RE: Objection 3

This objection by Glenn is raised concerning 1 Corinthians 16:2

On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.

Glenn objects with:

Again, another text taken out of context. If they took the time to delve into what Paul was writing about, the brethren at CARM would understand that Paul was requesting donations for disaster/famine relief, just like churches today are encouraging members to give to relief organizations. Here is another article disproving the notion of Sunday meeting in 1 Cor 16.

Does 1 Corinthians 16 prove Sunday worship? Answer: No.

Glenn charges CARM with taking this verse out of context and applying an unintended meaning on it. Very serious charge. Does it stack up, though? The immediate context of this passage is:

Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

Now Glenn is partially correct but gives a very surface-level interpretation of the passage. This is Paul’s collection of money for needy Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. (See Acts 24:17; Rom. 15:25–28, 31; 2 Corinthians 8–9.) Paul brought relief aid to the church in Judea more than once. (See Acts 11:27–30, to which Gal. 2:10 may refer.)

In v. 2 Paul uses the phrase “first day of every week” (Gk. κατὰ μίαν σαββάτου) which is a Jewish expression for Sunday, and similar to the phrase used in the Gospels to describe the day of the week on which Jesus rose from the dead (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1). This shows that Christians gathered for worship on Sunday, not Saturday (cf. Acts 20:7; Rev. 1:10), in order to acknowledge the crucial importance of Christ’s resurrection.

Glenn, though, doesn’t read carefully enough and misses an important word. He writes, “Paul was requesting donations for disaster/famine relief” and leaves it at that. But this begs the question “How often do we collect money? Just once?” Pay special attention to the preposition κατὰ that here is translated “every”. This was not a one-time donation for “disaster/famine relief” but a continual collection of money EVERY week on Sunday, not Saturday. But Glenn, in the article he links to, makes the statement “it sounds like a one time thing, not regular weekly collections.” Again we see that Glenn is ill equipped to be exegeting Scripture and then waxing authoritatively about it.

P.S. Perhaps I haven’t been clear enough for those reading but the Sabbath was given to Israel, not the church. The Sabbath is still Saturday, not Sunday, and has never been changed. But the Sabbath is part of the Old Testament Law, and Christians are free from the bondage of the Law (Gal. 4:1-26; Rom. 6:14). Sabbath keeping is not required of the Christian—be it Saturday or Sunday.