In the concluding section of his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 16), Paul says, “a door is opened to me, great and efficacious.” This open door is not a physical door, but actually an opening in our humanity, which is able to usher people into a spiritual environment — to give birth, raise, educate, and build. It is a door into the real, practical church life. The Lord’s dispensing needs this door, which is outlived and experienced by the virtues of the saints in resurrection.
From verses 1 to 3, Paul addresses the practical aspects of collecting offerings on the Lord’s Day. But in reality, he is writing from an even more expensive understanding of the Body. His practical coordination indicates that the church needs brothers and sisters who are the “real deal” as saved believers — in other words, that the generosity and strength of the church life requires the saints’ resurrected humanity. The Lord’s powerful resurrection affords us the virtues and quality — the generosity — of an utterly consecrated Body life.
Whenever the Body — having been dealt with, terminated, and sanctified from the world — comes together, we are able to enjoy the fruits of our consecration, made possible by the reality of this resurrection. In that glorious overflow of generosity of the church in resurrection, brothers and sisters are able to offer, are able to give, and are able to be generous in much more than financial means. Later in the chapter, we see that the saints are not only generous but they are also urged to be firm in faith, full-grown, strong (v. 13), consecrated and ministering (v. 15), co-working and laboring (v. 16), and hosting this opened door to the apostle and to one another in their house (v. 19). The freeing power of the Lord’s death and resurrection overcomes all our own weaknesses, shortages, and natural life toward the enjoyment of the Body life. This resurrected humanity frames and hosts and issues out an opened door for the gospel and the enjoyment of a strong, generous, and loving church life.
In resurrection, serving and ministering life together is beautiful. Not to despise one another, but to receive one another with gladness and joy, to give hospitality without a second thought, to serve one another with love. This is what it means to be strong — strong to love and to give and to receive. Today, we might do everything “right” on the surface, but without the real experience of resurrection, we have no generosity and strength in the church life. We need to be those living in resurrection — and we need it desperately. We need this opened door (v. 9), the open churching in our houses (v. 19), this refreshing of our spirit (v. 18), now more than ever.
(Above are notes of fellowship taken from a gathering on 5/8/2024, not reviewed by the speaker.)