3rd Missionary Trip - Lorin

principle of the Gospel’s placing responsibility to care for the poor on the shoulders of believers:
πάντα ὑπέδειξα ὑμῖν ὅτι οὕτως κοπιῶντας δεῖ ἀντιλαμβάνεσθαι τῶν ἀσθενούντων, μνημονεύειν τε τῶν
λόγων τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ ὅτι αὐτὸς εἶπεν· μακάριόν ἐστιν μᾶλλον διδόναι ἢ λαμβάνειν. In all this I have given you an
example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, ‘It is
more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
The core theological principle here is δεῖ ἀντιλαμβάνεσθαι τῶν ἀσθενούντων, it is manditory to come to the
aid of those who are weak. Earning money is not so we can lavish it on ourselves. Rather it is to enable us to help
those who stand in need. Not only in Eph. 4:28 did Paul stress this in his letters,
Page 470
259 but 1 Tim. 6:6-10, 17-19 he
goes into much greater detail. 260 The foundational Christian truth is that we exist to serve others, not to be served
nor to serve ourselves!
How do Christian leaders do this? Paul refers to his own example as the model: πάντα ὑπέδειξα ὑμῖν ὅτι
οὕτως κοπιῶντας, In all this I have given you an example that by such work.... Note here his use of κοπιῶντας, which
specifies exhausting labor, not just work. 261 The apostle has set the example. Does this mean a refusal to accept
assistance from those who offer it? Absolutely not, for Paul received repeated financial support from many of the
churches that he founded, as he makes clear in Phil. 4: 10-20. But he never demanded it nor asked for it, especially
while he was ministering to them in person. He did receive hospitality from various Christian individuals
such as Priscilla and Aquila who hosted him part of the time he was in Corinth, along with Titius Justus (cf. Acts
18:1-4, 7).
The ‘scriptural’ basis for this theological principle is given as the words of Christ: μνημονεύειν τε τῶν
λόγων τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ ὅτι αὐτὸς εἶπεν· μακάριόν ἐστιν μᾶλλον διδόναι ἢ λαμβάνειν, remembering the words of
the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ Where does this saying come from? It is
not found in any of the four gospels. Early church fathers will speak of the tendency of early Christians prior to
the composition of the four written gospels at least three decades after the ascension of Jesus having collected
various sayings of Jesus into memorized groupings. Some may have been written down, but most were brought
together for memorization in oral form. 262 Thus the authority basis for the theological axiom is nothing other than
259Note the interesting parallel in Paul’s later letter to the Ephesians (4:28): Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor
and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.
ὁ κλέπτων μηκέτι κλεπτέτω, μᾶλλον δὲ κοπιάτω ἐργαζόμενος ταῖς [ἰδίαις] χερσὶν τὸ ἀγαθόν, ἵνα ἔχῃ μεταδιδόναι τῷ χρείαν
ἔχοντι.
2601 Tim. 6:6-10, 17-19. 6 Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; 7 for we brought nothing
into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; 8 but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9 But those who
want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and
pierced themselves with many pains. . . .
17 As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of
riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works,
generous, and ready to share, 19 thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take
hold of the life that really is life.
6 Ἔστιν δὲ πορισμὸς μέγας ἡ εὐσέβεια μετὰ αὐταρκείας· 7 οὐδὲν γὰρ εἰσηνέγκαμεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, ὅτι οὐδὲ ἐξενεγκεῖν τι
δυνάμεθα· 8 ἔχοντες δὲ διατροφὰς καὶ σκεπάσματα, τούτοις ἀρκεσθησόμεθα. 9 οἱ δὲ βουλόμενοι πλουτεῖν ἐμπίπτουσιν εἰς πειρασμὸν καὶ
παγίδα καὶ ἐπιθυμίας πολλὰς ἀνοήτους καὶ βλαβεράς, αἵτινες βυθίζουσιν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους εἰς ὄλεθρον καὶ ἀπώλειαν. 10 ῥίζα γὰρ πάντων
τῶν κακῶν ἐστιν ἡ φιλαργυρία, ἧς τινες ὀρεγόμενοι ἀπεπλανήθησαν ἀπὸ τῆς πίστεως καὶ ἑαυτοὺς περιέπειραν ὀδύναις πολλαῖς....
17 Τοῖς πλουσίοις ἐν τῷ νῦν αἰῶνι παράγγελλε μὴ ὑψηλοφρονεῖν μηδὲ ἠλπικέναι ἐπὶ πλούτου ἀδηλότητι ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ θεῷ τῷ
παρέχοντι ἡμῖν πάντα πλουσίως εἰς ἀπόλαυσιν, 18 ἀγαθοεργεῖν, πλουτεῖν ἐν ἔργοις καλοῖς, εὐμεταδότους εἶναι, κοινωνικούς, 19
ἀποθησαυρίζοντας ἑαυτοῖς θεμέλιον καλὸν εἰς τὸ μέλλον, ἵνα ἐπιλάβωνται τῆς ὄντως ζωῆς.
261 “Again 1 Cor. 4:12 is recalled, this time by the word κοριᾶν, which probably needs a somewhat stronger translation than
working. When the verb does not simply mean to be tired it still carries with it the association of weariness—to wear oneself out with
toil.” ‘[C. K. Barrett, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles, International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh:
T&T Clark, 2004), 982-83.]
262 “The present saying may have been drawn from a collection of such λόγοι. There is no parallel in the canonical gospels.
The question of authenticity is left open by Knox (Hell. El. 29) and was affirmed by J. Jeremias in the first edition of his Unknown
Sayings of Jesus (ET, 1957), 77–81. Jeremias notes parallels in Aristotle, Ethica Nicomachea 4:1:7 (1120a); Plutarch, Maxime cum
principibus Viris 3 (778c) Pseudo-Plutarch, Regum Apophthegmata: Artaxerxes 1 (173d); Seneca, Epistles 81:17; Sirach 4:31; Didache
1:5; 4:5; Barnabas 19:9; Apostolic Constitutions 7:12:1, but surprisingly does not mention Thucydides 2:97:4, where it is said that the
Thracians thought it better λαμβάνειν μᾶλλον ἢ διδόναι, therein being opposite to the Persians (who thus must have thought it better
διδόναι μᾶλλον ἢ λαμβάνειν, which is virtually the Lucan saying). It is true, as J. J. Kilgallen points out (JBL 112 (1993), 312–14), that
Thucydides expresses the matter less clearly than could be desired, but the parallel is valid.” [C. K. Barrett, A Critical and Exegetical
Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles, International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2004), 983.]