1 Corinthians 16:2

Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come.

Upon the first day of the week ... The astounding remark by Farrar that "This verse can hardly imply any religious observance of the Sunday"[7] is to be rejected. That is exactly what it does imply. Macknight translated this clause, "On the first day of every week";[8] Grosheide declared the meaning to be "On every Sunday";[9] and Hodge said it means, "The collection was to be made every Lord's day."[10] Pliny's letter to Trajan bears testimony to the fact that the Christians of his day (prior to his death in 113 A.D.) were accustomed to meet on "an appointed day";[11] and here that appointed day is somewhat inadvertently identified by the apostle Paul as every Sunday.

There is no fact connected with Christianity any more certain than the apostolic custom of worship services every Lord's day. Beginning with the very day of our Lord's resurrection, and continuing upon successive Sundays thereafter (John 20:18,24,26), worship was observed by the apostles. A careful study of Acts 20:6,7; Acts 21:4 and Acts 28:14 discloses not merely that the worship and observance of the Lord's supper took place on Sundays, but also that the Lord's supper was never observed by the apostolic church on any other day. See my Commentary on Luke, p. 517. Added to that testimony is the undeniable meaning of the verse before us.

Let each one of you lay by him in store ... It is generally admitted that every Christian was to participate in the giving, but "by him" has given the commentators a lot of trouble. Thus Johnson thought it was "a reference to the home-giving was to be private giving."[12] The word "home" is not in the Greek text, nor is such an idea to be found there. As Lipscomb and many others have noted, "The idea that the storing was to be at home is incompatible with the idea that `no collections be made when I come.'"[13] "The words do not mean "to lay by at home," but "to lay by himself.""[14] This indicates that the amount of giving was to be determined by the man HIMSELF, not by any tax or suggestion from others. The word rendered "in store" means "putting in the treasury ... the common treasury, not every man's own house."[15]

As one studies some of the so-called modern translations of this place, it is clear that they are not translations in any sense, but human commentary substituted for the word of God. Even the RSV is seriously at fault in handling this passage. As Wallace said, "They changed Paul's words from `lay by him in store' to `put something aside and save'; but in 1952 they revised their own rendition to `store up'"[16]

For its hermeneutical value, the following list of Greek words translated "giving" or its equivalent are compiled from William Barclay:

[@Logeia] (1 Corinthians 16:1) means "a special collection" (Churches which do not like special appeals, take note).

[@Charis] (1 Corinthians 16:3) means bounty or "free gift freely given."

[@Koinonia] (2 Corinthians 8:4; 9:13; Romans 15:6) means "fellowship."

[@Diakonia] (2 Corinthians 8:4; 9:1,12,13) means practical Christian service." Our word "deacon" is related to it.

[@Hadrotes] (2 Corinthians 8:20) means "abundance."

[@Eulogia] (2 Corinthians 9:5) means "bounty" in the sense of what is given joyfully

[@Leitourgia] (2 Corinthians 9:12) means giving of money or services voluntarily, especially some large gift.

[@Eleemosune] (Acts 24:17) is the Greek word for "alms." Our word "eleemosynary" as applied to charitable institutions comes from this.

[@Prosfora] (Acts 24:17) means "offering or sacrifice." Thus what is given to the needy, or to the church, is a sacrifice or offering to God.

This impressive list is a testimony to the importance of giving as laid down in the New Testament; and any preacher will find such a catalogue as this helpful and stimulating.

A concluding line on this verse is from Hodge:.

The only reason that can be assigned for requiring the thing to be done on the first day of the week, is that on that day the Christians were accustomed to meet, and what each one had laid aside from his weekly gains could be treasured up, put into the common treasury of the church.[17]

As he may prosper ... This does not mean that only the prosperous should give, but that every man, in the extent of his prosperity, should give to the proposed collection.

In the whole matter of Christian giving, these verses indicate that: (1) all should participate, (2) according to the ability of each, and (3) that it should be done regularly and continually.

[7] F. W. Farrar, op. cit., p 549

[8] James Macknight, Apostolical Epistles and Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1969), p. 291.

[9] F. W. Grosheide, The New International Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1953), p. 398.

[10] Charles Hodge, First Epistle to the Corinthians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, Publishing Company, 1974), p. 363.

[11] Henry Bettenson, Documents of the Christian Church (New York and London: Oxford University Press, 1947), p. 6.

[12] S. Lewis Johnson, Jr., Wycliffe Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 646.

[13] David Lipscomb, op. cit., p. 249.

[14] Charles Hodge, op., cit., p 364

[15] Ibid.

[16] Foy E. Wallace, Jr., A Review of the New Versions (Fort Worth, Texas: The Foy E. Wallace, Jr., Publications, 1973), p. 436.

[17] Ibid.