1 Corinthians 16:14

1 Corinthians 16:14 says, Let all your things be done with charity.  This should be the underlying principle for all our actions as followers of Christ.  As Paul instructs, we should do everything out of Christ like charity, or love, for all those around us.  We cannot act in this type love if we hold any ill will toward those we are witnessing to.  I think sometimes we want to keep certain people from having an opportunity to respond to the gospel simply because we feel that they don't deserve forgiveness.  Paul tells us that we need to act out of love for all people, and he was writing in a time when Christians were being actively persecuted.  We are not called on to determine who is worthy of salvation, because none are.  Verse fifteen adds, I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)  Paul paused in his statement to commend the house of Stephanas, or Stephen, for their addiction to the ministry of the saints.  We should hope that we today could be viewed the same way.  Paul said that the house of Stephen were the first fruits in Achaia.  They may have been new believers in Christ, but they were already addicted to sharing Christ and uplifting the church, which is what our ministry should always be.  Verse sixteen continues, That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth.  Paul had said that I beseech you, and here he told them what he wanted to implore them to do.  Paul told them to submit to those who, like Stephen, were addicted to the gospel, and to everyone that was working to spread the gospel.  I don't believe that Paul meant that we are to be subservient to other Christians, but that we are to minister to their needs as much as possible so they can serve God more effectively.  Verse seventeen states, I am glad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus: for that which was lacking on your part they have supplied. At this point, Paul could not go to them, so he was glad that these three had come to Him.  We should always be willing to help share in the ministry of others.  Paul said that what was lacking on the part of the church at Corinth as a whole had been supplied by these three men.  Matthew Henry says that they were able to give Paul a more accurate report of what was going on in the church at Corinth.  Though we are not told specifically what they supplied, it was something that lifted Paul's spirit.  Verse eighteen adds, For they have refreshed my spirit and yours: therefore acknowledge ye them that are such. When fellow Christians come to us in a time of need, we should always have our spirit lifted.  Verse nineteen continues, The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. Though a church is a local body of believers, the church overall is all the local bodies working together. We should greet the other churches as often as possible and pray for them always.  The church is not a building, but believers meeting together, as they were at the home of Aquila and Priscilla, and then going into the community to spread the gospel.  Verse twenty says, All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss. I believe that once more we can see that Paul is telling us that we are to rejoice in all the other believers that we come in contact with.  Verse twenty-one adds, The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand.  Evidently Paul had some else actually write down most of the letter, but he wrote the last part himself.  This could have been to authenticate the letter.  Verse twenty-two continues, If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.  Paul tells us that anyone who does not love Christ, and I believe acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior, then we are not to allow them to corrupt the church.  We are to be separated from them.  This does not mean we don't witness to them, but that we do not let their lack of belief or even their speaking against Christ to cause trouble in the church.  Verse twenty-three states, The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.  There is no better place for a Christian to be than in the grace of Jesus Christ.  It is His grace that saves and sustains us.  Verse twenty-four, Paul closes saying, My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen. The first epistle to the Corinthians was written from Philippi by Stephanas, and Fortunatus, and Achaicus, and Timotheus.  Paul tells them that his love for them through Christ was for all of them, not just those who may have boasted of being saved by Paul's witnessing to them.