes are food (period)!
3. How did they steal the tithe? They did not bring it to
the "storehouse."
4. Where is the storehouse? It is the
5. Is there a
Who was Malachi writing to?
The nation of
Malachi 1:1 The burden of the word of the LORD to
Malachi was written to the whole, physical,
nation of
It was especially pointed to the Priests of
Israel.
Malachi 1:6 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master:
if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my
fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise
my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
God was angry with the Priests of Israel.
Malachi 2:1 And now, O ye priests, this commandment
is for you. (KJV)
Malachi 2:7 For the priest's lips should keep
knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger
of the LORD of hosts.
The tithe (food) was to be brought into the
But, it was to be shared.
The family giving it and the
Where is the
You are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1
Corinthians 6:19)!
Think about that!
Didn’t Jesus ridicule some other Jews for not
tithing?
No, He criticized them for failing to show
mercy.
Matthew 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier
matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done,
and not to leave the other undone.
Notice that they tithed even in small matters
such as food condiments, but failed to have faith, show mercy, and seek
justice.
Will He condemn today’s Church for failing to
show mercy?
The tithe is taught in only one place in the
New Testament.
Hebrews 7:1-12
1 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met
Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation
King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of
peace;
3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of
days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest
continually.
4 Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham
gave the tenth of the spoils.
5 And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the
priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the
law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:
6 But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and
blessed him that had the promises.
7 And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.
8 And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it
is witnessed that he liveth.
9 And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in
Abraham.
10 For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.
11 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the
people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest
should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order
of Aaron?
12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also
of the law.
This section is not a call for Christians
tithe.
It is a story about Abram’s tithe to the
Great Priest, Christ Jesus.
In it the writer confirms that the tithe
Abram paid to Melchizedek came from the spoils of war, and not from the fruit
of his daily labor.
Hebrews 7:1-12 also confirms
that only those of the Hebrew tribe of Levi had any claim on the tithe.
In addition, this section points out that the
tithe was part of the Mosaic Law.
James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet
offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
If as a Pastor, you teach the law and place
your congregation under the law instead of grace, you cause their fall from
grace.
Galatians 5:3-4
3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to
do the whole law.
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the
law; ye are fallen from grace.
In that section, Paul says that if we become
debtors to the law, we are debtors to the whole law.
And, James said that if we are debtors to the
law and do not keep in total, we are guilty!
The tithe is under the law!
As a Christian, you are under grace!
As I said, there are differences between
tithes, offerings and firstfruits.
They should not be commingled.
We often use the term "freewill."
"Freewill" is used only in the Old
Testament, KJV, and only in speaking of offerings. Any use of the word outside
of that context is biblical abuse.
Give as much as you want, as often as you
can, but don’t give under the condemnation of the Old Testament
tithe.
Perhaps the most misunderstood verse in the
Bible is found in 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 16:2 Upon the first day of the week (one of the Sabbaths) let
every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be
no gatherings when I come.
Paul was stressing freewill gifts, not
tithes.
No verse in the entire Bible says that Jesus,
or any of the Apostles ever accepted or paid a tithe.
Being fishermen, Peter, Andrew, James and
John were exempt from tithing.
When Gentiles were taken into the Church,
tithing was not part of their responsibility.
Acts 15:28-29
28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater
burden than these necessary things;
29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things
strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do
well. Fare ye well.
To make sure that all paid something, the
While Neither Jesus nor the Apostles paid the
tithe, they did pay the temple tax.
Matthew 17:24-27
24 And when they were come to
Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not
your master pay tribute (Temple tax)?
25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him,
saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take
custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?
26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the
children free.
27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an
hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his
mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me
and thee.
No verse in the bible says that Jesus ever
paid the tithe!
When you give, give from a heart of love as
God has prospered you, not from a fear of obligation!
The Ten-percent across the board tithe is an
anti-biblical modern invention totally lacking any biblical basis.
Giving to the church and tithing are two
different things.
You may give a percent of your gross, or take
home pay to the church, that’s up to you.
But, personally, I don’t think I would tell
God I was going to give one amount and then give another (according to Acts
5-the story of Ananias and Sapphira).
Just tell God what you are going to give, and
then give that amount.
God does not want you to, nor does he demand
that you give to the detriment of your family.
He is not exalted with your giving
ten-percent while ignoring your bills and perhaps going into bankruptcy.
In the entire Bible, the tithe is only food,
and was used to provide food for the Levites and Levite Temple Priests.
Every third year of a seven-year cycle,
families kept the tithe to meet emergencies feeding the less fortunate.
The seventh year was a sabbatical year when
no tithe was demanded, or given.
The tithe was not universal.
Only landowners with planted fields,
orchards, vineyards, and/or those owning herds paid a tithe.
All others were exempt from the tithe.
Would you have paid a tithe under that system
or would you have been exempt?
The tithe was a demand under law.
Are you under the law, or are you under
grace?
If you are paying what you think is a tithe
under OT condemnation, repent!
Romans 8:1-2
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who
walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the
law of sin and death.
Give what you want as often as you want, but
don’t fall into the religious condemnation of a required tithe.
Luke
6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto
you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall
men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it
shall be measured to you again.
This does not say “tithe” and it shall be
given to you.
The reason is that tithing is the Law, but
giving is from the heart.
“Freewill” is found only in the Old Testament
and only as concerns offerings.
It is never
used in relation to tithes!
Offerings come from the heart.
God wants your heart.
Give as the Lord leads you and the amount
will be correct!
This collection Paul writes about in 1
Corinthians is akin to the "free will offering’ of the Old Testament.
To those who have studied the tithe, you
realize that it was illegal for Paul to accept a tithe.
While Paul did accept gifts, there is no
record of Paul ever having accepted a tithe.
Verse 2 needs some explaining. Verse 2 has
absolutely nothing to do with tithing!
In fact the word tithe does not appear in
verse 2.
One Charismatic “preacher” (lower case p)
recently told “his” congregation that if they did not pay the tithe to “his”
church (lower case c) he did not want them there!
That preacher demands money from those who
are living day to day on unemployment and Social Security, and yet his income
is over $100,000 per year!
He is an ordained deceiver!
Offerings and tithes are two different
things.
The phrase "first day of the week"
is not found in the Bible’s Greek text.
The Greek text (Gr. mian sabbatou-mian sabbatou) refers to
"one of the Sabbaths."
At the time of this writing, most (if not
all) Churches met on the traditional Sabbath, and there were a great number of
Jews that made up the body of believers.
The Greek text never shows any evidence of
any kind of replacement of Sunday for the Sabbath.
The Roman Catholic Church claims that (using
papal authority) it replaced Sabbath worship with Sunday.
They claim papal authority on this matter,
because as any knowledgeable Bible reader knows and it is verified by the Roman
Catholics, there is no biblical admonishment to worship on Sunday.
When Emperor Constantine, in 325 AD told the
Church leaders to quit Judaizing and worship on the “venerable day of the sun
or die”, the Bishop of Rome said, “Well, since you put it that way…”
While papal authority may be in doubt, the
fact remains.
No verse in the entire Bible proclaims Sunday
worship.
Sunday worship is a result of heathenism
taking control of Christianity in the 4th century when the Roman
Emperor, Constantine ordered that the Church honor the great day of the
sun---not the Son.
Each and every time the phrase, “first day of
the week” appears in the New Testament, the Greek text refers to the
Sabbath.
Let’s look at just one instance.
Matthew
28:1 In the end of the sabbath, as it
began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the
other Mary to see the sepulchre.
You
might think that this verse is plain and straightforward.
After all, most Christians believe it as it
is written.
The English translation is false!
Let’s insert the Greek word Sabbath into the
English text each time it appears.
Matthew
28:1 In the end of the Sabbath (Gr.
Sabbatoon-Sabbatwn),
as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week (Gr. Sabbatoon-Sabbatwn), came Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
Why would the translators translate a Greek
word one way in the first half of this verse and another way in the second
half?
The answer is politically motivated
ignorance!
There are multiple Sabbaths during Passover.
The last of the Sabbaths during that period
pointed to the feast of Pentecost, a feast that has lost its place in
Christianity.
While the Concordant Literal Version comes
very close, to my knowledge, Young’s Literal Translation is the only
translation that captures the essence of this verse.
Young’s Literal Translation: “And on the eve
of the Sabbaths, at the dawn toward the first of the Sabbaths, came Mary the
Magdalene, and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre.”
That translation is accurate and acknowledges
the fact of multiple Sabbaths during Passover.
It also acknowledges Christianity’s Jewish
roots.
The Jewish dominance in Churches would not
change until after 135 AD following Shimon Bar Kockba’s revolt.
1 Corinthians 16:5-7
5 Now I will come unto you, when I shall pass through Macedonia: for I do pass
through Macedonia.
6 And it may be that I will abide, yea, and winter with you, that ye may bring
me on my journey whithersoever I go.
7 For I will not see you now by the way; but I trust to tarry a while with you,
if the Lord permit.
Paul promised to visit them when he made his
way through Macedonia.
He could have stayed for as long as the
winter.
Traveling that area in the winter was a
difficult task.
As always, his plans depended on the Lord. Do
yours?
Paul probably wrote this during his stay in
He planned to stay there until Pentecost.
That is the official birthday of the Church.
Apparently an opportunity was awaiting Paul.
It is my opinion that this opportunity may
have been in speaking to Jews in
The letter to the Hebrews may have been the
outcome of the opening door.
As Peter spoke to Gentiles, Paul spoke to
Jews.
The Apostles were not exclusive.
There was "cross over" ministry
from Gentile to Jew in evangelism.
It may be that Peter was allowed to evangelize
more among Gentiles at the time, and Paul was allowed to evangelize more among
Jews.
If true, there would be a great wall put up
by Jews to keep Rabbi Saul (Apostle Paul) from returning to his old places of
study and Jewish success.
There would be many adversaries.
Paul’s son-in-her-Spirit, Timothy may
have gone to
If he did, the Church was under orders to
treat him with respect.
Apollos was another that Paul greatly
respected in Christ.
Apparently Paul suggested that Apollos visit
At this writing, Apollos had no desire to go
to
Paul’s advice to the Corinthians—and to us is
to be alert, stand fast in the faith, act like men, be strong against
oppression, and do all things based on love.
It may be 2,000 years old, but it is very
good advice.
Stephanas must have been special to Paul.
He was the first to be baptized by Paul in
Stephanas is mentioned three times in this
letter.
It is said that he and his household devoted
themselves to the ministry to the Saints.
It is men such as Stephanas that we are to
look to as mentors.
Many can talk the talk but few can walk the
walk.
Stephanas was a man of godly action, not just
empty words.
In V. 16, Paul mentions three men (Stephanas,
Fortunatus, and Achaicus) who gave to the ministry, and in doing so refreshed,
lifted his spirit.
His wish is that we should respect such
men.
Paul’s final salutation mentions that
wonderful husband and wife team
They were teachers, evangelists, or whatever
was needed at the time.
At this writing, they were Pastors of a
Church.
Paul sent the love of all ministering with him,
and wrote the final words himself---indicating that a scribe wrote the majority
of this letter.
Paul could be blunt.
This was one of those times.
"If anybody does not love the lord, let
him be cursed!
"Maranatha" is Aramaic meaning
"our lord comes."
It is not, as some suppose, a
"magic" word.
It is a declaration of faith!
Paul closes, as we have seen so many times,
with a wonderful blessing for the Saints.
May I offer a personal paraphrase: “The grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ is with you.
My love is with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen!”