"But let him be sharing, the [one] being catechized the word to the one catechizing in all things good."
-But! Here Paul gives us an exception to the rule of thumb which he just delivered, that each person in the body of Christ should carry their own knapsack, that they should pull their own weight and provide for themselves and their family to the full extent of their ability. But a significant exception, this, and as we will see, it is prone to being marred by fleshy attitudes.
-Catechism is very religious word, familiar to some, vague to many others. It refers to a body of teachings (typically about Christianity) which have been collected and formalized in order to facilitate their instruction to others, to help ensure that they are properly passed on. That noun does not appear anywhere in the Bible, however. he verb, to catechize (used here and only by Paul and Luke - cf Luke 1.4, Acts 18.25, 1Corinthians 14.19), is the act of passing on such teachings. It is instructing others in the fundamentals of their religion, in this case of the Christian faith. And while it is true that all in Christ are well-enabled to teach and encourage one another with the Truth (Colossians 3.16), those who are called and gifted for and who work hard at this ministry of instructing the saints are deserving of special consideration (cf 1Timothy 5.17-18, Luke 10.7).
-Now, historically temple priests in both Jewish and pagan culture made their living off of obligatory offerings which were intended to expiate sins and assuage the wrath of Jehovah or whatever pagan idol held sway in that region (cf 1Corinthians 9.13). This form of ‘forced’ sharing thus worked for both the clergy and the laity. But Christ paid for all of that, He took away our guilt and the wrath of the thrice-holy God against against our sins. The requirements of the law have been fulfilled in Him, through faith in His work on the Cross. There is no more guilt, no more condemnation, no more sins to pay off - this is the truth which sets us free! It liberates the believer from ever having to present any offerings whatsoever. No more trips to the local altar to leave food or an animal or money even. We do see that special offerings were collected to assist the poor and needy in different places. But what of the ministers, the ones who devote themselves full-time to passing on this truth, to insuring that the church is well instructed in the essentials of the faith? If there are no regular offerings, how do they survive? True, there are some - many in fact - who are bi-vocational, who earn their livelihood thru some other means of employment. Paul did this on at least one occasion, in Corinth - he made and sold tents for a time (Acts 18.1-4, cf 1Corinthians 9.6). His desire was not to be a burden to these peoples among whom he was doing pioneering evangelism, to be able to offer them the Good News at ‘no charge’ (1Corinthians 9.15-18). However we also see that he preferred NOT to have to do the bi-vocational thing, and when the means of support were provided by other believers and assemblies, Paul devoted himself full-time to this ministry of the Word (Acts 18.5), of instructing others in the fundamentals of the Christian faith. Surely there is a significant benefit, for both the teacher and the ones being taught, for said teacher to be able to focus their full time and attention on doing just that. This is what Paul clearly preferred to do. and so that is what we see in Paul, in both his ministry and in his teachings - the beginnings of a paid Christian clergy (cf 1Corinthians 9.3-14). That is precisely what he is talking about here - the generous sharing - which was a hallmark of that early church (Acts 2.44-45, 4.32) - needed to be deliberately directed towards anyone who was engaged in the ministry of the Word.
-But we’re not talking about leftovers. not talking about hand-me-downs and second-hand second-rate castoffs which nobody with a sense of decency would give to their own family. Paul says to be sharing ‘all good things’. Sometimes there is a mindset which leads us to believe that those who depend on the generosity of others can be expected to be happy just to receive any provision? Even if it’s nasty or ratty, something we’re just inclined to get rid of or throw out. Beggars can’t be choosers, right? In truth, they often cannot - and to their credit you will seldom if ever hear them complain about it, particularly not those who are in full-time ministry and depend on the faithful generosity of others. But in our flesh we do sometimes adopt this mindset towards those engaged in full-time Christian ministry. We look down on them as somehow less deserving of good things, good things which they can only afford because we pay their salary with the money we actually earned as a result of our own education and ability and hard work. And so we can be tempted to not fully open our hand to generously support those in full-time ministry because - let’s be honest - we are loathe to part with our money. We would prefer to spend it on ourselves. We give begrudgingly, or that which is blemished in some way (the Lord Himself has plenty to say about THAT - cf Malachi 1.6-8, 1.13, 3.8-10). But Paul says, no. Don’t let the flesh keep us from generously supporting those who faithfully serve and work hard in the ministry, in a way which honors them AND the Lord. Our generosity should not ever be tinged with such arrogance or disrespect. Next verse...
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