Chapter 9 - The Pattern of Colabor

The Dorian Principle, A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity, by Conley Owens.

CHAPTER IX THE PATTERN OF CO -LABOR THEORY VERSUS PRACTICE As I sit here writing,

I just returned from a restaurant that serves plant -based burgers they claim have comparable taste to their real beef.

I ordered one of each, and conducted a blind taste test with my wife and daughter. Plant -based meat substitutes seem like a great idea in theory.

Plants are more readily available than animals, so it should be cheaper. Vegetables offer a better balance of nutrients than meat, so it should be healthier.

Recent products using heme, a molecule found in blood, even promise to capture the exact same taste.

Yet all that theory immediately broke down in practice. My wife and daughter immediately identified the imposter with no hesitation.

Indeed, I was not convinced by the taste either. More than that, the plant burger was more expensive, and most research these days shows that plant -based meat substitutes are significantly worse for you than traditional get -it -from -the -farm, fired -up -on -the -grill meat.

So far in this book, we've largely discussed theory. We've looked at some of Jesus' and Paul's statements, but we have yet to see the

Dorian Principle at play over the larger scope of scripture. Does our theory hold together in practice like rich, grass -fed beef, or does it immediately fall apart like a bean burger?

Scripture is brimming with relevant texts, but in this chapter, I would like us to walk through some of the more prominent examples we see of co -labor.

Taking one example from the Old Testament and several from the New, I'm hoping you will agree with me that not only do we have didactic statements illustrating this truth from Christ and his most prolific apostle, but we also have a rich cache of evidence to reinforce their statements.

Elijah and Elisha Among Old Testament narratives, the ministries of Elijah and Elisha stand out as particular examples of co -labor.

Certainly, there are others, such as the sacrifices and tithes we examined in Chapter 3.

However, unlike the ministries of most Old Testament prophets and priests, the ministries of Elijah and Elisha were not limited to the nation of Israel.

In this Gentile setting, we can see their reception of co -labor paired with an explicit rejection of reciprocity.

Like a diamond set on black velvet, the help they receive shines lustrous when held against the backdrop of refused finances.

The ministries of Elijah and Elisha are marked by the support of women who understood the importance of using hospitality as a way to promote the ministry of the

Word of God. In the case of Elijah, God instructs the widow of Zarephath to provide for Elijah while he instructs

Elijah to receive the widow's hospitality, 1 Kings 17, 8 -9. She gives out of her poverty, even offering her last bit of food, 1

Kings 17, 11 -12. Similarly, Elisha receives the sacrificial hospitality of the

Shunammite, 2 Kings 4, 8 -10, recognizing the difficulty involved, 2

Kings 4, 13. It might seem like a fair exchange since both of these women received back their dead, 1

Kings 17, 7 -24, 2 Kings 4, 18 -37.

However, in both cases, the giving precedes the miracle, demonstrating that neither participated in an exchange or out of a sense of direct obligation.

Instead, their primary obligation is toward the Lord who commanded them. Elisha, continuing on in Elijah's spirit, 2

Kings 2, 9, miraculously heals Naaman's leprosy, leading to his apparent conversion.

Yet despite the Syrian commander's urgings, he rejects his gift with a solemn oath.

Then he, Naaman, returned to the man of God, Elisha, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him, and he said,

Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel, so accept now a present from your servant.

But he said, As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none, and he urged him to take it, but he refused, 2

Kings 5, 15 -16. In fact, Elisha rejects

Naaman's offering so adamantly that when his servant Gehazi goes afterward to secure the gift, he transfers

Naaman's leprosy to him as a generational curse, 2 Kings 5, 20 -27.

While this malediction no doubt arises from Gehazi's deceitfulness, Elisha explicitly condemns the nature of such an exchange.

Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants, 2

Kings 5, 26b. What distinguishes the two women in Naaman?

The women operate as co -laborers. One is an Israelite, while the other has been specifically commissioned and instructed by God.

On the other hand, Naaman is a pagan Gentile, 2 Kings 5, 1, 1 who has received the blessing of ministry and seeks an opportunity for unmediated repayment.

The two women offer hospitality as co -labor, but Naaman's presence is an attempt at reciprocity.

Jesus' entourage. Jumping ahead to the New Testament, the disciples accepted support from other

Jews living in the towns they visited, Luke 10, 5 -8. However, many also followed

Jesus and his disciples, supporting them materially. Soon afterward, he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God.

And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities,

Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chusa, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their means,

Luke 8, 1 -3. These women co -labor with the disciples.

While they may occasionally assist more directly in ministry, they help most significantly through their financial contributions.

As Luke records, they have been healed by Christ and act out of thankfulness. But we should not label this expression of gratitude as repayment or ministerial reciprocity.

Instead, they aim to co -labor, supporting the ongoing work of ministry. Lydia In chapter 4,

I pointed out that the Philippian church partnered with Paul as a congregation. I'd now like you to consider

Lydia, a particular Philippian who partnered with him as an individual. After the apostle's introduction,

Lydia embraces Christianity. She offers her hospitality to Paul, and, surprisingly, he accepts.

And on the Sabbath day, we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.

One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God.

The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying,

If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay. And she prevailed upon us.

Acts 16, 14 -15 If Paul refuses support from new converts, why does he receive from Lydia?

Prior to her conversion, scripture describes her as a worshiper of God, indicating that she already affirmed the true faith through Judaism.

The Dorian Principle explains both Paul's hesitation as well as his eventual acceptance.

He does not immediately receive Lydia's hospitality because she may desire to repay him. However, as a worshiper of God who frequents a place of prayer on the

Sabbath, she already has some place within the fellowship of God. Paul does not condition

Lydia's assistance on the timing of his visit, but on her willingness to serve the Lord. She understands the apostle's concerns and appeals to him according to her status as a collaborer.

If you have judged me to be faithful. The Hosts of Corinth So far, we've determined that Paul limits his rejection of Corinthian funds to the context of reciprocity.

Outside of this context, he willingly accepts support. For example, we've noted that Paul states his eagerness to receive propempo support, but as he discovers ready

Corinthian collaborers, he receives from them as well. While planting the church in Corinth, Paul receives help from others like Lydia, those who already belonged to the fellowship of God.

First, he stays with Aquila and Priscilla, fellow Jews. Soon after, he stays with Tidius Justus, a worshiper of God, who lived next to the synagogue.

Since Paul established the church in Corinth, these people undoubtedly converted to Christianity through his ministry.

However, they were not converts from pagan religion. The apostle freely receives their help as collaborers since he first encountered them as fellow servants of God.

After planting the church, Paul speaks of the hospitality he receives from Gaius, who is almost certainly the

Gaius of Corinth. Phoebe's status as a patron indicates that she has supported

Paul in Corinth, given that Synchry is a port of Corinth, and at least to be identified with the larger region of Achaia.

Moreover, Paul spends a winter in Corinth, Acts 20, 3, 6, cf 1

Corinthians 16, 6, receiving aid from the Corinthians. These instances of hospitality count as collabor, even if none of them are explicitly financial.

As long as there is some material provision such as lodging, it fits within the rubric of support, which

Paul only selectively accepts. Recall that in Thessalonica, Paul did not take anyone's bread without paying for it, 2

Thessalonians 3, 8. Recall also that Jesus' command revolved around receiving room and board,

Matthew 10, 10. Philemon In Paul's shortest epistle, he appeals to Philemon to receive

Onesimus, a runaway slave, as a Christian brother. So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me.

If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.

I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it, to say nothing of your owing me, even your own self.

Philemon 17 -19 The language of collabor colors this account.

Paul calls Philemon a partner, having begun the letter addressing him as a fellow worker,

Philemon 1. Describing the affair as a business partnership, he negotiates with Philemon to charge anything owed to him to Paul's own account,

Philemon 18. Paul's appeal to personal debt, Philemon 19, may seem to suggest

Paul's anticipated reception of Onesimus as a transaction indicative of ministerial reciprocity.

However, this obligation to Paul is not immediate, but mediated through mutual obligation to Christ.

And Christ, Philemon must comply, Philemon 8. And it is this relationship that demands he honor

Paul with his life. Paul certainly did not die for Philemon, but because Christ died for him, he must respect the minister through whom he heard the gospel,

C .F. Hebrews 13 .7 Once again, the vertical obligation regulates the horizontal obligation.

Additionally, Paul emphasizes the voluntary nature of Philemon's participation, Philemon 8 -9, 14, indicating that there is no direct obligation that may be enforced.

Providing Philemon with another opportunity to co -labor, Paul requests a guest room.

At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers

I will be graciously given to you, Philemon 22. In saying, at the same time, this request is not set in the context of a returned favor.

Instead, Paul contrasts his presence with Philemon to his present imprisonment.

He anticipates that he will be graciously given to Philemon, not particularly that Philemon will graciously give to him.

The Generosity of Malta In Acts, a chief official of Malta named

Publius hosts Paul for three days, Acts 28 .7. He may simply be a congenial procurator, his

Roman name hinting that it may be his job to watch the prisoners. Given the variables at play, we cannot regard this hospitality as either an act of horizontal reciprocity or an act of co -labor.

Publius's interaction with the apostle at this point seems largely confined to Paul as a prisoner rather than Paul as a minister.

However, these interactions change after Paul heals Publius's father and many other island residents.

At this point, the Maltese grant the apostolic crew great honor and give them whatever they need for their travels,

Acts 28 .10. Most likely, honor indicates this material gift.

C .F. 2 Timothy 3 .5 .17 Paul does not refuse gifts from these

Gentiles, though he rejects gifts from many others. Why would he accept this support? While the passage contains no explicit mention of the

Gospel, the author obviously telescopes the narrative. For example, we have no record that Paul rejected the title of God, Acts 28 .6,

yet he certainly did not accept it. Everywhere else in the Gospels and Acts, Gospel proclamations accompany miraculous healings, and here we have no reason to anticipate anything different.

Therefore, we should almost certainly regard the bulk of the Maltese as converts, and especially given the timing of their aid, we may regard their gift as co -labor designed to alleviate

Paul's persecution and assist in his missionary travels. Gaius The apostle

John offers an example of co -labor when he instructs Gaius to support those missionaries who are worthy of support.

Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testify to your love before the

Church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God, for they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the

Gentiles. Therefore, we ought to supply people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

3 John 5 -8 The word for send them on their journey is propempo, that same term we have seen

Paul use in the context of financial support. Here in this epistle, John identifies the act of giving to such men as co -labor, establishing a relationship between fellow workers.

This instruction complements the command in his previous epistle not to partner in the wicked works of false teachers by accepting them into one's home, that is, providing support in the form of room and board.

2 John 10 -11 However, more significant to our investigation,

John explains what makes these missionaries honorable. They have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the

Gentiles. Going out for the sake of the name and accepting nothing from the Gentiles are not two independent accolades.

No conjunction distinguishes the two. They must be recognized as linked. Their placement in immediate proximity suggests that they are to be viewed as roughly equivalent statements, accepting nothing being the sum proof that these men have gone out for the sake of the name.

That is, the fact that they do not take money demonstrates their sincerity, a lack of motives.

The term Gentiles does not primarily denote ethnicity, but a status outside the kingdom of God.

John commends the financial support of missionaries from the Church in an act of co -labor, but implicitly condemns as duplicitous the reciprocity that would necessarily characterize a financial gift from unbelievers.

Conclusion While scripture explicitly teaches the Dorian principle, it also demonstrates it implicitly as well.

In the Old Testament, Elijah and Elisha received co -labor, yet refused reciprocity.

In the New Testament, we see Jesus and Paul practice what they preach. We even see this ethic at play in John's instructions to Gaius, where he praises churches partnering with missionaries, and denounces receiving money from the subjects of the mission field.