Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Corinthians 8:1
Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;
1. we do you to wit ] The translation is Tyndale’s. Wiclif translates literally, we make known to you. Cranmer, I certifye you (cf. Calvin, certiores vos facio). The word wit is derived from the Anglo-Saxon witan, the German wissen, Shakespeare’s wis, to know, and do is here used in the sense of make. Cf. 1Co 12:3; 1Co 15:1, and Gal 1:11, where the same Greek word is used.
the grace of God ] i.e. the favour He had shewed them in thus making them partakers of His Spirit.
bestowed on ] Rather, in. ( Given in, Tyndale. So Wyclif and the Rhemish Version.) St Paul would imply that though given by God, it is manifested in their conduct.
the churches of Macedonia ] The Thessalonians and the Philippians, and probably the Beroeans. It is observable that a holy emulation is a spirit quite consistent with the principles of the Gospel. Though we are not to seek the praise of men, we may not despise their example. “I wish you to know, how much good God has wrought in them.” Estius.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit – We make known to you; we inform you. The phrase we do you to wit, is used in Tyndales translation, and means we cause you to know. The purpose for which Paul informed them of the liberality of the churches of Macedonia was to excite them to similar liberality.
Of the grace of God … – The favor which God had shown them in exciting a spirit of liberality, and in enabling them to contribute to the fund for supplying the needs of the poor saints at Jerusalem. The word grace ( charis) is sometimes used in the sense of gift, and the phrase gift of God some have supposed may mean very great gift, where the words of God may be designed to mark anything very eminent or excellent, as in the phrase cedars of God, mountains of God, denoting very great cedars, very great mountains. Some critics (as Macknight, Bloomfield, Locke, and others) have supposed that this means that the churches of Macedonia had been able to contribute largely to the aid of the saints of Judea. But the more obvious and correct interpretation, as I apprehend, is that which is implied in the common version, that the phrase grace of God, means that God had bestowed on them grace to give according to their ability in this cause. According to this it is implied:
(1) That a disposition to contribute to the cause of benevolence is to be traced to God. He is its author. He excites it. It is not a plant of native growth in the human heart, but a large and liberal spirit of benevolence is one of the effects of his grace, and is to be traced to him.
(2) It is a favor bestowed on a church when God excites in it a spirit of benevolence. It is one of the evidences of his love. And indeed there cannot be a higher proof of the favor of God than when by his grace he inclines and enables us to contribute largely to meliorate the condition, and to alleviate the needs of our fellowmen. Perhaps the apostle here meant delicately to hint this. He did not therefore say coldly that the churches of Macedonia had contributed to this object, but he speaks of it as a favor shown to them by God that they were able to do it. And he meant, probably, gently to intimate to the Corinthians that it would be an evidence that they were enjoying the favor of God if they should contribute in like manner.
The churches of Macedonia – Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea. For an account of Macedonia, see the Act 16:9 note; Rom 15:26 note. Of these churches, that at Philippi seems to have been most distinguished for liberality Phi 4:10, Phi 4:15-16, Phi 4:18, though it is probable that other churches contributed according to their ability, as they are commended (compare 2Co 9:2) without distinction.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
2Co 8:1-5
The grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia.
The grace of liberality
I. True liberality is a Christian grace–as truly a grace as knowledge, diligence, and love. What light this throws upon the whole subject of church finances!
1. Failing to see that liberality is a grace, we have made it a burden. As a grace in the heart, liberality struggles for an outlet in acts of benevolence; as a duty or a burden, it needs to be urged. Hence all this claptrap machinery for raising church money.
2. This grace, like any other, may be obtained–
(1) By consecration. No man is prepared to receive it until he has first given himself to the Lord. Paul enforces such a consecration (2Co 8:9).
(2) By prayer. What reflections would arise in the mind of one praying for the grace of liberality! What views of responsibility would the Spirit of all grace flash upon his mind! How would the claims of self dwindle into insignificance in the presence of the claims of Christ.
II. This grace leads men to give according to their ability; yea, beyond.
1. Neither the scanty income of deep poverty, nor the increasing demands of accumulating wealth, nor the claims of fashionable life, will prevent such a man from being liberal according to that which he hath, etc. He will never begin to retrench at the church, because he knows that God can retrench upon him in a thousand ways.
2. The reason God loves a cheerful giver is because such giving can only flow from grace, and such giving is always a means of grace. Instead of a collection dissipating all religious feeling, our joy ought to abound unto liberality. If liberality is a Christian grace, and giving is a means of grace, why should not a man feel as religious while giving as he does while singing and praying?
3. Ordinary poverty is generally considered a lawful excuse for not giving. But the deep poverty of the Macedonians abounded unto the riches of their liberality (2Co 8:2-4). The offering is sanctified by its motive and spirit. It is not the intrinsic value of the contribution, but the love of the contributor and his relative ability to give, that makes the contribution acceptable to God.
4. There are three classes who fail to do their duty–
(1) Those who give largely, but not according to their means; if they did, they would give hundreds instead of tens, and thousands instead of hundreds.
(2) Those who give nothing because they are too poor.
(3) A class made up of rich and poor, whose religious joy is so seraphic that it always soars above the financial wants of the Church. They are always trembling lest the pastor should drive all religion out of the Church by taking so many collections! blow, what is wanting in all these classes is this grace of liberality. This would lead the rich and the poor to give according to their means.
III. The grace of liberality, like any other, may be cultivated (2Co 8:6; 1Co 16:1).
1. Here is systematic beneficence. The grace of liberality needs exercise just as much as faith and love. Besides, the Churches need money now–every week. This systematic way of giving by weekly instalments keeps the duty of self-denial before the mind. Such a system of beneficence would soon develop the grace of liberality and increase the funds of the Church to a point where she would have an ample fund laid by all the time, ready to meet all the claims at home and abroad!
2. Those who wait to give largely, when they do give, usually let the grace of liberality die for the want of exercise; so that, when the time comes when they are able to give largely, they have neither the grace nor the desire to do so. And those who give but little or nothing through life, and give largely when they come to die, rarely ever give enough to pay the interest on what they ought to have given under a life course of systematic beneficence.
3. It is only those who enjoy the grace of liberality as a growing principle in the soul that can realise the saying of Christ: It is more blessed to give than to receive. (J. M. Bolland, A. M.)
The grace of liberality
The Christians of the Jerusalem Church were in sore trouble. A feeble folk at the best, they were now reduced to an extremity of famine. At this juncture the advantage of Christian fellowship was brought into clear light. Paul and Barnabas took it upon themselves, by Divine appointment, to call upon the more favoured brethren for help (Act 2:27-30). They received prompt contributions from the Churches in Achaia, also from those in Macedonia (Rom 15:26). A strong appeal was made to the churches of Galatia (1Co 16:1). The congregation at Rome, made up largely of Gentiles, some of whom were wealthy and influential, was exhorted to do its part (Rom 15:27). And in the Scripture before us the matter is presented to the Corinthian Christians in a way to stir their deepest and most substantial sympathy. It was a splendid opportunity for displaying the genuineness of Christian unity. In appealing to the Corinthian Church the apostle makes mention of the liberality of their brethren in Macedonia, hoping thus to provoke them to good works. At the very time when these Macedonians were sending their gifts to Jerusalem, they themselves were groaning under a twofold yoke of poverty and persecution. Nevertheless they furnished forth a pattern of benevolence. First, they gave voluntarily. They gave with spontaneity, with good cheer, with abandon. They gave not as a deep well gives to the toiler at the windlass, but as a fountain gives to the wounded hart that stands panting at its brink. Second, they gave largely–to their power, yea, and beyond it. Self-denial is the first step in consecration. The virtue of sacrifice lies largely in the cost of it. Third, they gave from principle. The beginning of their generosity and its motive and inspiration lay in this, that they first of all gave their own selves to the Lord. After that everything was easy. Let us note some of the reasons why Gods people, as they abound in everything, in faith, in utterance, in knowledge, in diligence, and in brotherly love, should abound in this grace also.
I. Because giving is a grace. It is not a mere adjunct or incident of the Christian life, but one of its cardinal graces. Whether a disciple of Christ shall make a practice of giving or not is no more an open question than whether he shall pray or not. The rule of holy living is never selfishness, but always self-forgetfulness. This was the mind that was in Christ Jesus, and this must be the disposition of those who follow him.
II. It is in the line of common honesty. We are stewards of the gifts of God. The silver and the gold are His.
III. Giving is a fruitful source of happiness.
IV. Giving is a means of getting. Let us observe the testimony of Scripture on this point. Honour the Lord with thy substance and with the first-fruits of all thine increase; so shall thy barns be filled with plenty and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. There is that scattereth and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
V. This is the noblest end of money-marking. Some men get to hoard. Others get to spend. Still others get to give.
VI. Our giving is Gods method for the conversion of the world. It is Gods purpose that all nations should be evangelised. Our wealth must furnish the sinews of the holy war.
VII. The example of Christ teaches us to give. He was the greatest of givers. He gave everything He had for our deliverance from sin and death. (D. J. Burrell, D. D.)
Christian liberality
In 1Co 16:1-24 mention was made of a contribution which the Corinthians were systematically to store up for the poor brethren at Jerusalem. Paul here renews the subject and records the largeness of the sum contributed by the churches of Macedonia, and urges the Corinthians to emulate their example. Note–
I. The nature of Christian liberality.
1. It was a grace bestowed from God (verses 1, 6). Now there are many reasons which make liberality desirable.
(1) Utility. By liberality hospitals are supported, missions established, social disorders healed. But St. Paul does not take the utilitarian ground; though in its way it is a true one.
(2) Nor does he take the ground that it is for the advantage of the persons relieved (verse 13). He takes the higher ground: it is a grace of God. He contemplates the benefit to the soul of the giver.
2. It was the work of a willing mind (verse 12).
(1) The offering is sanctified or made unholy in Gods sight by the spirit in which it is given.
(2) A willing mind, however, is not all. Now therefore perform the doing of it. Where the means are, willingness is only tested by performance. Test your feelings and fine liberal words by self-denial. Let it be said, He hath done what he could.
3. It was the outpouring of poverty (verse 2). As it was in the time of the apostle, so it is now. It was the poor widow who gave all. Generally a mans liberality does not increase in proportion as he grows rich, but the reverse.
(1) Let this circumstance be a set-off against poverty. God has made charity easier to you who are not the rich of this world.
(2) Let it weaken the thirst for riches. Doubtless riches are a good; but remember that the Bible says, They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare.
4. It was exhibited to strangers. Gentile and Jew were united to each other by a common love. There is nothing but Christianity which can do this. Think of the old rancours of the heathen world. Philanthropy is a dream without Christ. Why should I love the negro or the foreigner? Because we are one family in Christ.
II. Its motives.
1. Christian completeness (verse 7). It is the work of Christ to take the whole man, and present him a living sacrifice to God.
2. Emulation. Compare verses 1 to 8 and Rom 11:11. Ordinary, feeble philanthropy would say, Emulation is dangerous. Yet there is such a feeling in our nature. So St. Paul here took advantage of it, and exhorts the Corinthians to enter the lists in honourable rivalry. Emulation, meaning a desire to outstrip individuals, is a perverted feeling; emulation, meaning a desire to reach and pass a standard, is the parent of all progress and excellence. Hence, set before you high models. Try to live with the most generous, and to observe their deeds.
3. The example of Christ (verse 9).
(1) Christ is the reference for everything. But
(2) it is in spirit, and not in letter, that Christ is our example. The Corinthians were asked to give money for a special object. But Christ did not give money, He gave Himself. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)
The grace of liberality
I. Giving is a Christian grace. It is a recognition of that great duty of service which is obligatory throughout the kingdom of Christ.
II. Naturally enough, then, we find giving treated in this passage as the duty of all. The churches of Macedonia in their deep poverty are commended for their giving. Giving is of as wide obligation as the observance of the Sabbath. Much the same reasons could be urged for excusing the poor from the observance of the Sabbath as from the duty of giving. The Sabbath might be transmuted into money. The poor might use the day to earn additional wages.
III. A third lesson of this paragraph is that giving should be voluntary and cheerful. The Macedonian churches are here commended that they gave of their own accord and besought Paul with much entreaty to accept their gift for the needy at Jerusalem.
IV. Giving, we are to notice, is also an act of fellowship. The Macedonians in sending their contribution to the Christians at Jerusalem were enjoying fellowship in the ministering to the saints. Fellowship is an interflow of hearts and a cooperation with others. Now giving is one of the simplest and easiest methods of expressing fellowship. It is at the outset a recognition of the brotherly relation of man to man. It is an effort to share the burdens of others. We are filled with amazement at the discoveries of modern science. To-day power can be sent along a wire through our streets and into the country and utilised wherever we please. It is a blessing of much the same character that our gifts can fly here and there over the whole world as a force to relieve distress and elevate character. We cannot always go ourselves.
V. We must recognise Christian giving as the outcome of personal consecration. The wonderful liberality of the Macedonian Christians was due to the fact that first they gave their own selves to the Lord. A friend lately received the gift of a house; what did that include? The rent, of course, that certain tenants were paying for the use of the house. The original owner, after he had given this house to another, could no longer collect the rents for himself. If we have truly given ourselves up to God in a complete consecration, that includes anything and everything of ours. If we have property, it is His; time, abilities, influence–all are His.
VI. The passage declares that giving is a proof of love. It is no trial to us to advance the cause of Christ by our gifts if we love the Lord Jesus supremely.
VII. The passage urges us to give in imitation of Christ. The apostle reminds us that the Lord Jesus Christ, though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor.
VIII. Once more let us notice that giving is measured by willingness, not by amount. If the readiness is there, wrote the apostle, it is acceptable according as a man hath and not according as he hath not. We are often discouraged by the smallness of our gifts, but we need not be. (Addison P. Foster.)
Ancient charity the rule and reproof of modern
A puny faith begets a sickly charity. In nothing is the faith of our day set in stronger contrast with the faith of the first Christians than in this its most essential fruit. You are accustomed for the confirmation of your faith, your discipline, your worship, to go back to the first ages and to find your pattern there. Are you as ready to go back to them to learn the rule and practice of true charity? The gospel is the revelation of the perfect will of God, made, once for all, to all mankind. It has but one rule, then, for every place and for all ages. Until self is conquered nothing is accomplished. Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price, is the first lesson in the Christian school. How can it be otherwise? When did love ever seek its own? The case of the Macedonian Christians teems with instruction for us all. The first reception of the gospel was visited everywhere with persecution. Saint was synonymous with sufferer. Wherever the storm raged highest, love was the most lavish of its treasures. Distance made no difference. The one faith made for all one heart. At this time the poor Christians at Jerusalem were the objects of especial interest. The apostles tender heart yearned to his brethren of the flesh, and, writing to the Church at Corinth, he pleads their cause with all his own inimitable eloquence. He writes from Macedonia. Compared with that at Corinth, the churches in this province at Philippi, at Thessalonica, at Berea, were poor in this worlds goods, But they were rich in faith. He holds them up, therefore, as an ensample to their rich brethren, to provoke them to good works.
1. That a charitable disposition is the gift of God–the grace of God bestowed on the churches–who sends His Holy Ghost, and pours into all hearts that will receive it, that most excellent gift of charity.
2. That it is a source of pure and rich enjoyment to its possessor, the abundance of their joy, the apostle calls it, twice blessed, in the phrase of our great poet.
3. That its exercise, where it exists, is not repressed by poverty, not even deep poverty, in a great trial of affliction.
4. That it waits not to be asked, but is willing of itself.
5. That its tendency is always to exceed, rather than to fall short, of the true measure of ability, overflowing in the riches of its liberality, not only according to its power, but beyond its power.
6. That it counts the opportunity of exercise a favour done to it, praying us, with much entreaty, that we would receive the gift.
7. That this will only be so when the heart has been surrendered, as living sacrifice, and then will always be, first giving their own selves to the Lord, and then to us, by the will of God. (Sermons by American Clergymen.)
Pure benevolence
This is as much a doctrine as any taught in Gods Word, although it may not be so popular as some others.
I. How did the Macedonians give?
1. In affliction.
2. In poverty.
3. In self-abnegation. They gave more than they were able to give.
4. In willingness. Not grudgingly–Praying us with much entreaty.
5. Beyond expectation–Not as we hoped.
II. To whom did they give?
1. To Corinth; that was Home Missions.
2. To Jerusalem; that was Foreign Missions.
III. What did they give?
1. Their own selves.
2. Their money.
IV. Why did they give?
1. They were moved by what Christ had sacrificed for them.
2. They gave to God. (Homilist.)
Money
Money is usually a delicate topic to handle in the Church, and we may count ourselves happy in having two chapters from the pen of St. Paul, in which he treats at large of a collection. We see the mind of Christ applied in them to a subject that is always with us, and sometimes embarrassing; and if there are traces here and there that embarrassment was felt even by the apostle, they only show more clearly the wonderful wealth of thought and feeling which he could bring to bear upon an ungrateful theme. Consider only the variety of lights in which he puts it, and all of them ideal. Money, as such, has no character, and so he never mentions it. But he calls the thing which he wants a grace, a service, a communion in service, a munificence, a blessing, a manifestation of love. The whole resources of Christian imagination are spent in transfiguring, and lifting into a spiritual atmosphere, a subject on which, even Christian men are apt to be materialistic. We do not need to be hypocritical when we speak about money in the Church; but both the charity and the business of the Church must be transacted as Christian, and not as secular affairs. (J. Denney, B. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER VIII.
The apostle stirs them up to make a collection for the poor
Christians at Jerusalem, by the very liberal contributions of
the people of Macedonia for the same purpose, who were
comparatively a poor people, 1-5.
He tells them that he had desired Titus to finish this good
work among them which he had begun; hoping that as they
abounded in many excellent gifts and graces, they would abound
in this also, 6-8.
He exhorts them to this by the example of Jesus Christ, who,
though rich, subjected himself to voluntary poverty, that they
might be enriched, 9.
He shows them that this contribution, which had been long ago
begun, should have been long since finished, 10.
And that they should do every thing with a ready and willing
mind, according to the ability which God had given them; that
abundance should not prevail on one hand, while pinching
poverty ruled on the other; but that there should be an
equality, 11-14.
He shows from the distribution of the manna in the wilderness,
that the design of God was, that every member of his spiritual
household should have the necessaries of life, 15.
He tells them that he had now sent Titus, and another with him,
to Corinth, to complete this great work, 16-22.
The character which he gives of Titus and the others employed
in this business, 23, 24.
NOTES ON CHAP. VIII.
Verse 1. Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit] In all our dignified version very few ill-constructed sentences can be found; however here is one, and the worst in the book. We do you to wit is in the original , we make known unto you. This is plain and intelligible, the other is not so; and the form is now obsolete.
The grace of God bestowed] Dr. Whitby has made it fully evident that the signifies the charitable contribution made by the Churches in Macedonia, to which they were excited by the grace or influence of God upon their hearts; and that cannot signify bestowed on, but given in. That means liberality, appears from 2Co 8:6: We desired Titus that as he had begun, so he would finish , this charitable contribution. And 2Co 8:7: That ye abound , in this liberal contribution. And 2Co 8:19: Who was chosen of the Church to travel with us , with this charitable contribution, which is administered-which is to be dispensed, by us. So 2Co 9:8: God is able to make , all liberality, to abound towards you. And 1Co 16:3: To bring , your liberality, to the poor saints. Hence , is by Hesychius and Phavorinus interpreted a gift, as it is here by the apostle: Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift, 2Co 9:15. This charity is styled the grace of God, either from its exceeding greatness, (as the cedars of God and mountains of God signify great cedars and great mountains, Ps 36:6; Ps 80:10😉 or rather, it is called so as proceeding from God, who is the dispenser of all good, and the giver of this disposition; for the motive of charity must come from him. So, in other places, the zeal of God, Ro 10:2; the love of God, 2Co 5:14; the grace of God, Tit 2:11.
The Churches of Macedonia] These were Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, &c.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The apostle in this chapter proceedeth to a new argument, viz. the pressing of this church to acts of charity. This is that which he here calleth
the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia, putting the cause for the effect. Bounty or liberality to the poor saints and members of Christ, as such, floweth from that habit of love by which men are taught of God to love one another; for though men, from a natural goodness, or habits of moral virtue, may relieve men as men, compassionating persons in misery; yet none, from any such principle, do good to any members of the household of faith, as such; such rather feel from them the effects of their hatred, in taking what is their own from them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1. we do you to witwe makeknown to you.
the grace of God bestowed onthe churches of MacedoniaTheir liberality was not ofthemselves naturally, but of God’s grace bestowed on them, andenabling them to be the instrument of God’s “grace” toothers (2Co 8:6; 2Co 8:19).The importance given in this Epistle to the collection, arose as wellfrom Paul’s engagement (Ga 2:10),as also chiefly from his hope to conciliate the Judaizing Christiansat Jerusalem to himself and the Gentile believers, by such an act oflove on the part of the latter towards their Jewish brethren.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God,…. The apostle having said everything that was proper to conciliate the minds and affections of the Corinthians to him, and the matter in difference being adjusted to the satisfaction of all parties concerned; he proposes what he had wisely postponed till all was over, the making a collection for the poor saints at Jerusalem; which he enforces by the example of the Macedonian churches, the churches at Philippi, Thessalonica, c. He addresses them in a kind and tender manner, under the endearing appellation of “brethren”, being so in a spiritual relation and takes the liberty to inform them of the goodness of God to some of their sister churches; “we do you to wit”, or “we make known unto you”. The phrase “to wit” is an old English one, and almost obsolete, and signifies to acquaint with, inform of, make known, or give knowledge of anything. The thing informed of here, “is the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia”; by which is meant, not any of the blessings of grace common to all the saints, such as regeneration, justification, adoption, forgiveness of sin, and the like; but beneficence, liberality, or a liberal disposition to do good to others, called “the grace of God”; because it sprung from thence, as all good works do when performed aright; they were assisted in it by the grace of God; and it was the love and favour of God in Christ, which was the engaging motive, the leading view, which drew them on to it. This was
bestowed upon them, not merited, it was grace and free grace; God may give persons ever so much of this world’s goods, yet if he does not give them a spirit of generosity, a liberal disposition, they will make no use of it for the good of others: and this was bestowed
on the churches of Macedonia; not on a few leading men among them, but upon all the members of these churches in general; and not upon one church, but upon many; a spirit of liberality was in general diffused among them, and this is proposed for imitation. Examples have great influence, and the examples of many the greater; too many follow a multitude to do evil; here the example of many, even of many churches, is proposed in order to be followed to do good, to exercise acts of beneficence and goodness, in a free generous way to saints in distress; which as it is here called, “the grace of God”, so in some following verses, “the gift, the same grace, and this grace”, 2Co 8:4 agreeably to the Hebrew word , which signifies “grace” and “free bounty”; and is used for doing good, or for beneficence, which the Jews call “a performance of kind and bountiful actions”: which are done freely, and for which a person expects no return from the person to whom he does them: and this they distinguish from , “alms”, after this manner t;
“an alms (they say) is exercised towards the living, beneficence towards the living and the dead; alms is used to the poor, beneficence both to the rich and poor; alms is performed by a man’s substance, beneficence both by body and substance.”
t T. Hieros. Peah, fol. 15. 3.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| Charity of the Macedonians. | A. D. 57. |
1 Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; 2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. 3 For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; 4 Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. 5 And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. 6 Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also.
Observe here,
I. The apostle takes occasion from the good example of the churches of Macedonia, that is, of Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, and others in the region of Macedonia, to exhort the Corinthians and the Christians in Achaia to the good work of charity. And,
1. He acquaints them with their great liberality, which he calls the grace of God bestowed on the churches, v. 1. Some think the words should be rendered, the gift of God given in or by the churches. He certainly means the charitable gifts of these churches, which are called the grace or gifts of God, either because they were very large, or rather because their charity to the poor saints did proceed from God as the author, and was accompanied with true love to God, which also was manifested this way. The grace of God must be owned as the root and fountain of all the good that is in us, or done by us, at any time; and it is great grace and favour from God, and bestowed on us, if we are made useful to others, and are forward to any good work.
2. He commends the charity of the Macedonians, and sets it forth with good advantage. He tells them, (1.) They were but in a low condition, and themselves in distress, yet they contributed to the relief of others. They were in great tribulation and deep poverty, v. 2. It was a time of great affliction with them, as may be seen, Acts xviii. 17. The Christians in these parts met with ill treatment, which had reduced them to deep poverty; yet, as they had abundance of joy in the midst of tribulation, they abounded in their liberality; they gave out of a little, trusting in God to provide for them, and make it up to them. (2.) They gave very largely, with the riches of liberality (v. 2), that is, as liberally as if they had been rich. It was a large contribution they made, all things considered; it was according to, yea beyond, their power (v. 3), as much as could well be expected from them, if not more. Note, Though men may condemn the indiscretion, yet God will accept the pious zeal, of those who in real works of piety and charity do rather beyond their power. (3.) They were very ready and forward to this good work. They were willing of themselves (v. 3), and were so far from needing that Paul should urge and press them with many arguments that they prayed him with much entreaty to receive the gift, v. 4. It seems Paul was backward to undertake this trust, for he would give himself to the word and prayer; or, it may be, he was apprehensive how ready his enemies would be to reproach and blacken him upon all occasions, and might take a handle against him upon account of so large a sum deposited in his hands, to suspect or accuse him of indiscretion and partiality in the distribution, if not of some injustice. Note, How cautious ministers should be, especially in money-matters, not to give occasion to those who seek occasion to speak reproachfully! (4.) Their charity was founded in true piety, and this was the great commendation of it. They performed this good work in a right method: First they gave themselves to the Lord, and then they gave unto us their contributions, by the will of God (v. 5), that is, according as it was the will of God they should do, or to be disposed of as the will of God should be, and for his glory. This, it seems, exceeded the expectation of the apostle; it was more than he hoped for, to see such warm and pious affections shining in these Macedonians, and this good work performed with so much devotion and solemnity. They solemnly, jointly, and unanimously, made a fresh surrender of themselves, and all they had, unto the Lord Jesus Christ. They had done this before, and now they do it again upon this occasion; sanctifying their contributions to God’s honour, by first giving themselves to the Lord. Note, [1.] We should give ourselves to God; we cannot bestow ourselves better. [2.] When we give ourselves to the Lord, we then give him all we have, to be called for and disposed of according to his will. [3.] Whatever we use or lay out for God, it is only giving to him what is his own. [4.] What we give or bestow for charitable uses will not be accepted of God, nor turn to our advantage, unless we first give ourselves to the Lord.
II. The apostle tells them that Titus was desired to go and make a collection among them (v. 6), and Titus, he knew, would be an acceptable person to them. He had met with a kind reception among them formerly. They had shown good affection to him, and he had a great love for them. Besides, Titus had already begun this work among them, therefore he was desired to finish it. So that he was, on all accounts, a proper person to be employed; and, when so good a work had already prospered in so good a hand, it would be a pity if it should not proceed and be finished. Note, It is an instance of wisdom to use proper instruments in a work we desire to do well; and the work of charity will often succeed the best when the most proper persons are employed to solicit contributions and dispose of them.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
The grace ( ). As manifested in the collection in the churches, poor as they were. The Romans had lacerated Macedonia (Livy, XLV. 30).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
We do you to wit [] . An obsolete, though correct rendering. Do is used in the sense of cause or make, as Chaucer : “She that doth me all this woe endure.”
To wit is to know : Anglo – Saxon, witan; German, wissen; English, wit. So “Legend of King Arthur :” ” Now go thou and do me to wit (make me to know) what betokeneth that noise in the field. ” Rev., we make known. Trial of affliction [ ] . Rev., better, proof. See on experience, Rom 5:4. In much affliction, which tried and proved their christian character, their joy and liberality abounded.
Deep [ ] . An adverbial expression : their poverty which went down to the depths.
Liberality [] . Or singleness. See on simplicity, Rom 12:8. It is better to throw the verse into two parallel clauses, instead of making abundance of joy and deep poverty the joint subject of abounded. Render : How that in much proof of affliction was the abundance of their joy, and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches, etc.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
BENEVOLENCE FOR THE POOR (Example of the Macedonians)
1) “Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit,” (gnorizomen de humin adelphoi) “Now, to make known to you, brethren,” the liberality of Macedonia brethren in benevolent matters. This marks transition to another subject, that of liberality in giving, from the first seven chapters, on restoration of a fallen Corinth brother.
2) “Of the grace of God,” (ten charin tou theou) “the grace of God,” 2Co 8:9; that redeemed them from covetousness and selfishness to unselfish liberality, to help needy saints, the poor of Judea, in whose interest Paul traveled and raised funds on both the Asian and European continents diligently; Act 11:29-30; Gal 2:10; 1Co 16:1; Act 24:17.
3) “Bestowed on the churches of Macedonia,” (ten dedomenen en tais ekklesiais tes Makedonias) “having existed among the churches of Macedonia,” or having been doled out among the churches of Macedonia; This begins the second main topic of the letter; the first topic dealt primarily with Paul’s defence of his ministry in requiring correction and discipline for sins in the Corinth church. The churches of Macedonia were in Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea, churches it is presumed he visited on his journey, Act 16:1 to Act 17:34.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
As, in the event of the Corinthians retaining any feeling of offense, occasioned by the severity of the preceding Epistle, that might stand in the way of Paul’s authority having influence over them, he has hitherto made it his endeavor to conciliate their affections. Now, after clearing away all occasion of offense, and regaining favor for his ministry, he recommends to them the brethren at Jerusalem, that they may furnish help to their necessities. He could not, with any great advantage, have attempted this in the commencement of the Epistle. Hence, he has prudently deferred it, until he has prepared their minds for it. Accordingly, he takes up the whole of this chapter, and the next, in exhorting the Corinthians to be active and diligent in collecting alms to be taken to Jerusalem for relieving the indigence of the brethren. For they were afflicted with a great famine, so that they could scarcely support life without being aided by other churches. The Apostles had intrusted Paul with this matter, (Gal 2:10,) and he had promised to concern himself in reference to it, and he had already done so in part, as we have seen in the former Epistle. (659) Now, however, he presses them still farther.
1. I make known to you. He commends the Macedonians, but it is with the design of stimulating the Corinthians by their example, although he does not expressly say so; for the former had no need of commendation, but the latter had need of a stimulus. And that he may stir up the Corinthians the more to emulation, he ascribes it to the grace of God that the Macedonians had been so forward to give help to their brethren. For although it is acknowledged by all, that it is a commendable virtue to give help to the needy, they, nevertheless, do not reckon it to be a gain, nor do they look upon it as the grace of God Nay rather, they reckon, that it is so much of what was theirs taken from them, and lost. Paul, on the other hand, declares, that we ought to ascribe it to the grace of God, when we afford aid to our brethren, and that it ought to be desired by us as a privilege of no ordinary kind.
He makes mention, however, of a twofold favor, that had been conferred upon the Macedonians. The first is, that they had endured afflictions with composure and cheerfulness. The second is, that from their slender means, equally as though they had possessed abundance, (660) they had taken something — to be laid out upon their brethren. Each of these things, Paul affirms with good reason, is a work of the Lord, for all quickly fail, that are not upheld by the Spirit of God, who is the Author of all consolation, and distrust clings to us, deeply rooted, which keeps us back from all offices of love, until it is subdued by the grace of the same Spirit.
(659) “See Calvin on the Corinthians, vol. 2, pp. 67-70.
(660) “ D’aussi bon coeur qu’ils eussent este bien riches;” — “As heartily as if they had been very rich.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
A GRACE TO BE GROWN
2Co 8:1-15
IN speaking to you this morning, I need not remind the most of those present that this is practically the beginning of the new fiscal year for our church. The text of the morning looks in a definite direction, and discusses a Christian grace. It is one of the greatest graces known to human experience, and one of the most difficult to cultivate. It is no wonder, therefore, that the Old Testament is full of teaching concerning it, or that Jesus Christ often spoke to the subject, and, by His life of self-sacrifice, provided for it a Divine illustration. Neither are we amazed in the least that the Apostle Paul, in his Epistles, should give to this grace of benevolence so conspicuous a place, such emphatic discussion.
There are many things that differentiate Christianity from other so-called religions. There is no particular in which it so much stands out from, and is lifted above, the paganisms of the world as at the point of giving. The Hindoos of India will witness their own brethren endure famine, unthinkable to the prosperous people of the Occident, and never be convicted of any Divine demand upon them to sell what they have and give it to the poor. When plagues visit China, her stricken subjects know full well that an appeal to Christian England and America will be far more effective than the most piteous cry to Confucians.
This grace is the esprit de corps of Christianity. Our religion is no more marked by the holiness of life to which it calls men than it is by the human sympathy with which it assists the poverty stricken and afflicted, and the enthusiasm with which it contributes for the propagation of the truth as it is in Jesus. Christianity might well be styled the religion of sacrifice.
It will not be possible, in our limited time, to speak to all the phases of this subject presented even in this eighth chapter of II Corinthians; hence the choice of only some verses from it. I cannot hope to do more for these fifteen verses than briefly call attention to some of their suggested truths. Permit me to put in order four.
SELF-SURRENDER IS ALL ESSENTIAL
If one is to grow this grace, self-surrender is all essential. Paul says, touching the gifts of the Macedonians,
that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves;
Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, * *
And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God (2Co 8:2-5).
Therein is seen Gods order in making givers of men.
They must first give themselves to Him, First gave their own selves to the Lord. Until that is done, Christian benevolence is impossible; until one has given himself to God no note is made in Heaven of what he gives to others, for his name is not written in the Lambs Book of life. John in his Gospel reports Jesus as saying, Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the Vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in Him, the same bringeth forth much fruit (Joh 15:4-5)and the word is severed from mefor without Me ye can do nothing. One has no life until he gives himself to God; one has no power until he gives himself to God. The worlds great givers have been men who first gave themselves to God. The consecrated church is always and everywhere the church of liberal offerings. I have known 1,000 people strain themselves to the utmost in the support of a single mission, and discuss it annually with the interrogation, Shall we continue it? And I have known less than a dozen boys, just blooming into manhood, consecrated to God, give such financial support to a similar work that its treasury was never empty, and yet their offerings to their own home church were liberal, though there was not a man among them of even medium income. The test was largely a question of consecration, They * * first gave their own selves to the Lord, and all that they had went with the offering.
This done, it is easy to give to ones fellows. And unto us by the will of God. To give ones self to God is never to withdraw ones self from the world. Monasteries and nunneries may stand for asceticism, but they have no vital relation to godliness, which is always working itself out in doing good toward ones fellows. One of the truest tests of mans Christianity is written into Johns first Epistle, 3:14, We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. In my early Christian experience I thought this referred to the mere sentiment of affection, but I more and more see that genuine love demands more positive expression. Love is not a question of language, but is spelled by sacrifice. Johns teaching in this same Epistle is,
But whoso hath this worlds good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
And hereby we know that we are of the Truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him (1Jn 3:17-19).
James held to scorn the idea of love that many people have, namely, that it consists in smiling and saying suave things. Hence he wrote, If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit (Jas 2:15-16)? Before this time Christ Himself has exposed once for all the fair pretender whose practice fell short of sacrifice, saying,
Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
For I was an hungred, and ye gave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in: naked, and ye clothed Me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited Me not.
Then shall they also answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee?
Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me.
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal (Mat 25:41-46).
The true Christian will never fall under such condemnation; having given himself to God, he will delight in doing for his fellows.
The story is told of a little newsboy who had a lame brother that went about with him on the streets. But the lame brother was not able to do anything save to share in the profits of the paper sales. A gentleman said to this boy, You would be far more comfortable, wouldnt you, if you did not have this little brother to take care of? And the manly little fellow, looking through injured eyes, answered, No sir, that is not so! What is the use of saving, if you have nobody to save for? I tell you Ive got Jim to live for and it helps a lot. I dont know whether he belonged to anybodys church, but the Spirit of Christ possessed him and he was among the saints of God.
ADEQUATE INSTRUCTION WILL AID
Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also, (2Co 8:6). It would seem from the context that Titus had taught the Macedonians to abound unto the riches of their liberality in spite of their deep poverty. Now Paul tells the Corinthians that he is glad that Titus has begun, and trusts that he will finish in them this same grace of giving also.
A teacher in benevolence is needful to beginners. Our Sunday Schools need to realize this truth. If Christian children are not taught touching this grace, covetous men and women will be the fruit of the neglect. And, if new converts, though they be adults, are not shown what the Scriptures say, by some one instructed therein, they will never see their stewardship, much less practice it as unto God. The churches of the world, noted for their giving, have, without exception, experienced good instruction as to the Divine plan of benevolence. The church at Hermansberg only came to that unusual liberality that characterized it, because Louis Harmes set before them faithfully what the Scripture saith. Seeing that they had been robbing God, they repented and made restitution. George Mullers followers found the true treasure chest through the faithfulness of his .Bible instruction. The Tabernacle, London, undertook mighty things and always had the money with which to meet them, because Charles Spurgeon, like another Titus, finished in his followers this grace of giving also. The fame of Clarendon Street, Boston, in foreign mission endeavor, was a natural fruit of A. J. Gordons Bible teaching. All over England there are State churches that are supported from the public treasury, and the mighty majority of them are spiritually dead. This grace of giving absent, the generosity of the regenerated man left without cultivation, results in the inability of the churches to support themselves, much less undertake missions for their Master. I cannot help feeling that the dried up and dying condition of the multitude of institutions that wear Christs Name, is due in no small measure to the solitary fact that their teachers have not been Tituses, who both began and finished in them the grace of giving also.
The most advanced Christian is still in need of his Text Book. He may get to the point where he needs no man to tell him what he should do for the cause of God, but he can never come to the point where he can dispense with what the Book has to say upon that subject. The older George Muller grew, and the more prospered he became, and consequently the more able to do much for the cause of Christ, the more assiduously did he study the Scriptures, and by prayer seek the mind of the Spirit, that he might know just what God desired of him. He had read, Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, or, at home, as the word means, as God hath prospered him. But the amount that he should lay by must also be determined, hence his search of the Word and his petition in the closet. If that custom were more generally adopted, ministers of the Gospel would seldom need to make the plea, for God Himself would have spoken more eloquently to us before we entered the house of God. Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power, saith the Lord.
Our text calls attention to the third truth.
PRACTICE IN THIS MATTER MEANS PROGRESS
Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also (2Co 8:7). Give yourselves to it though it be a crucifixion of the flesh.
Paul means to urge that it is too great a grace to leave immatured. No matter how unwelcome its cultivation may be to the old man, we must accomplish it or else our Christian lives will be sadly deficient. Covetousness is an appetite of unregenerate nature; it is also a passion that has not only pulled many a man into the pit of greed, but plunged him into the practice of penuriousness. Ananias was truly a subject of pity. With his wife Sapphira, he had succumbed to one of the fiercest foes of Christianity. Through his love of money, Satan had preyed upon his imagination and brought him to think that blessing would attend upon his retention of it. How easy it is for the devil to deceive us and lead us to false conclusions when he has the lusts of the flesh for his associate laborer! The passion of penuriousness is as strong in some men as the disposition to drink is regnant in others. In each instance the man who honestly desires an all around life in Jesus Christ may have signal victory through His help and come at last to put the flesh under his feet and stand conqueror over its covetousness. That old farmer who gave $5.00, and, after he had left the latter, felt so badly that he was strongly tempted to go back and ask for its return, was certainly aided by the Spirit when, walking back to the collector, he said, Here, give me that $5.00 and take this $10.00 instead. And then, as he turned and walked away with conscious triumph in his features, he was heard to exclaim, Now, old nater squirm!
But a single act of that sort may not prove to be sufficient. One needs to add thrust to thrust until nature is dead and the spirit is made alive. Though the appeals for Gods work come often, we should hear them with joy, and respond as God has prospered us. The difficulty with too many people is that their sacrifices are too spasmodic.
The sainted Gordon, urging the weekly collection in his church, said, Milk a cow every other day and she will be sure to dry up. How much more will a church be dried up by infrequent giving. * * Let a decree go out from the Lords Day that every week shall be taxed, and you will soon find that your business hours have received a wonderful consecration. Instead of looking back upon your six working-days as a band of marauders, each making way into the irrevocable past with its plunder of time and energy and devotion, you will see each of them marching up to pay its tribute to Him who is Lord of the Sabbath.
Such a giver will grow, and giving will become a joy. People sometimes advise us to give till it hurts, but that is not apostolic. People would have to go far beyond that to give till it doesnt hurt, so that the riches of their liberality will be associated with the abundance of their joy. The happiest Christian people in the world are those having the largest part in, and making the largest contribution toward, the worlds redemption, their respective abilities considered.
Dr. A. B. Simpson took a collection in Tremont Temple, Boston, to start a mission there. The largest gift amounted to $25.00. He hunted up the contributor and found him a shoemaker with a very small shop. When Dr. Simpson asked him if he was able to do so much he answered, If you only knew how much the Lord has done for me you would not wonder at all. And this is Dr. Simpsons testimony, Every time I went back to Boston I found this man shouting Gods praises.
That man may last, but never livesWho much receives, but nothing gives.Whom none can love, whom none can thank, Creations blot, creations blank.
CHRISTS SACRIFICE OUR CHIEF STIMULUS
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich (2Co 8:9).
He laid His all upon the altar of love. Peter once said, Lord, we have forsaken all, and followed Thee; what shall we have therefore? But the most he had sacrificed was a humble hut, a few ragged nets, and a fishing smack. The One who truly forsook all for His fellows was the Son of God, for all things were His, not only the world with the riches thereof, but all the universe with its untold wealth; all the honors that the combined tongues of men, angels, and creatures, could cry; and the office of universal Kingship, of Peerless Prophet, and of only High Priest. Charles Spurgeon once said, If I had a tale to tell you of some king who, out of love to a fair maiden, left his throne and became a peasant like herself, ye would stand and wonder and listen to the charming story. But when I tell you of God concealing His dignity to become our Saviour, what will ye say? And yet, that is the story of our text. It was for our sakes that He left all; it was for our sakes that He suffered such humility; it was for our sakes that He endured misrepresentation, malignment, mockery, cross, sword-thrust, death! Think of it, beloved!
He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich,
Paul said,
And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago. Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have (2Co 8:10-11).
In these words Paul means this: seeing what Christ did for your sakes, cultivate this grace for Christs sake. There is no other basis of liberality except for Christs sake. I dont say that men never give, impelled by another motive; sad to say, they often do. Dr. George Lorimer all too truly remarked, The benevolence of the age is largely tainted. * * Hobbes maintains that in doing good to others our ultimate aim is really to do good to ourselves, and that, consequently, what we call love for others is simply love for ones self. Mandeville and Helvetius adopt a similar view; and it has so far permeated current thought that much of our philanthropy is merely a refined species of selfishness, a method of gratifying ourselves by gratifying somebody else. The greatness, the profitableness, the loveliness, the luxury of kindness, generosity, and sympathy, are insisted on too strongly for the sweets of real disinterestedness to be tasted by our generation. In a very large number of cases, pecuniary aid can only be obtained for the poor, or for humanitarian movements and public enterprises, by a covert appeal to the vanity or conceit of the donors. They are usually flattered extensively, and sometimes excessively; their desire for personal happiness is skilfully excited; their craving for the approval and applause of their fellow beings is judiciously nursed and fondled, and they are thus persuaded into doing what they would otherwise leave unattempted. Others have natures peculiarly susceptible. They are easily affected to pain by recitals of sorrows and sufferings, and often extend a helping hand more to allay their own stormful feelings than to minister to calm elsewhere. And yet, the Word of God is clear in its call to this cause for Jesus Christs sake; that He who gave all for us might find from us a willing expression of love to Him. God bless the little girl who said, on hearing the Scripture, He had not where to lay His headI wish Id been there, Id given Him my pillow. Her motive was correct. Oh, for the privilege of sharing our comforts with that Christ who denied Himself all that we might possess them!
And this sacrifice is alike the privilege of the rich and the poor. Paul adds,
For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened:
But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:
As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack (2Co 8:13-15).
I never have felt disposed to prescribe the conditions under which the rich shall give. The unprospered world is perhaps too much addicted to looking to their more favored fellows for their carrying. I can agree with a recent writer who said, The rich ought to give as springs do, whether they are gone to or not, for with such fulness they should overflow. Gordon was equally happy in his illustration when he said, touching consecration to the Lord, Experts in such matters say that a bottle of wine that cannot throw out its own cork is rarely good for much. And certainly that man who has been greatly blessed with this worlds goods, if he have any love to the Son of God, any effervescence of the inward spiritual joy, will send forth streams of benevolence in evidence of it.
But I can speak with greater confidence touching the privilege of the poor. I know from experience something of what this is, and trust to taste more deeply still of it. God accords the least favored some of the largest opportunities. It was not a king on his throne who was permitted to provide for the ancient and honorable prophet in his need, but the poor widow at Zarepta was chosen rather to share her cake, and know this high fellowship, and make a name immortal. It was not the wealthy Jew who walked up to the Temple treasury the day that Jesus sat over against it, who got his name recorded in the Sacred Record, but the woman whose last mite was laid down as an expression of love. And wherever this Gospel has been preached in all the world that which she did has been told as a memorial of her. God never overlooks the gifts that represent the greatest sacrifice and speak the sincerest affection.
Once, it is said, a splendid temple was built in Constantinople by the Emperor Theodosius. Millions of money and years of skill and toil were spent upon the cherished enterprise, until at last it was ready for dedication. The architect had emblazoned upon its front the inscription, This church Theodosius built for God, but when the curtain was removed that covered the facade, to the astonishment of the Emperor, the architect and the crowd of attendant princes and generals, the inscription read, This church, the widow Eudoxia built for God. The ceremonies were instantly stopped and search was made for the presuming widow, but it was days before she could be found, and then it was discovered that she was a poor widow living far out in the suburbs who had done nothing for the splendid sanctuary but simply pull up the long grass from the roadside and spread it over the rough track to keep the beautiful stones as they were drawn to the temple from being scratched and effaced by the rocky road. The Emperor and his advisors, when they found out all about her, wisely concluded that she had not intruded, but that perhaps some angel unseen had changed that record in the night and put upon the front of the splendid temple a little example of the records that God is writing every day in the books of eternity, when the gifts of the poor will be found to have outranked and outweighed the most splendid endowments of wealth and luxury, whose gifts have cost them nothing.
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
THE SUPERIOR GRACE
2 Corinthians 8, 9
IN the content of these two chapters we have Pauls counsel on a subject of first concern to every local church. Paul was a peripatetica travelling evangelist, but he had the heart of a pastor. On that account there were times when he settled down for a one, a two, and on one occasion, a three year work at a single center (Act 20:31). But while even his longest pastorates were short, he reckoned himself an overseer of all the churches that he originated, and even a counsellor of some of those that others had founded.
Pauls travelling was not the product of indolence; he was not one of those men who disliked work, and so accumulated a few sermons and by moving from point to point, eased his labors by their repetition.
Possibly in human history there is not an instance of any man who accomplished more in the same length of time than did Paul. When writing this Epistle (2Co 11:23) he speaks of himself as in labours more abundant. His history justified the remark. The amazing thing is that a man who had some permanent affliction (2Co 12:9-10) could possibly have accomplished so much. It is a proof of the Divine power that rested upon him, renewing him daily for the most arduous task, enabling him not only to preach incessantly, but to supervise the young struggling churches that he had called into being.
The wisdom of Pauls counsel has been proven by twenty centuries of application, and though we are so far removed from him this morning, the words of this days study are as applicable as if they had been written for the special occasion of the coming week and the financial campaign anticipated.
In looking through these chapters, it appears probable that we can arrange their content under these headings The First Gift, The Gospel Agents, and Intelligent Giving.
THE FIRST GIFT
The first gift is that of self to the Saviour. Paul, in writing to these Corinthian brethren, reminds them of
the grace of God bestowed on the Churches of Macedonia;
How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
For to their power, (he bore) record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves
to receive the gift, and take upon them
the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.
And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.
The key sentence in 2Co 8:1-5 is found in the phrase, they first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.
Thats the key-note of a true and competent church life. That is the explanation of an effective church organization. A converted church membership is absolutely essential to a vigorous and spiritual church life. The church that is made up of unregenerated people, that is crowded with children of the world, that strives to increase its enrollment, irrespective of the Spirit, is neither a sound spiritual nor successful body.
You cant build a living temple with dead stones. You cant cultivate the old nature so that it will produce the fruits of the new creature in Christ. You cant get grapes from thorns, nor figs from thistles (Mat 7:16). The self-centered life will not indulge in sacrifice, and the self-centered man or woman will not deny the desires of the flesh in behalf of spiritual interests.
Men sometimes marvel that the multitude of churches make so little progress. A year ago Mr. Carroll, a Washington statistician, produced a certain amount of consternation in the ecclesiastical world by calling attention to the fact that one-third of the churches in the Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian denominations had gone through the year without winning a soul to Christtwelve thousand churches and more with not a redeemed man to their credit! Had Mr. Carroll as carefully investigated the contributions of churches, he would have found a kindred condition: namely, that tens of thousands of members had made little or no sacrifice whatever for Jesus sake; and had he deduced a logical conclusion, he would have been compelled to say that the failure to fruit, either in winning men to Christ or giving to Christian causes, was due to the fact that the members of these churches had failed to take the first step of the Christian life, namely, to give themselves to the Lord. I want you!
Aquilla Webb tells the story of a sixteen-year-old girl who was a chronic invalid, and whose mother was a pleasure-loving woman who preferred society to time with her shut-in daughter. While abroad in Italy, the mother remembered the coming birthday of her daughter, and purchased and sent her a rare and beautiful Italian vase. The nurse brought it to the girl, and commented upon its beauty and upon her mothers thoughtfulness in getting it to her just on time. To which the girl said, Please take it away. It is not her gifts I want it is my mother herself.
The principle is the one to which Paul here refers. Our gifts are only acceptable to God after we have made to Him the supreme gift of self.
The practice of giving is inherent in regeneracy. The new man in Christ Jesus will undertake new things. His whole attitude of life is influenced by his loyalty to the Lord. The regenerated spirit becomes an antagonist of the flesh and consequently is set into instant conflict with selfishness.
The intensity of that conflict will be determined by the vigor of the new-born soul. If one would watch the warfare between the old nature and the new creature, he can get a kaleidoscopic view by studying the 7th of Romans, where Paul, the author of our text, is presenting in detail his personal experience and tells us:
I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Now if I do that I Would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
For I delight in the Law of God after the inward man:
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
And when he sees that his conflict is not in vain, that the Spirit is to have the victory against the flesh, he shouts in sheer gratitude, I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the Law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin (Rom 7:18-25).
Len G. Broughton is credited with having the record to a report that a certain Baptist church made to its annual association meeting: Members received, none; members dismissed, none; members died, none; members married, none; given to missions during the year, nothing. The report was followed by the comment, Brethren, pray for us that during the next year we may hold our own.
The pastor, therefore, whose unrighteous ambition leads him to build a big membership in the interests of reputation and in answer to his personal pride, is playing a foolish part indeed. The very size of his congregation, compared with the pitiful sacrifices that unsaved people can ever be brought to make, will become his shame; and the very objective of a good reputation as a successful church-builder, will be defeated by a selfish, unsacrificing assembly.
If, therefore, we would build here a church that is worthy the description the Body of Christ, let it be understood that no name should be recorded on these rolls until there is adequate evidence that that one has first given himself to the Lord and then unto us by the will of God.
But look further into our text and let us note that Paul pleads for the exercise of giving in equity.
It seems that Titus had been the teacher and that he had not been remiss in telling them both the duty of giving and teaching them the grace of the same; and now Paul reinforces his fellow-laborer by urging that they abound in that grace, and also by instituting the comparison of their contribution to that of others, reminding them that their sincerity was proven by the measure of their sacrifice and illustrating by the example of Christ.
Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich (2Co 8:9);
and then he adds,
And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago.
Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have.
For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not (2Co 8:10-12).
Certainly there is a similarity between men of all ages. Under the teaching of Titus certain men had made pledges and had failed to pay them, and Paul is reminding them here of the indefensibleness or even the dishonesty of the same, saying, As there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. The willing mind is a good thing, but only when reinforced by the willing hand.
We rented a house to a fat, inland man who promised the rent in advance. Month succeeded month and he paid none. When seen, he reaffirmed his intention; but finally, when urged to provide something on the eight months past due, he moved out between days.
A certain gentleman promised us a sum of money due, and he sent us a check; but when we took it to the bank on which it was drawn, they reported no funds. If we vow, we are to pay our vows. There are few churches in the world that do not have some such as he found at Corinth. They pledge but they pay not. By the pledge they make for themselves a reputation at the time, of generosity. In the failure to pay, they trust the pastor and the treasurer to be silent and hope that the church public is ignorant of the refusal to perform the pledge. Paul says, Do you understand what that means? Such men are eased and their brethren burdened, Certainly it cannot be otherwise.
When I was a lad on the farm, we had much clearing to do and heavy work of varied kinds. Not a day but a log was to be carried, or some enormous load that taxed the strength of the two or three or four or five boys that were working together. The load would be lifted off the ground and carried to the shoulder level, and if one man shirked, the shoulders of the others must bear the additional weight; and if one man dropped his end of the log, as sometimes he did, the shoulder of the other took the shock and carried the consequent sore. We were brothers in the flesh and we loved one another and we stood together and worked together, and, when occasion arose, we fought together. But about the heaviest strain that was ever put upon our fraternal affection occurred when one boy, tiring of his load, dropped his end of the log, throwing not only the entire weight, but the jar and shock, to the shoulder of his fellow.
I have often said and I believe it to be true that fellowship in Christ is above, better and sweeter than the fraternity of blood; but it is a truth, as Paul here plainly states, that brotherhood is strained indeed when some capable man eases himself and throws the part of the load that he should bear, upon the already burdened shoulder of his own brother in the church, and thereby disturbs that equality for which Paul here pleads.
But the Apostle takes a further step, and for our information and inspiration as well, we should follow him, As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack (2Co 8:15).
The reference is to the old day when God sent His manna from Heaven and when greedy men gathered more than the days needs demanded and thought to store it up, but found it spoiled on their hands; and trusting men gathered less, yet had no lack. How often have we seen these principles illustrated in church life. A great task is undertaken, a tremendous and costly enterprise is to be put forward and some man of means concludes that he will make big reservations instead of big sacrifices. He has plans for the future and plethoric hopes, and he reserves, in the interest of investment, and lo! a few months and the investments have turned out poorly. He held back more than was meet and it tended to poverty. He selfishly retained and the worms hatched in the middle of the manna; and impossible as it seemed, consumed the same. Then I have seen others who, at the call of God, said, It doesnt look as if I can afford it, and yet all that I have, came to me from above, from the Father of lights and for the sake of His cause, it is a pleasure to sacrifice, and lo in a month, the gift has been made up to him and more.
More than once have I seen both sides of this truth illustrated, and witnessed the absolute and scientific demonstration of the sacred sentence, There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that upholdeth more than is meet, and it tendeth to poverty.
A certain merchant of Chapham, England, received news of a failure that involved him in an enormous loss, and within a few minutes a country preacher called at his office to collect a subscription he had made to the country church. Learning of the merchants failure, the minister apologized, saying that he was sorry and he hoped the merchant would just dismiss the whole matter from his mind. To which the noble-hearted Christian man answered, My dear sir, the wealth I have is not mine, but the Lords, and may be He is going to take some more of it out of my hands. If this be true, I should certainly make the best use of what is now left; and instead of paying that subscription, heres my check for its double. A man who imagines that his future and fortune are independent of Gods favor, has no God at all.
How can I, Lord, withhold Lifes brightest hour From Thee; or gathered gold, Or any power?Why should I keep one precious thing from Thee,When Thou hast given Thine own dear Self for me!
Commentary, speaking of this text, tells us: Vast enterprises are never born of masses, but of individuals; apostles first, and then churches; Bunyan, and two centuries of literature for the poor and illiterate; Watts and the sacred poets following; Raikes and Wesley; Martyn and Judson; successors multiplied because of their forwardness.
The volunteer is commonly the leader, and worthy to be the Captain.
A call for loyal soldiers comes to one and all;Soldiers for the conflict, will you heed the call?Will you answer quickly, with a ready cheer,Will you be enlisted as a volunteer?
Chorus:
A volunteer for Jesus, a soldier true!Others have enlisted, why not you?Jesus is the Captain, we will never fear;Will you be enlisted as a volunteer?
Yes, Jesus calls for soldiers who are filled with powr,Soldiers who will serve Him evry day and hour;He will not forsake you, He is ever near;Will you be enlisted as a volunteer?
He calls you, for He loves you with a heart most kind,He whose heart was broken, broken for mankind;Now, just now He calls you, calls in accents clear,Will you be enlisted as a volunteer?
And when the war is over, and the victry won,When the true and faithful, gather one by one,He will crown with glory all who there appear;Will you be enlisted as a volunteer?
THE GOSPEL AGENTS
There are three of these mentioned in this connection, Titus and two unnamed companions.
Titus was a volunteer in this mission service.
The language of the text is: Thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you. For indeed he accepted the exhortation; but being more forward, of his own accord he went unto you (2Co 8:16-17). It is not surprising that we hear of this man again. Later Paul will be writing to him. He was a worthy co-laborer indeed. He was one of those men who do not have to be sent on missions, who do not require a long and eloquent argument to impress them with duty. He was not a Moses, making the excuse of slow speech, nor a Jonah, disobedient to the Divine voice; but, like Isaiah, a volunteer, saying, Send me. The late war taught us the meaning of volunteer, and compelled us to think of the contrast between the volunteer and the conscripted soldier. The first commands respect; yea, he excites even admiration. The second associates himself with either cowardice or lack of patriotism. The first gives promise of a good soldier; the second prophesies an untrustworthy servant.
Titus first co-laborer enjoyed a good reputation with the Church.
We have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the Gospel throughout all the churches;
And not that only, but who was also chosen of the Churches to travel with us with this grace, which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord, and declaration of your ready mind:
Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us:
Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men (2Co 8:18-21).
The handling of funds by a minister is always attended with danger and involves the utmost delicacy; and it requires integrity of the highest sort. Paul appreciated that fact and proposed a company of brethren who were so esteemed that none could suspect them. His wisdom here is increasingly evident. The church of God has suffered no little at this point. The preacher who handles church or mission funds with carelessness brings against Christianity a bitter criticism, and when he handles such funds with dishonesty, he not only degrades his own profession, but destroys the worlds confidence in Christianity itself. Honesty is everywhere regarded as essential even to the transaction of secular business, and any failure whatever in handling funds intended for sacred uses, strikes the church of God a mortal blow, and brings disrepute to the entire Christian profession.
That is why people look with a large and justifiable degree of suspicion upon preachers who come to present personal enterprises, and who are eager to secure personal ownerships of properties supposedly devoted to the Lord. And that is why there are thousands of faithful ministers of the Gospel whose hearts bleed today over the administration of funds contributed for the express purpose of sending the Gospel abroad, but are being diverted to the non-commissioned end of mere education, while other funds were intended to build institutions upon that solid base of the Bible itself, and are now diverted to the ends of propagating the unbiblical philosophies of Modernism.
Instances of such dishonesty in the sight of the Lord, and in the sight of men are drying up the fountains of benevolence! Denominational leaders who have proven themselves untrustworthy, are fatally stabbing the very cause for which they speak. The man who is dishonest in carnal things cannot be trusted in the things of the Spirit. The greatest single barrier of Christian benevolence today is the misapplication of moneys given by godly men and believing women. The unbeliever on the foreign field, and the ministerial skeptic in the home landthese have done more damage to the cause of missions than all the Rousseaus, Paynes, and Ingersolls of the past.
The third companion of Titus was a collection-expert.
We have sent with them our brother, whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, upon the great confidence which I have in you.
Whether any do enquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellowhelper concerning you: or our brethren be enquired of, they are the messengers of the Churches, and the glory of Christ.
Wherefore shew ye to them, and before the Churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf (2Co 8:22-24).
We sometimes say that these are the days of the expert, but the specialist has always been in demand. Peter was a specialist as an evangelist. Paul was a specialist as a speaker and writer. John was a specialist as a pastor. And here we have an expert in the collection of funds. The development of such a man, then, is not modern. There is nothing new under the sun. The existence of such a man was needful, and is to this day. The praise of Mr. Moody has long been in the mouths of the believing multitudes, and he was able to turn men to Christ in mighty numbers. He was an expert evangelist. Hodge, of Princeton fame, was an expert in training men for the ministry. Broadus was an expert in teaching; Clough a world-wonder in mission work. But the gatherer of funds is nonetheless Gods man, and little less essential to the highest success of the church. Dr. Frank Divine of New York is undoubtedly Gods gift to the church-building enterprise. Solomon has lived in history for centuries, and he is not more famed as the rich ruler of Israel than for his service and leadership in the construction of the temple. But his job in temple building was comparatively small beside that which Divine has wrought in our day. This church, at least, has a debt of gratitude to God both in his equipment and appointment, to this end. He discovered us to ourselves, and thereby made these sanctuaries possible. How marvelously the combination here suggested is suited to the objective to be accomplished! Titus an ordained minister of the Gospel, and an active agent in gathering funds; an unnamed co-laborer, whose reputation with the churches was such that all that he touched was believed to be safe, and this expert in inciting the spirit of benevolence! It was a trio of efficiency, created and employed by the Holy Spirit in the interest of the old first church at Jerusalem.
Mark now the progress of our studies as they bring us to the question of
INTELLIGENT GIVING
To this the ninth chapter is devoted entirely, and it involves three suggestions:
First, Intelligent giving is giving after careful consideration. Paul declares that this has long been before their minds, that he had boasted about their readiness to the people of Macedonia, and that Achaia also had been ready for a year, provoked, however, as had been others, by the zeal of the Corinthians.
The matter of benevolence is not a subject of mere emotion. It should never be the product of but a moments reflection. .On the contrary, time, thought, and prayer should precede giving. I have sometimes wondered if the poverty in the first church at Jerusalem might not have been the product of emotional giving. And yet let this be said in their defense, namely, that they studied doctrine, exercised fellowship, celebrated the Lords Supper, and engaged in prayer, all of which is recorded to their credit.
Previous to the record of their benevolence all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. It is our candid conviction that but for the counsel and prayers through which this church passed for years, the contributions they made to construct these buildings would have been impossible. It is by teaching, by understanding the significance of types and symbols, by a long continuance in prayer, that the soul grows in likeness to its Lord, and the unselfish sacrificial spirit is strengthened. That spirit is far more sensitive to contributions than is the gathering of material wealth. James Denny in his volume on Second Corinthians reminds us of the fact that the first generation of Methodists in England, and the men who in 1843 fought the good fight of the faith in Scotland, illustrated this law, In a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For years the Salvation Army was the scoff of the upper tens but finally the children of fortune discovered that their contributions to Christianity were small beside those that the poorest of the poor, under Booths leadership, were making. That shamed these sons of wealth into silence first, and forced from their lips commendation afterwards. The prayerful, thoughtful church will grow in benevolent giving.
Paul also calls attention here to a second feature essential to all benevolent success, namely:
It is to be done in a cheerful spirit. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver (2Co 9:7) This, of course, is a spiritual axiom. God could love no other kind of giver. We sometimes imagine that there can be no other kind of giver, that unless men give cheerfully they would not give at all, but, alas, such a view ignores known features of human nature. Men give from all sorts of motives: for the sake of reputation, for the sake of show, to escape the condemnation of their fellows, out of fear that if they did not give God would withdraw His favor. There are many unworthy motives that may lead to giving, and sometimes even large gifts are animated by any other than a cheerful spirit. Louis Albert Banks, in his volume, Windows for Sermons contributes this amusing story told by the late Eugene Field. He said:
When Lawrence Barretts daughter was married, Stuart Robson sent to the bridegroom a check for five thousand dollars. Miss Felicia Robson, who attended the wedding, conveyed the gift.
Felicia, said her father, upon her return, did you give him the check?
Yes, father, said the dutiful daughter.
What did he say? asked Robson.
He didnt say anything, replied Miss Felicia, but he shed tears.
How long did he cry?
Why, father, I didnt time him; but I should say, however, that he wept fully a minute.
Fully a minute! roared Robson. Why, I cried for an hour after Id signed it!
Robson has his fellows in the church of God. Their offerings are baptized in tears.
The widow who gave two mites, her all, never cried over it; not a tear is recorded, though she had nothing left. The members of the old first church at Jerusalem sold their possessions, and goods, and parted them to all men, and never voiced a grief. Joses, surnamed Barnabas, put his farm up at auction, and brought the proceeds and laid them at the Apostles feet, with a hallelujah shout. But Ananias and Sapphira, in order to keep up appearances, brought to the altar a part of one sale they had just made, and then both of them died of heart failure. God loveth a cheerful giver.
Finally: To give under the direction of the Spirit is to grow in soul.
God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.
Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;
Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the Gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;
And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.
Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable Gift (2Co 9:8-15).
To grow in grace, grow in the knowledge of the Lord; to have sufficiency in all things; to abound in every good work, oh! what a blessing! In other words, to be a man in Christ!
There is a theory still regnant with certain scientists that mans body is filled with vestigal remains, namely left-overs that have no function to perform in the human anatomy. But almost daily the Divine intent of some one of these is discovered. We know now that the appendix increases the mucus surface, and makes its contribution to health. We know now that the thyroid glands are producers of iodine, and preservers against cretinism. We know now that the pineal gland, once supposed to be an extinct eye, is the most important appointment of the entire body, and determines its growth. If it should fail to function, a child could not develop into manhood, but infancy in size would link itself to senility, and the world would be filled with the pitiful sights of aged babies. In the things of the Spirit, the pineal gland is the Holy Ghost. If He indwells, dominates, and determines, spiritual growth is insured, and manhood and womanhood in Christ are effected. Is anything more pathetic than the sight of a baby that has failed in development? Yes, one thing: the sight of a soul that remains in infancy, marks no progress, attains to no stature in Christ, and exhibits no graces of godliness. This I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully Let us, then, glorify God in our subjection unto the Gospel, and grow by our distribution unto all men, thanking Him for His unspeakable gift, the presiding, indwelling, and developing Holy Spirit.
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
CRITICAL NOTES
Observe:
1. 2Co. 8:1 to 2Co. 9:15 is one continuous section, concerned with the completion of the Corinthian contribution to Pauls great Jerusalem Christian Poor Relief Fund. Mentioned 1Co. 16:1. where see for this Collection generally.
2. The section is characterised by a specialised use of (= grace, generally, but here also) gift, or bounty, as in 1Co. 16:3 (2Co. 8:1; 2Co. 8:4; 2Co. 8:6-7; 2Co. 8:19; 2Co. 9:14). In lesser degree also by similar specialisation of (= blessing, but here) bounty (2Co. 9:5-6), and a like turn given to (= simplicity, sincerity [cf. a single eye, Mat. 6:22], but here) liberality (2Co. 8:2; 2Co. 9:11; 2Co. 9:13). The key to this specialised sense impressed upon the first pair of words is evidently this: What Gods grace is to man, that is the Corinthians grace to the poor saints at Jerusalem,a spontaneous, unearned, free gift, out of a loving heart; mans grace to his fellow-man is his copy of Gods grace to himself; and, going deeper, such a heart of grace in man is thus expressing its sense of Gods grace in his own case; the human grace has sprung from the blessed effect of Gods grace in the heart. Similarly, as to . (See homiletic exposition.)
2Co. 8:1. Do you to wit.See R.V.; or 1Co. 15:1, or Gal. 1:11, A. V. Cf. the words of the old writs, Scire facias A. B., i.e. You are to let A. B. know, etc., Faire savoir. Grace.Obviously in the more usual sense. Macedonian Churches.From whose midst he was writing. Writing the First Epistle from Ephesus, and many months earlier, perhaps before the Macedonians had even heard of the Fund, he speaks of setting the Galatian Churches to work (1Co. 16:1). We know of Philippi, Bera, Thessalonica; there may have been others.
2Co. 8:2.Take the grammar of the sentence as, e.g., A. V. or R.V. Something may be said for taking thus: That the abounding of their joy is in the very time of their much trial by their afflictions, and the depth of their poverty has abounded, etc. Trial.See the same word in Rom. 5:4, experience. The word wavers between, or includes, the trying and the result of it; the proving and the proof; the experiment (2Co. 9:13) and the experience acquired by the experiment. Here the process, rather than the result arrived at. The trying was going on. What the afflictions were is unknown; suggestions may be found in Act. 17:5 sqq.; 1Th. 2:14; 1Th. 3:2-3; 1Th. 3:5 (written some years, earlier). Abundance.Notice this word running through the section (2Co. 8:2; 2Co. 8:7; 2Co. 9:8; 2Co. 9:12). Deep.Reaching deep down (Stanley); deep-searching (Speakers Commentary). N. B.Abundance of poverty abound unto riches of liberality (if verse is so to be construed).
2Co. 8:3 Of their own accord.Beet suggests: Moved by what Paul told them of the Corinthian zeal (2Co. 9:2), though without his laying any injunction on them to do anything similar.
2Co. 8:4. Gift.Grace. The Macedonian gift was their grace (as above), and was also their opportunity and their method of taking a practical share in the reciprocal fellowship of all believers No need to distinguish between
(1) a fellowship with the Corinthians in giving, and
(2) a fellowship manifested by the gift between themselves, though Gentile Christians, with the Jewish Christians at Jerusalem. Fellowship all round, in widest sense, is here. No new feeling in them (1Th. 2:14).
2Co. 8:5. Not as, etc., but, obviously also, better than. Hoped is more than merely expected. To us.Surely not as travelling companions (Stanley); meagre, and only true of the elected deputation. Not money, but [also] themselves; not to men, but [also] to Christ, and this first. Their self-surrender to Christ was also a surrender to those whom Christ had set in authority in His Church (Beet). By the will of God.As 1Co. 1:1; 2Co. 1:1; a practical recognition of Pauls authority as an apostle.
2Co. 8:6. Insomuch that.Too subtle to press this to mean a real fulfilment of a Divine design. Not said in First Epistle that Titus had initiated the local Fund at Corinth. [Not named at all in First Epistle.]
2Co. 8:7.There is also abundance at Corinth; but how different. Love to usIn 2Co. 7:11 we see this happy effect of the First Epistle. Note the R.V. margin. Grace.Inclining rather to the meaning of gift here. Abound in your giving also. Also.Q. d. as well as (not the good works of 2Co. 7:11-12, but) in these good points and qualities just mentioned.
2Co. 8:8. By (way of) commandment.They were in a good mood just now, even toward himself, and had been very obedient to his first letter; but it was very uncertain how far they would bear much telling from him. I dont order you to do this, but. (See under 1Co. 7:6) To prove.The poor Macedonians have had their proof (2Co. 8:2); now here I have a little proof for you! Your love.That of 2Co. 8:7, primarily, but not only.
2Co. 8:9.Cf. the appeal implied in 2Co. 9:15; a higher basis of appeal than even that of 2Co. 9:8. [
1. An Article of Faith;
2. A Matter of Experience;
3. A Principle of Action.J. L.] Observe, The Grace of Christ. Not, as more often, of God Rom. 5:15 is a remarkable expository illustration; Gal. 1:6 [and 2Co. 8:4] should be looked at. [Cf. Col. 3:13, even with the variant reading, where forgiveness is attributed directly to Christ. So also, whilst the Father gave Him, the Son gave Himself (Tit. 2:14; Eph. 5:25; 1Ti. 2:6).] Poor.Not merely in His human circumstances, as dependent during His three years ministry upon charitable gifts, but in the far larger sense of Php. 2:6-8. Therefore also became poor is better than was poor. [Stanley refers to Milman, Lat. Christ, Book XII., chap. vi, for the wonderful growth, at the beginning of fourteenth century, of the Mendicant Orders, indirectly, from this verse; and, more directly, of the rule and life of Francis of Assisi, earlier.]
2Co. 8:10. Advice.R.V. is truer, judgment; 1Co. 7:25. This is expedient.Viz. (not that I do not command but rather give my judgment, but) that they should abound, etc. (2Co. 8:7). Note, their precedence in collecting, and their precedence in thinking of such a collection: ye were the first to (R.V.). The Galatians were before them only in the particular point of adopting the method of weekly offerings (1Co. 16:1).
2Co. 8:11.As R.V.; also emphasise now in contrast to a year ago.
2Co. 8:12.See special Homily.
2Co. 8:13.God is just in His requirement; so am I. Too narrow to make this only mean: I do not desire at your expense to relieve the Macedonian Churches from their share of giving. This, so far as true, would only be a particular incidence of his (supposed) principle of action. I do not want to throw burdenall the burdenon you, to the exemption of others. The Jerusalem Church could hardly, with any appropriateness, be included amongst those giving Churches, which were in his mind in making the remark. Yet 2Co. 8:14 seems to carry the suggestion that even the then beneficiary Church and the benefactor Churches might in some sense, or under some circumstances, come to change places, and benefactors of to-day become the beneficiaries in their turn. Best comment is Rom. 15:27.
2Co. 8:15.So far as the Christian life permeates church members and churches will there be reproduced this ancient and beautiful ideal of a company in which each has sufficient, an ideal never realised in material good so completely as in Israel in the wilderness. For all men are but gatherers of food freely given by God. (Beet, very admirably.) More than a mere happy quotation, or apt parallel.
2Co. 8:16. Putteth into.Same phrase as, and well explains, given in, 2Co. 8:1. More earnest.Q. d. than to need it.
2Co. 8:18.Quite uncertain who the brother was. No intentional concealment of his name; the Corinthians knew him, or would very soon, when he arrived in Corinth. Curious old fancy, based on a misunderstanding of in the Gospel, that this was Luke. (So Ignat., Epp., and Jerome.) Three Macedonians are mentioned as travelling from Corinth again (with the collection, probably), Act. 20:4; Stanley thinks Tychicus perhaps the brother in 2Co. 8:22, and, more confidently, Trophimus here. N. B.He of 2Co. 8:22 is a second, additional to, not the same as this of 2Co. 8:19; see brethren, 2Co. 8:23; Titus is mentioned, and two others. Probably he of 2Co. 8:22 is not a Macedonian, but some usual, business-like, useful travelling companion of Paul.
2Co. 8:20.Lit taking in sail to avoid the danger that.
2Co. 8:21. Honest.In the old sense: What looks, and is, honourable.
2Co. 8:22. Confidence.Note R.V., rightly, which he hath; perhaps having been to Corinth with Titus, and gained confidence from what he had seen. This had increased his earnestness in the matter.
2Co. 8:23.Good example of the letters commendatory (2Co. 3:1). Messengers.Really apostles; but not yet in the technical, specialised sense. (Cf. of Barnabas, Act. 14:14; but not Rom. 16:7.) It had been a Jewish, official name for such accredited messengers from Sanhedrin or synagogue, as, e.g., Saul of Tarsus was when sent to Damascus. Glory of Christ.Q. d. They and their errand will bring glory to Him and His religion (as 2Co. 8:19).
HOMILETIC ANALYSIS.Whole Chapter
Four names are the nuclei around which the chapter organises itself:
A. Macedonia (2Co. 8:1-5).
B. Our Lord Jesus Christ (2Co. 8:6-11).
C. Corinth (2Co. 8:12-15).
D. Titus (2Co. 8:16-24).
A. Macedonia.We have, concerning the Macedonian Churches:
I. Their circumstances.They were poor, in deep poverty; their country was at that time notoriously poor. The civil wars of the preceding century [including the battle of Philippi] had laid the country waste, and in Pauls day it had not recovered. Thessalonica was becoming a busy centre, but the country had petitioned Tiberius for some relief from its heavy taxation, and, to lighten its burdens, Macedonia [with Greece; but this was restored by Claudius to the Senate, so that Luke is right; Gallio was proconsul (Act. 18:12)] had been made an imperial, instead of a senatorial, province. If Lydia were even still at Philippi, she was hardly a sample of Macedonian Christians; she was an immigrant, and her dyeing establishment, with its household servants, may not have been large. And the rest were mostly humble people, in Thessalonica, Bera, Philippi, as elsewhere.
2. They were being sorely tried by afflictions. Lost to us as this is in detail, all was then very real, every detail was then fully known to Paul, who was writing in their midst. And fully known to their Lord also, Who was then suffering them to be put to the proof. [Cf. Exo. 3:7, I have seen, I have seen. I have heard. I know, etc.] Not a stroke fell on them without His sympathetic knowledge, Who was making their circumstances His testing, purifying fire for the gold of their faith and patience (1Th. 1:4). With better show of reason than some Churches, they might have said: It is of no use coming to us to beg, Paul. We have nothing; we are a set of poor people. And this is a bad timeit always is, to unwilling heartsto come raising a fund here; we have enough to think about, holding our own amidst the persecution and the steady, active disfavour of our neighbours to us as Christians. But we have
II. Their generosity.
1. Out of the assayers furnace, heated with sevenfold fires, flowedoverfloweda stream of most precious, most pure, grace, in the shape of a most liberal and eagerly spontaneous gift. If there had been any tendency to selfishness or to the scanty giving of fearful hearts and narrow faith, their own poverty had cast it out. They must help the deep poverty of their brethren at Jerusalem. Much fear, narrow faith? How could these live in hearts full of abundant joy? Did they count it all joy that they were fallen into divers trials? (Jas. 1:2). And exult in tribulations also? (Rom. 5:3, same Greek word). They were cheerful givers. Their cup was abundantly full; but their hearts were abundantly full also. They were full to the overflow; running over in simple-hearted, unhesitating benevolence, and that richly. The fountain ran over in a stream; the very stream ran over the banks of expectation, and also of human prudence and ability. Very poor, greatly tried, abundantly generous!
2. Abundantly. Measured by their power, what could have been expected? A small gift would have been great for them to give. Hardly anything at all was to be looked for, much less hoped for. Paul had indeed told them of the collection, and of the eager zeal with which Corinth had taken the matter up; but not by way of command, or injunction, or exhortation, and scarcely even of suggestion. They needed no suggestion; they were willing of themselves. Corinthian zeal provoked very many (2Co. 9:2) in other Churches; but here, to mention the object of the Fund, and the need of the mother Church, was sufficient. The torrent of their charity had poured over, from hearts that only needed a touch [no flinty rock that needed smiting, perhaps twice], and the grace gushed forth, carrying away before it Pauls prudence and reluctance and care for them. There was no screwing it out of unwilling givers. There was no whipping up the last few pounds, as at Corinth. No need for it. Good cause shown; then their heart and hand were ready. Paul had tried to stay it, or to keep it within narrower bounds. But no. He must, and should, let them have a share in the ministering to the saints. If it did not mean this, what was the worth to them of the fellowship and the brotherhood? If really Jew or Gentile counted for nothing in Christ, if really Macedonia as well as Jerusalem were common partakers in the same Christ, then Paul must let them give their grace; and he must receive their gift, along with the rest. They begged him that he would. They would not be said nay. And they gave, and gave beyond their power.
3. They gave with the most blessed completeness. There was a finish about their benevolence; from first to last it was most admirably thorough; intelligent, orderly, gracious principle ran through it all. They began at the right place, and at the right end. The true gift is the expression of the man, as between man and man; as between God and man it is the embodiment of the man too. God of old asked for Isaac; but He wanted Abraham; and Abraham himself really lay upon the altar by which he stood. A gift loses much, whilst yet it may be worth something to man, if the heart of the giver be not in it; to God it is worth nothing, if the mans self be not in it. All the overflowing readiness of the Macedonians was, after all, no such torrent of resistless, impetuous impulse as that they should forget, before doing anything in actually putting their gifts together, to devote themselves afresh to God. So eager to begin, and to give, and yet they pause [at the beginning of their effort, not like the Corinthians at nearly the end of it] solemnly to consecrate themselves to the Giver of all grace. In modern phraseology, before a single subscription was announced, the Church held a consecration meeting. Then all they had, all their poverty too, was avowedly the Lords; they were His stewards, for little or much; they then proceeded to give of His own (1Ch. 29:14), not their own. [A model for all Church financial efforts, Memorial Funds, Jubilee Funds, and the like.] After that, it was comparatively a small touch of excellence that they unreservedly put themselves under the direction of Paul in their effort; accepted him as their almoner to Jerusalem; and in the most ungrudging, unquestioning, unqualified way recognised him as Paul the Apostle by the will of God (2Co. 1:1), falling in with that will, in their very act and its heartiness. It was not his first experience of Macedonian generosity and affection to himself (Php. 4:10-19). But he had not looked for such a display of grace as this, even in them. Of grace, for
III. All this was grace of God bestowed upon Macedonia.Human nature was not in itself of different material and quality in Macedonia to what it was elsewhere. It was grace which had bred grace. Their open hand and open heart were the reflection, the offspring, of Gods own. Giving is good for Churches and for men, as checking any tendency to selfishness, and as enlarging the heart and keeping sympathy tender. No change of medical opinion can ever make this kind of bleeding anything but good for the souls health. Good even for the mind, to have something to check self-centering of thought and purpose. Self-interest might conceivably urge to beneficence. But before the initial act, and the impulse to it, can arise in the heart, grace must have begun its work. A bit of beneficence fills the heart with blessing, and in turn this full heart of blessing will flow over in beneficence. And so on, in reciprocal action. But this action and reaction needs starting. And this, grace must needs do. All good begins there. The grace of God bestowed upon the Church at Corinth (same words as here, 1Co. 1:4) assumed a noble form, and enriched them with gifts which called forth Pauls thanksgiving, and made them the paragon Church of the world in such endowments. But this grace of God upon Macedonia, was it less noble or less fruitful?
B. The Lord Jesus Christ and His grace.
I. One is ashamed of some of the motives urged and methods employed, to raise money for religious and benevolent purposes. The money is contaminated by its source and by the process of extraction. See here A model appeal.
1.To Paul to live is Christ, and naturally, instinctively, by the necessity of his new heart, his thought turns to, rises to, Him. In Christ traces the sphere within which Paul lives and moves and has his souls being. It is no narrow range which is so traced out; abundance of range, abundance of interests, a large, free, happy life; and everything within it is bound by a happy gravitation to Christ the Sun and Centre. Every plan and purpose derives from that Source motive and strength. In this, Paul is an Archimedes who has found his place to stand, and his lever and his fulcrum. With the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ he can move the world, not to say a reluctant, or negligent, or laggard Church. 2. This appeal is a sample of the way in which the highest themes find place in his letters, in the midst of topics of temporary, and comparatively slighter, interest. [Striking example of this in 1Co. 7:29-31.] Great texts occur in the midst of less useful material. They occur suddenly; they occur en passant; he rises to them, and quits their high level again, without effort; there is no appearance of any feeling of rising to them, or of sinking from them to a lower plane of thought or feeling. All his life, its plans, its motives, its activities, are of a piece. He lives at the high level [probably without remembering that it was high]. He can pass from the temporary theme to a topic of eternally vital interest, and can resume his temporary theme without any shock at the moment of transition. By such motives as this of 2Co. 8:9 he regulated his own life; by such motives did he seek to train his people to regulate theirs. He did not disdain auxiliary motives of a lower order. As we see, he uses Corinth to stir up other Churches to zeal and liberality; he uses Macedonia to spur on Corinth. [So again, descending yet lower, but not unworthily, in 2Co. 9:4.]
II. [See Separate Homily on 2Co. 8:9. But remark here:] The model of all beneficence.Without much forcing, point by point of parallelism can be found between it and the Macedonian and Corinthian bounty.
1. Was He not willing of Himself? The Father had not spoken to Him by way of commandment; He came not to do His own will, indeed, but had accepted the exhortation, and willingly had been sent on His Fathers errand. He stood before the throne a servant waiting for commands, with loving, eager, volunteering readiness, proposing Himself for the service: Then said I, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God (Psa. 40:7-8); I delight to do Thy will.
2. One cannot say, indeed, beyond His power, but, very emphatically, to His power was He thus willing. His whole Divine-human resources and heart of love have been unreservedly drawn upon for us. There is no limit; however much we may have drawn upon Him, we have never even approached, much less touched, any limit to the sufficiency of His grace and power. A limit is inconceivable. In Him is all the fulness of God (Eph. 3:19; with Col. 1:19; Col. 2:9-10), in order that we may be filled with it. He gives Himself to our need unstintingly, and to the measure of His power to bless and save. [May even borrow another word of human giving in this chapter, and say that as there was readiness to will, so there was a performance also out of that which He had (2Co. 8:11). He did not rest, nor does He find His satisfaction, until He can say, It is finished.]
3. It belongs to the bottomless depths of truth beneath what we read in this Book, and then formulate into our doctrine of the Incarnation, to ask whether there were any original fellowship between the Son, the Firstborn of all creation, and our race, which made possible His assumption of the Redemption fellowship with our race in its deep need. At all events He has created a fellowship which now appeals to Him, as the new fellowship in Him did to the Macedonians and Corinthians, and as it should still appeal to Christian judgments and hearts. The need itself is a powerful appeal to all right hearts; and to His heart too. He cannot see need of any kind, and only see it. But this was a need of brethren in a real fellowship with Himself, and He takes upon Him the ministering to the saints.
4. May we venture to use Psa. 40:6-7 again, and say that He, too, first gave Himself to the Lord, and then? etc. The psalm is the voice of a human heart; of all true servants of God; but it belongs also to Him, in that whatever of motive or excellence is found in His people is also found in its original, and most perfect, exemplification in Him.
5. May we say that the abundance of His joy and of His deep poverty abounded to the riches, etc. (as 2Co. 8:1)? Or that as He abounded in everything He abounded in this grace also? It would hardly be tracing too minutely the features of the correspondence between all highest Christian service and charity and His, Who is the Model.
III. A model of Christian completeness.
1. Abound in this grace also. Every point of Christian character needs cultivating. All are not equally adapted for any one form of Christian service; nor is any given Christian equally well adapted for all his own forms of service. But there should be no systematic neglect or omission of any. The aim of Church education and of Christian self-culture should be an all-round, harmonious completeness of service and character. Natural enough to do most what we like best, what costs least of sacrifice or effort, what involves least of unpopularity or singularity. In many Churches, and in very many Christians, there are exaggerated graces, and there are defective, imperfectly developed graces. There are fashions in Christian work. Special forms take the fancy of a generation, and are pushed to the overshadowing of others very needful to be kept up. Abound in this grace also. Hard to preserve the balance of work and growth; but any point cultivated at the expense of other good ones, is apt to become a blemish. [The beautiful arm of the deformed boarder in The Autocrat of the Breakfast-table. A noble head, upon a body which has not grown beyond childish stature and strength. And so on.]
2. Specially, the showy gifts and activities must not be allowed to overshadow or lead to the neglect of less obtrusive ones. Faith utterance knowledge (even) diligence, will not find their completeness without prompt, perfected benevolence. [A suggestion of the same danger may be found in a letter to a Macedonian Church, Thessalonica. 1Th. 5:20, Despise not prophesyings; a very serviceable gift, but then everybody could understand the prophet, talking clear sense in ordinary, intelligible language, though under the special influence of the Spirit. On the contrary, tongues was a showy gift, attracting attention to its possessor, who was greatly admired and envied, although it was true that only a man with another gift, interpretation of tongues, could understand him!]
3. Above all, a Christian character is wanting in completeness, if there be no heart to give and no practice of giving. High professions, great gifts, even abundant activities, cannot cover this deficiency. To omit this is not only to deny the fellowship, to lose the reflex blessing of giving to the givers themselves, but it is to leave out of the Imitation of Christ a most conspicuous feature. God is a Giver. The Lord Jesus Christ is a Giver. Corinthians must be givers too. Let Titus finish in you this grace also. Also is a leading word in the paragraph. Do not forget the also in life and service.
C. Corinthians, and the true Christian communism.
I. An ideal of social supply.Israel was the kingdom of God on earth; amongst the other states and monarchies this was His. When actual kings were permitted to Israel, they were understood to be only viceroys; the real King of Israel was Jehovah. Divine law was State law; in the legislation of God for Israel are embodied in temporary, occasional forms the great principles which secure the wise government and well-being of all community-life. The ideal Israel would be an ideal state. But Israel never was ideal; the ideal of a kingdom under Jehovah never existed outside Deuteronomy. Still, in the wilderness God so ordered the life of His own special subject people that their wilderness life becomes a perpetual parable. Pauls quotation is no mere felicitous parallel, adduced from an old classic of this peoples literature. He is guided to fasten upon and bring forward a case in which the very ideal of provision for the needs of a community was forcibly suggested, and in a small degree was actually carried into effect. There was no want, there was no waste; to-day had sufficiency for its needs, without stint, yet there was nothing over for the morrow. Each day brought its due supply, out of Gods fulness of resource; the morrow must to-day be trusted for, but each new morning justified the trust; and ended it, for the supply believed for was there, waiting to be gathered. Indeed, simplicity, and utterness, of dependence upon God were the very root principles of living. Men went forth morning by morning, not to make anything, but to gather what God had made and had brought to them. They went morning by morning; the act of the host said, Give us this day, again, our bread. The faith which underlay the dependence was kept alive in the very fact that, whether they would or not, they could not accumulate anything over. It was the simple life of a great family, where morning by morning the children rise, counting upon finding the renewed, sufficient provision of the father. It is the lovely ideal of Mat. 6:25-34, the children fed and clothed as the birds and lilies are, and taking no more thought for the morrow than they do. [In fact, the Sermon on the Mount is really the great, fundamental, Constitutional Document, the Magna Charta, of a new and more perfect embodiment than Israel had been of the Kingdom of Heaven, Gods Ideal State.] The Ideal was again in partial embodiment for a short time after Pentecost attempted in the Christian Church at Jerusalem. Not attempted in any sense of organising a modern movement or scheme. The thing was the spontaneous, instinctive growth of the new life of the Spirit. Hearts filled with the Holy Ghost were filled with brotherliness and charity. Rich landowners like Barnabas, and smaller people like Ananiasbut with truer heartsold lands or houses. None of them called anything he had his own. All was put into the common stock. With the happy result that neither was there among them any that lacked. In so far, it was Exo. 16:18 again realised. [Act. 2:44-45; Act. 4:32; Act. 4:35.] [N.B.The general principle that no Christian has any of Gods gifts simply for his own use and help and enjoyment, goes very far. It is true of anything he may have learned from Scripture or from Providence; of any richer or new blessing to his own soul which may really have been a fresh disclosure to him of the will of God, or of the possibilities of a holy life. His experiences are for the common stock and the help of others. Thus H. W. Beecher: I always feel as though, if a man has a fine garden, it is mean for him to build around it a close fence, so that nobody but himself and his friend can enjoy it. But, oh, it is a great deal meaner when the Lord has made a garden of Eden in your soul, for you to build around it a great dumb wall, so close and so high that nobody can look through it or over it, and nobody can hear the birds singing in it. And yet there are persons who carry a heart full of sweet gardenesque experiences all the way through life, only letting here and there a very confidential friend know anything about the wealth that is in them.] But this already is passing over to
II. The real and its supply.
1. A world or a Church where none have a surplus and none want, where there are neither poor nor rich, is only a beautiful vision. The ideal kingdom of God will only in the eternal world be the actual; and only there will mans world, the world of the new race that finds its head in the new Adam, coincide with the kingdom. The very beneficence of Pentecostal days was based upon the fact that there was not an equality; there needed an equalisation. And the typical Christian remedy is Almsgiving, in the broadest sense of the word. Divested of all its unfortunate associations; regarded apart from unfortunate embodiments and expressions of the principle; the essential thing, the loving voluntary overflow of fulness into need, is the remedy. It is the copy of the Divine benevolence. It is the Divine order.
2. Political economy easily, and, from its point of view, rightly, makes out the economic unwisdom of almsgiving. Indiscriminately employed, it has promoted an unhealthy and indolent dependence, and even created a new sense of right to the dole. The monastery gate and the squires kitchen have fostered mendicancy. The mechanical almsgiving of a modern Poor Law system hardens giver and receiver. But the instinct of almsgiving is Christian, and was from the first a notable outgrowth of the new fellowship and fraternity in the Church. [See, e.g., Caves Primitive Christianity, Part III., chap. 2; or, more recent, Pressens, Early Years of Christianity, Life and Practice, pp. 412419.] The Eucharistic free-will offertory frequently went to the poor. The early Church historians and biographers are full of eminently charitable personages, official and private members alike. Poor were charitable, like the rich, each according to their means. The community of spiritual things leads naturally to a community also of the inferior necessaries of life. There is no compulsion, but the simple application of the law of solidarity, that all those who live by the same life of the Word should have all things in common. (Clement, summarised by Pressens.) Wealth, in the broadest sense, and of every kind,whatever one has and another needs,is held as a trust from God, the Giver, for, not the possessor only, but for the sake of those who need. And the obligation to this larger Almsgiving lies equally upon those who to-day are the receivers. Tomorrow they may be able, in some other way, to be the givers; to-days givers may need to be the receivers. Spiritual benefits may repay the temporal. Indeed, true charity brings its own repayment in the enlarged sympathy, the tenderer heart, the check to selfishness. The principle of our paragraph tends to a self-acting redress of all need. As in the ocean, so here, any inequalities of level tend always to adjustment and equalised fulness in every direction.
III. Unwise methods and motives are suggested by 2Co. 8:8; 2Co. 8:10; 2Co. 8:13. E.g. not by way of commandment.Compulsory legislation; violent reorganisation of the existing social system, with all its crude or selfish and unequally pressing methods of division of comfort or wealth; enforced Socialism or Communism, as a necessary preventive of undue poverty or undue riches, or as promising perfect contentment and happiness, and fairer sharing of labour and its rewards; must all fail, for the same reason that the Christian plan of the benevolence of Gods stewards towards Gods needy ones, fails in securing an ideal society. The fallen heart in man must be taken into account. If Capital be selfish, Labour may be selfish too. The social struggle is too often poor selfishness organising itself against rich selfishness. [Indeed, the oldest political economies formulated laws which proceeded on the supposition that self-interest, enlightened or not, was the one motive which could be relied upon as certain, always and in all men, to operate.] There must be no commandment on the one side; there must be the willing mind on the other. Else the issue may be, as the aim of some violent proposals seems of necessity to be, that a new inequality may be produced, in which the haves and the have-nots of the old order simply exchange positions. Christianity says all round, I mean not that other men be eased and you burdened. To enrich a Jerusalem by the impoverishment of a Corinth; to make a Corinth bear all the burden of helping a Jerusalem, whilst some Macedonia or Galatia or Ephesus goes free,this is as imperfect a social order and supply as that which it is attempted to redress. In this also, The foolishness of Godthe Christian almsgiving principle, condemned by the political economies, repudiated by the communising re-organisers of the existing order of societyis wiser than men. If this could only pervade a society of men, themselves first renewed by the grace of God, then a continuously self-renewing equalisation would be secured by Christian benevolence better than by the mechanical equality of systems or law. [The poorest give their rich benefactors very much, directly and indirectly.]
D. Titus and his fellow-deputies.[For Titus, see Gal. 2:3, uncircumcised, a Gentile; converted by Paul, Tit. 1:4; associated in work with Paul, Act. 15:2; Gal. 3:1; 2Co. 2:13; 2Co. 8:23; 2Co. 12:18; sent to Crete, Tit. 1:5; called to Nicopolis, Tit. 3:12; sent from Rome to Dalmatia, 2Ti. 4:10; not named in the Acts.]
1. Note the remarkable fact that Titus is only known to us by the incidental references of four letters of Paul, one of them addressed to himself. Unmentioned in the direct narrative of the Acts, and even in the first letter to Corinth, though he was, probably, one of the bearers of it [1Co. 16:11; 2Co. 12:18; neither Timothy (1Co. 16:10), nor Apollos (ib. 12) was], and not now for the first time associated with the Corinthian collection (2Co. 8:6). Pauls fellow-helper concerning the Corinthians. It may also not be too precarious a conjecture that he was a stronger man in every way, except goodness, than Timothy, who is mentioned repeatedly in the Acts. No such emphatic and recurrent words about courage are addressed to him, as 1Ti. 1:18; 1Ti. 3:15; 1Ti. 4:14; 1Ti. 5:21; 1Ti. 6:12 (cf. also 1Co. 16:10-11). Indeed, he had needed courage, as much as tact, in dealing with the Corinthians and their bearing towards Paul, and, more recently, with the business of their lagging collection. He was beyond suspicion, even by the Corinthians (2Co. 12:18), of any malversation in dealing with their money, or of anything but most perfectly disinterested and above-board conduct in any particular. He was plainly not only full of affection for Paul, but a warm-hearted, zealous man, troubled about wrong, rejoicing over good, comforted when he saw it (2Co. 7:7; 2Co. 7:13; 2Co. 7:15, etc.). One may infer his good sense from the fact that he was Pauls trusted agent in the delicate task of handling these Corinthians and their affairs; as, later on, when he was despatched to regulate the ill-organised Churches of Crete, the native material of which was drawn from a coarse type of nationality [liars, evil beasts, slow bellies, 2Co. 1:12]. [Methodist readers may compare such men as Alexander Mather,Wesleys right-band man,Samuel Bradburn, Adam Clarke, Henry Moore, William Thompson, Joseph Benson, Joseph Bradford, a cluster of companions and fellow-helpers around the venerable Wesley in his later years, often sent on such errands as this of Titus.] Significant and suggestive that such a manwith strength of character, real piety, tact, courage, and altogether above the most sensitive suspicion; with lively sympathy for the work of God; the very ideal of a man who must bear responsibility and carry out the extension of the work of God (what pastor does not say, O si sic omnes?)should be unmentioned in the Acts, and even in the first Corinthian Epistle. It is significant of the character of the Scripture record. It is historical; its record gives many a point of verification of the truth of the history in which the Revelation is rooted. One touch of historical veracity is found in the very informality of the record and the inequality of treatment. It is so far presumptively a genuine contemporary narrative, in that it moves with the insouciance of the consciousness of truth and of transparent simplicity of purpose, in and out amongst historical personages, scenes, events, dates; touching en passant; including quite incidentally; dealing fully, or by allusion only; or omitting altogether; just as may happen, whilst it pursues its course and its simple purpose. A simple, inartificial narrative, such as can omit any mention of an important worker like Titus without any suspicion of design attaching to the fact, carries with it a prim facie credential of its truth.
2. The omission of Titus from the Acts is suggestive of much more of holy, valuable labour, which has found not even a chance mention in an Epistle, and of much, very much, the greater part of the work of the Church, which finds no earthly record at all; it is suggestive of workers whose only memorial is in the book of life (Php. 4:3). In the modern, true Acta Sanctorum, the (holy catholic) continuation of the Acta Apostolorum, how many Titus-like men find no mention. But their work is no more lost than his; they are no more forgotten than Hebrews 3. This group of Christian men is completed by two other character portraits, anonymous, known only conjecturally by us, and yet so vividly hit off in a stroke or two that we feel as if we were very well acquainted with them. Here is one who has every ones good word throughout all the Churches for his work in the Gospel. He is a successful evangelist, we may presume; and his gifts are not more the praise of every one than is his character. He, like Titus, is a trusted man. The Churchesnot one only, but severalhave accepted him as their trustee to hold, and in due course to administer, the accumulated relief fund. [There is no greater honour which can be paid to character than to give a man ones trust. It honours him that gives and him that takes. The more complete the trust; above all, if it has to be unusually blindfold trust, or if there be risk involved; the greater the honour. (Trust speaks almost as well for him who gives it. The man who seems to count it a virtue and a boast that He never trusts anybody any further than he can see them; who poses as a universal sceptic as to the existence of any thorough and absolute honour and honesty in any man; is not himself the noblest type of man. His boasted shrewdness, which never allows him to commit himself to any other man, reveals a narrow, mean soul, which has not even in itself a witness to anything nobler in human nature. He honours his own heart, who can and does trust, without foolish credulity, and without dishonouring self-scepticism.) (Nothing pays greater honour to Gods word and character than our faith; hence, perhaps, so much is made to turn upon Faith.) Trophimus, or any other,this man is rich and honoured in the trust of the Churches. Is the other unnamed portrait that of Tychicus? It may be; later on (Acts, ubi supra.) we find him and Trophimus travelling together in Pauls company. (Paul and his band of companions moving from place to place recall the Master and His company of twelve moving up and down the land of Israel years before; personal attendants, messengers on occasion, learners, workers, friends.) As the other is the choice of the Churches, so is this one the choice of Paul. Trusty, with ability in practical affairs not now for the first time proved by Paul; the very man for the work just now in hand.
4. Men, all these, made for the work; and many such made by the work. In every Church are examples of men whose abilities lay dormant, hardly knowneven to themselvesuntil the call and claim of the work of Christ revealed thema discovery to themselves. How much of such many-sided fitness lies obvious enough, but unemployed and not available; because the possessors will not hear the call, and respond to the claim. And the fitness is a presumptive call. In the very correspondence between the work and the instrument, lie a cogent argument and appeal, which a fit man should require a very good reason indeed for declining to yield to.
5. Such men, with their proved ability, and, still more, with their trusted character, are no small gift to the Churches. Thanks be to God for them and for their readinesslike that of Titusto present themselves living sacrifices to the Lord and His work. It is no small service that such men, in office and carrying responsibility, turn the edge of criticism and silence all possible suggestions affecting the honour of the Church and the fidelity of its administration, especially in the financial abundance which is administered. Their ability is a guarantee of the wisdom, their character of the honesty, of the management. The responsible leaders in the Churches not only must stand clear before the most searching light of the scrutiny of their Lord, Christ; they must also, so far as may be, provide that all commends itself as honest, honourable, to all reasonable human observation and examination. The Church should be a corporation with a more than ordinarily sensitive conscience. The honour of their Lord is involved. Such men, so administering the Churchs affairs to the glory of the same Lord, are not only a strength and a wealth to the Church, but they are the glory of Christ. [
1. The Churches should have properly audited accounts.
2. There needs be no undue sensitiveness about mere gossip or ill-natured talk (such as against Wesley or General Booth re finance). Do right, and let the rest go (2Ch. 25:9). Hew a true line, and let the chips fall as they may (saying of Feilden, the Lancashire merchant-prince). There will be plenty of criticism, do what the Church may.]
SEPARATE HOMILIES
2Co. 8:9. Christ; Poor, yet making Many Rich.
I.
1. Apart from the circumstances which are its setting, this text is a gem of truth. The very stratum in which it is found has its value; it can be worked to a real spiritual profit. But the gem is priceless.
2. It is instructive as revealing (see Homiletic Analysis, B.) the habitual region of Pauls thought. He enters and quits such a high theme, as one well accustomed to the heights; his manner of introducing and employing this great truth is incidental disclosure of the close relation in which such doctrinal grandeurs stood in his own life to practical conduct.
3. Doctrine may be presented with a forbidding rigidity; it ought to underlie, and be clothed by, the beauty of Christlike living. It is the firm basis of all Christian hope and the experimental life. [Beneath the most beautiful face is a hard, grinning skull. The most beautiful body is built up upon a skeleton, rigid, hard, strong; which may be exhibitedas doctrine sometimes has beenin its bareness and rigidity, stern, certainly not beautiful, even forbidding. Yet the face needs the skull; the body needs the skeleton. Teaching and experimental life which have beneath them no firm, strong skeleton of doctrine are apt to be feeble, fatally pliable, shapeless, unserviceable.]
4. Seems sometimes cruel to such a text, to dissect it for its underlying skeleton. The botanist sacrifices the flower, as he pulls it to pieces to examine and exhibit its structure. Yet the first topic in this text is
II. The theology.
1. Difficult to use any formulated language on this topic, as on many others, which is not open to legitimate criticism, or which would not, with very slight variation, swerve right or left into mischievous error. Difficult to use any which is not rather a protest against the assertion, or acceptance, of some point, or against some development or consequences, which are already, and in advance, negatived by some Scripture statement. Difficult to allow for the effect upon Scripture statements of the fact that everything relating to the manner of the Divine existence is exhibited in connection with the activity of the Trinity in the work of human Redemption.
2. He was rich, He became poor is the practical, workaday shape of the Kenosis of Php. 2:7. [The poor are to have the Gospel preached to them; they must have even its theology in a form apprehensible by the youngest and the simplest.] The form of God was not eagerly clutched and retained. He forewent it, and presented Himself to human observation in the form of man the servant of God, assuming to Himself, possessing, exhibiting, the characteristics of manhood, and in His intercourse with men normally conforming Himself to, confining Himself within, the conditions of mans life; in many particulars of His work and mission submitting to be a prophet raised up in the midst of Israel, acting as the old prophets did, as the servants of Jehovah (Act. 3:22), [though He stands forth as the highest and most glorious example of the Prophetic Order, receiving the Spirit without measure (Joh. 3:34),] only drawing upon the reserve possibilities of His proper form of God, and only speaking without a veil over His face of glory, just so far as might be needful for the accomplishment of His redeeming errand. And He further stooped to a yet lower level. Manhood was low, far beneath Godhead; mans death was lower; the death of a crucified man, cruel, shameful, the death of a criminal or a slave,man could even in death hardly go lower than that lowest; yet even to that pointdeath, death upon a crossdid He carry His obedience, the Lord of all Who had consented, had chosen, to become His Fathers servant for mans sake. Paul thus expounds, in the passage where he most fully approaches the Incarnation topic, his words here.
3. There are depths beyond the sounding of the wisest beneath these quasi-popular expositions of the inscrutable Divine Fact. Subtle theories of wide-spreading consequence have been spun, in spider fashion, out of the bowels of the simple phrase, Emptied Himself, or that other, The Word was made [became] flesh. One element is common to them all; a literal merging of the Divinity of the Son into the finite spirit of the Man Christ Jesus. The general idea takes many forms: sometimes simply Pantheistic, the Eternal Spirit thinking itself as a Person in Christ; sometimes purely Eutychian, God the Son contracted into humanity, and both growing together to perfection; sometimes Apollinarian, the Potency of the Son working dynamically in the psychical soul and flesh of Jesus. (Pope, Theology, ii 194.) Attempts all these to be precise where precision is impossible; where the Fact passes our apprehension altogether.
4. His own words make one thing clear: the I Whom men heard and saw in His poverty carries His life backward [as our text does] into eternal depths of the past, and forward into eternal distances of the Future, with an unbroken continuity of existence and of personal self-consciousness. I came forth. I am come. Again I go (Joh. 16:28). In every sense is Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever (Heb. 13:8). Theological statement must in its rotundity of systematised completeness find room for all such Scripture statements as make a Godhead, emptied, even temporarily, of those characteristics which are part of the very definition of God, untrue and inconceivable. He was never so poor as to cease to be Himself. [Heb. 1:1-4 is a Divine Life of the Son of God, going back to the date when He made the world, and yet earlier, to those undated, dateless ages when He was (essentially and all along) Brightness and Image; continuing through the yearsthe midway episodeof His redeeming work; and forward to, and past, His (resumed) session on the throne of the Majesty on high. Noteworthy is this: Being the Brightness, upholding, when He had purged, He sat down. The continuous, native, inherent condition is contemporaneous with the acts wrought on the stage of human history at a definite, earthly date. As though the Royal Son, and Co-regent, and Prime Minister, of a Sovereign, without ceasing to be anything belonging to his nature and birth, or to his relation to his father, and without ceasing to uphold all the empire by his adminstra-tion, should add to his labours the special task of going to a remote and rebellious and ruined province, and himself winning, or reducing, its people to submission.] Human illustration is of course imperfect. Peter the Great of Russia is in personal character not even for a moments passing comparison, to be put beside the Lord of glory. Yet he may help to such apprehension as may be possible, of One Who, for the sake of His peoples well-being, became poor, though all the while He never ceased to be rich in His own proper right and in fact. Peter narrowed his life, in all respects needful for his purposein dress, in residence, [in a shipwrights cottage in Holland,] in style of living, in manual labour as a shipyard operativewithin the conditions of the life of a working-man. Yet, if need were, for the safeguarding of his true Imperial honour and the welfare of his people, he could and did, assert in word and act, and draw upon, his state and power and position as Czar of the Russias. Becoming a ship-wright; taking upon him the form of a servant; without ceasing to be the ruler of his empire and the possessor of all its resources.
III. The experience.
1. The word ye know must not be unfairly pressed, to contain more necessarily than Ye are aware of; ye remember that ye have been told of, etc. Not necessarily more in it than an intellectual apprehension and recalling of the fact. But to serve Pauls purpose the knowing must not stop there. The truth must by the understanding be brought to bear upon the heart, and, in the next step, upon the will, arousing the flagging activity of the Corinthian Church. No truth in the whole round of Christian doctrine is ever effective, if it be merely admitted into the region of the understanding. That is the mere outer Court of the Gentiles in the temple of our being. If it is to affect practice, to assist the life of fellowship with God, to promote the perpetual offering of self and life upon the altar, it must go into the inner court, the court of Gods Israel of to-day, the new Israel of the Spirit. It must enter the heart. The heart must know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. No Divine truth is known merely by the understanding. [Pectus facit theologum.] Flesh and blood had not revealed to Peter even the momentary and imperfect glimpse he had gained of the true dignity of his Master (Mat. 16:17). It was, directly, from My Father which is in heaven. A man may carefully collect and collate the statements of Scripture as to the Deity of Jesus of Nazareth; he may weigh the statements which seem, or are made, difficulties or objections to the truth; he may determine calmly, coolly, that for these there is sufficient explanation; and, in the end, he may regard, and accept, the Godhead of Jesus as the teaching of Scripture, arrived at by fair induction. But he does not know the truth. No man can call Jesus Lord but by the Spirit (1Co. 12:3). In like manner, no real knowledge of the meaning of this grace of Christ, which wrought His poverty, is ever gained by reading, by induction from Scripture facts and testimonies, by mere intellectual apprehension of any kind. Knowledge comes by the demonstration of the Spirit (1Co. 2:4). He takes of the things of Christ and shows them to men (Joh. 16:14). Christ summarised in a sentence the teaching of many prophets, They shall be all taught of God (Joh. 6:45). The only man to whom doctrine is truth is the man thus convinced by the Spirit. To him only is it an operative reality, and not a speculative opinion merely. The man who in himself is being made rich through the poverty of the humbled Christ, comes to the truth with a new, peculiar illumination upon it, with a new and peculiar verification of it. The road by which, perhaps intellectually, he arrived at the doctrine is by him re-travelled with the new light of heart knowledge, and is only properly known in that light; the truth he arrived at was a goal reached in the dark or the dim dawning, only seen clearly when the Sun of Righteousness Himself had shined into his heart (2Co. 4:6). All this may not lie in the surface, argumentative use of the word by Paul; but it underlies the word, and is implicitly there. His argument will have no real force, where the knowledge is not that which has been gained by experience; it is knowledge which has been lived into.
IV. The purpose of the poverty.
1. The enrichment of His people. Such enrichment as in 1Co. 1:5 (and 2Co. 8:7 here) is one aspect, one phase, of the many-sided blessing. But all the life of grace, from its first inception in a germinal life, through the growing maturity of the perfect, spiritual man, until the utmost earthly wealth of knowledge and of blessing enlarges into a new beginning of enrichment in the world of eternity; all its accompaniments of knowledge, communion, victory, light, peace, joy,all is included. All that grace brings; all that glory means; all that is contained in the marvel of love that we should be called sons of God; all that is given and is pledged in that God calls Himself ours (see the argument in Mat. 23:32); all the eternally unfolding possibilities of a redeemed, restored Manhood, restored after the pattern of Him Who is the firstborn amongst many [similar sons and so] brethren (Rom. 8:21);all is included. Whether any other way of restoration and enrichment were possible we may hardly, and we need not, inquire. It should be ours to see that we explore, and allow ourselves to be led into, all the meaning of our heritage of wealth through His poverty. [If we have given a present, which has cost (for us) not a little, and which has only been possible for us to give at the price of some self-denial; into whose choosing, and perhaps whose making, we have put the most valuable thing we had to give,our loving thought and labour,how are we disappointed if the receiver thanks us perfunctorily, or in a conventional heartiness of phraseology which evidently covers an absence of appreciation of our gift, or of ourselves; if we find it put away into some drawer or casket, and only now and again for decencys sake, or to save our feeling, worn or used, whereas we hoped it might be in constant use, a daily joy or service. Then what of His disappointment (to use a human word, and to think humanly also) when the riches, which He made available for us, at such cost of pains and sacrifice and loving design, lie plainly little appreciated, seldom appropriated, and never appropriated in any full measure, even by those who thank Him in a heart-betraying, cold, formality of eucharistic phraseology. Let us gladden Him and recompense His love by putting to the utmost experimental proof the meaning and contents of the riches which are His dear-bought grace.] [N.B.He does mean that Himself be burdened and others eased.]
2Co. 8:12. A Collection Sermon.In reading the text the case of the Widow and her Mite immediately recurs to mind, as illustrating and embodying Pauls statement. (See Homiletic Analysis.) Like so many other sayings, of temporary occasion, this embodies a great principle of abiding and many-sided applicability in our dealings with God.
I.
1. The real offering to God is the readiness, the willing mind.The word it is supplied in translating. It must not be insisted on with too definite a reference in exposition. The sense is general: If there be on mans side, there is an acceptance on Gods side, according to, etc. Yet whole drift of the passage shows that the thing which gives any value to the gift is the willing mind. It is the gift; all else is expression, accessory, robing, drapery. Unless the willing mind go before and lie evident before Gods eye, the rest counts for nothing. It must infuse gift and service with its own quality. If this spirit of the deed be absent, all else is a dead thing to offer to the living God. The silver and the gold are His; He neither needs nor cares for our money, nor is benefited by it. He Who has all power in heaven and earth, and all for the needs of His Church, does not depend, by any necessity, upon our puny labour or our gifts. Of old He did not for Himself want the carcases whose death made His Temple courts one great shambles. The life was the true offering. The willing mind is the life of the gift or service, the one true offering.
2. If we could see Gods copy of the subscription and collection lists of the Churches, we should find that His revision and appreciation had made marked discrepancies between His copy and ours. Ciphers struck off from some swelling printed amounts; thousands dwindled to the hundreds or the tens. Many of the shillings and the pence, on the other hand, standing entered at values which would surprise nobody more than the, perhaps humble, givers. The cup of cold water, forgotten by even the giver, remembered gratefully by Him Whose reminder and recognition call out the unfeigned amazement which cries, Lord, when saw we Thee thirsty? It is possible that the lifes work of some prominent Diotrephes will shrivel up into very modest bulk and receive the Masters barest thanks. Yet, to be fair, remember: Let there be the willing mind and the liberal gift; let there be the thoroughly right heart and motive and the abundant labour; such a mans deed is doubly, gloriously acceptable. Let us have a care how we give, and why; how we serve, and in what spirit; lest in the reckoning we be amongst those whose gift or work is used, who are themselves blessed (for God is no mans debtor), but who do not find the best blessing of final, full, personal acceptance. Indeed, unwilling and unwitting instruments get used. Some are the mere conduit-pipe, the mere vessel, conveying blessing in which they have no share.
3. For our sakesindependent as He is of our labour or giftsGod seeks our co-operation. That there is any acceptance and reward at all, is altogether a matter of grace; but seeing that there is reward, He graciously allows us in this way to determine how large the reward shall be, how abundant the acceptance. Also: Every time we put the willing mind into practical embodiment, we cultivate the willingness. The impulse to do or to give, which takes no practical shape is not merely aroused in vain, but is weakened by the vain stimulation. Parents could as well, or better, do the little tasks which they give their children; they need sometimes after all to be done over again. But for their sakes they ask their help. So the gift of the willing mind is a blessing (2Co. 9:5-6) to him that gives as really as to him that takes. Every least service done with the willing, devoted heart, strengthens the devotion, and helps to render permanent and instructive the willing mind. [
4. Then, as in the analytical exposition, the characteristics of true and acceptable service may be enlarged upon: Willing of themselves; with much entreaty begged, as a privilege, to be allowed to give; beyond their power, though this is not required by Paul or by God; they gave themselves first to the Lord; and the secret and spring of all was, they remembered the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.] [If the occasion be (say) a Hospital Sunday, it may be further said:]
5. There may be (to-day) gifts of ostentation, of rivalry between Church and Church, for a good place in the published lists; gifts also springing from a mere sentimental admiration of the idea of a united day of charity. There is, manifestly, work done in the Church from training and habit; the workers were early set in their groove, and have had no strong temptation to leave it. There is work which happens to be the fashion. Everybody in our set does it; we must. To some, work is a stern duty, often a drudgery, but done because they ought. Better than many a motive, that; better far than merely the desire or the necessity to keep right with a master, or with some one whose favour is to be desired. Basest of all is the idea of, so to speak, earning so many good marks in heavens register. The gain is, materially, often the same to the Church, the hospital, the sick, the poor, the sanctuary, or the fund; but to the man himself such gain is counted as nothing, or as loss. There is not the willing mind.
II. The willing mind is not all.
1. The Corinthian danger was of a failure between will and deed, between intention and performance, or, more exactly, between the beginning and the completion of their task. Partly will and partly deed can only be accepted when no more is possible; the will for the deed when no deed is possible. The snare besets all workers: work falls through after a hearty inception, for want of a patient endurance in carrying out. Easy to begin, under the force of a stirring appeal, or the deep stirring of emotion by the sight of a sad need; even to begin energetically. But to go on week by week (1Co. 16:2), when the first enthusiasm has become a memory, is to some temperaments especially difficult. The enthusiasm must not be allowed to become a memory; the sense of debt to the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ must be perpetually renewed at the Cross. Pauls words gently hint that, to even the most willing, and the (apparently) most active or liberal, the Lords question will be, not, How much did you do, or give? but, Did you do all you could? Five talents should bring five.
2. Happily the principle may be reversed in its application. We serve a Master Who is thoroughly acquainted with us, and thoroughly reasonable (to speak as of man) in what He requires. The trumpet-shaped funnels of the Temple money chests rang with the big gifts of the rich; the poor widows two mites made no noise as she slipped them in; but she gave a hundred percent., as no other had done. Ability could go no further.
3. Many gifts as valuable as money, and more necessary: hearty, loving, personal effort for souls; a weeks prayer contributed to the success of the Sundays teaching; the invitation of the neighbour to the house of God. There are willing, busy hearts which can give little money, little weight of influence, no very wise judgments, no preaching or teaching ability. Yet no humblest is to despond or be idle. If there be, it is accepted, according to that a man hath. God knows, and the wise or wealthy workers and supporters should not forget, how largely the success which crowns the wisely planned, liberally supported, efficiently worked schemes, is the result of the banded prayers of a company of humble, godly people, who can contribute nothing else. A sick saint, bedridden, suffering, year after year, who can only lie and pray, but prays mightily, for the work and the workers, or who grandly exemplifies to every visitor, or domestic servant, the gain of godliness and the all-sufficient grace of the Saviour, is often making an offering very large in its acceptableness. A plain man, who cannot argue, but can live and testify at his work; who never misses one of the rare chances of speaking for His Master; it is a gift up to the full level of that the man hath. [Legend appended to this Homily.]
4. Let this principle obtain with us, in our judgment of others. Like God, as far as may be let us estimate what a man hath. Tempted to think hardly of a man who does not give as much as we thought he ought. But what claims has he upon him? Perhaps some of which only His Master knows. Perplexed at the blemishes, the incongruities, found in the lives of some very earnest, very demonstrative, very loud-professing Christian men and women. We can hardly conceive how they cannot condemn these things which lie so obvious to our censure, and to that of the world. Are they honest? Or hypocrites? It may well be that they are honest enough, though it is a great pity they are not more spiritually sensitive and enlightened in judgment. But what is the material out of which they have been made Christians? The class out of which they have been drawn? What their opportunities, their surroundings, their training? The habit and cast of their mind? Their own Master, looking into their heart sees, as between Him and them, the pure white light of a perfect intention; but it shines out to our observation through a poor, dimmed, coloured, distorted medium of human and personal limitation. Conversely, too, the clear white light of Divine truth on these points shines in upon their judgment and conscience through the same poor medium also. According to that a man hath, in His Lords judgment of him.
[Legend in outline.King sitting daily at palace window watching his cathedral rise. Falls asleep; dreams; sees building finished; high up on tower the tablet which is to record his name and gift; another name there! A womans name; long inquiry of all about him quite fruitless; woman unknown. Proclamation made through the city brings a poor widow to him at last. Your name? Yes. Why there? Do not know. What have you done? Nothing but carry water to the masons, to refresh them on hot, thirsty days.]
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Appleburys Comments
The Privilege of Giving
Scripture
2Co. 8:1-6. Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God which hath been given in the churches of Macedonia; 2 how that in much proof of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. 3 For according to their power, I bear witness, yea and beyond their power, they gave of their own accord, 4 beseeching us with much entreaty in regard of this grace and the fellowship in the ministering to the saints: 5 and this, not as we had hoped, but first they gave their own selves to the Lord, and to us through the will of God. 6 Insomuch that we exhorted Titus, that as he had made a beginning before, so he would also complete in you this grace also.
Comments
Moreover, brethren.Paul had written with utmost frankness in defense of his ministry in behalf of the Corinthians and of his deep affection for them. He had reminded them of his unbounded joy in learning from Titus that they had complied with the directions which he had given them in First Corinthians for the correction of certain sinful practices which they had allowed to go on in their congregation.
He was now prepared to take up another matter which he had barely mentioned in the first letter. He had called attention to the collection for the saints and had given them the order, as he had also done to the churches in Galatia, to begin gathering the funds. See 1Co. 16:1-2. Chapters eight and nine complete his instruction on the matter. They constitute a logical progression of thought when the background of First Corinthians is taken into consideration. The deep emotional tone of the first section of Second Corinthians is in perfect harmony with the subject matter with which he dealt. He had spent so much time with the church at Corinth for it was a strategic post in the campaign to spread the gospel through the known world. The threat against the very life of that church occasioned by the sinful practices about which he wrote in First Corinthians was a serious threat to the progress of the gospel in that whole area. This plus his deep love for those people led him naturally to write in the deep emotional tone that characterizes so much of the first seven chapters of the epistle. The mood naturally changes when he reaches a less personal and far more encouraging situation in connection with the offering for the saints in Judea, for he knew that the Corinthians had already made a beginning in this matter following the instruction which he had given them. His mood changes again with the defense of his apostleship against the false claims and unfair charges being made by false teachers. They had come to Corinth and were seeking to establish themselves in the life and affection of the people of God whose very existence as Christians had depended upon the ministry of Paul who was the first to bring the gospel to them.
the grace of God which hath been given in the churches of Macedonia.In the various shades of meaning of the term grace the central idea is unmerited favor. The thought that this is some mystical power from God producing unusual liberality in giving is not in harmony with the principles of giving which Paul set forth in these two chapters. But God had been gracious in giving the Macedonian churches the privilege of sharing with those who were in need despite their own deep poverty.
God had miraculously fed the children of Israel on manna from heaven while they were on the wilderness journey. Jesus had miraculously fed the multitudes on the loaves and fishes. In His providence God continually causes the earth to produce an abundance of food, despite the fact that famine has always been common in some areas. Rather than miraculously supplying the needs of the saints in Judea God gave the Gentile Christians the privilege of demonstrating their love for Him by sharing with the saints in Judea.
The earth today produces abundantly. There are many economic and political factors that affect distribution of food in areas where famine strikes. But if men everywhere would respond to the gospel of Christ and recognize the privilege which God had given to men to share with others, the abundance of food which He continually provides could be distributed to the needy by intelligent, Christian people.
This is in no way to suggest any sort of communism or socialism. It is the grace of God functioning in the hearts of men who appreciate the privilege of demonstrating their love for Him by helping the needy. This principle was clearly seen in the church at Jerusalem where the members sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all, according as any man had need (Act. 2:45). The key word in this passage is need, for there isnt the slightest indication that this action was taken so that every member in the church might be equal in the possession of material things. No where is this made clearer than in the case of Ananias and Sapphira. See Act. 5:1-11. Swift punishment came upon them because Satan filled their heart and caused them to lie to the Holy Spirit about the price of the land which they had sold. But Peter said to them While it remained, did it not remain thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thy power? Very clearly, then, the right of private ownership was upheld by the inspired apostle. The sin of Ananias and Sapphira was not the lack of generosity but of their attempt to lie to the Holy Spirit as they misrepresented their giving before the apostle Peter. It was the widows in the church who were in need of assistance (Act. 6:1). Because some of them were being neglected, the apostles instructed the church to seek out seven men who were given the responsibility of taking care of this ministry. At one time, Agabus, a prophet, speaking under the direction of the Holy Spirit foretold the coming of a famine over all the world. It came to pass in the days of Claudius. The disciples, each one of them according to his ability, decided to send relief to those who dwelt in Judea. They selected Barnabas and Saullater to be known as the apostle Paulto carry this relief to the elders in Jerusalem. Act. 11:27-30.
Sometime later when Paul met with the apostles in Jerusalem, he was asked to remember the poor in Judea and he continued his ministry among the Gentiles. But this had always been a matter of deep concern to him. Gal. 2:1-10. His concern that Macedonia and Achaia help the saints in Judea was in accord with his long-standing practice. According to Acts, these churches were Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. See Act. 16:12; Act. 17:1; Act. 17:10.
in much proof of affliction.The many hardships which Macedonia had endured proved beyond doubt that they understood the situation of the saints in Judea. This and the overflowing of their grace despite their own deep poverty resulted in the wealth of their single-minded devotion and love for God as seen in their liberal contribution to this important cause.
Famines, economic depressions and political oppressions were the common lot of many of the colonies of the Roman Empire. Macedonias situation was not only known to Paul but, in all probability, to their neighboring province of Achaia also.
Too frequently in this day, Christian people, fall back on their own limited means as an excuse for not sharing with others less fortunate than they. This robs themselves of sharing in the grace of God. Lest Paul be misunderstood, he adds several significant statements governing the thinking and action of those whom he directed to participate in this privilege of sharing with others.
Paul did not hesitate to recognize the poverty of the brethren in Macedonia. It was their single-minded devotion to Christ that made their giving look like a river at floodtide spreading even as far as Judea. Our word liberality seems to lose something of its power to describe Pauls view of the generosity of the Macedonian Christians.
according to their power.The Macedonians had given according to their ability and, paradoxically, even beyond their ability. Single-minded devotion to God and trust in Him were the underlying causes of this astonishing affect.
their own accord.Thus Paul makes it clear that the generous giving of the Macedonian Christians was their own gracious response to the favor which God had extended to them to have a share in helping the needy.
beseeching us with much entreaty.These dedicated Christian people actually had been begging Paul for the privilege of graciously sharing in this ministry to the saints of God.
Too frequently this principle is reversed. Those in charge of the financial program of the church resort to begging the people to give for the support of the work of the church. They often appeal to the legal aspect of giving to break loose portions of the lump with which the supposed parsimonious people grudgingly part. The love of God in the hearts of His people is the most powerful force known in producing generous participation in the program of the church.
the fellowship in the ministering to the saints.One of the basic issues of Christianity is fellowship or sharing. The apostle John who was an eye-witness of the evidence that established the basic facts of Christianity wrote his first epistle that others might share with him this foundation of their faith, saying, Our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. See 1Jn. 1:1-4. Since Christianity is rooted deeply in fellowship, it should naturally find expression through Christian sharing in service to the saints of God.
not as we had hoped.Paul, knowing of the deep poverty of the Macedonians, had not hoped for the response which came from them. The secret of their generous response was their dedication to the Lord.
first they gave their own selves to the Lord, and to us through the will of God.What they did was through the will of God. Paul had made known through his preaching the will of God that had given them the privilege of dedicating themselves to the Lord and of sharing with Him in the propagation of the gospel and the care of His saints. Without such dedication churches most likely will always be struggling to raise the budget. They limp along half-heartedly carrying the load, but seldom knowing the real joy of generous giving that springs from devotion to the Lord.
and to us.Paul did not say that they first gave themselves to the Lord and then money to him. Rather, they gave themselves to the Lord and they also gave themselves to Paul. Evidently they volunteered to go with Paul on this mission in behalf of the saints. Luke gives the list of some who were with Paul on the trip to Jerusalem. Among them were Sopater of Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus who were Thessalonians. See Act. 20:4. Paul also mentions the brother who was selected by the churches to go with him on this mission. See 2Co. 8:18-19.
we exhorted Titus.Titus had been Pauls messenger to Corinth to learn their response to his first letter. Now he reminds them, after having learned from Titus what their response was, that Titus was being sent to them again in connection with this ministry to the saints. Just what Titus at this time had already done in getting them started on this project is not stated, but Paul indicated that he was the logical man to help them since he had already begun to do so.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Butlers Commentary
SECTION 1
Commitment (2Co. 8:1-7)
8 We want you to know, brethren, about the grace of God which has been shown in the churches of Macedonia, 2for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of liberality on their part. 3For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, 4begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints5and this, not as we expected, but first they gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God. 6Accordingly we have urged Titus that as he had already made a beginning, he should also complete among you this gracious work. 7Now as you excel in everythingin faith, in utterance, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in your love for ussee that you excel in this gracious work also.
2Co. 8:1-2 Poverty No Problem: Call it giving, benevolence, or finances, the problem is stewardship. While Paul had no stewardship problem with the brethren in Macedonia, he may have had one with the brethren in Corinth. He gave them directions about stewardship in First Corinthians (1Co. 16:1-4). Now, in Second Corinthians, he urges them to imitate the Macedonians and fulfill (2Co. 8:6, Gr. epitelese, complete, fulfill, finish) what they had said they desired to do and had actually begun to do in the matter of stewardship (benevolence) toward the Judean brethren.
It is one of the major problems of the ministry to get believers to actually become stewards of God. It is not as much of a problem to get people to give as it is to get them involved in stewardship (management) of Gods grace. Stewardship and giving are not synonymous terms. The Greek word translated stewardship is oikonomia, and means literally, keeper of the house, or manager. It came to mean, the discharge of a commission. We may not be able to conceive of stewardship apart from giving, but we certainly have seen giving that was not a part of good stewardship. About one-third of the parable of Jesus deal with some aspect of stewardship. In the New Testament idea of stewardship, Christians are managers of the grace of God. They are responsible not only for what is given but also for where or to what cause it is given. They are responsible not only for what is given, but also for what is kept and how it is used. They are responsible and will be held accountable by the God of all grace. While the precise Greek word oikonomia (stewardship) never comes into our text in 2Co. 8:1-24; 2Co. 9:1-15, the principles of stewardship are clearly enumerated. Although there is something of a special nature to the offering Paul is discussing in our text, the principles stated are enduring and should be applied to every aspect of the church and the believer. What Paul is urging in 2Co. 8:1-24; 2Co. 9:1-15 is simply a continuation of his directions (Gr. dietaxa, command, ordain, prescribe, charge) in 1Co. 16:1-4! Make no mistake, stewardship, giving, benevolence is an apostolic command! What Paul says in II Corinthians not as a command is how much is to be given. Nowhere in the New Testament are Christians told precise amounts to be given. Tithing is not a New Testament ordinance. Tithing is not a worthy ideal for a Christian. Stewardship involves 100 percent of a Christians possessionsnot just one-tenth.
The Christians in Judea were poor. First, they had been plundered by their Hebrew persecutors (see Heb. 10:32-34). Second, the land of Palestine was economically the poorest in the whole Roman empire. Third, Palestine was over-populated with Hebrew and Christian pilgrims. One of the earliest problems of the church in Jerusalem was the equitable feeding of the widows (Act. 6:1). Early in the history of the spread of Christianity, the Christians at Antioch sent relief to the church at Jerusalem by the hands of Barnabas and Saul (Act. 11:29), because of a fourth circumstancewidespread famine. The leaders of the Jerusalem church asked Paul to remember the poor (Gal. 2:10) whenever he preached in Judea.
So, when Paul began his third missionary journey, he planned to raise as large an offering from the Gentiles in Asia Minor and Greece as he could carry back to Judea to care for the destitute Christians there.
Pauls statement to the church at Corinth (1Co. 16:1-4) mentioning the church of Galatia, indicates his plan for the offering was already well known by the time he wrote to Corinth. Paul mentions the collection to the church at Rome in the epistle he wrote to them while residing at Corinth (Rom. 15:25-26). Pauls collection was widely known. When Paul left Corinth a number of men accompanied him. The book of Acts does not say that these men were taking up the collection, but it would seem that this was the reason for their going. The committee consisted of: Sopater of Beroea, the son of Pyrrhus; of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus (Act. 20:4).
The apostle knew how destitute the Judeans were. He wanted to carry back to them an offering substantial enough to fulfill the need. Corinth was one of the wealthier cities in the Roman empire and contained some men of substance in the membership of the church. Paul was much concerned that they would respond liberally to the appeal so he holds before them the almost incredible example of the Macedonians.
It seems strange that Paul never uses the word stewardship in this discussion. It is apparent that he uses the Greek word charin, grace as a synonym. He uses this word grace nine times (2Co. 8:1; 2Co. 8:4; 2Co. 8:7; 2Co. 8:9; 2Co. 8:16; 2Co. 8:19; 2Co. 9:8; 2Co. 9:14-15). Everything a human being has in this world is granted him by the grace of God. God owns everything but he grants each of us a portion to manage for his profit (glory). Whatever we give to others really is not ours (1Ch. 29:9-19), but belongs to God. So Paul says, We want you to know, brethren, about the grace of God which as been given (Gr. dedomenen, has been given, not shown as in the RSV) among the churches of Macedonia. Whenever we give, we give the grace of God. We are managers (stewards) of the grace of God. In all his parables of stewardship Jesus taught plainly that the steward possessed nothing of his ownhe simply managed what belonged to the householder, or the master.
Macedonia is generally the territory lying between the Balkan highlands and the Greek peninsula. It was both a Greek kingdom and a Roman province. The population was Indo-European, but of mixed tribal elements of which the Dorian (people from Balkan highlands north of Greece) stock was probably a strong ingredient. Plummer records the fact that the Romans had been very hard on the Macedonians expropriating their richest sources of incomethe gold and silver minesand taxing the right to smelt the minerals. They had also reserved to themselves the trade in salt, timber, and shipbuilding. All of this had reduced the territory to deep poverty. Added to the burdens of the Christians were the various persecutions which they had experienced. Yet they, of all Pauls churches, were most generous in their support of him (at least the church at Philippi which was in the Macedonian provincesee Php. 4:10-19). Paul says the churches of Macedonia gave the grace of God during a severe test (Gr. polle, much; and dokime, proof, trial, examination) of affliction (Gr. thlipseos, pressure, crushing, squeezed). Paul mentions these severe afflictions in his letter to the Thessalonians (1Th. 2:14-16).
Under these extreme privations and tensions the Macedonians found enough of Gods grace (Gr. charas joy) available to them to overflow (Gr. eperisseusen, extensive abundance) in a wealth of liberality (Gr. eis to ploutos tes haplotetos). The Greek word haplotetos is translated liberality and means, literally, unconditionally, sincerely, unaffectedly, honestly, singlemindedly. Their response was one of honest stewardsthey concealed nothing, held back nothing. And this they did under circumstances of extreme poverty (Gr. bathous ptocheia). The Greek word bathos is, literally, deep (from it we get the English words bath, bathe, bathometer), and the Greek word ptocheia is the same word as the one Matthew used to record Jesus statement, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mat. 5:3). Paul uses the word poverty (eptocheusen) in 2Co. 8:9 to characterize the way Jesus divested himself of his heavenly glory so that believers might become rich (Gr. ploutesete, plutocratic). The word ptocheia is often translated simply, poor, as in the case of the poor widow (Mar. 12:41-44), and the poor beggar (Luk. 16:19-20). Ptocheia means more than underprivileged or unprosperous or lackingit means poverty-stricken, bankrupt, destitute, and impoverished.
Paul urges the Corinthians to respond like the Macedonians. Not even extreme poverty presented a problem to the Macedonians because they responded on the basis of stewardship and not merely on the basis of taking up an offering. Whether there was a problem in this area in the Corinthian church or not, the apostle urges the example of stewardship by the Macedonians as the Christian standard of giving. Only commitment to the New Testament ordinance of stewardship will solve the financial problem of the churchnot tithing, not collections. And the financial problem of the church is not fundamentally the amount of money or property it does not have or may have; the basic problem with Christians and their financial responses to Christ is in the area of motivesreasons and purposes for giving. Essentially, the problem is that of surrender and commitment to the will of God as he has expressed it in his Word. Gods word clearly demands cheerful, honest, wise, accountable stewardship of one hundred percent of ones worldly possessions. Even the poverty-stricken are responsible for good stewardship!
2Co. 8:3-5 Participation, the Point: The point in Christian stewardship is not how much, but why! Paul testified (Gr. marturo, witnessed as in a court of law) from first-hand, personal, eye-witnessed knowledge that the Macedonians gave according to their ability (Gr. dunamin, power, capability, dynamic). Indeed, they gave beyond (Gr. para, preposition meaning beyond, extended, over) their ability! To what extent does one give in order to give beyond ones ability? The Biblical answer to that may be found in the actual event Jesus observed in the Jewish temple one day when a Hebrew widow (Mar. 12:41-44; Luk. 21:1-4), out of her poverty . . . put in everything she had, her whole living. This Hebrew widow extended herself in giving to the Lord to the ultimateall that she had to live by. She gave two mites (about 60 cents in American currency today) while the rich put in bags (probably hundreds of dollars worth) of coins. Yet she put in more than all of them put together, in Gods eyes, because she gave up her livelihood so far as she was able, at that moment, to sustain it (see The Gospel of Luke, by Paul T. Butler, pp. 467470, pub. College Press). Is that not extreme? Is that not exceptional? Is that not beyond what Christ requires of the normal Christian life? Did the widow of Elijahs experience (1Ki. 17:12-16) think so? Did Jesus think so? (see Mat. 19:23-30; Luk. 14:33). Did the Macedonians think so? Did Paul think so? (see Php. 4:10-13, etc.). Of course, the Bible says the laborer is worthy of his hire. And the Bible says the one who will not provide for his own (family) is worse than a heathen (1Ti. 5:8). It also says we are to earn our own living (2Th. 3:12). There were other rich followers of Jesus who were never specifically challenged to sell all they had in order to give to the poor. When Judas insisted that a costly vial of myrrh could have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor, Jesus rebuked him and said, the poor you have with you always . . . (Mat. 26:6-13; Mar. 14:3-9; Joh. 12:1-8). But Jesus does teach us that we should be ready, at any moment, to give everything we have, including our very lives, upon demand, in his service. He does command us that we are to live one day at a time without anxiety (divided-mindedness) and to pray daily for our bread (Mat. 6:1-34). Whatever a Christian has left over from daily needs he must commit (surrender), as an honest and wise steward, to the Masters use. It is normal (Biblically speaking) that the Christian not lay up for himself treasures on earth, (see Mat. 6:19-21; 1Ti. 6:17-19; Luk. 16:8-9; Luk. 12:13-21). The Macedonians were following the normal requirements of Christian stewardship when they gave, of their own free will (Gr. authairetoi), and beyond their ability. They gave when they couldnt afford it because that is what a Christian steward is to do when the Lords service requires it. They gave what they had and trusted the Lord to supply what they needed.
What is so incredible about the giving of the Macedonians (2Co. 8:4) is expressed in the Greek text, meta polles parakleseos deomenoi, literally, with much begging, requesting. . . . They begged to give! In circumstances of affliction and severe poverty, they begged and requested the favor (Gr. charin, grace) of giving! They were not doing Paul or the destitute Judeans a favorthey were asking for a favorTO GIVE! They really believed Jesus promise, It is more blessed to give than to receive (Act. 20:38). They plead with Paul for the privilege to give because they wanted to participate in (Gr. koinonian, share, commune, participate, fellowship) the relief (Gr. diakonias, ministry, deaconship) toward the saints (Gr. hagious, holy ones) for Judea. Perhaps more Christians would beg to give if it could be communicated to them that they actually were sharing in the ministry of Christ through those full-time servants (preachers, missionaries, teachers, and others) who administer the gifts and grace of God.
What the Macedonians did was beyond the expectations of Paul and his co-laborers. Paul was surprised that these brethren could give beyond their ability out of deep poverty. People, in deep poverty themselves, begging for the favor of giving, giving beyond what they could afford to give, will surprise almost any Christian today! If it were not written by a man (Paul) whose veracity is unquestionable and under the claimed inerrancy of the Holy Spirit of God, what the Macedonians did would be unbelievable! While such stewardship is the theological norm taught in the New Testament, it is not the practiced norm in the church today! And that is so because most Christians have not fully given themselves to the Lord.
The secret of such unimaginable giving of ones possessions is that first (Gr. proton, firstly) they gave themselves. There was not one iota of selfishness in these Macedonian Christians because they had given up self to Jesus. They considered themselves as no longer belonging to themselves, but unto Christ who had purchased them. They were his, totally, for he had bought them with his atoning death. They were sold out to Gods will. It was not ever what they wanted anymore, but what Christ wanted (see Gal. 2:20-21; Gal. 6:14). They could behave as their Judean brethren had earlier when, . . . the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common, (Act. 4:32). That kind of total surrender of self requires dauntless, courageous faith in Gods veracity. It is important to notice that the Macedonians gave themselves. God did not force them to surrender to him to any degree. God worked no irresistible power to overwhelm their will. They gave themselves. They could have done otherwise. But they chose to give themselves to the Lord and to Paul through (Gr. dia) the will of God. That is, they chose the will of God in place of their own will. And that is the very essence of salvation in Christ. Men must be saved from their own willfulness by surrendering in faith to the will of Christ which is revealed inerrantly, completely and finally in the Scriptures. Until a man surrenders his will to Christ he lives enslaved to the exercise of his will directed toward eternal rebellion, falsehood, and banishment from God. Until he surrenders his will to Jesus he follows . . . the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit now at work in the sons of disobedience (Eph. 2:1-2). Christ accepts no half-hearted, double-minded, hypocritical relationships. Those who wish to inherit his promises must give themselves completely to his grace. Since few ever enter by this narrow and difficult gate (as the Macedonians evidently had) it is so extraordinary the rest of mankind can hardly believe it.
2Co. 8:6-7 Perfection, the Purpose: Titus had already started this faith promise rally. Now he would be sent back to Corinth to bring this ministry to its completion (Gr. epitelese, from teleioo, to finalize, to bring something to its goal or aim, to fulfill). This request for an offering from the Corinthians had as its goal a work of grace upon the Corinthians themselves. Actually, the Greek text does not have the word work in 2Co. 8:6; it literally reads, . . . he should complete among you the grace, this one. Gracious work is a proper translationbut this act of grace might be an even better translation. The goal of giving in such a totally unselfish way is to cultivate the virtue or character of grace in the giver. Giving out of extreme poverty, begging to give, in order to participate in the ministry of God to destitute people, is character-building! Such giving is at the very core of spirituality. There is no possibility of any mercenary greed as a motive. There is no hypocrisy involved in such selflessness. There is nothing more spiritual than stewardship surrendered to Christ as it was demonstrated by the Macedonians helping the Judeans.
One of the major problems a preacher faces in the ministry of the gospel is Christians who criticize him for emphasizing stewardship. Some Christians think such emphasis is worldly and unspiritual. But it is doubtful, in the light of so much teaching in the New Testament about it, that anyone can be spiritual unless he faces up to and fulfills Christs calling to honest, total, cheerful, and wise stewardship.
Paul insisted the Corinthian Christians see to it that they excel (Gr. perisseuete, present tense, continuing action, abounding) in the Christian virtue (grace) of benevolence. Paul had earlier reminded the Corinthians of Gods grace bestowed upon them. I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge . . . so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift (1Co. 1:4-7). The Corinthian Christians spent a great deal of their time boasting about and making comparisons concerning these spiritual gifts. They desired to excel in them (especially the more spectacular tongues see I Corinthians chapters 12, 13, 14). Paul insisted he could show them a more excellent way to practice their faith and glorify GodLOVE (1Co. 12:31). So in these two chapters (2Co. 8:1-24; 2Co. 9:1-15) he specifies how the more excellent way of love might be expressedSTEWARDSHIP! (2Co. 8:8; 2Co. 8:24). Christians should strive to excel in giving, in stewardship, rather than clamoring after the showy (really, immature) demonstrations. How many excellent givers are in your congregation? What is an excellent giver? In the church today we have excellent singers, preachers, teachers, callers, prayers, administrators, attenders, and a dozen other excellenciesbut few excellent givers. To be an excellent giver one has to exceed the norm. Paul is talking about being extraordinary in giving. And, remember, he is talking about the Macedonians, who, in circumstances of extreme affliction and deep poverty, were examples of excellence in giving! The apostles left everything they had and followed Jesus (Mat. 19:27); the widow of Zarepath gave all she had to live on to Elijah (1Ki. 17:8 ff); Jesus left everything he had in heaven and became poor for our sake. It was done. It can still be done! But it requires extraordinary faith! And extraordinary faith is Gods goal for all believers. He wants to transform every believer into the image of his son (Rom. 8:29).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
VIII.
(1) Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit . . .Better, we declare, or make known to you. There is no adequate reason for retaining a phrase which is now obsolete. The topic on which the Epistle now touches, and which is carried on through this and the following chapter, was one very dear to the Apostles heart. (See Note on 1Co. 16:1.) When he wrote before he had simply given directions as to what the Corinthians were to do. Now he has something to tell them. The churches of MacedoniaPhilippi, we must believe, prominent among themhad been true to their old generosity (2Co. 11:8-9; Php. 4:15), and were now showing it, not, as before, in personal kindness to their teacher, but in the truer way of acting as he wished them to act; and he sees in this a means of stirring up his friends at Corinth to an honourable emulation. There is something intensely characteristic in the way in which he opens his statement. He traces the generosity of the Macedonians to its true source. He is going to tell the Corinthians of the grace of God that has enabled them to do so much.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Chapter 8
AN APPEAL FOR GENEROSITY ( 2Co 8:1-15 ) 8:1-15 Brothers, we want you to know about the grace of God which was given in the Churches of Macedonia. We want you to know that even when they were going through a severe test of their faith when things were pressing sorely on them, their overflowing happiness and their poverty which reached the very depths of destitution combined to overflow into the wealth of their generosity. For, I bear witness, they gave according to their ability, yes, beyond their ability, quite spontaneously, begging us and strongly urging us to give them the privilege of sharing in this service designed for the help of God’s dedicated people. It was not only as we hoped that they gave, but, first, by God’s will, they gave themselves to the Lord and to us. We were so impressed by this that we have invited Titus, as in your case he began it, so to bring to its completion this act of generosity. But, just as you excel in everything–in faith, in speech, in knowledge, and in all earnestness and in the love which went out from you to come to rest in us–I urge you to excel also in this act of generosity. This is not an order that I am giving you, but I am using the example of the earnestness of others to prove the genuineness of your love. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know that it was for your sakes that, though he was rich, he became poor, that you, by his poverty, might become rich. It is my opinion that I give you in this matter. This is to your good, you, who as long ago as last year, were the first not only to do this but to desire to do it. Now complete the action, so that your readiness to set this scheme in hand may be matched by your completing it according to your means. For if readiness to give already exists, to make it fully acceptable a man is called upon to give in proportion to what he has and not in proportion to what he has not. You are not called on to give so that others may have relief while you yourselves are hard pressed. But things will even themselves up. At the present time your abundance must be used to relieve their lack, so that some day their abundance may be used to relieve your lack, so that things may be evened up, just as it stands written, “He who gathered his much had not too much, and he who gathered his little had not too little.”
One of the schemes that lay nearest to Paul’s heart was the collection that he was organizing for the Church of Jerusalem. This was the Mother Church but she was poor, and it was Paul’s desire that all the Gentiles’ Churches should remember and help that Church which was their mother in the faith. So here he reminds the Corinthians of their duty and urges them to generosity.
He uses five arguments to appeal to them to give worthily.
(i) He cites the example of others. He tells them how generous the Macedonian Churches had been. They were poor and in trouble but they gave all they had, far more than anyone could have expected. At the Jewish Feast of Purim there is a regulation which says that, however poor a man is, he must find someone poorer than himself and give him a gift. It is not always those who are most wealthy who are most generous; often those who have least to give are the most ready to give. As the common saying has it, “It is the poor who help the poor,” because they know what poverty is like.
(ii) He cites the example of Jesus Christ. For Paul the sacrifice of Jesus did not begin on the Cross. It did not even begin with his birth. It began in heaven, when he laid his glory by and consented to come to earth. Paul’s challenge to the Christian is, “With that tremendous example of generosity before you, how can you hold back?”
(iii) He cites their own past record. They have been foremost in everything. Can they then lag behind in this? If men were only true to their own highest standards, if we all lived always at our best, what a difference it would make!
(iv) He stresses the necessity of putting fine feeling into fine action. The Corinthians had been the first to feel the appeal of this scheme. But a feeling which remains only a feeling, a pity which remains a pity only of the heart, a fine desire that never turns into a fine deed, is a sadly truncated and frustrated thing. The tragedy of life so often is, not that we have no high impulses, but that we fail to turn them into actions.
(v) He reminds them that life has a strange way of evening things up. Far more often than not we find that it is measured to us with the same measure as we measure to others. Life has a way of repaying bounty with bounty, and the sparing spirit with the sparing spirit.
Paul says a very fine thing about the Macedonians. He says that first of all they gave themselves–and so indeed they did. Two of them stand out above all the others. There was Aristarchus of Thessalonica. He was with Paul on the last journey to Rome ( Act 28:2). Like Luke, he must have come to a great decision. Paul was under arrest and on his way to trial before the Emperor. There was only one way in which Aristarchus could have accompanied him, and that was by enrolling himself as Paul’s slave. Aristarchus in the fullest sense gave himself. There was Epaphroditus. When Paul was in prison in the later days, he came to him with a gift from Philippi, and there in prison he fell grievously ill. As Paul said of him, “he nearly died for the work of Christ” ( Php_2:26-30 ).
No gift can be in any real sense a gift unless the giver gives with it a bit of himself. That is why personal giving is always the highest kind, and that is the kind of giving of which Jesus Christ is the supreme example.
The Old Testament quotation with which Paul concludes this passage is from Exo 16:18, which tells how when the Israelites gathered the manna in the wilderness, whether a man gathered little or much, it was enough.
PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS ( 2Co 8:16-24 ) 8:16-24 Thanks be to God who has put into the heart of Titus the same earnestness for you as there is in mine. His earnestness is proved by the fact that he not only welcomed my invitation, but that also, with characteristic earnestness, he is going to you of his own choice. Along with him we send the brother whose praise in the gospel is in all the Churches. Not only does he enjoy universal praise, but he has also been elected by the Churches to be our fellow-traveller in this act of charity which is being administered by us to promote the glory of God and to show your eagerness. We are making arrangements to ensure that no one will criticize us in our handling of the administration of this munificent gift. We aim to produce conduct which is fair not only in the sight of God but also in the sight of men. With them we send our brother whose earnestness we have often proved on many occasions, and who is now even more earnest in this work because of his great confidence in you. If any further questions are asked about Titus–he is my partner and my fellow-worker in all that concerns you. If any further questions are asked about our brothers–they are apostles of the Church, the glory of Christ. Give them unanswerable proof of your love and prove to them that our boasting about you is true. You will be proving it in the face of the Churches.
The great interest of this passage is its intensely practical character. Paul knew he had his enemies and his critics. He knew well that there would be those who would not hesitate to charge him with turning part of the collection to his own use, and so he takes steps to see that it would be impossible to level that charge against him, by ensuring that others will share with him the task of taking it to Jerusalem. Who the two unnamed brothers were no one knows. The first, the brother whose praise is in all the Churches, is usually identified with Luke. The Collect for St. Luke’s Day assumes this identification. “Almighty God, who calledst Luke the Physician, whose praise is in the gospel, to be an Evangelist and Physician of the soul; may it please thee that by the wholesome medicines of the doctrine delivered by him, all the diseases of our souls may be healed.” It was Paul’s aim to make clear not only to God but also to men that he was above suspicion.
It is most interesting to note that this same Paul, who could write like a lyric poet and think like a theologian could, when it was necessary, act with the meticulous accuracy of a chartered accountant. He was a big enough man to do the little things and the practical things supremely well.
-Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)
Fuente: Barclay Daily Study Bible
1. Do you to wit Make you to know.
Grace Without overlooking or slighting the human excellence of the liberality, St. Paul thankfully first refers to the divine side of the blessed movement. Though human freedom concurred and acted, yet divine grace opened the way and inspired the action.
Macedonia Where the apostle was now writing this epistle, surrounded by the brethren in whose large-heartedness he is now exulting.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
3. And he exhorts them to make a liberal contribution, 2Co 8:1 to 2Co 9:15.
a. By the Macedonian example, 2Co 8:1-8 .
St. Paul, as above remarked, hoped to win the Corinthians to himself only by bringing them to a higher plane of piety; and as they have so done and come into his full confidence, as noted last verse, he now draws them out to self-sacrifice in behalf of Christianity. “No man,” said Captain Webb, our early soldier preacher, “is fully converted, until he is converted in the pockets.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Generosity of the Churches of Macedonia With Regard To The Collection ( 2Co 8:1-6 ).
‘Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, how that in much testing by (proof of) affliction the abundance of their joy and their in depth poverty abounded to the riches of their liberality (singleness of heart, genuine sincerity).’
We should note here the oblique way in which Paul introduces the question of the Collection, so much so that to begin with we are not aware of what he is doing. The first appearance is simply of giving admiring testimony concerning the generosity of the Macedonians in giving, which has clearly moved him deeply. It is an impulsive introduction rather than a thought out one, and as 2Co 9:1 reveals, one which he came to realise was a little tactless. But his own selflessness and dedication and admiration for what they had done prevented him at first from recognising his lack of tact.
He draws attention to the generosity out of poverty of the Macedonian churches, which has clearly stirred him deeply. This is described as being as a direct result of the grace of God, God at work within them in unmerited favour (Php 2:13). Compare the ‘gift of giving’ in 1Co 13:3.
And yet these churches were suffering affliction and persecution (1Th 1:6; 1Th 2:14; 1Th 3:3; Php 1:29-30), and were themselves in dire poverty, literally ‘down to the depths’. They had almost reached rock bottom. Yet from that affliction they found abounding joy in Christ, and this had resulted in their rich liberality to others in need.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
A PLEA CONCERNING THE PAYING OF THEIR ‘DEBT’ TO THE JERUSALEM CHURCH BY MEANS OF ‘THE COLLECTION’ WHICH WAS TO BE FOR THE RELIEF OF THE EXTREME POVERTY OF THE SAINTS IN THAT CHURCH AND WHICH WOULD ITSELF BE A CONTRIBUTION TO THE FORWARD GOING OF THE OVERALL PURPOSES OF GOD ( 2Co 8:1 to 2Co 9:15 ).
This next section of the letter deals with Paul’s activities in collecting money for “the poor among the saints in Jerusalem” (Rom 15:26). He had declared his great concern for the poor in Gal 2:10, and that it was genuine comes out in that he seems to have encouraged the churches to gather these funds over a period of about five years (52-57 AD), seeking to obtain them from the churches in Achaia (Rom 15:26; 1Co 16:1-4; 2 Corinthians 8-9); Galatia (Act 18:23; 1Co 16:1); Macedonia (Act 19:22; Acts 2 Corinthian 2Co 8:1-5; 2Co 9:2; 2Co 9:4), and Asia Minor (Act 20:35).
But he saw it as more than just an act of loving charity, he saw it as having at the heart of it the fulfilling of the ancient prophecies of the overt uniting of Israel and the Gentiles as one under the One God of the whole world.
Delegates from most of these regions, and possibly from all, were to accompany Paul when he took the gift to Jerusalem (Act 20:4). They wanted it to be an act of fellowship and encouragement as well as an act of giving, an overt declaration of their oneness in Christ.
The recipients were to be the Jerusalem church who were seemingly on the whole especially poor and in need. The very prominence of their position counted against them. Becoming Christians, and particularly being baptised, might well have eventually resulted in social and economic ostracism within Jerusalem’s society where Judaism dominated the whole way of life. At various times Christians were discriminated against and victimised.
The communal sharing of goods that the early Christians in Jerusalem practised demonstrated levels of poverty already in existence among the Jerusalem converts right from the beginning (Act 6:1), and it would be exacerbated by the fact that ageing Jewish Christians (like their Jewish compatriots) would come to live in and around Jerusalem in their final days so that their bodies would be there ready for the day of resurrection. The communal sharing in the beginning may have helped in the short term, but it could not solve their economic problems, and it inevitably left those who gave so sacrificially, in a worse position to help in the long term (compare Act 2:44-45; Act 4:32; Act 4:34-35).
But the whole of Palestine in fact suffered from lack of food around that time due to a famine that arose during the reign of Emperor Claudius in 46 AD (Act 11:27-30) and lasted some years, and as the mother church of Christianity, the Jerusalem church would undoubtedly have a larger number of visitors to give hospitality to than did others, as well making some provision for those who went out from it.
And finally there was the fact that all Jews in Palestine, including Jewish Christians, had to pay double taxes, to Rome and to the Jewish authorities. All these things then would contribute to the poverty of the Jerusalem church.
But why did Paul devote so much of his time and energy to raising and delivering this collection? Undoubtedly the first reason was because of his love for his needy Christian brethren (Rom 12:13; Rom 13:8; Gal 6:10). He also believed that this gift would bring glory to Jesus Christ (2Co 8:19), and that it would help to level out by mutual assistance God’s provision for His people’s physical needs (2Co 8:13-15). Moreover, it provided a visible demonstration of the equality of status that existed between Gentile and Jewish Christians (Eph 2:11-22), and would undoubtedly reduce the tensions between them. The Jerusalem church tended to be very conservative and ‘Jewish’, and while Acts 15 had laid down the position with regard to Gentile Christians, not all would have been convinced. A genuine expression of loving concern could therefore only help to improve the relationships.
He probably also hoped that God might use it in order to allay Jewish suspicions about Christianity, and about his own mission to the Gentiles (compare Act 11:2-3), demonstrating that it did not see Jews as enemies. It also illustrated the spiritual indebtedness that the Gentiles owed to their Jewish brethren (Rom 15:19; Rom 15:27; 1Co 9:11), and was personally a way in which he could partially compensate for his own earlier persecution of the Jerusalem saints (Act 8:3; Act 9:1; Act 26:10-11; 1Co 15:9; Gal 1:13; 1Ti 1:13), which had undoubtedly largely in the first place contributed to its poverty.
But above all Paul almost certainly saw in the entry of his large Gentile contingent, with their munificent gift, into Jerusalem, a partial fulfilment of the prophecies which spoke of the Gentiles and their riches flowing into Jerusalem in the last days (Isa 2:2-5; Isa 60:5-22; Isa 61:6; Mic 4:1-5; Hag 2:7). It fulfilled the vision of the one ‘Israel of God’ (Gal 6:16).
So Paul wrote as he did in the following two chapters of 2 Corinthians in order to facilitate the Collection, which he clearly considered to be of great importance, and to bring out its significance, while at the same time laying out a philosophy of Christian stewardship for all time, and defending himself against charges that some would make against him..
This is certainly not the first time that the Corinthians had heard about this collection. Paul’s abrupt mention of “concerning the collection for the saints” in 1Co 16:1, and his subsequent discussion of it, emphasises that he had spoken to them about it previously at some length, and that it was well known and of interest to them, and 2Co 8:10; 2Co 9:1-2 below indicate that their interest had continued, even though the controversy that had developed between them and Paul may well have contributed to some delay (2Co 2:5-11; 2Co 7:12).
However now that Paul had learned that the Corinthian congregation were responding more positively to him again, he sought to reintroduce the subject and press for its completion, beginning by describing the generosity of the Macedonian churches, and then expressing his confidence in their own anticipated generosity to the glory of God.
He begins in chapter 8 by stressing how eager the Macedonians were to have their full part in the Collection, and stresses their example of self-sacrifice, probably hoping that it would be an incentive and example to the Corinthians to give as well, following this up with the example of self-giving of Jesus Christ Himself and what he saw as the approach that they should now take. Then he informs them that Titus and two others will be coming to see them partly for this purpose.
And he finishes the chapter by mentioning the glorying he has engaged in on their behalf before the other churches.
But this seemingly pulls him up short as he suddenly realises how tactless he has been. Here he had been, lauding the Macedonians without any thought that the Corinthians who were reading his words might have been priding themselves on being the first to be involved in the Collection, and without having mentioned how he had in fact been glorying in their zeal. Even the sending of the three men could be seen as suggesting that without them the Corinthians could not be depended on to act. So he hurriedly does an about face in chapter 9 and assures them that he realises that what he has been saying has actually been unnecessary because it is they who have been involved in the project from the beginning, and explains that the reason that the three men are coming is simply so as to ensure that when the Macedonians pay them a visit they might not be caught out unprepared, and as he has already stated (2Co 8:20-21) in order to protect his own reputation.
In his infectious enthusiasm he then adds further reasons why they should be forward in giving, and finishes by giving thanks for God’s glorious gift of Jesus Christ. This adequately explains why there seem to be two accounts of his appeal to the Corinthians, while also explaining their dependence on each other.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Example of Christian Giving by the Macedonian Churches In 2Co 8:1-6 Paul provokes the Corinthians to jealousy by telling them about the sacrificial giving of the churches of Macedonia. In this passage he exhorts the church at Corinth to give as the churches of Macedonia had done. The underlying theme of 2 Corinthians is about mature sanctification. Throughout this Epistle Paul reveals his life of sufferings and perseverance as an example of spiritual maturity. Therefore, Paul calls the Corinthians into this mature walk by asking them to make similar sacrifices. He will later provide them a reason and motive for such sacrifices through God’s promises to reward those who sow financially into the Kingdom of God.
The sacrificial giving of the Macedonia Churches out of their poverty may seem far removed from our comfortable lifestyles in a developed nation, but many mission fields today could use a little Macedonian-type giving from a blessed America.
2Co 8:1 “Moreover” Comments – The English word “moreover” carries the meaning of “ Beyond what has been said.” Alfred Plummer suggests that the conjunction with an address suggests some sort of “transition” to a new thought. He prefers “now.” [71]
[71] Alfred Plummer, The Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, in The International Critical Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, eds. Charles A. Briggs, Samuel R. Driver, and Alfred Plummer (Edinburg: T. & T. Clark, Ltd., c1915, 1985), 232.
2Co 8:1 Comments – Note who is the giver (God), and who is the receiver (the churches of Macedonia) in 2Co 8:1.
2Co 8:2 “How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy” Comments – We see James exhorting the Jewish converts to walk in joy while undergoing similar trials.
Jas 1:2, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;”
2Co 8:2 “and their deep poverty” Scripture Reference – Note:
Pro 13:7, “There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Collection for the Saints 2Co 8:1 to 2Co 9:15 forms the second division of this Epistle. In this section Paul challenges them to fulfill their commitment and make a sacrificial offering for the poor saints at Jerusalem. Now, for those in Corinth who will be reconciled to Paul as their spiritual authority, he gives them a charge of giving an offering to the poor saints in Jerusalem (2Co 8:1 to 2Co 9:15). This is their opportunity to prove their loyalty to Paul (2Co 8:8). For those who are still rebellious, Paul will execute his divine authority over them (2Co 10:1 to 2Co 13:10). This lengthy passage on giving begins with the example of the Macedonians giving out of their deep poverty. It ends with a promise from God’s Word that giving generously will cause all of God’s grace to abound so that they have an abundance to give on every good occasion. The Corinthian believers had experienced the grace of salvation, the gifts of the Spirit operating in their lives, understanding in God’s Word through the teachings of Paul and Apollos, as well as various miracles and healings. Now, God wanted them to experience financial blessings. In other words, financial sowing reaps financial blessings. Although they may begin their efforts of sacrificial giving out of poverty, it will lead them down a road of financial prosperity.
Outline – Note the proposed outline:
1. The Example of Christian Giving 2Co 8:1-6
2. The Exhortation to Give 2Co 8:7-15
3. The Arrangement to Give 2Co 8:16 to 2Co 9:5
4. The Benefits of Christian Giving 2Co 9:6-15
Paul’s Exhortation on Giving 2Co 8:1 to 2Co 9:15 forms the second major division of this Epistle. In these two chapters Paul deals with the issue of the collection for the poor saints at Jerusalem.
Its Background – It has been suggested that Paul borrowed the concept of this collection from the customary Jewish Temple tax. This tax was fixed at a certain amount and made mandatory for all Jews. It finds a similar purpose with Paul’s collection in that it made provision for the poor within local Jewish communities. Thus, is served as an ideal model to use within the local churches. However, Paul structured it differently to fit the Gentile churches and found it necessary to refer to Old Testament Scriptures supporting such an offering (2Co 8:15; 2Co 9:9).
Order of Events – The topic of this offering is mentioned in four places in the New Testament: Act 24:17, Rom 15:26-28, 1Co 16:1-4 and these two chapters. By examining these four passages we can suggest an order of events. It seems that the Corinthians had heard of this project prior to Paul writing to them about it, perhaps through Timothy (2Co 9:2). He is possibly answering their inquiries in 1Co 16:1-4 as to how this collection is to be gathered. Because of the trouble that arose in the church at Corinth, Paul decided to send Titus with the “severe letter” in an attempt to set the problem in order, as well as deal with this collection also (2Co 8:6; 2Co 8:16-17). Having met up with Titus in Macedonia and wrote 2 Corinthians. He sent this letter to Corinth by the hands of Titus, accompanied by two brothers to finish organizing for this collection (2Co 8:18-24; 2Co 9:1-5). When Paul did make his visit to Corinth shortly thereafter (2Co 13:1), he received this offering (Rom 15:26-28) and made his way back to Jerusalem around the time of Pentecost (Act 20:16) where he offered it to the churches there (Act 24:17). We call this time Easter, so this could easily be called an Easter offering.
Its Purpose – We must note that Paul had agreed with the “Pillars” of the Church in Jerusalem when they first recognized and approved his apostleship to the Gentiles that he would “remember the poor” (Gal 2:10). Thus, this collection not only strengthened his relationship with these church leaders in Jerusalem, but it bore witnesses to his authenticity as a true apostle to the Gentiles. The distress in Jerusalem was great, and for such a great offering to come from Gentile believers spoke loudly of their genuine conversion and godly love. This is one reason that Paul stresses that the offering must be given willingly, and not begrudgingly. Thus, this offering from Gentile believers to Jewish believers was used as a tool to unite the church in Jerusalem with the Gentile churches he had founded. As Alfred Plummer points out, it was only fitting that if the Gentiles had been allowed to share in the spiritual blessings of the Jews, then the Jews ought to share in the material blessings of the Gentiles. [69] We see from Paul’s final visit to Jerusalem that he had many enemies there because of his missionary work. There appeared to be false reports and misunderstandings as to Paul’s doctrines and motives by this Jewish community of Palestine, and even the Jewish converts there. Therefore, this offering was used to demonstrate his good will towards the Jews in general as Paul made efforts to keep peace between his churches and Jerusalem. For if these Jewish emissaries were accusing Paul and his churches of being fractured from the mother church in Jerusalem, this was an opportunity for him defend his apostleship and demonstrate his unity and love to these Jewish saints in Jerusalem.
[69] Alfred Plummer, The Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, in The International Critical Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, eds. Charles A. Briggs, Samuel R. Driver, and Alfred Plummer (Edinburg: T. & T. Clark, Ltd., c1915, 1985), 230.
This offering also directly benefited the Corinthians. In order to understand why Paul is asking for such an offering from them in this manner, we must look at the underlying theme of this great epistle of 2 Corinthians. The secondary theme of 2 Corinthians is about a lifestyle that reflects mature sanctification. It is intended to show us the believer’s lifestyle when he has come to maturity in the faith. A Christian life then reflects a lifestyle of sacrifice. We also see in 2 Corinthians how Paul’s sacrificial service brought him into God’s favor, which was manifested as an abundance of divine revelations. While the theme of 1 Corinthians reflects this process of sanctification by the Holy Spirit in its early stages, and it shows us the manifestation of this process being expressed through the operation of the charismatic gifts balanced with the love walk. 2 Corinthians takes sanctification a step further into the mature, sacrificial Christian service, which involves suffering. With such a sacrifice comes an abundance of God’s grace.
Now the believers at Corinth could not all become apostles and ministers of the Gospel. They could give financially unto the Lord, and this could be done sacrificially. This is exactly what Paul the apostle is asking them to do. We must understand that our financials and material possessions are the manifestation of our labours. When we give these to the Lord sacrificially, we are actually giving him our labours. Thus, Paul is trying to get them to step out into a lifestyle of sanctification in its mature stages. It means trusting in the Lord at a greater level for daily provision. This is what we see taking place in the ministry of Jesus Christ as He sent out the twelve apostles without their daily provisions. Jesus wanted them to learn to look to divine providence and divine provision for their daily needs as they sacrificially served the Lord. Paul is offering the same lessons for the Corinthian saints.
Its Application to Us Today – We can apply this passage in 2Co 8:1 to 2Co 9:15 to our daily lives when our pastor asks the congregation to serve in the ministry of helps, or to give sacrificially in a special offering. Such commitments from the congregation take a sacrifice. It does not come easily, but it is well pleasing unto God. Our finances are a measure of our physical labours, and when we give financially, we are essentially giving our labours. Note:
Heb 13:16, “But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
This is part of the struggle that moves us into a higher calling. Such struggles are what stops many believers from entering into the deeper life with God. In Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians, he has asked the church to deal with internal strife, fornication, and offenses among the brethren so that they can enter into the love walk of the Christian faith and operate the gifts of the spirit properly. His second epistle asks the Corinthians believers to take a further step and learn to suffer for Jesus’ namesake in divine service. In 2Co 8:1 to 2Co 9:15 Paul will give instructions on sacrificial giving, which serves as the final step in our sanctification prior to forsaking all and following Jesus in the full-time ministry. We see this in the lives of the apostles as Jesus called each one to forsake all and follow Him.
Paul’s Exhortation on the Motive For Giving Note how often synonyms for willingness are used by Paul in 2Co 8:1 to 2Co 9:15 in this discourse on giving. Paul is clearly emphasizing the fact that giving must be done with the right motive, willingly from a pure heart.
1. 2Co 8:3 – “they were willing of themselves” – – Really, verses 2-5 emphasize the willingness of these churches.
2. 2Co 8:8 – “the forwardness of others” – Their eagerness and diligence is the focus of Paul mentioning the churches of Macedonia in verses 2-5.
3. 2Co 8:10 – “also to be forward” or willing –
4. 2Co 8:11 – “there was readiness to will” –
5. 2Co 8:12 – a willing mind” –
6. 2Co 8:16 – “the same earnest care into the heart to Titus” –
7. 2Co 8:17 “being move forward” –
8. 2Co 8:18 – “of his own accord” –
9. 2Co 8:19 – “your ready mind” –
10. 2Co 8:22 – “often times proved diligent” –
11. 2Co 8:22 – “much more diligent” –
12. 2Co 9:1 – “the forwardness of your mind” –
13. 2Co 9:2 – “your zeal” –
14. 2Co 9:5 – “as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness” –
15. 2Co 9:6 – “He which sowth bountifully shall reap also bountifully” Amplified, “Generously that blessings may come” –
16. 2Co 9:7 – “not grudgingly (sorrowful) or of necessity compulsion), for God loveth a cheerful giver –
17. 2Co 9:11 – “to all bountifulness” –
18. 2Co 9:13 – “your liberal distribution unto them” –
The theme of this discourse on giving could well be summed up in Isa 1:19:
Isa 1:19, “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land”
Mark Carillo said “If our income belongs to God, then our outcome will be blessed.” [70]
[70] Mark Carillo, “Sermon, Sunday Night Service” (Calvary Cathedral International, Fort Worth, Texas) 22 July 2007.
Two Examples of Giving – Two examples of giving are mentioned by Paul to exhort the Corinthians to give:
1. The churches of Macedonia (verses 2-5).
2. Jesus Himself (verses 9).
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Paul Offers Reconciliation to the Church at Corinth Having explained his ministry of reconciliation in the previous section (1-7), Paul now tests the obedience of the Corinthians after calling them to be reconciled unto God. For those who answer his call, Paul gives them an opportunity to prove their loyalty to him by participating in the collection of the saints (2Co 8:1 to 2Co 9:15). For these church members Paul’s words are a sweet savour of Christ resulting in life (2Co 2:15-16) resulting in their edification (2Co 13:10). For those who reject his call, Paul launches into an apologetic message to defend his right as an apostle over the Corinthians (2Co 10:1 to 2Co 13:10). He then warns them of his upcoming visit in which he is ready to use sharpness according to the power which the Lord had given him for edification and for destruction (2Co 13:10). So, for the rebellious, Paul’s words are “the savour of death unto death” (2Co 2:15-16).
Outline – Note the proposed outline:
A. The Collection for the Saints 2Co 8:1 to 2Co 9:15
1. The Example of Christian Giving 2Co 8:1-6
2. The Exhortation to Give 2Co 8:7-15
3. The Arrangement to Give 2Co 8:16 to 2Co 9:5
4. The Benefits of Christian Giving 2Co 9:6-15
B. Paul Exercises Apostolic Authority 2Co 10:1 to 2Co 13:10
1. Paul Declares His Authority 2Co 10:1-18
a) Paul’s Defense Against False Charges 2Co 10:1-11
b) Paul’s Claim to Apostleship 2Co 10:12-18
2. Paul Boasts of His Credentials 2Co 11:1 to 2Co 12:21
a) Mental: A Godly Lifestyle 2Co 11:1-15
b) Physical: Jewish Ancestry & Christian Suffering 2Co 11:16-33
c) Spiritual: Revelations & Miracles 2Co 12:1-13
3. Paul Executes His Authority 2Co 12:14 to 2Co 13:10
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Paul’s Tactful Appeal and Recommendation.
The example of the Macedonian churches:
v. 1. brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia,
v. 2. how that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
v. 3. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves,
v. 4. praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.
v. 5. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord and unto us by the will of God,
v. 6. insomuch that we desired Titus that, as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also. Next to the preaching of the Gospel and the spread of the kingdom of Christ the chief concern of Paul on his third missionary journey was the collection which he was everywhere recommending in the interest of the poor brethren in Jerusalem. Even when the first letter to the Corinthians was written, the collection had been inaugurated in Corinth also, 1Co 16:1, and Paul had earnestly recommended a systematic effort in order that the acute poverty in Jerusalem be alleviated as soon as possible. In Corinth the work was not progressing as satisfactorily as might be expected, and Paul therefore makes a special appeal in this chapter, giving, in a very tactful way, the chief reasons why the Christians of Corinth should take part in the collection with all eagerness. But we make known to you, brethren, the grace of God which is given in the churches of Macedonia. In the matter of making, the collection now under way a success in every way the congregations at Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea were proving themselves shining examples, as Paul had found out on the present journey, and as he is now letting the Corinthians know. Not, indeed, as if the people of Macedonia were naturally more inclined to good works than other men. It was the work of God, as the apostle expressly says, a manifestation of the divine favor which enlarged their hearts. For Christians to help each other, to communicate to the needy, is not an evidence of unusual liberality, as a special merit of which they may boast, but it is the work of God’s grace, a grace for which all Christians and all Christian congregations should seek and beg in honest prayer.
It was an unusually rich grace which had been given to the Macedonian congregations: That in a great proving of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded to the riches of their liberality. The Christians in Macedonia had exceptional difficulties to contend with; they were persecuted and annoyed by their heathen neighbors, and they were poor in this world’s goods. But these facts, instead of making them discouraged and causing them to withdraw from the matter of the collection, furnished a test of their faith and love which proved the sincerity of both. They were so full and overflowing with the joy which they had in the fellowship with Christ that they opened their hearts wide and contributed liberally for the relief of their brethren. So thoroughly did they overcome the handicap of affliction and of their great poverty that their liberality abounded in proportion, they went far beyond those who possessed a greater abundance of this world’s money and possessions.
So far did they excel in this respect that Paul could testify of them: For according to their power, I bear witness, and beyond their ability willing, of their own accord, with much entreaty begging of us the favor and the participation of the ministry for the saints. Here is a wonderful testimony from the mouth of the apostle, who evidently was well acquainted with the pecuniary circumstances of the Macedonian Christians. “The reason they were so reduced in circumstances probably was that they had been the victims of persecution and had found it difficult successfully to pursue their ordinary callings on account of the hatred of unbelievers. ” But this fact did not deter them in their determination to share in the noble work outlined by the apostle. They not only went to the very limit of their ability, but even beyond, exceeding the measure of their power in their eagerness to come to the aid of brethren that were still poorer than they. In other cases it is usually necessary, and, alas! all too often in our days, that Christians must be begged and entreated and urged and admonished and wheedled and coaxed to give of their abundance. But here the case was just the opposite The Macedonian Christians not only decided upon their action of their own accord, but they even begged it as a special favor of Paul to do them the kindness of permitting them to share in this work of ministering to the saint: their almsgiving was truly a communication of love and under the divine blessing. What an example for the churches of our day!
But the climax of their liberality is pictured by St. Paul when he says: but not as we expected, but themselves they gave first to the Lord and to us by the will of God. That is the important point upon which the entire passage really pivots. First of all, the Macedonian Christians offered themselves to the Lord, their talents, their energies, their abilities, and therefore also their worldly possessions, such as they were: they placed themselves and all they had, without any restriction, at the disposal of God and the apostle. It was an act of simple sacrifice, which far exceeded even the wildest hopes of the apostle, even after he had granted their petition to share in the “drive” for Jerusalem. And this was done, not in a spirit of self-aggrandizement, but because they regarded such a course as agreeing with the will of God. Their impulse to faithful service is thus traced back to God’s grace, as it should be under similar circumstances at all times.
Such an unprecedented example of willingness almost overwhelmed Paul: So that we have (now) exhorted Titus that, as he had made a beginning before, so he should also finish among you that same grace. Paul’s intention originally may have been to have Titus take charge of the collection in Macedonia. But since the conditions in this province were such as he had just pictured, he did not feel the slightest hesitation about leaving the matter entirely in the hands of these congregations. But in Corinth, by all accounts, the enthusiasm was in need of some assistance. What was more natural, therefore, than that the apostle should send Titus, who had made a beginning in the matter of the collection in Achaia, that he should return to Corinth and try to have them become perfect in this grace of Christian liberality also, as he had rejoiced to see the graces of repentance and good will in them. For the gift of Christian liberality does not belong to the special graces of the apostolic age, but may be obtained by earnest application to the Word of God and by prayer, and should be cultivated assiduously, lest Satan tempt us on account of our avaricious disposition. Note the delicacy of the apostle: “When the apostle saw the Macedonians so vehement and fervent in all things even under great temptations, he sent Titus to quicken the action of the Corinthians, that they might be made equals. He does not indeed say this, but he implies it, and thus shows the greatness and delicacy of his love, which could not allow the Corinthians to be inferior. ” (Chrysostom.)
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
Liberality shown by the Macedonian Churches (2Co 8:1-5). He is sending Titus to receive their contribution for the Church of Jerusalem, and he invites them to give according to their power (verses 6-15). Recommendation of Titus and the other delegates (verses 16-24).
These two chapters (8 and 9) form an independent section of the Epistle. The plural alone (“we”) is used throughout; participial and unfinished constructions abound; the style is a little embarrassed; and various words, such as “grace,” “blessing,” “righteousness,” “simplicity,” occur in somewhat unusual shades of meaning. All this arises:
1. From St. Paul’s natural delicacy in alluding to pecuniary subjects.
2. From a desire to conciliate the Corinthians, while at the same time he cannot conceal from them a little apprehension that they were rather more forward and zealous in words than in deeds. Their large promises had led him to speak of them in a way which seemed unlikely to be justified by the fulfilment. He was thus more or less under the influence of conflicting emotions. Out of patriotism (Rom 9:3) and compassion, and an effort to fulfil an old pledge (Gal 2:10), and a desire to conciliate and, if possible, win over the affection of the Jewish Churchwhich had been much alienated from him by differences of opinion and by assiduous calumniesand from a wish to show that his Gentile converts were faithful and loving brethren (Rom 15:31), he was intensely anxious that the contribution should be a large one. This feeling is apparent, not only throughout every line of this appeal, with the solemn topics which it introduces, but also in all his other allusions to the subject (Rom 15:26; 1Co 16:1-24.; Act 20:22; Act 21:4, etc.). On the other hand, he was careful lest he should seem to have even the most distant personal aims, and lest he should lay on his Gentile converts a wholly unfamiliar burden.
2Co 8:1
We do you to wit; rather, we make known to you. The phrase is like the modern “I wish to inform you.” In this and the next chapter St. Paul, having fully spoken of the joy which had been caused to him by their reception of his first letter, and having said as much as he then intended to say in answer to the charges insinuated against him, proceeds to give directions about the collection for the poor saints at Jerusalem. He had already spoken of it (1Co 16:1-4), but feared that they were behindhand, and now sends Titus to stimulate their zeal. The style throughout is brief and allusive, because he had already, in various ways, brought this matter fully before them. Throughout this section he shows in a remarkable degree the tact, courtesy, high sense of honour, and practical wisdom which were among his many gifts. The “but” with which the chapter begins in the original is St. Paul’s ordinary formula of transition, as in 1Co 7:1; 1Co 12:1; 1Co 13:1, etc. (For the phrase, “we inform you,” see 1Co 12:3; 1Co 15:1.) It is one of numberless incidental proofs of the genuineness of this group of Epistlesthe Epistles of the second great missionary journeythat the same words, phrases, and thoughts constantly recur in them. The grace of God (see next note). Bestowed on the Churches of Macedonia; rather, which is being bestowed in the Churches. St. Paul wants to tell the Corinthians how extremely liberal the Macedonians have been, since it was his custom to stir up one Church by the example of another (2Co 9:2); but he begins by speaking of their generosity as a proof of the grace which they are receiving from the Holy Spirit. The Churches of Macedonia. The only Macedonian Churches of which we have any details in the New Testament are those of Philippi, Thessalonica, and Beroea. They seem to have been peculiarly dear to St. Paul, who was attracted by their cheerfulness in affliction and their generosity in the midst of want.
2Co 8:2
In a great trial of affliction; rather, in much testing of affliction; i.e. in an affliction which put to the proof their Christian character. “They were not simply afflicted,” says St. Chrysostom, “but in such a way as also to become approved by their endurance.” (For the word rendered “trial,” see Rom 5:4, and in this Epistle, 2Co 2:9; 2Co 9:13; 2Co 13:3.) “Affliction” seems to have befallen the Churches of Macedonia very heavily (1Th 1:6; 1Th 2:14), chiefly through the jealousy of the Jews, who excited the hatred of the Gentiles (Act 16:20; Act 17:5, Act 17:13). The abundance of their joy. Another reference to joy in sadness (see on 2Co 7:4). There is not the least necessity to understand the verb “is” or “was” after this clause. “The abundance abounded” is indeed a pleonasm, but is not at all unlike the style of St. Paul. He means to say that their joy overflowed their affliction, and their liberality overflowed their poverty (Mar 12:44). Their deep poverty; literally, their pauperism to the depth; their abysmal penury. Though they were , they showed themselves in generosity to be . Stanley refers to Arnold’s ‘Roman Commonwealth,’ where he mentions that the provinces of Macedonia and Achaia, which had suffered greatly in the three civil wars, appealed successfully to Tiberius for a diminution of their burdens. The gift of the Macedonians was like the widow’s mite (Luk 21:3, Luk 21:4, where similar words occurperisseuo, husterema). Of their liberality; rather, of their singleness of purpose or simplicity (Eph 6:5). The “grace” and single-heartedness to which he alludes showed themselves in liberality.
2Co 8:3
They were willing of themselves. “Of their own accord,” as in 2Co 8:17. The verb in the original is energetically omitted, with the “they gave” of 2Co 8:5. St. Paul does not mean that the notion of making the collection originated with them (2Co 9:2), but only that they displayed a voluntary energy in carrying it out.
2Co 8:4
Praying us. The entreaties came from them, not from me. That we would receive. These words are almost certainly an explanatory gloss. The translation then is, “begging us for the grace of participation in this ministration to the saints.” They were so willing in the matter that they entreated me, as a favour (), to allow them to have a share in this contribution, because it was to be given to the saints, that is, the suffering peer in the Church of Jerusalem. This Church suffered from chronic poverty. Even the Jewish population were liable to famines, in one of which they had only been kept alive by the royal munificence of a proselyte, Queen Helena,of Adiabene. The Christians would, of course, suffer even more deeply, because they were drawn from the humblest classes and had fewer friends. This was one of the reasons why, as an act of common humanity, it was incumbent on the Gentile Christians to help them (Act 11:29; Rom 15:25, Rom 15:26). St. Paul had already brought the subject to the notice of the Corinthians (1Co 16:1-4).
2Co 8:5
Not as we hoped; rather, not as we expected. They were so poor that it was impossible to expect much from them, but they surpassed my expectations in every way. The Church of Philippi, perhaps under the influence of Lydia, was remarkable for generosity, and was the only Church from which St. Paul would accept any personal help (Php 2:25; Php 4:15-18). First. “They gave themselves to the Lord, which is the best of all, and they gave themselves as helpers to us alsoby the will of God.” (For a similar use of “and” to imply a matter of less importance, see Act 15:28.) The phrase, “by the will of God,” implies thanksgiving to God for the grace which enabled them to give themselves to him, and their goods to his saints. Being “a peculiar people,” they naturally showed themselves “zealous of good works” (Tit 2:14). First (Rom 1:16; Rom 2:9, Rom 2:10).
2Co 8:6
Insomuch that. Their liberality encouraged me so greatly that I exhorted Titus to return to Corinth once more, and see whether he could not receive some proof that you were equally liberal. The remarks that follow are full of delicate reserve, but under their exquisite tact and urbanity we can perceive that the Corinthians had talked very loudly about their contributions, and had promised with great zeal, but had shown themselves somewhat slack in redeeming their promises. We exhorted Titus. It is curious that this word is constantly used of the missions of Titus (verse 17; 2Co 12:18; 1Co 16:12). As he had began. “That as no inaugurated (this collection), so he would also complete towards you this gracious work also.” Among other works of grace which Titus might complete by returning to them from Macedonia was the kindly collection which he had begun to set on foot in his previous visit (2Co 12:18).
2Co 8:7
Therefore; rather, but. In the following verses to 2Co 8:15 he tells them his wishes about this collection. He desires them to show generosity among their other graces (2Co 8:7), not by way of command, but that they may emulate others and show their love (2Co 8:8) by following the example of Christ (2Co 8:9). And by acting thus they would prove the sincerity of their former promises (2Co 8:10, 2Co 8:11), especially as he did not wish them to give more than they could justly spare by way of reciprocity (2Co 8:12-15). As ye abound in every thing, in faith, etc. Perhaps “by faith,” etc., “St. Paul,” says Grotius, “knew the art of the orators to move by praising.” This method of conciliating attention is technically called proparaitesis. The praise was, of course, sincere, though, no doubt, it was expressed with the generosity of love (see 1Co 1:5). And in your love to us. The Greek is more emphatic,” and by the love from you in us;” i.e. by the love which streams from you, and which I feel in myself. In this grace also; namely, the grace of Christian liberality.
2Co 8:8
Not by commandment. St. Paul felt an honourable sensibility which prevented him from straining his authority by urging the Corinthians to give of their substance. Among Gentiles such contributions towards the needs of othersthe result of unselfish compassionwere all but unknown. The forwardness; i.e. the ready zeal. The sincerity; more literally, the genuineness.
2Co 8:9
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. The word “grace,” as in 2Co 8:4, 2Co 8:6, 2Co 8:7, here means “gracious beneficence.” Though he was rich (Joh 16:15; Eph 3:8). Became poor. The aorist implies the concentration of his self-sacrifice in a single act. By his poverty. The word “his” in the Greek implies the greatness of Christ. The word for “poverty” would, in classical Greek, mean “pauperism” or “mendicancy.” Dean Stanley (referring to Milman’s ‘Latin Christianity,’ 5. bk. 12. c. 6) points out how large a place this verse occupied in the mediaeval controversies between the moderate and the extreme members of the mendicant orders. William of Ockham and others, taking the word “poverty” in its extremest sense, maintained that the Franciscans ought to possess nothing; but Pope John XXII., with the Dominicans, took a more rational view of the sense and of the historic facts.
2Co 8:10
And herein I give my advice; and in this matter I offer an opinion (only). For this is expedient for you. It is more to your advantage that I should merely suggest and advise you about the matter than command you. Who have begun; rather, seeing that you formerly began. The verb is the same as in 2Co 8:6. Not only to do, but also to be forward; rather, not only to do, but also to be willing. The “to do” is in the aorist, the “to be willing” in the present. We should naturally have expected a reversed order, “not only to be willing, but also to put in action.” There must be a strong touch of irony in the words, unless we interpret it to mean “not only to make the collection, but to be willing to add yet more to it.” Perhaps in the “to be willing” lies the notion of “the cheerful giver,” “the willing mind “(2Co 9:7; 1Ti 6:17-19). A year ago; rather, since the previous year; i.e. last year (2Co 9:2). They had probably begun to collect in the previous Easter, and it was now soon after Tisri, or September, the beginning of the Jewish civil year.
2Co 8:11
Now therefore perform the doing of it, etc.; “but now complete also the actual work, in order that, as was the readiness of the willing, so may be also the completion according to your means.” Out of that which ye have. This, and not “out of your ability,“ is probably the right reading, as we see from the next verse.
2Co 8:12
For if there be first a willing mind, etc. “For if the readiness is forth- coming, it is acceptable,” etc. In other words, God considers not quantum, but ex quanto; not the magnitude of the gift, but the proportion which it bears to the means of the giver.
2Co 8:13
And ye be burdened; literally, for not that there may be relief to others, but to you affliction. In other words, I have no wish that you should distress yourselves to set others at ease. You must not suspect me of Jewish proclivities which would lead me to impoverish you to provide luxuries for the Christians at Jerusalem. Others refer it to the Macedonians: “I do not wish to burden you, but the Macedonians, who are poor, have contributed, and if you join them in this good work now they may help you hereafter.” But there is no hint of this anywhere.
2Co 8:14
But by an equality, etc. The verse, like so many in this chapter, is expressed very elliptically: “But by a reciprocal fairness in the present case, your superabundance to their lack, that also their superabundance may be in proportion to your lack, that there may come to be reciprocal fairness.” St. Paul may possibly be thinking of the reciprocity of spiritual and temporal benefits, as in Rom 15:27; but if so he leaves the thought unexpressed. The application of the text to “works of supererogation” (Art. XIV.), as forming a fund at the disposal of the hierarchy in the way of indulgences, pardons, etc., is a singular perversion. The passage has been pointed out by Dean Stanley as one which indicates a possible acquaintance with the writings of Aristotle.
2Co 8:15
As it is written (Exo 16:17, Exo 16:18, LXX.). The reference is to the gathering of manna.
2Co 8:16
Which put; rather, which giveth. The zeal is continuous. The same earnest care. The same in the heart of Titus as in my own.
2Co 8:17
The exhortation. My request that he would undertake this task. Being more forward. Because he was more earnestly zealous than I had ever ventured to hope, he went spontaneously. (On the word authairetos, see 2Co 8:3.)
2Co 8:18
The brother, whose praise is in the gospel. The phrase means, “whose worth is praised wherever the glad tidings are preached.” There can be no reference to any of the four written Gospels, for they were not in the hands of Christians till a later date; nor did the word “gospel” acquire this significance till afterwards. From Act 20:5, it is somewhat precariously inferred that St. Luke is meant. Others have conjectured Barnabas, Silas (who are out of the question), Erastus, Mark, a brother of Titus, etc. St. Luke is not unlikely to have been selected as a delegate by the Church of Philippi; but further than this we can say nothing. St. Luke was not a Macedonian by birth, and any Macedonian (e.g. Aristarchus, Sopater, Secundus, Epaphroditus) seems to be excluded by 2Co 9:4. Palsy notes it as curious that the object of St. Paul’s journey to Jerusalem, Which is so prominent in this group of Epistles, is only mentioned indirectly and incidentally by St. Luke (Act 24:17) in the Acts of the Apostles.
2Co 8:19
Chosen. The word (literally, chosen by show of hands) implies a popular vote. This brother Was not only widely known and valued, but also specially selected for this task. To travel with us. “As our fellow traveller.” The word occurs in Act 19:29. With this grace. The better reading is “in:” “in this matter of kindness.” To the glory of the same Lord. The word “same” should be omitted. And declaration of your ready mind. The best reading is “our,” and the clause should be rendered, to further the glory of the Lord and our readiness.
2Co 8:20
Avoiding this. The object in sending Titus and the brother was to cut away the possibility of blame and suspicion. The word “avoiding” (stellomenoi) literally means “furling sail,” and then “taking precautions.” It may, however, mean “making this arrangement” (see 2Th 3:6). Too much stress has been laid on St. Paul’s “use of nautical terms” (Act 20:20; Gal 2:12, etc.). They belong, in fact, to the very phraseology of the Greek language. That no man should blame us (see 2Co 6:3). St. Paul here sets a valuable and necessary example to all Christians who are entrusted with the management of charitable funds. It is their duty to take every step which may place them above the possibility of of suspicion. Their management of the sums entrusted to them should be obviously and transparently business-like and honourable. St. Paul taught this behaviour both by example and by precept (Rom 12:17; Php 4:8). There is such a thing as a foolish and reprehensible indifference to public opinion (1Pe 2:12). Yet with all his noble carefulness, St. Paul did not escape this very slander (2Co 12:18). In this abundance. The word, which occurs here only, means literally “succulence,” but in the LXX. the adjective means “rich” (1Ki 1:9). It here implies that the sum which had been collected by St. Paul’s exertion was a large one.
2Co 8:21
Honest things. The word “honest” means “honourable” (Rom 12:17; Pro 3:4, LXX.). Not only in the sight of the Lord. Such precautions would be unnecessary if others were not concerned, for God knows our honesty (2Co 5:11). But also before men. Although the text “avoid all appearance of evil” should be rendered “avoid every species of evil,” the mistranslation conveys a wise lesson. “In a field of melons,” says the Chinese proverb. “do not stoop to tie your shoe;” for that will look as if you wanted to steal one of the melons.
2Co 8:22
Our brother. It is impossible to conjecture with any certainty who was the brother thus warmly eulogized. Clement, Epaenetus, Apollos, Luke, Zenas, Sosthenes, Trophimus, and Tychicus have all been suggested. Stanley conjectures that the two who accompanied Titus were the Ephesians Tychicus and Trophimus (Act 20:4; Act 21:9; 2Ti 4:12; Eph 6:21; Tit 3:12; Col 4:7).
2Co 8:23
Whether any do inquire of Titus; literally, whether about Titus, or, as to Titus; i.e. “if I speak about Titus.” (For the phrase, comp. Tit 1:6, Tit 1:8; 2Th 2:1.) Titus, long afterwards, was delegated on a similar mission to Crete (Tit 1:1-5; Tit 2:15). My partner and fellow helper concerning you; rather, my associate (Phm 1:17) and, as regards you, my fellow worker. Messengers; literally, apostles. The word is used in its original and untechnical sense of delegates (Php 2:25; Rom 16:7). The glory of Christ. Men whose work and worth redound to Christ’s honour (Gal 1:24).
2Co 8:24
Of your love. Not only of your love “to me,” but of your brotherly love in general. And of our boasting. Show to the Church that my boasting of you was justifiable.
HOMILETICS
2Co 8:1-9 – Genuine beneficence (1).
“Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God,” etc. The subject of these words is genuine beneficence, and they suggest certain general truths concerning it.
I. THAT ALL GENUINE BENEFICENCE IN MAN IS FROM GOD. “Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of [we make known to you] the grace of God.” All that is loving and generous in all moral beings is from one Source, and that is God. He is the primal Font whence all flows. Wherever you see love, in young or old, rich or poor, cultured or rude, you see an emanation from and a reflection of the Eternal. As you may see the ocean in a dewdrop, you may see God in every throb of affection in human souls.
II. THAT IN SOME MEN IT IS MORE STRONGLY DEVELOPED THAN IN OTHERS, According to St. Paul, the “Churches of Macedonia” displayed it in a remarkable degree. It would seem from what Paul says concerning the beneficence of the Macedonian Churches that it was:
1. Self-sacrificing. “How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.” It would seem from this that they could ill affordas the phrase isto render any help in the way of property to others, and yet their contributions “abounded unto the riches of their liberality.”
2. Spontaneous. “They were willing of themselves.” They were not pressed into it by outward appeals. The only pressure was from love within.
3. Earnest. “Praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift.” Instead of giving because they were besought by others to do so, they themselves besought the reception of their gifts. They might have presented plausible reasons for withholding their contributions to this charity. They might have pleaded distance, and said, “Jerusalem is a long way off, and charity begins at home.” They might have pleaded lack of personal knowledge, and have said, “We are utterly unacquainted with any of these saints at Jerusalem;” or they might have pleaded their own affliction or poverty. But instead of that, they earnestly seized the opportunity to render what help they could.
4. Religious. “And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.” “This means,” says a modern expositor, “of course, that they had done what was far beyond his hopes. And here the point lies in the fact that they gave, not their money only, but themselves, their time, thought, energy, primarily to Christ as their Lord, and then to the apostle as his minister. And this they had done because they allowed the will of God to work upon their will.” Consecration of self to God is at once the cause and virtue of all our gifts to men. Unless we give ourselves to God, all our gifts to men are morally worthless.
III. THAT THOSE IN WHOM IT IS MOST STRONGLY DEVELOPED MIGHT BE URGED AS AN EXAMPLE TO OTHERS. Paul here holds up the beneficence of the Macedonians as an example to stimulate the charity of the Corinthians. It would seem that the Church at Corinth had, through the influence of Titus, commenced a subscription for the poor at Jerusalem, and that Titus was about to return in order to obtain larger contributions. The charity of the Macedonian Churches Paul quotes as an example in order to help forward the work. His argument seems to be thisYou have the advantages of the Churches at Macedonia in many things; you “abound in everything,” you are wealthy, they are poor; your endowments are greater than theirs, your “faith, and utterance, and knowledge,” and “in your love to us;” this being so, “See that ye abound in this grace also;” see that you excel in your contributions to this charity. It is wise and well to hold up the good example of others to stimulate men to a holy emulation. The good deeds of other men are amongst the Divine forces to purify and ennoble our own characters.
IV. THAT THE HIGHEST EXAMPLE OF IT WE HAVE IN THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST. “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,” etc. Christ is the supreme Model of philanthropy.
1. His philanthropy was self-sacrificing. “Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor.” Observe:
(1) He was rich in material wealth before he came into the world. It is of material wealth that the apostle is speaking.
(2) His existence on earth was that of material poverty. “The foxes have holes,” etc.
(3) He passed voluntarily from one stage to another. “For your sakes he became poor.” Of all the myriads of men that have appeared on this earth, and that will appear, he alone had the choosing of his circumstances, and he chose poverty.
2. His philanthropy aimed supremely at the promotion of spiritual wealth. “That ye through his poverty might be rich.” Rich spiritually. Great is the difference between spiritual wealth and material.
(1) The one is absolutely valuable, the other is not.
(2) The one is essential to happiness, the other is not.
(3) The one is within the reach of all, the other is not.
2Co 8:10-15 – Genuine beneficence (2).
“And herein I give my advice,” etc. In these verses there is a continuation of the subject presented in the preceding passage, viz. genuine beneficence. And there are three further remarks suggested concerning this all-important subject.
I. IT IS THE EMBODYING OF THE BENEFICENT DESIRE IN CONTRIBUTIONS FOR THE GOOD OF OTHERS. “Herein I give my advice [judgment]: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before [who were the first to make a beginning], not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago. Now therefore perform [complete] the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance [completion] also out of that which ye have.” They had shown the will to contribute, for they had “a year ago” commenced their subscriptions. Now Paul exhorts them to go on and complete the work. “As there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance.” The mere generous will is good in itself, but is not enough; it requires to be embodied in deeds. Every good desire requires embodiment:
1. For our own sake. It is only as our best desires are translated into deeds that they give solidity and strength to our character. In words and sighs they die away; they are like the morning dew. A good desire in itself is like the raindrop on the leaf of the tree; it may excite admiration as it glistens like a diamond in the sun, but it is soon exhaled, and probably does no good to the tree. But when embodied in a generous deed it is like the raindrop that penetrates the roots and contributes some portion of strength to all the fibres. A charity sermon delivered with the eloquence of a Chalmers may excite in the congregation the beneficent idea, almost to a passion, but, unless that passion takes the form of a self-denying act, it evaporates and leaves the congregation in a worse state than the preacher found it.
2. For the sake of others. It is generous deeds that bless the world. They go where ideas cannot penetrate, into the hearts and consciences of men; they work silently and salutarily as the sunbeam.
II. THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF BENEFICENCE ARE ONLY VIRTUOUS AS THEY SPRING FROM A GENEROUS DESIRE. “For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.” The doctrine is this, that the disposition of the heart, not the doings of the hand, constitute the essence of moral character. This is the Divine method of estimating human conduct. “The Lord judgeth not as man judgeth,” etc. The motive is the soul of the deed. “Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor,.., and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” Do not judge the desire by the effort, but judge the effort put forth by the desire. The poor widow would have made munificent contributions, but she could only give a “mite;” but in that mite there was more value than in all the amount in the temple exchequer. Some have the means to do good and not the heart, and some have the heart but not the means. The former are grubs in the universe, the latter are angels. There are deeds done in the body, seen of God, infinitely more numerous and essentially more valuable in most cases than deeds done by the body.
III. THE CONTRIBUTION OF OTHERS CANNOT SUPERSEDE THE OBLIGATION OF OURS, BUT MAY SUPPLEMENT THEIR DEFICIENCIES.
1. It is not a substitute. “For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened.” It behoves every man to contribute to the extent of his riches, to the good of others. If one man gives a thousand it does not relieve me from my obligation to contribute what I can.
2. It is a supplement. “But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want.” It is the duty of all to contribute. Some have the ability to contribute a hundred times the amount of others; let their large sums go to supplement the deficiencies of their poorer brethren, so that there may be “an equality.” Thus the old Scripture will be illustrated, that “he that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.”
2Co 8:16-24 – Stimulating men to beneficent actions,
“But thanks be to God,” etc. The verses under notice present to us the subject of stimulating men to efforts of beneficence, and three remarks are suggested concerning this occupation.
I. IT IS A WORK THAT REQUIRES THE HIGHEST ORDER OF CHRISTIAN MEN. We find here that not only Paul employs himself in it with all his loving earnestness and logical power, but he engages Titus also, and a “brother” with him of such distinction that his “praise is in the gospel throughout all the Churches.” To excite men to beneficent enterprises is preeminently a Christian work. Christianity is the mother of all philanthropic labours and institutions. Christian piety is a fountain whence all the myriad streams of human beneficence that circulate through all the districts of human life proceed. To stimulate this beneficence in men is the highest ministry on earth, and for it men of the most distinguished character and faculty are required. No man is too great for it, and but few men are equal to its successful discharge.
II. IT IS A WORK DESERVING THE GRATITUDE OF ALL. Paul refers to:
1. The gratitude of those who had been excited to beneficent efforts. “But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you.” It is implied that Titus conferred on them an immense favour in stimulating them to generous deeds. No man can render us a greater service than by taking us out of ourselves and inspiring us with a genuine concern for the interests of others. It is not he who gives me a good thing, but who stimulates me to do a good thing, that is my greatest benefactor; for it is “more blessed to give than to receive.” In giving we become God-like, and therefore we ought to thank the man most devoutly who evokes within us the spirit of true charity. Instead of endeavouring to avoid appeals to our benevolence, we should hail them and thank our Maker for them.
2. The gratitude of those who have effected the excitement. Paul says, “Thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you.”
(1) There is no office higher in itself than this. This is the work for which Christ came into the world, the work for which he established the Christian ministry. The aim and tendency of the gospel are to drown the selfish ego in the sunny tide of universal charity. The love of Christ constrained men to feel that they should not henceforth live to themselves.
(2) There is no office more useful than this. Success in this means ruin in all that is ruinous to souls in human history, ruin to selfishness and all its fiendish brood. Well, therefore, may those who are engaged in such a work thank God for the distinguishing honour to which they have been called. Paul says nothing here about the gratitude of those on whom the excited beneficence has bestowed its favoursthe beneficiaries. He seems to take it for granted that they ought and would be thankful; that they ought to be admits of no doubt, but that they always are cannot be asserted. Ingratitude, alas! is one of the reigning sins in human life.
III. IT IS A WORK EXPOSED TO THE SUSPICIONS OF WORLDLY MEN. The apostle seems to have been afraid that the contributions that would flow from stimulating the beneficence of the Corinthian Church would occasion the allegation that they were participating in them, and so obtaining some personal advantage. Hence, to guard against the possibility, he gets the Churches to choose from amongst them some men of the best reputation, whom he calls “messengers of the Churches,” and Titus, and perhaps Luke, in the administration of the charity, and thus “providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.” Dishonest men have existed in all ages, and the more dishonest men are, the more suspicious. Paul here guards himself against all scandalous imputations. He had great respect for his own reputation, so much so, that one at times, in reading these Epistles, is well nigh astonished that a man so great in nature and sublime in character should think so much about the opinions of others.
HOMILIES BY C. LIPSCOMB
2Co 8:1-6 – Christian liberality in the Macedonian Churches.
Grace prepares the way for grace. Denial of self in one direction leads to cross-bearing in other forms. Duty is a spirit, not a mechanical thing; a life, and not a mere performance. If the Corinthians had shown such a “godly sorrow,” they would now be eager to demonstrate their renewed Christian strength by a more faithful regard to all obligations. Carefulness, zeal, vehement desire, had characterized their repentance, and these would not expire with the occasion that had called them into exercise. Deep feeling is quiet feeling, and therefore permanent, and deep feeling is always the mark of true penitence. St. Paul had confidence in his Corinthian brethren, and it was a large-hearted trust; “confidence in you in all things.” The “all things” is the nexus between the seventh and eighth chapters. So then he proceeds to speak of the liberality of the Macedonian Churches preparatory to urging on them the duty of benevolence. Observe his manner. If he states a doctrine, he illustrates it. If he teaches a duty, he gives an example. Never so abstract as to neglect the practical side of life, never so intent on action as to lose sight of the determinative principle, he reminds one of Lord Bacon’s remark, that the highest order of mind is that combining most fully the abstract and the practical. The example of these Macedonian Churches was well worthy of imitation. Macedonia had been overrun by armies, and we all know how armies devastated countries in those days and stripped the inhabitants of their wealth. St. Paul speaks of their “great trial of affliction,” the losses and persecutions they were enduring, and yet they had “abundant joy,” that could only be represented by its filling the depth of their poverty and overflowing in “the riches of their liberality.” No common poverty was theirs”deep poverty;” and no ordinary love was theirs, but a very profound and tender love. “This sentence is completely shattered in passing through the apostle’s mind” (Stanley). How much more is unsaid than said in the marvellous words, “Their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality”! Two things are taught us.
1. The inspiration of a joyous influence. Duty, motive, impulse, all exalted into Christian happiness. “Rejoice evermore.” Such joy is a glorious power. Let us not make a mistake here. Fine feelings, exuberant emotions, loud hallelujahs, the thrill and shout and ecstasy, may deceive us. If they exhaust themselves in sensational excitement, they do deceive us, and that most awfully. Joy as a fruit of the Spirit is a giving joy, a sacrificing joy, a joy in the cross by which we are crucified to the world and the world unto us.
2. And we learn that even “deep poverty” is no obstruction to helping others. It often hinders us from doing what we would; but in the estimate of the Lord Jesus, the heart of this matter is in the “could,” not in the would. “She hath done what she could.” Capacity is always a mystery. It surprises us ever, and more and more, and in nothing is it so surprising as in the charitable heart with small means at its command. The glory of giving is in the quality of love, and it never fails to find something to bestow. “She of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.” If this poor widow could spare “two mites,” who can plead depth of poverty? Notice that St. Paul emphasizes the depth of poverty in the Macedonian Church. If it had been simply a case of poverty, the example would not have been so instructive, and, accordingly, we find the apostle citing his cases from such as had to make sacrifices of personal comfort in order to aid those poorer than themselves. So that while in the Acts of the Apostles we hear of “possessors of lands or houses” selling them and. laying the prices at the feet of the apostles, this fades from view in the tragic deaths of Ananias and Sapphira. But the image of the poor widow returns to us in the Epistles, with many suggestions as to the class of persons who do the most of the steady Christian giving. What is further noteworthy is the apostle’s description of the self-moved generosity of these Macedonians. “Willing of themselves.” Liberality is not a common virtue, and self-induced liberality is its rarest form. Men wait to be urged, begged, entreated; special occasions set are for special efforts; fine speakers are engaged; and the whole system of giving, or very much of it, proceeds on the habitual reluctance of giving for the support of the gospel. As to spontaneousness in this matter, who thinks of it, who trusts it? Now, we do not suppose that all religious people in the apostolic age were like these Macedonians. We know they were not. Yet, consider this fact, viz. they were the persons held up as shining examples of what liberality ought to be in the Church of Christ. And this accords precisely with the incidents mentioned concerning Mary of Bethany, and the poor widow and her mites, and the disciples after Pentecost who disposed of their property to hell, the poor. It was cordial and voluntary action, no external agency operating to give inducements. Without pressing this point too far, we must say that whatever utility belongs to the machinery of collecting funds for Church uses (and this seems to be necessary), it is nevertheless clear enough that spontaneous liberality is the truest, noblest, surest, mode of cultivating this grace in our hearts. So, unquestionably, the apostle thought. With what a glow he writes! “According to their power;” nay, it was more than this, for they went “beyond their power [beyond their means];” and so earnest was their purpose that they prayed the apostle to receive their gifts and let them share the grace and fellowship of ministering to the saints. No doubt many of these men found life a hard struggle, and for them, in more senses than one, “without were fightings, within were fears.” Yet they deemed it a privilege to give; they coveted earnestly the best gift, which was the gift of giving; they prayed “with much entreaty” that they might participate in a work which was most blessed. To let such an opportunity slip was more than they could bear. And this conduct exceeded his expectations; for they had given themselves first to the Lord Jesus, and then, anxious to show their affection for the apostle, had given themselves in this special matter to him. Heart and property; what a consecration! What a page in spiritual biography! Out of “deep poverty;” what chorus of voices ever rose like this, pleading that these Macedonians might be permitted to share the grace of ministration! “The short and simple annals of the poor” have added much to our English literature, nor is it extragavant to claim that this is one of the most praiseworthy marks of that distinctive genius which has signalized its excellence in so many departments of poetry and fiction. But do we realize our indebtedness to the Bible for this beautiful and humanizing element in English literature? Here, in this single chapter from the Apostle Paul, what a touching picture of Christian poverty, surrendering means it could ill afford to spare, and doing it “with a self-dedication which involved a complete renunciation of all personal interests” (Kling)!L.
2Co 8:7-15 – Appeal to the Corinthians.
A wise use had been made by the apostle of the example of the Macedonians. He had not appealed to pride, vanity, or any selfish feeling, but had simply presented a remarkable case of Christian philanthropy. Robertson very properly remarks, “Had the apostle said, ‘Be not beaten by those Macedonians;’ had he called natural prejudices into playa Corinthian to yield to a Macedonian!then all the evil passions of our nature had been stimulated.” Emulation is a true principle, and may be a religious principle. The danger lies, not in the thing itself, but in its abuses, and particularly in the encouragement which it may afford to false rivalry and jealousy. In a large measure, the spirit and conduct of others make the social atmosphere we breathe, nor can we live in the world without contact with it. Goodness assumes its most attractive forms in noble examples, and, except for these, our own ideals, if they existed at all, would be very imperfect. Consistently, then, with his purpose of stimulating the Corinthians to seek a high degree of Christian excellence, the apostle sets before them in most vivid colours the liberality of the Macedonian Churches. Titus had begun, and he would have him “finish in them the same grace also.” Men are channels of Divine influence to our souls, and, as such, should be acknowledged in their work. St. Paul saw God’s blessing on the labours of his young friend, and he would not deprive him of the honour of completing the task. He stood out of his way, encouraged his efforts, and lent him a fatherly hand in furtherance of his undertaking. This sympathy with young men is one of his characteristic qualities, and it is worthy of warm admiration. Many an elderly officer in the Church might heed it to great advantage. Titus should have all the credit. Let the brethren at Corinth heartily second his exertions in behalf of the poor saints at Jerusalem. If they abounded “in everything, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence,” and in their love for the apostle, let them “abound in this grace also.” The quality being pure, quantity was a favourite idea which he never lost an opportunity to urge. “Abound” and “abundant” flow freely from his pen. “Not by commandment” was this written. Free hearts, joyous impulses, could alone be recognized in this enterprise of humanity. This was the value of example, it was a sympathetic influence; and hence his reference to “the forwardness of others,” which would test the “sincerity of their love.” What a great truth is taught here, and that too so incidentally as to escape the attention of all save those who make the cultivation of discernment a constant duty! Noble examples are Divine tests; they prove, as we have said, the depth and activity of our sympathies, and in this respect supply the means of a discipline otherwise lacking. “Forwardness of others;” study its meaning. God commissions the leaders. Vast enterprises are never born of masses, but of individuals; apostles first, and then Churches; Bunyan, and two centuries of literature for the poor and illiterate; Watts and the sacred poets following; Raikes and Wesley; Martyn and Judson; successors multiplied because of their “forwardness.” Having dwelt on the example of the Macedonians, the transition is easy to the Divine Exemplar. A single verse reminds them of “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,” the surrender of his eternal glory, the riches of his Godhead’s state, the extent of the abnegation, the earthly poverty assumed, and all for their sakes, that “through his poverty” they “might be rich.” The supreme consideration must be kept in full view. Of the Macedonians he had spoken; of the “great trial of affliction,” of their “deep poverty,” and how it abounded “unto the riches of their liberality.” Whence came this power? A new heart had been given to poverty, so that now, though its means were meagre, its social position unhonoured, its claims to influence set at nought, yet it had achieved wonders such as had never been thought possible. Macedonia had stretched out her arms of blessing to distant Jerusalem, and Gentiles and Jews long alienated were now one in the holiest of brotherhoods. It was due to the grace of Christ. It was his Spirit reproducing itself in the lives of believers. And therefore he had cited their conduct; but most of all let them remember the one great sacrifice of the incarnate Christ. Years subsequently we have in another Epistle (Php 2:1-30.) a similar train of thought. Age was upon him then, and life was drawing to a tragical close at Rome. Yet then, as now, then and now as throughout his ministry, the grace of the Lord Jesus was the one thought that inspired all other thoughts. It is still “advice.” “Advice” is better than “commandment.” They had begun the work of the collection, complete the task; they had a “readiness to will,” let the effort be consummated. And, again, an important principle is brought to their notice. Was not “advice” sufficient? Would not an opinion be strong enough without a command? Yea, indeed, for a year ago the Corinthians had made a start in this matter. A willing mind is the first thing; grace begins here, and if this willing mind gives all it can, it is accepted of God, according to what “a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.” Mark the solicitude of the apostle as to the education of this sentiment of giving. He cannot think of it as a thing to which they must be constrained, and, accordingly, he acknowledges the largest freedom, only it must be Christian freedom. Motive must have free play. Conscience must advance into affection, or conscience is stunted. Sensibility must be self-impelled. Nor must any conclude that he wished to oppress them that others might be relieved, “but only to establish between Jewish and Gentile Churches a reciprocity of aid in time of need” (Dr. Farrar). To establish an “equality” was his object. Do not mistake his meaning. Political, social, natural equality was utterly foreign to his thought and purpose. No revolutionist, no anarchist, no leveller, was he in any sense, in any degree, but simply the advocate of such an equality as should be produced by the sentiment of Christian liberality in the distribution of gifts. That equalizing influence was not to proceed from an arbitrary law nor from force work of any sort. It was to be spontaneous, each man a judge for himself, and the superabundance in one place was to supply the deficiency at another place, so as to secure an abundance for all. Reference is made to the manna in the wilderness. If one gathered more manna than the allotted supply, it was sent to those who had not collected enough, so that the necessities of all were met. This was the law of Judaism as between Hebrew and Hebrew, and the spirit of this law, fifteen centuries afterwards, reappears in a letter to the Corinthians. History in one portion of the world and among one people becomes prophecy in another portion and among another people. Prophecy, in turn, becomes a new history. And today, A.D. 1884, thousands in Europe and America are acting on this equalizing sentiment in the use of their property.L.
2Co 8:16-24 – Prudential management; care to avoid blame.
St. Paul has given us many sketches of himself, especially much insight into his varying moods; and in these chapters (7 and 8) he interests us in the character of Titus. The section opens with thanksgiving to God, who has inclined the heart of his young friend towards the Corinthians and awakened his zeal in behalf of their welfare. No doubt it had occurred to Titus to undertake the project of collecting for the Jerusalem Church, but he had not broached the subject to the apostle. It lay quiet in his heart, doing the Spirit’s work, expanding and strengthening his purpose, yet nursed in silence. “While I was musing, the fire burned.” St. Paul had presented the matter to him and found him willing, ready, and zealous to enter on the task. “More forward [more earnest], of his own accord he went unto you.” Two brethren of reputation had been chosen by the Churches to accompany Titus, and the three travellers, having this loving embassy in hand, would manifest “this grace,” so that they and he as coworkers in the ministration would glorify God. Not enough for the apostle to honour Christ in the gifts alone, but he would enhance the glory by the manner of doing the work. The way of performing it should be exceptional, impressive, and great hearted, and thus the very mode of the act should prove a blessing as well as the thing done. For this course another reason existed. Appearances should always be consulted. No one can afford to put himself above them, to neglect, and still less to despise, them. Circumstances have their laws, and they must be obeyed. The contribution was “abundant,” and he would take all possible precaution in the administration, lest the enemies of his apostleship should invent and propagate some new slander about him. The inspired man, the ambassador, the pioneer of a new Europe, was not ashamed to practise the lowly code of common sense and put a very strong emphasis on prudence. Hence his extreme caution. Blameless in the sight of God, he would be blameless in the eyes of men. And now a commendation of our brother, and a special word in behalf of Titus, “my partner and fellow helper,” not forgetting to say “partner and fellow helper concerning you” and to exhort the Corinthians to make good his boasting to the Macedonian Churches on their behalf. So ends this admirable chapter. Is it not a beautiful pendant to that lamp which, for eighteen hundred years, in the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians, has hung out its blaze of splendour before the world?L.
HOMILIES BY J.R. THOMSON
2Co 8:5 – Dedication.
If it seems strange to us that a large portion of an inspired Epistle should be occupied with directions as to a charitable collection which was going forward at the time, it should be remembered; that Christianity introduced into human society new and more powerful principles of benevolence, and further, that the new and Divine revelation was one which laid the foundation for this as for all human duties in the character and action of God himself.
I. THE PRIMARY AND ALL–IMPORTANT DEDICATION IS THAT OF THE WHOLE PERSONAL NATURE UNTO THE LORD.
1. This appears when it is recollected that the Lord has first given himself for us. His sacrifice thus becomes the ground of our consecration.
2. Our very constitution, taken in connection with our natural relation to our Lord, points to such a dedication. “No man liveth unto himself.” Our “chief end is to glorify God.”
3. This spiritual consecration is pre-eminently acceptable to God. His demand is, “Give me thine heart.” Every gift which does not flow from this is vain and worthless in his sight.
II. THE DEDICATION OF SELF TO THE LORD SHOULD BE FOLLOWED BY THE DEDICATION OF SELF TO THE LORD‘S PEOPLE. Paul looked for the brotherhood, the confidence, the cooperation of his converts, and indeed of all Christian people whom Divine providence might bring into contact with him. The Corinthians apparently wished to be personally associated with him in the ministration to the Judaean Christians who were in poverty, and their wish was a source of satisfaction and joy to him.
III. TRUE CHRISTIAN CONSECRATION INVOLVES THE GIFT OF PROPERTY TO THE LORD‘S CAUSE. It is sometimes objected against calls for liberality that God cannot be enriched by our giving. This is true, yet God’s people may receive advantage, and Christ has shown us that what is done for his people is done for himself. As most people value their possessions, their generosity is a proof of the sincerity of their love and the reality of their consecration.
“How can I, Lord, withhold
Life’s brightest hour
From thee; or gathered gold,
Or any power?
Why should I keep one precious thing from thee,
When thou hast given thine own dear self for me?”
T.
2Co 8:8 – Sincere love.
In giving liberally towards the collection made for the poor Christians of Judaea, the Corinthians showed their love to the objects of their charity, to the apostle to whose appeal they responded, and also to the unseen Lord and Saviour by whose desire and for whose sake they befriended the least of his brethren.
I. LOVE TO CHRIST IS THE MIGHTIEST OF ALL SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLES, Human life abounds with evidence of the might of love; every family, every society, has some exemplifications of the power of love to overcome difficulties, to prompt to exertion, to sustain under self-denied. And all Christendom in every age has shown that love to Christ is an unrivalled motive to holiness, to patience, to benevolence. The hymns of the Church’s literature, and the gifts and labours recorded in the Church’s annals, are alike proof of the vitality and efficacy of Christian love.
II. THE PROFESSION OF LOVE TO CHRIST IS NOT ALWAYS ACCOMPANIED BY THE REALITY. The early disciples were admonished to “love unfeigned,” were warned, “Let love be without dissimulation.” Doubtless in all ages there have been those who have deceived themselves, and have imagined that they loved Christ, because they have felt some glow of admiration towards him, but who in time of trial have made it manifest that they had no depth of love. Weighed in the balance, they are found wanting. The soul is brought face to face with its own weakness and worthlessness, inconsistency and treachery.
III. THE LORD JESUS TESTS IN MANY WAYS THE SINCERITY OF HIS PEOPLE‘S PROFESSION OF LOVE.
1. By his bodily absence from them, which shows whether they have an attachment to their professed Lord which can abide even though not fostered by sight and constant personal intercourse.
2. By permitting rival powers and persons to invite the supreme affection of the heart. These, though they cannot satisfy, may please, and the Lord of all suffers their attractiveness; for the love which cannot abide amid rival attractions is poor indeed.
3. By his demand that we should surrender what is dear to us, if to retain it conflicts with our supreme attachment to Christ. The young ruler was subjected to this test. In some form it comes to many. Feigned love will then go away, even though it go away grieved.
4. By our necessary and probationary contact with an unloving world. In the presence of the unspiritual and unsympathizing, the sincerity of the Christian’s love is often sorely tested.
5. The trials and sufferings of life not only exercise the faith, they test the Jove, of the professed follower of Jesus. The storm proves whether the vessel is seaworthy or not.
6. By enjoining upon his people obedience to commandments which are contrary to our natural inclinations. Love can vanquish even the attachment to a “darling sin.”
7. Love is tested when it is invited to direct itself towards others also, for Jesus’ sake. Who can love Christ, and yet hate his brother, for whom Christ died?T.
2Co 8:9 – The condescension of Christ.
According to the teaching of the New Testament, human kindness should be based upon Divine benevolence. Such is the import of this wonderful parenthesisa jewel which the inspired writer drops by the way and passes on.
I. CHRIST‘S NATIVE RICHES CONTRASTED WITH HIS VOLUNTARY POVERTY,
1. His proper rightful wealth is apparent, not only from his nature as the Son of God, but from his evident command, during his earthly ministry, of all the resources of nature. Bread, wine, money, he could multiply or create; the earth and the sea obeyed his will; diseases and demons fled at his bidding.
2. His poverty was not compulsory; it was a “grace.” We see it in his incarnation, in which he emptied himself of his glory; in his ministry, passed in a lowly and all but destitute condition of life; in his refusal to use his power for selfish ends; in his cheerful submission to a shameful death. Compare the glory which he claimed to have had with the Father before the world was, with the homelessness and poverty of his life and the desertion and ignominy of his death, and his “grace” appeals to every just mind, to every sensitive heart.
II. OUR NATIVE SPIRITUAL POVERTY CONTRASTED WITH OUR ACQUIRED SPIRITUAL WEALTH.
1. Our natural destitution is undeniable; by sin we have lost our possessions, our inheritance, our powers of acquisition, and are left resourceless and friendless. Apart from the interposition of Christ, and where Christianity is unknown, such is still the state of man.
2. Christ’s humiliation was for the sake of man’s spiritual enrichment. Only by condescension, compassion, and sacrifice could man be reached. Thus he drew near to us, and imparted to us of his own true and Divine riches, of knowledge, of righteousness, of favour, and of glory.
3. By Christ’s mediation all things are ours, God, giving Christ, gives with him all good things. “I have all things and abound,” is the testimony of every right-minded and appreciative disciple of Christ. The history of the Church is the history of the enrichment of the race; and this in turn is the pledge and promise of the inestimable and inexhaustible riches of eternity.T.
2Co 8:12 – The rule of acceptance.
Justice is distinctive of all the demands and of all the proceedings of the providence of God. Often, as in the case before us, the righteousness of the principles of the Divine government is so apparent that no question can possibly be raised concerning it.
I. THE GENERAL PRINCIPLE HERE PROPOUNDED. It is that the requirements of God correspond to the possessions of man.
1. What men have, they have received from the undeserved bounty of their Creator. This holds good with regard to property and to talents and opportunities.
2. An account is expected from every man by him who is the Judge and sovereign Lord of all. We are to some extent and in some matters accountable to our fellow men, but foreverything to him in whom “we live, and move, and have our being.”
3. The rule according to which the supreme Governor will judge mankind is one of absolute rectitude”according to that a man hath.” The feeble man will not be expected to have done the work of the strong; the dull man the work of the genius; the peasant the work of the prince; nor the beggar to have given with the generosity of the millionaire. But each must answer for that which has been entrusted to himself. In all things the disposition, the spirit, the endeavour, will be taken into account; “if there be first the ready mind””if the forward zeal be at hand.” Such is the universal condition of Divine acceptance and approval.
II. THE SPECIAL APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLE HERE DEDUCED.
1. In the matter of gifts there is scope for moral culture and watchfulness. Unless liberality be shown upon definite principle, it will most likely not be shown at all. There is need of watching against selfishness and avarice.
2. It is well for every Christian to anticipate and apply beforehand the Divine principleto judge himself, that he may not be judged by God; to put to himself the question, “How much owest thou unto thy Lord?”
3. Especially should the inspired rule of liberality be observed by those who are prospering in the world. As means increase, let gifts be enlarged. The Judge cannot accept from the wealthy the gifts which were approved when offered by the poor.T.
2Co 8:21 – Things honourable.
It might have been supposed that the apostle would have considered himself superior to the considerations here adduced. His life was so completely unselfish, so obviously governed by higher than interested principles, that it seems as if he might have taken it for granted that no suspicion could attach to his personal administration of the alms to be forwarded to Judaea. Probably others thought thus; few, if any, could have suspected Paul of fraud and misappropriation. But he judged himself by a standard which was applicable to all Christian agents, a standard which every wise man, experienced in the ways of the world, will do well to adopt as his own.
I. THE RULE OF CONDUCT HERE PROPOSED.
1. Things honourable are things actually good, admirable, beautiful, in themselves. The word in the original denotes primarily this. What things are morally excellent and praiseworthy, let these things be done.
2. Things honourable are things reputable and approved. It is especially prudent to be very careful and scrupulous, and very open, in the administration of public money, and so to act that there may be no opening for slander or misrepresentation. And the same rule applies to other departments of conduct. It should not be a prominent motive with us to secure men’s approval, yet our conduct should be such as to secure that approval, and even to command it.
3. Things honourable may best be provided by endeavouring to realize the inquisitive inspection of men and the all-searching gaze of the omniscient God.
II. THE MOTIVES URGING TO THE PRACTICAL ADOPTION OF THIS RULE.
1. It will tend to the satisfaction and peace of our own conscience.
2. It will tend to the honour of the religion we profess, when it is seen to be, not a cloak for covetousness, but an impulse to disinterestedness and a principle of integrity.
3. It will be for the glory of God. Actions done in his sight and at his command, from the motive of his love, and with the hope of his approbation, are the actions which the Christian should aim consistently and constantly to perform, in all positions and in all relations of lifeT,
2Co 8:23 – The appreciation of fellow labourers.
Anxious as Paul was that a generous contribution should be sent to Judaea for the relief and assistance of the poor Christians in that province, he was equally anxious that the mode in which this contribution was transmitted should be open and above all suspicion of carelessness or misappropriation. Hence he secured that Titus and two others should be appointed as trustees, so to speak, of the fund, to take charge of it and to carry it to the destined quarter. Of these three Christian men Paul speaks in terms of notable commendation. He terms them
I. HIS OWN ASSOCIATES. The expressions used with this intent are three in number.
1. They are partners, engaged in the same work, under the same Master, and with the expectation of a similar reward, with himself.
2. They are fellow workers, each having his own faculty, his own implement, for labour, but all cooperating to the one end.
3. They are brethren; i.e. bound together by a personal tie, a spiritual kindred, in the Christian family and household of faith. These expressions involve a deep and lasting attachment, such as should unite those who are engaged in one and the same service rendered to the one great Master.
II. MESSENGERS OF THE CHURCHES. The expression in the original is very strong. They are apostles; i.e. sent forth by the congregation as their representatives and plenipotentiaries. This gives a special dignity to the office and work of accredited servants of the body of Christ, and therefore of Christ himself.
III. THE GLORY OF CHRIST. There is something mystical, something difficult to expound, in this epithet. It certainly implies that these faithful men were exalted to a position of very high honour, and were looked upon as related very closely to the Lord himself. Certainly it was to the glory of the Redeemer that a new principle of benevolence was introduced into human society, impelling the Gentile of Europe to display a practical interest in the welfare of the Jew of Palestine. Here was exhibited a moral glory radiating from Christ himself, before which the world might well bow down in wonder, admiration, and reverence.T.
HOMILIES BY E. HURNDALL
2Co 8:1-7 – A pattern of charity.
The charity commended is that of the Macedonian Churches.
I. THEY GAVE UNDER VERY UNFAVOURABLE CIRCUMSTANCES.
1. They were in much affliction. (2Co 8:2.) This might have suggested special care of themselves rather than of others. Suffering often produces selfishness. Our pain often prevents us from realizing the pains of others.
2. They were in deep poverty. (2Co 8:2.) How could they give? Charity must begin at home, and does not “deep poverty” demonstrate that it must end there? How inconsiderate, and indeed absurd, to ask them to give! Was it not their duty to be provident? to hold some reserve in store against possibly worse times? No people talk more of duty than those who intend to violate it. The Macedonians saw the high duty of charity, and nobly performed that duty.
II. THOUGH AFFLICTED AND POOR, THEY GAVE LARGELY. (2Co 8:3.) Their danger was not that they might give too little, but that they might give too much. “Beyond their power.” Affliction and poverty combined could not cramp their large heartedness. Many ask how little they can give; the Macedonian Christians asked how much. A modern curse of the Church is small giving. There are too many threepenny-bit Christians.
III. THEY GAVE VOLUNTARILY. (2Co 8:3.) Compulsory kindness is of little worth. And there are other compulsions than physical, “Voluntary offerings” are often anything but voluntary.
IV. THEY GAVE WITHOUT URGENT APPEAL. They gave “of their own accord.” They did not require the importunities of a “collection sermon.” They required only to know of the need; the charity was spontaneous.
V. THEY BEGGED FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF GIVING. (2Co 8:4.) They longed to help, and supplicated for a share of the good work. Giving, to them, was a privilegea gain, not a loss. Giving was not a thing to be avoided, but a thing to be sought. Perhaps they remembered the words of the Lord, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Had they given in an assembly it would not have been necessary to have the collection in the middle of the meeting to avoid a stampede and empty plates at the close. Much giving of today is not an illustration of charity, but a burlesque of it.
VI. THEY GAVE WITH MUCH JOY. (2Co 8:2.) They reaped the firstfruits of charity at the time of the seed sowing! Such are the wonders of spiritual agriculture. The grudging giver defrauds no one so much as himself. To miss the joy of giving is to miss how much! There are few luxuries so sweet as the luxury of charity,
VII. THEY GAVE THEMSELVES AS WELL AS THEIR MONETARY CONTRIBUTION. (2Co 8:5.)
1. To the Lord. They solemnly dedicated themselves and their belongings to the Most High. ‘Twas easy for them to surrender a part when they had surrendered the whole. We give haltingly because we do not believe the Scripture which saith, “Ye are not your own.” Our gifts cannot be acceptable to God if we withhold ourselves or parts of ourselves.
2. To the apostle. As to a servant of their Lord. For service. When they surrendered themselves to God they did not surrender themselves to idleness, but to activity. Many present to God a mass of indolence. Some consecrated people seem consecrated to do nothing. The Macedonian conduct exceeded the apostolic expectation, not the Divine. This was what God expected, and what he expects from us. It was “by the will of God” (2Co 8:5).
PRACTICAL.
1. Here is an example for us. Though we abound in faith, utterance, knowledge, earnestness (2Co 8:7), yet if we have not this practical love we are no better than “sounding brass” (1Co 13:1).
2. We can attain to this only as the Macedonian Christians attained to it, by “the grace of God” (2Co 8:1). We do not want more money in our pockets, but more grace in our hearts. God can work this work in us. Let us commit ourselves into his hands, that this miracle may be wrought in us also.H.
2Co 8:9 – The great Example of benevolence.
Consider
I. HOW RICH THE SON OF GOD WAS.
1. In possessions. All things were made by him. All things were his. Not this world only, but all worlds. Not one race of creatures, but all races and orders.
2. In power. Omnipotence untrammelled and unrepressed.
3. In homage.
(1) The adoration of the heavenly hosts; and
(2) their perfect obedience to every command and wish.
4. In the love and fellowship of the Father.
5. In purest happiness.
II. HOW POOR HE BECAME.
1. In condition.
(1) The Godhead veiled in humanity.
(2) The Divine power restricted.
(3) The God of joy transformed into the Man of sorrows.
2. In circumstances.
(1) At his birth. His cradle a manger. An outcast; no room for him in the inn; a foreshadowing of the whole earthly life.
(2) At Nazareth an artisan, earning bread by the sweat of his brow, standing thus so closely to fallen Adam.
(3) As a preacher, dependent upon casual charity.
(4) As a traveller, journeying in penury.
(5) For his triumphal entry, dependent upon strangers.
(6) As a prisoner, stripped of the little he possessed. “They parted my garments.”
(7) His dying bed, a cross; his last resting place, a borrowed tomb.
3. In surroundings.
(1) Instead of homage, mockery and insult.
(2) Few friends. One of these a traitor, and the remnant faithless at the supreme moment.
(3) Heaven darkened to him. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
III. THIS MARVELLOUS TRANSFORMATION AND ITS CAUSE.
1. It was purely voluntary. He gave himself. “No man taketh it from me .. I lay down my life” (Joh 10:18, Joh 10:15).
2. It was prompted by love. “Ye know the grace,“ the spontaneous, unmerited love. The compulsion was the compulsion of compassion and affection.
3. It had for its object the enrichment of men.
(1) Men were poor.
(a) Always dependent.
(b) Through sin, had forfeited all title to things bestowed by God, all title to the Divine favour, all title to brighter prospects.
(c) Thus were poor deservedly.
(2) Through Christ’s poverty men are made rich. Those who are redeemed by Christ lose the poverty which is inseparable from sin, and:
(a) Gain holiness.
(b) Become partakers of the Divine nature.
(c) Receive the adoption of children and become heirs of God.
(d) Become inheritors of the heavenly kingdom.
(e) Obtain present and future joy.
(f) Become sharers in the glory which Christ for a while set aside. “The glory which thou hast given me I have given unto them” (Joh 17:22).
IV. CHRIST IS HERE OUR EXAMPLE.
1. If Christ did this for us, how ready we should be to do what lies in our power for others! In doing it to them, we show our love to him.
2. How small our sacrifice must be compared to his!
3. Self-sacrifice makes us like Christ. He not only said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive;” he himself tasted this blessedness. And he gave what? He gave himself for us.H.
2Co 8:10-15 – Things that belong to charity.
I. TO WILL.
1. Charity must be voluntary. No one can make us will. We can be made to give, but such giving is morally worthless. God loveth a cheerful giver, because a cheerful giver is in all certainty a voluntary giver. The “voluntary system” is not one form of charity; it is the only form. Unless we willingly give, the less said about our charity the better; for we have none!
2. The “willing“ must be rightly prompted. True charity means heart love. The coin is base unless it bears this stamp. Though it may pass current amongst men, God will arrest and condemn it. Motives in giving should be carefully studied; not others’ motives, but ours!
II. TO DO. Some are charitable in intention, not in action. Fruit trees are sometimes destitute of fruit, but to those thus symbolized there is but little encouragement in the fate of that barren tree which confronted Christ as he walked from Bethany to Jerusalem. Charity must be spiritual, but it must be practical also. Our love will never feed’ the hungry nor clothe the naked; and if our love does not prompt us to do, it is of less value than a mote in the sunbeam. Faith without works is dead, and charity without works is dead, buried, and rotting in its grave.
III. TO GIVE ACCORDING TO OUR ABILITY. (2Co 8:12.) Not according to what others give. We are apt to give according to the ability of somebody else. Perhaps when we judge of our own ability we had better ask God to help us. There are two occasions when a man’s possessions are apt to dwindlethe one when he makes out his income tax return, and the other when he is asked for a subscription. We need much grace rightly to estimate our own resources. Charitable appeals are apt to derange the laws of arithmetic and to lead to astonishing results.
IV. TO GIVE JUDICIOUSLY.
1. The needs of any case should be carefully considered. Not to make them less than they are, but to know them as they are. To give to undeserving cases is not only to waste our substance, but to do a vast amount of mischief.
2. We are not required to impoverish ourselves that others may be enriched. (2Co 8:13.) Though, if we had tendencies in this direction, perhaps we should not be travelling away from our Master’s example (2Co 8:9). Our danger probably lies in being content with the impoverished condition of others. But the object of charity is not that the poor should be made rich and the rich poor.
3. An equality is to be aimed at. (2Co 8:14.) As to believers especially we should remember that they are members of the same faith, and should seek to make their condition equally healthy with our own. But our charity should not be restricted by the limits of “the household of faith.” One has well said, “Our luxuries should yield to our neighbour’s comforts, and our comforts to his necessities.” This seems Paul’s conception, who explains what he means by “equality“ in the expression following: “Your abundance being a supply at this present time for their want, that their abundance also may become a supply for your want” (2Co 8:14); and he illustrates it by reference to the manna given to Israel in the wilderness (Exo 16:18). How far from approach to this equality is the giving of many!
4. We must not so give as to check the exertions of those whom we help. Paul does not apprehend that so undesirable a result will follow the charity which he recommends; he anticipates that the poor may become so rich as to help those now helping them. Unwise charity hinders, not helps, the recipient, Pauperism is a poor harvest to reap. Still we must see that this argument is not unduly pressed. It is to be a protector, it is not to be a murderer, of charity.H.
2Co 8:18 – An enviable reputation.
I. A GREAT CHARACTER IS BETTER THAN A GREAT NAME. The brother referred to here is unnamed; a better mark than a name is put upon him. A great name may be inherited; may be won by a merely fortunate conjunction of circumstances; may be unmerited; may have no moral excellence associated with it. A great character must be earned. A great name blesses one’s self; a great character, others.
II. THE APPROBATION OF HOLY MEN IS VERY PRECIOUS. The applause of a fallen world may be reckoned at a cheap rate. Mere popularity is quite in contrast with the praise of all the Churches. That men who love Christ, and who thus have corrected tastes, can see in us what is lovely should cause us to be deeply thankful to God, who has wrought this good thing in us. When the approval is widespread and general among such, it becomes correspondingly precious. The praise of God, indeed, is what we should strive after; but this may be expressed by the lips of his children.
III. REPUTATION “IN THE GOSPEL” IS MOST TO BE DESIRED. This was the reputation of the brother alluded to by Paul. It was in the sphere of the gospel that he had obtained his renown. And this is the very highest sphere. How can we make known the gospel? How can we exalt it in the estimation of men? How can we show forth its excellences in our lives? These should be supreme questions with us. Reputation in arms, art, science,what are these compared with reputation in the gospel? What can arms do for men, or art, or science, compared with the gospel? The gospel presents the most magnificent arena for human life and achievement.
IV. OPINION IS TESTED BY TRUST. Here is a test of men’s words. Will those who praise us put confidence in us? It was so with the brother in question (2Co 8:19). The friends who praised him trusted him with money, and this is an extreme form of trust with most men. They praised him for a piety which extended to the secularities of life. His gospel ruled the money bag. We want more pounds-shillings-and-pence religion. If our piety does not make us uncorrupt in practical life, we had better cast it to the dogs, for it is only fit for them.H.
2Co 8:20, 2Co 8:21 – Ministerial carefulness in money matters.
I. STRICTEST HONESTY IS, OF COURSE, ESSENTIAL. How can a man preach this common Christian virtue if he lacks it himself? How can his ministry in spiritual things be blessed if he is tainted with the slightest dishonesty in things carnal? What peace of conscience can he possess if he knows that herein he is faulty; and without peace in his own conscience how can he minister in the gospel of all peace? Those who bear the vessels of the Lord must be clean. What a fearful condemnation will be theirs who, whilst expatiating upon the preciousness of heavenly treasure, are all the while dishonestly grasping the treasure which perishes!
II. STRICTEST HONESTY IS NOT SUFFICIENT. A servant of God may be perfectly innocent, and yet by carelessness may give occasion to some to denounce him as guilty. It is not only needful to do right, it is needful to appear to do right as well. Whilst no man should be content with satisfying men apart from God, a wise man will not rest content with satisfying God and his own conscience, but will recognize the importance of not giving a handle for reproach to those amongst whom he lives. Prudent, indeed, was the apostle when he resolved to “take thought for things honourable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men” (2Co 8:21). Through lack of such wisdom on the part of ministers:
1. Many a ministerial reputation has been wrecked. The lie has been believed, and has been believed because it has been corroborated by unwise conduct. A lie thus strengthened is very attractive to many minds. Lies need no help on our part. It is often easier to make a man believe the barest lie than to make him believe the barest truth. It has been quaintly said, “A lie will travel round the world before truth has finished putting on its boots.”
2. Powerful ministers have been rendered impotent.
3. Churches have been greatly injured. The shadow falling upon the minister has spread its darkness over the Church.
4. Many have become prejudiced against the gospel.
5. Much dishonour has fallen upon the Name of Christ. Christians dare not be careless; they carry with them the honour of their Master. It is not a question about being careless of our own name; the matter affects his Name. No man can afford to despise popular opinion in such a matter as this. If a false accusation has been brought without occasion given, that accusation will have the elements of weakness in it, and may generally be successfully repelled; but if occasion has been given, the honest man furnishes evidence of his own dishonesty, he forges the chain wherewith he is bound, he signs his own condemnation. Public men have many enemies. Ministers are the targets of the devil, and often of the devil’s children. Great wisdom do they need to walk so that they shall not unwittingly furnish their adversaries with a weapon against themselves and their cause. This applies, of course, not only to money matters, but to all matters. ‘Tis the utmost folly to present our own sword to the foe. If we fall, let it be by our enemy’s weapon, not by our own.H.
2Co 8:23 – What true Christian workers are.
I. THEY ARE THE GLORY OF CHRIST.
1. They are the monuments of the triumph of Christ. They are “saved” to some purpose. Many assert that they are “saved,” but they cannot discover, neither can any one else, unto what they are saved. They seem to be saved unto nothingness, and in this sense to have experienced a singularly complete redemption. But the active, devoted Christian proves the reality of his faith by works following. Christ has not only triumphed over the judgment and heart, but over all powers, which are now willingly dedicated to his service.
2. They resemble Christ. Christ was pre-eminently a worker. He “went about doing good;” they seek to do so. He practised self-denial and endured suffering that others might be benefited; they strive to imitate him.
3. They exalt Christ. They desire that his kingdom may be extended over the earth. Whilst they labour for others, they do this out of their love for him. He is first, all else second. The exaltation of Christ is their supreme wish. Their mission is to speak well of his Name wherever they go.
4. Christ delights in them. They are the fruitful trees which he loves. He cursed the barren tree, but these he blesses. They are the faithful servants of the absent Lord. He loves not idlers who filch the name of “servant;” but those who are servants indeed his soul rejoices in. He glories in these, for they show forth his praise.
II. THEY SHOULD SEEK FULLY TO REALIZE THEIR HIGH CALLING.
1. The dignity of Christian work is not always perceived as fully as it should be. It is infinitely superior to all other work.
2. Nor its privilege. Were this adequately realized, what alacrity there would be in entering upon Christian service! As it is, alas! almost force has to be employed in some cases.
3. Nor its responsibility.
4. Nor how much the work done is affected by the life lived.
III. THEY SHOULD BE HIGHLY ESTEEMED. They are the instruments through which God works. They are the means employed by him for the building up of the kingdom of Christ. They are the special representatives of Christ upon earth. They should be
(1) encouraged,
(2) helped,
(3) honoured.H.
HOMILIES BY D. FRASER
2Co 8:5 – Praiseworthy Churches.
Praise from St. Paul was worth having. He was a serious man, who could not pay empty compliments, and having a high sense of the Christian calling, he would never think of praising a Church merely to please the people or ingratiate himself with them, if he had not judged it worthy of commendation. Here are two marks of a Church on which the grace of God has been bestowed.
I. CONSECRATION OF ITS MEMBERS TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. Before they made their contribution to the relief of the poor saints elsewhere, the Macedonian Christians “gave their own selves to the Lord.” Though poor and afflicted, happy were they and generous, because their conversion was thorough, and their devotion to Christ hearty and unfeigned. By profession all Christians give themselves to the Lord; but alas! in some cases it is a mere profession. Not every one so believes and lives as to entitle him to say, “I am my Lord’s, and he is mine.” This, however, is the true ideal. “Thy people shall be freewill offerings in thy day of power.” And without this spirit in its members no Church is strong or pleasing to Christ, no matter how venerable its history, how admirable its constitution, or how well conducted its services.
II. SUBJECTION TO APOSTOLIC GUIDANCE BY THE WILL OF GOD. Some of the Macedonian Christians gave themselves to St. Paul as his companions and assistants in missionary labour. Such were Sopater, Secundus, Aristarchus, and Epaphroditus; of whom the first was a Berean, the second and third were Thessalonians, and the fourth was a Philippian. But these choice men were only favourable specimens of the Churches to which they belonged, and which were pervaded by reverence for the apostle and gratitude for his labours. Every true Church of Christ must be apostolic. It must stand on the apostolic testimony and doctrine, follow apostolic direction and practice, and both inhale and exhale the spirit of apostolic devotion to Christ. Of the history and writings of the apostles enough is extant to guide and comfort every Church that is, like those of Macedonia, ready to learn of an apostle by the will of God. We are “built on the foundation of apostles and prophets.” On the twelve foundations of the wall of the holy city are inscribed the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
EXHORTATION. Follow those of Macedonia. Give yourselves to the Lord, and then to the apostolic word and fellowship. Present yourselves a living sacrifice.F.
2Co 8:9 – Amazing love.
The insertion of this compact statement of our Saviour’s love and self-devotion for our sakes into an exhortation to love and liberality in the Church, illustrates the habit of St. Paul’s mind to revert often to central truths, and take his motives and arguments directly from Christ and the cross. “Ye know the grace of our Lord.” But consider what you know, that it may influence your disposition and conduct; for nothing is more common than to hold known truth so loosely and carelessly in the mind that it is as though it had never been known or were quite forgotten.
I. THE SAVIOUR‘S WEALTH. Of the riches of his pre-existent glory who can adequately speak? Who can tell the wealth of Divine power and dignity and love in the Word which was with God and was Godall the angels of God his servants, all the works of God full of his praise? But this is not a subject on which to dilate. It is above the reach of our comments and illustrations. Read Joh 1:1-51.; Col 1:1-29.; Heb 1:1-14.
II. THE SAVIOUR‘S IMPOVERISHMENT. (Comp. Php 2:5-11.) Our Lord’s participation of the Divine essence was not, could not, be surrendered. But the form of God could be and was laid aside. The form cannot be without the being and nature; but the being and nature may dispense with the form. So the Son of God in his grace toward us assumed the form of a man, and that in low estatethe form of a servant. He accepted a lowly human rank, with no attendants on his person but such as followed him in love, and no house of his own wherein to lay his head at night. In wisdom, indeed, and all that constitutes moral wealth and dignity, Jesus of Nazareth was rich; but in earthly station and treasure he was poor, and poor by choice. See him in youth in the carpenter’s house, eating the bread of the working man with cheerfulness. In the little town there must have been many a piece of furniture, and on the farms and vineyards around many a tool, which had been under the human hands of the Son of God. See him on foot on the rough roads of Palestine, while others rode past on horses and mules. See him in the days of his ministry dependent on any who pleased to minister to his necessities; at last deserted by his friends and insulted by his foesdespised and rejected of men. Truly he became poor.
III. THE SAVIOUR‘S GRACE. “For your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be enriched.” In this short statement the whole work of substitution and redemption is implied. You are enriched through his poverty, blessed because of his suffering, accepted by reason of his rejection, reconciled through his death. It is evident that the riches thus secured to those that believe are not treasures of this world, but of the same order with the riches which the Saviour laid aside for a season. They receive the privilege of sonship with God, and therefore also the heirship of all things with Christ Jesus. The Son of God became man, and a poor man, that they, being men, and poor men, might be owned as sons of God. Dwell upon the riches in redemption, regeneration, forgiveness, justification, adoption, sanctification, comfort, patience, the earnest of the inheritance now, and the inheritance itself at his coming. And all because he became poor for your sakes. You get sweetness out of sorrow, glory out of shame, strength from weakness, wealth through poverty, and life through death.
IV. THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE OF CONSIDERING THE SAVIOUR‘S GRACE.
1. Not to raise a foolish admiration of poverty for its own sake. At one time this text was cited in support of lazy beggary. The mendicant friars quoted it, insisting that the Lord himself was a mendicant, and that this must be the most holy and Christ-like state. Great schoolmen debated this, and papal bulls dealt with this notion. Such questions we can no longer discuss with seriousness. Property is not to be abandoned by Christians, but wisely administered. The rich and the poor are to continue together in the Church, each condition having its own duties and its own attendant temptations.
2. To set our hearts on the true richesfaith and good works, a calm conscience, and affections set on things above. He is rich who has a patient spirit, a pure heart, a heavenly mind, and a hope of glory.
3. To live and give that others may be blessed. Be generous in service and gifts to the Church and the poor. Be willing to communicate, ready to distribute. Otherwise do not allege that you have the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. You have not felt the constraint of his love or the beauty of his example.F.
2Co 8:12 – Readiness accepted.
It is characteristic of St. Paul that, when dealing with specific questions of duty, he laid down principles of much wider application. Thus, while the immediate topic was a collection for the relief of poor saints, and he acknowledges the liberality of the Corinthians, the apostle takes occasion to explain the value of “readiness,” i.e. a disposition stretching forward to serve God and the Church, and not needing to be dragged forward by importunity. This is acceptable to God, the supreme Lover and spontaneous Giver of every good and perfect gift. What he regards is not the amount of the gift laid on his altar, but the disposition which gives promptly and gladly according to the resources at its command. Now, this principle is of wide application. It will prove all kinds of service. God is pleased with those servants of his who have a ready mind. An apt but misleading phrase is sometimes heard”taking the will for the deed.” Too often it is used as an excuse for shirking duty or withholding gifts. Two things must be kept in mind
I. GOD DOES NOT ACCEPT INTENTION OR GOOD WILL INSTEAD OF THE DEED WHEN IT IS WITHIN ONE‘S POWER TO PERFORM. And God looks behind the excuses that a covetous or indolent heart puts forward, and knows the absolute fact regarding what each man has or has not, can or cannot do. In giving to the poor or for the propagation of the gospel, one may obtain praise of men by bestowing a large sum in answer to an urgent appeal; but he has no praise from God if his contribution has been reluctant, or if it does not bear a fair proportion to the resources at his disposal. Sometimes one cannot give as much as formerly or as much as his neighbours, and therefore prays to be excused from giving anything, expressing a hope that the will may be taken for the deed. But it will not be so taken. He is required to give according to what he has, not what he has not. And the willing offering is just as acceptable to God as a gift a thousand times as large from a man a thousand times as rich. So also in regard to personal service. How many who call Jesus “Lord,” when any definite piece of Christian work is proposed to them, put it aside, alleging that they have no turn for it or no time for it! So they stand all the day idle. Because they cannot serve with great ability or in a conspicuous station, they do nothing, and simply wish well to the cause of God and of righteousness. But empty good wishes are cheap and little worth, and God will not in such cases take the will for the deed. He who employs two talents with a willing mind will be commended in exactly the same terms as his fellow servant who has had five. And let him who has only one beware of hiding it in the earth. Men are very apt to take gifts from Christ, but not the gift of his “yoke.” They are also not unwilling to own their faults, but do not mend themmerely raise a sort of foolish protest against their own weakness. In like manner they hear with muck satisfaction of the efforts made to purify and reform society, but personally they take no trouble about it; devote no time or pains to such endeavours. The hard work of philanthropy they complacently leave to others. Many act in the same way in regard to the expense incurred in a good cause. They are quite proud of the large sums raised in their church, and of the free handedness of their country. But they do not give. They blandly wave their best wishes over the gifts of others. But where there is power to do something for the good cause, God will not accept a wish for the deed. Where there is power to give, he will not accept a smile for a gift.
II. WHERE GOOD WILL SHOWS ITSELF IN DEEDS OR GIFTS, GOD LOOKS NOT SO MUCH ON THE AMOUNT OF THE OFFERING AS ON THE HEART OF THE DOER OR GIVER. It is the prothumia, the readiness of disposition, which pleases him. He loves the earnest worker and the cheerful giver. He approves that doer of the Word who does not need to be coaxed and pressed to undertake some part of Christian service, and that giver who, instead of waiting to be solicited, seeks out the objects most worthy of help, and makes his offering with a simplicity and a spontaneousness which greatly enhance the gift. In fact, while God does not accept the will for the deed from those who are able to do, he always accepts the will in the deed, and is pleased with the evidence of a ready mind. King David was not permitted to build a temple to Jehovah; but it was well that it was in his heart to do so (1Ki 8:18), and the preparations which he made for the work are recorded with honour (1Ch 29:1-30.). The women who prepared spices and ointments for the dead body of Jesus Christ were not allowed to carry out their purpose, for before they reached the sepulchre he had risen; but their readiness of mind was pleasing to the Lord, and they got something better to do than anoint a corpse. They were made the first preachers of his resurrection (Luk 24:10). The men who had followed Jesus were more slow of heart. They brooded over the disappointment of their hopes about the Messiah’s kingdom, and the dark storm of odium which had broken on their Master and on his cause. So they had no thought of an early visit to the sepulchre. But the women thought less of the cause and more of the Master. And so with their ready mind they got the highest honour. Learn that the secret of happiness and usefulness lies in having the same ready mind, fastened, not so much on this piece of work or that, as on the Lord himself, for or to whom all Christian work is to be done. You may not get outlet for your readiness in the way that you planned or expected, but you will get outlet and employment for it; and God will accept it according to what it is, not according to its apparent success. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks upon the heart.F.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK
2Co 8:1 – The model Churches of Macedonia.
By these we are to understand the Churches at Thessalonica, Philippi, and Beroea. There is a sense in which we speak of the Church of Christ as one, and also a sense in which we speak of it as many. It is correct to say, “the Church,” and it is also correct to say, “the Churches.” All who love the Lord Jesus Christ, and have surrendered their will and life to his ruling, and have made open profession of their devotion to him, make together the one catholic and apostolic Church, and may properly be thought of as a whole, as the members of the one body of Christ; but as these are located in various places, as they unite for purposes of fellowship and worship indifferent spheres and different buildings, they may be spoken of as Churches. The answering terms, which help to explain those on which we are dwelling, were used by our Lord, who spoke of his many folds and his one flock. St. Paul might with equal truthfulness have spoken of the Church in Macedonia, but he probably desired to direct attention to the special circumstances of each individual community, in order to bring out forcibly the remarkable character of their generosity and self-denial, He sets before us for our consideration this fact, that, just as a Christian man’s conduct and character may make him a model to others, and a gracious power upon them, touching and quickening into power that spirit of emulation which dwells in various strength in us all, so an individual Church, or a set of Churches, may act with a nobility, a generosity, and self-denial that should make them an inspiring model to other Churches. We consider in what ways the Macedonians became a model to the Corinthians.
I. A MODEL AS THE OBJECTS OF DIVINE GRACE. “We do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the Churches of Macedonia.” By “grace” here we are to understand the special favour of God, and the precise “gifts” with which they were endowed. The disposition and the power to give is to be regarded as a divinely bestowed talent or trust, and as a special sign of the Divine favour. The gift of benevolence, charity, generosity, is as truly a Divine trust or bestowment as the gift of healing, of preaching, or of tongues. And, like all other Divine gifts, it is dependent on recipiency, preparedness to use such gifts aright. Divine bestowments on Churches are never made at haphazard, upon any kind of favouritism, or in the exercise of any so-called sovereignty. Neither Churches nor individuals can get free from the responsibility of being ready to receive. The loving and thoughtful spirit of the Philippians, and the studious openness of the Bereans, and the suffering experiences of the Thessalonians, prepared them to receive this special grace of God unto generosity and brotherly charity. Illustrate and impress this point, that nowadays Churches lack “grace” because they are not in attitudes and moods fitting them for its reception. We are not straitened in God, in God’s provisions, or in God’s willingness, but we are sadly straitened in ourselves, in our unreadiness and unfitness to receive. Of God it is said, “He giveth more grace;” but of us it must be said, “Ye have not because ye ask not, or because ye ask amiss.” Illustrating how God delays his bestowments until there is the fitting attitude for their reception, the Prophet Hosea (Hos 2:21, Hos 2:22) represents God as saying, “It shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; and the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel.” When all unite to cry for the refreshing rains, then, and only then, shall the windows be opened, and grace in copious showers descend.
II. A MODEL AS RESPONDING TO DIVINE GRACE. For the grace may come, and be neglected or misused. Compare the expression St. Paul uses concerning himself (1Co 15:10): “By the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” It is a great and ever working law that all Divine gifts that are unused or undervalued will be taken away or lost. The one condition of the renewal and enlargement of grace is that we have faithfully responded to the grace we have had. We retain the gift of preaching only by preaching, and the gift of charity only by the exercise of generosity and self-denial. The remarkable thing about the Macedonian Churches, the thing which made them a model to other Churches, was that they so nobly responded to the grace that rested upon them, and acted in so earnest and self-sacrificing a manner. So often Churches have more grace than they follow out, and so they lose the grace. The grace abounds, but the response to the grace is set under unworthy limitations.
III. A MODEL AS SELF–DENYING. The apostle notices two things which might reasonably have excused the Macedonians from sharing in the contribution.
1. Their persecution, and the anxieties and distresses which it had brought them.
2. Their poverty, for the Church was not gathered from the rich; the poor of this world were made “rich in faith.” So their large and generous gifts were a delightful surprise, and a testimony to the power of Christian principle upon them. Christian motive mastered worldly considerations; and their gifts became peculiarly acceptable to God, because upon them rested the Christly stamp of self-sacrifice. St. Paul commends, in these Macedonians, just what our Lord commended when he directed attention to the poor widow who cast two mites into the treasury”all her living.”
IV. A MODEL AS THOROUGHLY EARNEST IN GENEROUS SCHEMES. St. Paul dwells, in a very delighted way, upon their willingness and their earnestness. It was not merely that they gave, but that they gave in such a hearty way, so cheerfully, under the sway of such high motives, and with such evident warmth of affection for himself. If it is true that “what is worth doing is worth doing well,” it is especially true of the Christian duty of brotherly kindness as finding expression in self-denying gifts. The great blessing of a gift is the spirit in which it is made. The value is taken away when it is given grudgingly. God lovethand so do menthe cheerful, willing giver.R.T.
2Co 8:5 – The religion of association must be made personal.
One of the words in this passage is evidently used in an unfamiliar sense. “Hoped” means “expected,” “anticipated.” The verse is connected with the collection for the saints at Jerusalem, and is part of the apostle’s endeavour to inspire the Churches of Achaia to nobler endeavour by the example of the Churches of Macedonia. The text expresses the deeply religious character of the Macedonian gift. As St. Paul saw it, it was no mere gift, it was the expression of consecrated and devoted hearts. They gave themselves, and then their gifts. They gave themselves in their gifts. We dwell now, not on the charity, but on the expression, “gave their own selves to the Lord,“ which suggests for consideration the personal character of saving religion.
I. ALL OF US ARE, IN OUR MEASURE, RELIGIOUS. There may still be godless audiences, such as Whitefield gathered at the fairs, or Wesley and Hill at the mouths of colliery pits. But in the ordinary assemblies in our Churches there is not a man, woman, or child who is not, in some degree, religious. They are religious
(1) as belonging to a Christian country;
(2) as baptized into mystical relations with the Church of Christ;
(3) as by acts of formal worship making Christian profession; or
(4) as variously related to Christian families.
But the question comes again and again before usIs our kind and degree of religion satisfactory?
II. IN TOO MANY CASES OUR RELIGION IS WHOLLY MATTER OF ASSOCIATION.
1. We are members of a Christian home, and share in the religion of the home. And this is, for the children, an every way beautiful and hopeful beginning of religious life.
2. We are affected by the tone of the spheres we occupy. Illustrate by young people in situations, where they join in family worship and in attendance at the house of God; also by the influence of Christian friendships.
3. We are swayed by our near relationship with those who are godly, as in the case of the husband and wife. But the question comesIs this all our religion? Is it enough? Is it saving? Can any reliance be placed upon it? Will it stand in the coming testing day? It is so far good. It is a favourable breeze catching the sails, but it is not safety in the harbour. It is the angel’s voice in our ear crying, “Flee for thy life;” it is even the angel’s hand on our arm, as on the arm of Lot; but it is not safety in Zoar. There is a familiar old saying that “Hell is paved with good intentions;” it might have been with “good associations.” Such associations are good if they are used as helps, but not if they are relied on as sufficient. They are only evil if they are allowed to hinder personal anxiety. Religion is personal or it is nothing.
III. GOD, BY HIS PROVIDENCE AND BY HIS WORD, IS EVER URGING US TO MAKE RELIGION PERSONAL. Providence breaks up our associations. A time comes when the child passes into manhood or womanhood, and must learn to go alone. Then changes and testing times come, which show what the religion of association has been worth. Illustrate by the child going to boarding school; the youth to business; the assistant changing his situation; the man or woman going through times of sorrow. In each God is wanting to lead the soul to personal religion. God’s preached Word, with its various persuasions, is ever bearing on the same point. It is a singling out of the individual; a two-edged sword to the individual; a pressure of the personal claims of God on the individual. Its voice is, “Thou art the man;” “To you is the word of this salvation sent.” It labours to secure a personal decision for Christ, a giving of “our own selves to the Lord.” Is, then, your religion yet no more than the religion of your home and associations? And is your manhood come, your womanhood come? Remember that you are not saved, only associated with salvation. This is the question which should set you upon anxious self-searchings, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” It is not enough to be close by salvation, to be even on its doorstep. Enter in. Strive to enter in. Strive to enter in now.R.T.
2Co 8:9 – The poverty that made others rich.
The question is often askedWhich gives most pleasure to usthe faculty of memory, which vivifies the past, or anticipation, which brightens the future? The answers we make at once depend upon, and become revelations of, character. The apostle in this passage is using the faculty of memory; he is recalling what is known respecting the Lord Jesus Christ. He is treating of the grace of self-sacrificing liberality and generosity; and of this Christ is the most illustrious and glorious example. We hold the memory of a twofold exchange on the part of the Lord Jesus
(1) from riches to poverty;
(2) from poverty to riches;
but here the apostle contrasts Christ’s exchange from riches to poverty with our exchange, through Christ, from poverty to riches, and this is the double exchange on which we propose to dwell.
I. THE FIRST EXCHANGE. Christfrom riches to poverty. Christ’s riches may be treated under the headings
(1) rank;
(2) wealth;
(3) pleasure.
Or we may say that he was rich
(1) in his Divine nature;
(2) in the infinite love and acceptance of the Father;
(3) in the adoration of all holy beings;
(4) in possession of all the wealth and joy of heaven.
Christ’s poverty, which was a comparative thing, may be brought out by presenting such contrasts as
(1) Godman;
(2) sonservant;
(3) at homehomeless;
(4) richempty;
(5) happysuffering.
He became poor by
(1) giving up the wealth of heaven;
(2) in his birth as a poor man’s child;
(3) in his lowly station as one of the common people;
(4) in his death time of sorest humiliation.
Such a condescension in incarnation had never before been conceived. It surpasses thought. It is the exceeding great mystery which the eternal ages will not fathom. It is “so great love;” it is “what manner of love”
II. THE SECOND EXCHANGE. Wefrom poverty to riches. By our poverty we need not understand our earthly conditions, seeing that poverty is but a relative thing, and depends upon the degree in which a man matches his circumstances. The man who has little and wants little is not poor; the man who has little and wants much is the man who can alone be called “poor.” Our real poverties are the conditions to which we have reduced ourselves by our sins. See how much we have thus lost, so that we are become poor indeed.
(1) Lost harmony with the world;
(2) lost peace within;
(3) lost brotherhood with men;
(4) lost fellowship with God.
Then what are the riches we attain through Christ Jesus? They are riches for the souls, which are our real selves; they are not any mere riches of circumstances. They consist in
(1) the smile and favour of God;
(2) the love of a living and Divine Friend;
(3) the prospect of an eternal glory.
Or we may say that we become rich
(1) in the hope that Jesus brought;
(2) in the words that Jesus spoke;
(3) in the love to us that Jesus showed;
(4) and in the salvation that Jesus secured.
But no human words can exhaust our riches in Christ Jesus.
III. THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THESE TWO EXCHANGES. “For your sakes.” The one exchange was made in order to accomplish the other. To bless us Christ must condescend to become one of us. Illustrate by the missionary making himself a Chinaman, and living all alone among the people that he might reach them with the gospel message. Or by the Moravian missionary, giving up friendship, love, and hope, to enter the lazar-house and try to teach and save the lepers. And what did Christ do for us when he had thus humbled himself to take our nature on him? It is said that “he went about doing good,” and that was his way of making everybody rich with
(1) blessings;
(2) truth; and
(3) salvation.
And St. Paul appeals to the Corinthians and. to us, saying, “Ye know the grace.” But do we know? Have we felt the persuasion and attraction that are in such “love Divine, all love excelling”?R.T.
2Co 8:12 – Willing minds putting value on gifts.
“First a willing mind.” The apostle has been calling to mind the resolve which the Corinthian Church had made a year previously. They had determined to join in the collection that was being made for the poor and suffering saints at Jerusalem. It seems that the disturbed state of the Church and the delay of St. Paul’s visit had led to the forgetfulness of this resolve, and little or nothing had been done in relation to it. The apostle now brings the matter again before them, reminds them that there was at one time the willing mind, and he seems delicately to suggest to them that it would be a beautiful way of testifying to the restored relations between himself and them, if they would revive this collection, carry the matter through, and give him the joy of carrying their gifts to the poor Jerusalem saints, in whom he was so deeply interested. He was thus led to dwell upon the importance, before God, of the spirit in which gifts are made. They ought to carry our hearts to him, just as the old Mosaic sacrifices carried the hearts of the worshippers. Gifts have voices which God can hear, and he reads our hearts by the help of them. Two points are here suggested.
I. MAN ESTIMATES GIFTS BY THEIR MONEY VALUE. A fair enough standard in view of the institutions that have to be sustained and the work which has to be done. The Church needs large gifts, and is compelled to ask for quantity. She needs the devotements of the rich, and is not wholly wrong in trying to raise ever higher the standard of Christian gifts for Christian uses. But the money estimate of gifts needs to be set under most careful limitations. It fails to take account of the relative circumstances of the givers. A pound is a pound, whoever may give it; but the rich man passes it over, and knows that it will not involve his going without any one thing that he wishes to have. The poor man hands it over, and knows it means wearing the threadbare coat a few months longer, or going without some personal gratification. In really worthy scales that poor man’s pound weighs heavy, for there is added to it that self-denial which is, in God’s sight, of great price. Man cannot discern or rightly appraise motives. The business principle too often wholly sways men in their Christian and Church relations, and men are accepted by the largeness of their contributions rather than by the largeness of the love with which they contribute.
II. GOD ESTIMATES GIFTS BY THEIR WILL VALUE. “If there be first the willing mind, there is acceptance.” God seeth not as man seeth. Man looketh on the countenance; God looketh on the heart. Man appraises the value of the thing; God reads the state of the will and the purpose of the heart. Illustration may be taken from the large gift of Barnabas to the early Church. God accepted it because it was the expression of a willing mind. The gifts of Ananias and Sapphira were smaller; they were not, however, refused on this ground, but only because the will was wrong and the motive mixed and bad. The “amount” of a gift is quite as important in the sight of God as in the sight of man, because a great gift alone can express the willing mind of a man with great means. God judges proportions. He only desires to see Christian love triumphing over disabilities, and making the rich, who cling to fiches, splendidly generous, and the poor making the “poverty which had consumed them even to the very bottom” (2Co 8:2) yield noble and self-denying contributions. With God the question isHow much did your heart give? It is a second thing, with him, to askHow much did your hand give? But he does expect the heart and the hand to honourably act together, the hand honestly expressing what the heart feels.R.T.
2Co 8:21 – Honest before God and man.
Comp. Pro 3:4, which, in the Greek Version reads, “Write them upon the table of thine heart, and thou shalt find favour. Provide things honest in the sight of God and man.” This may be treated as a general precept, applicable to all Christian people; or it may be regarded as a reminder of the care which the apostle had taken that, in the administration of money affairs, he should not be misunderstood or blamed. Consider
I. THE COUNSEL AS APPLIED TO THE APOSTLE HIMSELF. As a fact he had been jealously providing for honest things, and doing everything possible in order to secure the due checking of the gifts and safety of the stored money. Calvin says, “He was not so satisfied with himself as to think it unworthy of his dignity to avoid calumny.” Dean Plumptre says, “In this case, had the apostle had only the judgment of God to consider, he could with a pure conscience have taken up the money to Jerusalem by himself. But he had to consider that men were judging him, and might suspect him, and therefore he insisted on having his accounts audited.” F.W. Robertson says, “In this is to be observed St. Paul’s wisdom, not only as a man of the world, but as a man of God. He knew that he lived in a censorious age, that he was as a city set on a hill, that the world would scan his every act and his every word, and attribute all conceivable and even inconceivable evil to what he did in all honour. It was just because of St. Paul’s honour and innocence that he was likely to have omitted this prudence.” Archdeacon Farrar indicates the kind of things that were said about the apostle by his Corinthian enemies, which made such an earnest self-vindication absolutely necessary. He represents them as saying that St. Paul was “half demented,” and yet there was some method in his madness which showed itself partly in self-importance and partly in avarice, both of which were very injurious to the interests of his followers. What, for instance, could be more guileful and crafty than his entire conduct about this collection which he was so suspiciously eager to set on foot? He had ordered them to get up a subscription in his first letter, had, in answer to their inquiries, directed that it should be gathered, as in the Galatian Churches, by a weekly offertory, and had, since this, sent Titus to stimulate zeal in the matter. They dared to insinuate that all this was only a cunning device to hide his real intentions, and give him a securer grasp of their money.” Give in detail the arrangements made by the apostle to secure the due safety and auditing of the collection; and urge that all who have responsible positions in relation to Christian monies should show a similar anxiety to “provide things honest.”
II. THE COUNSEL AS APPLIED TO CHRISTIAN GIVING. Those who give must give only that which is honourably their own. The man who is in debt must pay his debts before he gives. The man who has family claims is bound to make adequate provision for them before he gives. To use the familiar proverb, “A man must be just before he is generous.” When this rule is neglected, a man’s gifts can neither be acceptable to God nor right in the sight of his fellow men.R.T.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
2Co 8:1. The Apostle having employed the seven fore-going chapters, in a considerable measure, in his own justification, and having in the close expressed the great satisfaction that he had in the Corinthians being all united again in their affection and obedience to him, exhorts them in this and the following chapter, by the example of the churches of Macedonia particularly, to unite in a liberal contribution for the poor Christians in Judea.
Instead of we do you to wit, &c. Mr. Locke and others read, we make known unto you the godly charity given by the churches of Macedonia. The word , which is translated grace in our version, is here used by St. Paul for gift, or liberality, and is so used, 2Co 8:4; 2Co 8:6-7; 2Co 8:9; 2Co 8:19 and 1Co 11:3. It is called, the gift of God, because God is the author and procurer of it, moving men’s hearts thereto by his grace.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
2Co 8:1 . The is the mere , leading over to a new topic in the Epistle. Comp. 1Co 7:1 ; 1Co 8:1 ; 1Co 12:1 ; 1Co 15:1 .
. . . . .] the grace of God, which is given in the churches of Macedonia, i.e. how graciously God has wrought in the churches of Macedonia, inasmuch as He (see 2Co 8:2 ) called forth in them so great liberality. Comp. 2Co 9:14 . The expression rests on the idea, that such excellent dispositions and resolves are produced and nourished, not by independent spontaneity, but by the grace of God working on us ( operationes gratiae ). Comp. Phi 2:13 . Paul, therefore, does not think of the grace of God as shown to himself (Origen, Erasmus, who paraphrases it: “quemadmodum adfuerit mihi Deus in ecclesiis Maced.;” comp. Zachariae, Emmerling, Billroth, Wieseler, Chronol . p. 357 ff.; also Rckert, yet with hesitation), in which case he could not but have added or , in order to make himself understood, but, on the contrary, as granted to the liberal churches , working in them the communicative zeal of love, so that the construction with is quite as in 2Co 8:16 ; 2Co 1:22 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
2Co 8:1-6 . The beneficence of the Macedonians has been shown beyond all expectation; hence we have exhorted Titus to complete among you the work already begun.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
XIV.AN EXHORTATION TO FINISH IT. MOTIVE: THE EXAMPLE OF THE MACEDONIAN CHURCHES; AS A PROOF OF THEIR LOVE IN GIVING THEMSELVES TO CHRIST. PRINCIPLE OF EQUALITY. COMMENDATION OF TITUS, AND HIS COMPANIONS IN THIS WORK
2Co 8:1-24
1Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of [we make known to you] the grace of2God [which has been] bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; How [om. how] that in a great trial of affliction, [was] the abundance of their joy [;] and their deep poverty 3abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear [them] record,yea, and beyond1 their power they were willing of themselves; 4praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us [with much entreaty beseeching of us the favor ( ) and the participation in] the fellowship of the ministering 5to the saints.2 And this they did, [om. this they did] not as we [had] hoped, 3 but first gave their own selves [their own selves gave they first] to the Lord, and unto 6us by the will of God. Insomuch [so] that we [have] desired Titus, that as he had7begun, 3 so he would also finish in you the same [this] grace also. Therefore, [But] as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence,and in your love to us4see that ye abound in this grace also. 8I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of [om. occasion of] the forwardness of others, and to prove9[to prove also] the sincerity of your love. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though [when] he was rich, yet for your sakes 5 he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. 10And herein I give my advice, for this is expedient for you, who have begun before [them] not only to do, but also to be forward ayear ago [to will last year]. 11Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of [according to] thatwhich ye have. 12For if there be first [om. first] a willing mind, it is accepted [acceptable] according to that a man hath [it may have]6and not according to13that he [it] hath not. For I mean not that other men be eased, and7 ye burdened:14But by an equality, that now at [burdened, but by an equality at] this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply forYour want; that there may be equality: 15as it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack. But thanks be to God, which put [who is putting, ]8 the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you. For indeed he accepted the exhortation; but being more forward, of his own accord hewent unto you. 18And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the19Gospel throughout all the churches; And not that only, but who was also chosen of the churches to travel with us with9 this grace, which is administered by us to the glory of the same [om. same] 10 Lord, and declaration of your [our] 11 ready mind:20Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered21by us: Providing [for we provide] 12 for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord but also in the sight of men. 22And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent23upon the great confidence which I have [he has] in you. Whether any do inquire of [As to] Titus he is my partner and fellow helper concerning you: or [as to] our brethren be inquired of, [om. be inquired of] they are the messengers of the churches, and the glory of Christ. 24Wherefore shew ye to them, and before the churches the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf. [Since ye will show13 toward them proof of your love and of our boasting on your behalf, ye will show14 it before the churches].
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
2Co 8:1-6.But we make known unto you, brethren, the grace which God has granted among the churches in Macedonia.The particle is here, as in many other places (1Co 7:1; 1Co 8:1; 1Co 12:1; 1Co 15:1), merely transitional, as the Apostle is passing to a new section; for although the present section is introduced by the concluding sentence of the last chapter, it is not directly joined with that sentence. [We may even question whether the word has not something of an adversative signification. He had confidence in the Corinthians, he had now sufficiently discussed the subjects already brought up, and he was now of good courage in their presence, but he had another matter to introduce to their attention. He wished to present before them the important matter of the collections which were occupying the attention of the Macedonian churches. Stanley endeavors to show that has always in Pauls earlier Epistles the sense of, to remind, to call attention to (1Co 12:3; 1Co 15:1; 2Co 8:1; Gal 1:11), but that in his later Epistles and when the word is in the passive (including Rom 16:26) it has the signification of, to discover. The evidence he adduces hardly proves this, and we see no sufficient reason for making this word an exception to verbs of this termination, which are causative and carry out the act which is proper to the noun from which they are derived. According to this, the active meaning of our verb would be to make or cause to know. The word is used in Eph 6:21 et al. What Paul wished to make known to them for their encouragement was [not a matter of which they were already informed, and needed only to be reminded of, but] the great liberality of those Macedonian churches (Philippi, Beroea, Thessalonica) among which he was then laboring, in contributions for the impoverished Christians at Jerusalem. He says that this was altogether beyond their ordinary ability, and he gives the honor of it to the Divine Author of every grace. In calling it the grace which God had bestowed on these churches, he does not mean that the donation was extraordinarily large, nor to magnify the generosity which had been enkindled, but simply to awaken admiration for the grace which had enkindled it. Nor are we to suppose that he wished to imply that this was a grace confined to those churches, for it was the same general grace which was acting in other churches, but was especially powerful among them. We should not supply an after nor take in the sense of a dative. The idea is that Divine grace ( ) was liberally communicated in the midst of these churches. Meyer confines the expression to the influence of grace in its distinctive character; as if the Apostles object had been to point out how gracious God had been in bestowing upon them such a generous spirit. [The word has in this section a special application doubtless to the gifts or contributions of the people, but these are so named always with reference to the Divine favor manifested in them. Every enlargement of heart among the people of a place may properly be characterized as a putting forth of Divine grace. And yet it requires some constraint to render the word as Stanley does in every instance of its occurrence in our section by the English term grace (see especially 2Co 8:16). In some instances it refers to human kindness, and some additional words (as ) are used to define the subject of its exercise. Chrysostom suggests that Paul here makes prominent its Divine origin to avoid all invidious human comparisons, and to stimulate the Corinthians by the hope of being sharers in the common grace. We may also remark that the use of the word instead of the more common suggests that even at this early period Paul was aiming at an ecclesiastical unity. He attaches an importance to this collection in the churches quite disproportionate to its immediate relations. He evidently views it as an expression of the common fellowship of Jewish and Gentile Christianity. As such he uses it and urges it to break down the false views and exclusive prejudices which had sprung up on both sides. He here informs the Corinthians that the Macedonian Christians who had suffered much from the Jews (Act 18:5 ff.), had surmounted these prejudices. In this way, too, he lets them see that he had not been a disappointed man or forsaken of God in his recent labors, and that he had some other work than that of correcting abuses and vindicating his Apostolic authority].That in a great trial of tribulation they had an abundance of joy, and their deep poverty abounded to the riches of their simplicity (2Co 8:2). The Apostle here specifies in greater detail what he had only asserted in 2Co 8:1. As his object was not to prove what he had there said, we must make equivalent not to for, but to that. Critics, however, have been at a loss whether to construe this verse as two distinct sentences (supplying after . . [Syriac, Vulgate, fuit], so that the idea shall be that in a great trial of affliction there was an abundance of joy); or as only one [our English version]. The insertion of to complete the first of these sentences is by no means unnatural; and if we attempt to unite .. and . , so as to form one subject of a sentence, the whole appears harsh and stiff. We prefer the former construction. We are partially induced to do so because the two subjects harmonize so well with the two predicates which are then presented, and because the other construction requires us to combine together two such contrary things in a single subject, and to make such a word as the nominative to a verb so cognate with itself as . But these are not our main reasons for this preference. For even if, by adopting the latter construction, we must unite such expressions as and as subject and predicate (making the either the joyful preparation for the collection, as Meyer does, or the happy enjoyment of religion after conversion, as Osiander does), it seems nevertheless more appropriate to find expressed in the double subject of a single sentence those factors which complete one another in the , and which unite and cooperate to prove that the grace of God and something higher than mere human kindness was moving the actors. This will be still more apparent as we proceed to explain the individual expressions. The first thing to which the Apostle draws attention is the condition or state of the congregations in which this liberality so abounded. They were in a great trial of affliction ( ). This word which Paul uses in a number of other places in his Epistles (2Co 2:9; 2Co 9:13; 2Co 13:3; Php 2:22; Rom 5:4), in the sense of verifying or proving a thing to be real, has here rather the sense of subjecting a thing to a trial or test. It is true, indeed, that the verification or proof might be looked upon as the moral basis of their joy (Meyer), but it is more natural here to regard the affliction as that which tended to prevent their joy, and hence as showing that their joy must have been the result of a mighty faith triumphing over such hindrances. The , therefore, would be properly the trial which subjected them to a test. We allow, however, that in all other passages of the Apostles writings, the context requires that the word should mean, a verifying or proving a thing to be true. The idea is the same as that contained in 2Co 7:4, viz.: in all our affliction. With respect to this affliction, comp. 1Th 1:6; 1Th 2:14 ff.; Act 16:20 ff; Act 17:5. signifies, the overflowing or abundance of their joy, i.e., of the joy they had in the fellowship of Christ and in the assurance of their salvation (2Co 7:10; Php 4:4). This opened their hearts to contribute liberally for the relief of their brethren (comp. Melancthon in Osiander, p. 299), and so completely raised them above all thought of their persecutions and the poverty of their own means, that they went far beyond those who possessed a greater abundance. There was energy enough in this joyful faith to make deep poverty an abundant source of benevolent action. In the following words the joy and the poverty are represented as conspiring together for this result. The plural signifies properly a poverty which goes down to the very depths, and it presents us the figure of a vessel which is almost empty and into which we must reach down deep. And yet this vessel is made to overflow as if it were full. [Adam Clarke: Poverty and affliction can scarcely ever be spoken of in an absolute sense; they are only comparative. Even the poor are called to relieve those who are poorer than themselves; and the afflicted to comfort those who are more afflicted than they are.] It abounds . The word signifies not exactly goodness of heart, benignity generosity, but the disposition which includes true charitableness, or gives it an external form. Comp. Rom 12:8 ( ). It is the simplicity which is superior to all selfish considerations or interests, and confines its attention entirely to the wants of our brother, gives itself completely up to the will of God, delights to be the instrument of His merciful providence, and has no fears that God will ever allow such a one to be in want [comp. Trench Synn. 2 Part, p. 23]. The simplest explanation of is that which makes it assert that the riches which in their simplicity they possessed, and the liberal contribution which in their simplicity they hail made, was in reality the overflowing stream of their deep poverty transformed by a joyful faith into an abundance. In 2Co 8:3-5 we have an explanation of this . [Stanley remarks that this sentence is completely shattered in passing through the Apostles mind. If restored to order it would be, how that to their power and beyond their power, they voluntarily gave, not as we trusted the gift (or grace, , i.e., of their possessions), but their own selves But as the Apostle wrote this, his mind glowed more and more as it proceeded, and he attached to each phrase some additional thought, until the whole completely breaks down under the weight of extraneous matter.]For according to their power, I bear witness, and beyond their power, of their own accord, with much exhortation beseeching of us the grace and fellowship of the ministration to the saints(2Co 8:3-4). we might, indeed, regard for as parallel to the same word in 2Co 8:2; that they, etc. But we think it better to regard 2Co 8:3 ff. as an explanation (a proof) of the way in which their deep poverty had abounded. would then be equivalent to, for. He proves that they gave by inserting in a parenthesis, thus implying
that he was well acquainted with their pecuniary ability. The reason they were so reduced in circumstances probably was, that they had been the victims of persecution and had found it difficult successfully to pursue their ordinary callings on account of the hatred of unbelievers. W. F. Besser: They were poor for Christs sake, because the Macedonian Christians had been obliged to renounce all dishonest arts of trade (1Th 4:6), and had been persecuted with the loss of employment, dismissal from service and apprehensions of complete destitution (Php 1:28). [Dr. Arnold mentions that Macedonia was the especial theatre of three successive civil wars not far from this time, that the people were heavily taxed by their conquerors, and that the mines from which much of their wealth was derived were in the possession of the government. So desolate had their fine country become, that it was fit only for pasturage. On the petition of the people for relief, they were transferred from the senatorial to the imperial jurisdiction that they might escape taxation. In the meantime Corinth, under the special favor of the emperors, since its revival under Julius Csar, had been growing rapidly in wealth. Comp. Stanley and Hodge]. And yet these Macedonian Christians had gone not merely up to, but beyond the ordinary measure of their power. has the same meaning as in the Textus Recep. (comp. 2Co 1:8), i.e., beyond their power ( signifies first, one thing going along by the side of another, then something not in contact with another, or rather something remaining external to another, and finally in opposition to another. Passow and de Wette). The only correct construction assumes that of 2Co 8:5 is the principal verb, to which all the other clauses form only a detailed qualification (and not with understood, since with this the preceding expressions would not agree; nor with understood; nor yet with or understood). After these quantitative phrases ( ) we have those which are qualitative, i.e., describing the way or manner in which the gift was made: , freely, in opposition to over-persuasion or necessity [excluding all human, but not Divine influences]. Such an assertion is not inconsistent with what is said in 2Co 9:2 ff. For he does not, in this latter passage, say precisely that he had requested them at first to contribute, but that his boasting of them the year before had been the occasion which God had used ( . , 2Co 8:5), for exciting the churches of Macedonia of their own accord to resolve upon their action, and then that the zeal of these churches had reacted upon the Corinthians. The proof and the more full explanation of is given in 2Co 8:4. We prayed not them, but they us. Chrysostom. , with the genitive of the person entreated, and the accusative of the thing asked for, occurs not unfrequently in the classic writers, (among whom, however, the accusative is always a pronoun). The object of the prayer was the , by which was intended the favor or kindness. This is immediately defined more particularly by the phrase ., which is connected with it by (even). The Apostle might have written: but this would have been too great an accumulation of genitives. has here the sense of, ministration, support (comp. Act 6:1; Act 11:29); and it is the same as the spoken of in 1Co 16:1, where is subjoined, and reveals what must have been the motive of the prayer here (Meyer). But the indicates a participation in the service. [The main idea of undoubtedly is that of a commonunity in sympathy, labors and responsibilities. But the ancient Greek expositors make especially prominent the idea that in all communications of assistance there was a mutual benefit. Thus Theophylact: as if it were a common gain for both the givers and receivers; and Oecumenius: he calls almsgiving a because those who give and those who receive are joint participants in a divine blessing.] If we govern these accusatives (. . . ) by (Bengel) the construction becomes unnecessarily confused, and we have no definition of the object of . The true object of is easily understood from its own idea.The free self-determination of the Corinthians is brought into very clear light here when it is said that they entreated with much importunity ( ) as if it would be a favor or kindness to them, that they might have some part in the common work of relieving the impoverished members of Gods church ().If we receive the reading of the Receptus: (after ); the meaning of (the favor) would be: the contribution; and in the subsequent sentences it will be shown to consist of collections taken up also in other congregations.Finally, the apostle saysAnd not as we expected but themselves they gave first to the Lord and to us by the will of God. (ver 5).They gave beyond his expectations. [The middle and aorist refers to the feeling as belonging to the inner world of the agent (Winer 39. 3. Jelf. 363. 5, 6), and shows in a lively manner how the apostle, after granting their prayer, had been busy in forming expectations and desires respecting the manner in which they would participate in the work. The verb expresses more than an anticipation (Crosby) or expectation (B. Bible Union); and it is not incorrectly translated in the English, the German (hofften), and the Vulgate (speravimus) versions. The positive reason for this surprise was, that they gave their own selves. This refers not to their conversion, which must have taken place some time before; nor does it imply that they then proposed themselves as the bearers of their alms; but it simply asserts that they surrendered themselves and all that they possessed to the disposal of God and the apostles. This was a self-dedication which involved a complete renunciation of all personal interests. They gave themselves, first to the Lord and then to His apostle; for they were anxious above all things thus to show their grateful love to Christ, their Redeemer. With this was inseparably united a desire to honor the man who had brought them to Christ and had originally suggested to them this charity ( here means simply: and, and it implies the intimate connection of the two acts; comp. Exo 16:31, Act 15:28). (first) is not designed to say that they did this before he asked them, for this had already been said in 2Co 8:4, and would require that should stand before ; nor does it mean [as seems implied by the position of the word first in our Engl. A. V.] that they gave themselves before they gave their alms, and then left it to the apostle to determine the amount they should give; for to bring out such an idea something more needed to have been said. Moreover the Apostle does not mean that they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to him, making equivalent to for not only would this imply an unsuitable separation of the two objects of the action, but no instance can be found in which stands for . It is to be taken as in Rom 1:16; Rom 2:9 f. in the sense of a graduation. If anything is to be supplied it must be expressive of some relation to the objects of the bounty, [Osiander: who were unknown and of no interest to them except through the Lord and the apostle.] is added, not merely to explain (as if he had said: God, who made me an Apostle, required them to give themselves to me also); but as a reason for the whole transaction, to show that they had been induced thus to surrender themselves by a regard for the will of God. Such a meaning of implies also the sense of .So that we have besought Titus, that as he had before begun, so he would complete among you the same grace (charity) also (2Co 8:6).In this verse the apostle passes from the Macedonian to the Corinthian church, and shows how he was induced by what he saw among the former, to request Titus, etc. does not designate here a continuation of what the Macedonians were praying, for there is no probability that they had any such design in their surrender of themselves. Nor need we even suppose that the apostle intended thereby to signify what was the divine will in the case. merely expresses the product and the result; that which proceeds from or is reached by something (Passow, v. 1, 4); it is therefore equivalent to and is much the same as . The thing requested, of Titus, and which is expressed here as if it was the object intended () was, that Titus would complete what he had commenced when he was before in Corinth, i.e., that he would complete this grace, this charity, or demonstration of their love. The before refers not to , as if there was some other which Titus had begun and now Heeded to finish, but to this among other proofs of love which he was to bring to perfection. The in has reference not to a priority to the , nor to a priority to the efforts made to collect funds among the Macedonians and the earlier commencement of the Corinthian collection (for the latter idea would need to have been more distinctly expressed.) [Osiander: but it probably contrasts the present journey of Titus bearing the epistle, with the former. Osiander also calls attention to the fact that . with its simple verb and several of its other composite forms, as ., ., etc., is like the corresponding words connected with , familiarly in use as sacrificial language. This would be appropriate to the idea here of a complete surrender of themselves to the service of the Lord and his church.] either must mean, with respect to you, or must be equivalent to , a concise expression for . The request must therefore refer to the time when the Apostle sent Titus again to Corinth with this epistle. [In 1Co 16:1, the Apostle had spoken of making collections for the saints, and it is probable therefore that Titus had then commenced a fund for this object among the Corinthians. This work had therefore been started in Corinth some months before it had been acted upon in Macedonia (2Co 5:10.). This request of the apostle to Titus could not refer to a former but to the present visit of Titus at Corinth. Chrysostom: When the Apostle saw the Macedonians so vehement and fervent in all things even under great temptations, he sent Titus to quicken the action of the Corinthians, that they might be made equals. He does not indeed say this, but he implies it, and thus shows the greatness and delicacy of his love, which could not allow the Corinthians to be inferior.]
2Co 8:7-15.But as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and all diligence, and your love to us, abound also in this grace (2Co 8:7). The is not intended here to have the sense of but (Ger. sondern) which separates the following from the former part of the sentence, and negatives it (q. d., I knew, however, when I made this request that I should not be disappointed, but that you would be distinguished in this matter also); nor has it the sense of, rather (let not Titus be under the necessity of exciting you to activity, but rather, etc.), for both of these ideas are arbitrary interpolations. It is a sudden turn of expression, abruptly leaving the topic before spoken of, and it is equivalent to the Latin, at (Ger. aber). As if he had said: But we need not assign reasons of this kind: for as ye have been remarkable in all that ye have done, so will ye be in this exhibition of your benevolence. (The emphasis should be placed upon ; in this, as in other manifestations of your charity). There are other places in which makes a transition to a summons (Mar 16:7; Luk 7:7; Act 9:6; Act 10:20). No longer insisting upon those encouragements which the conduct of others supplied, he turns now to them, and calls upon them to show in this business also the preminence they had exhibited in other things. is a circumlocution for an imperative [Vulg.: videte ut], as in Eph 5:33; Mar 5:23. (In like manner we have in the older Greek more frequently with a conjunction [Webster, Synt., p. 129]. To the Apostles thought it is necessary that we should supply here a summons to duty. It is therefore not indispensable that we should connect this expression with 2Co 8:8, for it is rather contrary to Pauls manner to begin his corrections of others misapprehensions with an (2 Co 7:30; 1Co 4:14). He makes his appeal to their sense of honor as Christians; though it is self-evident that such general commendation must be understood with individual exceptions. is a general phrase, which is explained immediately afterwards (Meyer: It is the general relation in which they had been distinguished for faith, etc.). means here, not as in 1Co 12:9, but as in 2Co 1:24, a faithful adherence to Christian truth. Their abounding in this was their animation, assurance and activity in faith. With respect to and see on 1Co 1:5. [Hodge: The former is Christian truth as preached, the latter truth as apprehended or understood]. The word occurs in 2Co 7:11 f., and signifies an ardent zeal in the work of Christ. here means not that which is complete, but, in manifold aspects (it is extensive, not intensive). signifies that which proceeds from you, fastens upon us, and is received in our hearts; is not exactly equivalent to , Comp. 2Co 7:3. In 2Co 8:8 he meets in advance an objection which might be urged against the preceding demandI say this not by way of commandment, but by means of the forwardness of others to prove the sincerity of your love.A similar expression ( ) is used in 1Co 7:6, and it here refers primarily to what he had said in the previous verse, but the positive details, beginning with etc., refer back to 2Co 8:1-6; for he must naturally have had the Macedonians in view when he spoke of the forwardness of others. does not signify here comprobare (to approve, or to establish by proof), nor is it equivalent to (to make display), but, as in 1Co 11:28, it signifies, to make trial, to test, or examine. The zeal of the Macedonians ought to stimulate the Corinthians to a similar zeal, and thus it should be proved whether their love was genuine. The participle depends upon , which should be understood again after (but I speak as one who is making a trial of, or putting to a test your love); comp. 1Co 4:14. To show that he was justified in this . and that he had good reasons for making such demands upon their fraternal liberality, he adduces the example of Christ, in that great act of mercy in which he gave up all things for their sakes.For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor (ver 9). This reference is very significant; but in this connection forms a logical parenthesis; and while it was designed to incline them also to deny themselves for their brethren, it was intended to make their most self-denying charities appear utterly insignificant. The idea of an example is certainly subordinate in this place to that of the merit of Christs love, through which a corresponding love might be awakened in them. But the meaning is certainly not that Christ had made them spiritually rich (in love), and thus they had become possessed of the inclination to contribute and had been prepared to contribute of their (earthly) abundance (Olshausen). For cannot here signify that they were enriched in this sense, but that they possessed an abundance of those saving benefits which Christ had acquired for His people by His becoming poor (comp. 1Co 3:22; Mat 5:5; Mat 19:29). [The ancient Greek expositors took as an imperative, and Chrysostom makes this prominent: For, have in mind, says Paul, ponder and consider the grace of God, and do not lightly pass it by, but aim at realizing the greatness of it, etc. The shows that this is inappropriate. The choice of this verb, and especially of the present, instead of the customary or , seems strange, and almost implies a direct act of recognition, but it thus signifies that their apprehension of the fact must have been especially vivid and continued, instead of being indistinct and finished]. The Apostle reminds them of the spirit which, as they well knew, Christ had shown toward them, in that free (unmerited) act of grace, in which for their sakes He had become poor. To make this grace appear in a clearer light, its subject is here designated , in which the Divine dignity of Christ and His absolute right to His people () is expressed. The way in which this gracious, self-renouncing love was exhibited to men is presented in the epexegetical sentence: that for our sakes He became poor. The example is placed before us in a light corresponding to the object the Apostle had in view, and substantially agreeing with what is said in Php 2:7. When He was rich ( , part. imperf.), must refer to His existence before He came to this world, when He was in possession of the Divine glory and had an abundance of possessions; and not to His existence on earth as the God-man, as the ; for in the latter case the and the would have been in the same tense. The reference is not to the state in which He was humiliated, but as the aorist certainly makes more probable, to the act in which He divested Himself of His riches. Although the idea of becoming poor is not involved in the meaning of the verb itself [for it may possibly signify simply being poor. Jelf. ( 330, 2, a.): Verbs in have generally an intransitive signification of being in some state, or in possession of some quality], yet the aorist by its own nature essentially involves the idea of an intransitive action or state, like and similar words. in classical authors has the same sense of to beg, then to be a mendicant, and in all cases it implies a deep poverty in which one has nothing. [Webster Synn. under and , p. 227]. The word itself has reference neither to the comparative nor to the absolute poverty of Christ during His earthly life (Mat 8:20), but to the relation which the human life He then entered upon bore to the life of glory which He was leaving. We recognize in it a , by virtue of which He renounced His riches, not merely in the use ( ) but in the possession ( ) of them. His incarnation was a becoming poor in the strictest sense, an entrance upon the state of a human creature, who possessed nothing in himself, but had to receive everything from God. This act was even repeated in His earthly condition when He submitted to receive the ministrations of His grateful disciples that He might live respectably with His people and yet share in their necessities. That the appellation [. . .] would not be unsuitable to the being who thus became poor, is manifest from what is said of the same exalted personage in Col 1:15 f. The ethical signification of such an instance is just as natural as it is in Php 2:6 ff.; but certainly the idea of an example is not here exclusively presented (see above). is found in 1Co 4:8. is emphatic. Although the act here spoken of was for all men, the Apostle makes it more impressive by using the words, for your sakes ( ), and so giving it a special reference to those who were to read his words.And I give an opinion in this matter; for this is expedient for you (2Co 8:10 a).In these words he proceeds to give the detailed statement which had been interrupted by the motive presented in 2Co 8:9. In contrast with the command he here presents his opinion as in 1Co 7:25. The collocation of the words shows that the emphasis should be placed upon this word. In the causal sentence which follows it, we must therefore understand this () as referring to , although must have referred back to the collection. As it stands at the head of the sentence it must be emphatic, but next to it the emphasis must be laid upon . By means of (not=decet) he intended to say that this advice was better for them than a command would have been, inasmuch as they had for some time shown themselves willing to act as he wished without a command. Such persons Could derive greater moral advantage from a word of counsel than from any injunction. If is referred to the act of charity proposed, then would have to be understood as relating to the benefits which result from every good action, to the advantages of a good reputation, and to the moral gain which might be expected, or finally the reward which God will give at the last day (promerere Deum).Who began before them not only to do but also to be willing the last year. (2Co 8:10. b)With (here, as in Rom 1:25, equivalent to, ut qui, such as), he introduces the reasons for saying that this was more profitable to them. It is remarkable that the doing should be mentioned before the willing, for we should naturally have expected the words in the reverse order. To attempt an inversion of the terms so as to make the sentence read: not only to will but also to do, would be arbitrary and plainly inadmissible. Some have endeavored to aid us by making have the sense of, to be inclined to do; but this would make it inconsistent with 2Co 8:11, where, in the first place, the exhortation to complete the doing must of course be not simultaneous with, but subsequent to the willing (Meyer), or even the greater and more important of the two (Fritzsche); and secondly, the willing and the practical performance ( . . .) are so related that we must infer that the willing was an independent thing, by itself, and not equivalent merely to an inclination to do, and it must be an inherent element in the doing. Others have suggested that might refer to an actual commencement of the collection before the time of writing, and to the disposition to give still further (the infinitive present, which on the previous explanation seemed strange, would be appropriate to this). Others still make the meaning to be, that many had then actually begun to make contributions, while some had declined to do so, and 2Co 8:11 would then be a calling upon them to carry into actual execution their further intentions, and so
to complete the collections which had been commenced. But on this interpretation we are obliged to give to a fulness of meaning which it will not bear. The true way is probably that which makes the in refer, not to some time before the Apostles writing, but to the period of the collections in Macedonia. The idea then would be, that the Corinthians were in advance of the Macedonians, not only in the accomplishment, but also in the original purpose; in the preparation of those arrangements for the collection (comp. 2Co 9:2), the continuance of which seems implied in the infinitive of the present. Thus de Wette, Meyer, et al. Neander suggests, that the will of a person may sometimes far exceed what he does, for he may desire to do more than he is able to perform. In this case the will is greater than the doing. In (from last year), the Apostle doubtless referred to the mode of reckoning yearly time which was customary among the Jews, and was also common and well known in the churches. This differed very little from the Macedonian method, for both commenced their year in September. The Apostle means not a year ago, but the last year, i.e. in the present case probably six months before.But now complete the performance of it also; that as there was the readiness to will so there may be the performance according to what ye have (2Co 8:11).Having thus disavowed any wish to command but only to counsel them in this matter, he here proceeds to call upon them at once to complete a work which he regarded as no less important than at first. The in contrast with , as also the aorist imperative, implies that the matter was rather pressing and urgent.The final sentence also implies that such a course would be becoming in them, for otherwise the doing would not correspond with the willing. But for willing () he now substitutes the readiness to will ( ), in which he more precisely expresses the completeness of their purpose (inclination, zeal), and encourages them with an avowal of his confidence. In like manner, for he substitutes , which involves the entire performance or practical completion of what had been intended. The whole is more particularly defined by the subjoined phrase out of what ye have ( ), which is further explained afterwards. The designates in this place the particular respect in which a thing is to be measured or regarded. It has the sense of: according to, or in conformity with, as in such phrases as , according to what a man has; according to his ability. Either or must be understood (an ellipsis of the subjunctive of which is very uncommon with Greek writers). The Corinthians would probably have said: we would contribute to this cause very willingly; and he now tells them that their performance should correspond with such a willingness, and that they should contribute according to their ability.Further light is thrown upon in 2Co 8:12, where the Apostle defines how far an act of kindness is acceptable to God, viz.For if there be the willing mind, it is acceptable, according to what it may have and not according to what it has not,i.e. in proportion to the degree in which the free consent which the Apostle had all along presupposed, is actually in the heart. The preposition in has here no reference to time [as is implied in the E. V.], but it simply signifies: lies before us, is present, is in sight. In the apodosis of this sentence is the personified subject, and there was no need of inserting a . In , with understood, God was unquestionably in the writers mind. [Osiander: the word shows the sacrificial nature of the act.] . . . . signifies: according to that it [i.e. : the disposition] may have, and not according to that it hath not, i.e. God judges of them and has pleasure in them according to that which they had, etc., he does not call for what is beyond our power; but the small gifts of the poor man who would gladly give more, are as acceptable as the large gift of one who possessed an abundance (comp. Mar 12:44).() signifies that certain conditions are supposed to be out of the question in the case of him who has not, which are implied in the case of him who has.The idea expressed in 2Co 8:12 is further illustrated by what he proceeds to say in 2Co 8:13, with respect to the object of the collection proposed. In the first place he declares negatively:For it is not that others may be eased and ye burdened but by an equalityHe means that his object was not that others (here: the Christians ,of Jerusalem, not other churches, with whom he had nothing to do) should be relieved while they might be, or would be burdened (with or understood as in 2Co 8:11) i.e. that others should not be called upon while they were burdened with such contributions. These were probably expressions made use of by those who disliked him at Corinth.He then declares positively, that the principle from which the whole proceeding was derived, or the rule by which the whole scheme was governed ( in 2Co 8:11) was, that there might be an equality. Of course his aim was to adjust an even measure to all. These words have been variously construed and punctuated. The colon may be placed either after , or after ; and in either case the subject alluded to will be (= ) (1Co 16:2). According to the second mode of constructing the sentence, (that there should be) must be understood in connection with . Or this whole sentence may be joined with what follows, without any words understood to complete the sense thus: but according to the law of equality your superabundance at this present time may extend (i.e. ) to their deficiency (Meyer). This construction is the easiest, inasmuch as very little needs to be supplied to complete the sense. But Osiander very correctly remarks that the sentence would thereby become much extended (two sentences with before and after the principal sentence, and yet a third would be introduced by an in connection with ) notwithstanding its occurrence in the midst of a context more than usually lively and sententious. We therefore decide in favor of placing the colon after . The word probably meant, especially in the mind of a murmuring contributor, release, loosening from restraint, a careless freedom of enjoyment; whereas , on the other hand, meant that oppression of care which was the result of giving beyond their means. has not only the sense of equality, but also of equity or righteousness. Both significations here amount to very much the same thing. The point on which the Apostle speaks is not the equality between the gift and the ability of the giver, but the equality which should prevail between the givers and the receivers. The contribution should be so adjusted, that it might promote a general equality; that each one should have what he needed, without a superfluity in one portion of the church and a deficiency in another, but a communion of Christian love.At the present time your abundance may extend to their want, that their abundance may also extend to your want, that there may be equality. (2Co 8:14) ** is not to be connected with what precedes, but it intimates that a time might come when the state of things would be reversed. It does not apply to an earthly in opposition to a heavenly state (comp. 2Co 8:14). The words to be understood must be derived from the leading sentence, and they should be or , signifying: should be; or, in this place: should become, or should amount to. According to common usage, would signify to become something, or to arrive at a place, and would signify to fall to ones share (thus Gal 3:14). Here the deficiency is, as it were, local, and it is to be reached by the superfluity. The. word applies to the same persons as . Not only in ver 13, but also in 2Co 8:14, the and must be understood of earthly possessions (the Catholics understand them of spiritual blessings). Gentile Christians had already been made partakers of the spiritual benefits of the Jews, comp. Rom 15:27. Nothing but a preconceived prejudice could have suggested the idea that Paul was here attributing to the Jewish Christians the performance of works of supererogation. With respect to the possibility of such a state of things as the Apostle here supposes, there is no necessity of referring what he says to any event immediately connected with Christs advent as, e.g., the restoration of Israel, for when that event shall take place we can hardly imagine that such inequalities of condition will exist; but we refer the words rather to those catastrophes which were expected on the near approach of the Parousia, when such a change of circumstances might be possible (comp. Osiander). If we adopt Meyers method of constructing the text, the phrase, that there may be equality ( ) must refer exclusively to the member of the sentence which immediately precedes it ( , in order that if such an event should take place, there might be an equality between those who have much and those who have little); but if the text be arranged according to our construction, it must be referred to the two members of the sentence which precede it. This principle of equalization is illustrated in 2Co 8:15, by a quotation from the Scriptural account of the collection of the manna in Exo 16:18.As it is written, He that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack.The quotation is from the Sept.; only the position of the clauses in the sentence is reversed, and is taken from the context of the passage there for the completion of the sentence . The meaning is: Every one found in the collection what was proportioned to his wants; he who had collected much [who had the most] had nothing more, and he who had collected [the] little, had nothing less than what he needed. [On the ellipsis and the force of the article here, S. Winer 66. 4, and Bengel]. God had thus given his sanction, when he supplied the wants of His people by miracle, to the law of equality, viz., that no portion of the people was to have a superfluity while another portion was destitute. [Wordsworth: By the command of God, the manna, which the several members of the same tent () had gathered, was to be put together (Sept.: , ) into one common stock, and then be meted out with an homer. It was so ordered by Almighty God, that when the whole was measured out, each person had exactly an homer, neither more nor less. By ordering it to be measured out, says Theodoret, God provided that none should abuse his gift through selfishness, and by turning all superabundance into worms, says Jerome, He showed that what God gives, should be for the equal enjoyment of all. Dr. A. Clarke, in his comment on Exo 16:18, endeavors to show that each Israelite collected as much manna when he went forth to gather it as he he was able; but that on bringing it home and measuring it, if he found he had a surplus, he would send it to the supply of some larger family which had not been able, during the limited time, to collect enough, or which might be unable, through sickness or infirmity, to collect for itself. If, however, this distribution were not made, it could not be enjoyed, but it soon turned to corruption. A more striking illustration of a true Christian communism could scarcely be found; according to which, as Neander suggests, the distinction of property is abolished not by violence, but is equalized by the power of love].
2Co 8:16-24. But thanks be to God who is putting the same zeal for you into the heart of Titus.[Having thus spoken of the example of others and of the principle of the collection] the Apostle now comes to speak of the persons whom he had sent to Corinth on the business of the collection. He first commends (2Co 8:16-17) the zeal of Titus in their behalf, but he gratefully gives the honor of awakening this zeal in Titus heart, to God. The words, the same ( ) cannot mean the same earnest care with that which the Corinthians had felt, since shows that they themselves, their honor, their welfare, and the advantages which would result from such a charity (comp. 2Co 9:8 ff.) were the objects of Titus activity and care. Nor can it mean the same earnest care which the objects of their emulation, i.e., the Macedonian Christians, had exhibited, or the saints at Jerusalem might exhibit; for such a reference would have required a more distinct mention. It only remains therefore that we should refer it to the Apostle himself (the same earnest care which I have shown). The phrase is a concise but significant expression (comp. 2Co 8:1). The present participle implies that the Divine influence and the consequent zeal was continued [and it was as though the Apostle had before his eyes the working of Titus eagerness Stanley]. The evidence of this zeal is given in 2Co 8:17.For he accepted indeed the exhortation; but being himself more zealous, he has gone of his own accord unto you.The is the exhortation which had been mentioned in 2Co 8:6. Having spoken of the delicacy and discretion which Titus had shown in giving so much time and attention to the matter involved in the Apostles request ( ), he is careful to notice that Titus decision was entirely spontaneous and was not dependent upon his suggestion. These various aspects of the case are brought forward by means of such particles as and , which are not of the same force as , since no climax or gradation of the thought was intended. implies that Titus was too zealous of himself to need any suggestion from another. [The comparative signifies either, more zealous than the Apostle, or more than the Apostle was to prompt him, or more than he had been before the suggestion. Probably the idea was, more zealous to engage in the service than I to put him upon it (Bloomfield)]. Both here and in subsequent parts of the Epistle, is used in the preterite, as was common in a concise style, because it anticipated the moment when the Epistle should be in the hands of the Corinthians. The whole idea intended was the following: Titus had not indeed opened his mind to Paul, and he had modestly allowed the Apostle to present to him the request to undertake this work; and yet it was evident that he needed no such request, inasmuch as his own free will was already inclined to undertake the affair. He now passes from Titus to those deputies who accompanied him. These are not named (2Co 8:18 ff.), but they are shown to be persons well adapted to their mission. The one first spoken of is designated by a reference to some work in which he had already been employedAnd we sent with him the brother whose praise is in the Gospel throughout all the churches (2Co 8:18): , i.e., whose reputation in the promulgation of the Gospel is spread throughout all the churches. His reputation was universally recognized wherever churches had been planted. The importance of such a commendation was proportioned to the value one might attach to the opinion of all these churches; but to give force to this, the Apostle subjoins another reason for his commendation in connection with the business now in hand. This was the confidence which the (Macedonian) churches had exhibited when they chose him to accompany the Apostle in his journey to Jerusalem, with the contributions they had made (and not that only, but who was also appointed by the churches as our fellow traveller with this grace which is ministered by us (2Co 8:19). Instead of we should naturally have expected the accusative. It is to be construed as if the Apostle had previously written: who is praised, or, not only is he praised, but has also been chosen, etc. [ , etc. comp. Rom 9:10). The choice must have been made, either by the overseers of the churches on the nomination of the Apostle, or, as . rather intimates, by the general body of the members themselves when they were assembled in their churches, and (as the original meaning of the word perhaps implies) showed their choice by the uplifting of hands [Osiander suggests that the Apostle speaks of the choice of the people as though it were the only thing essential to the act. It is not an election to a permanent office, for these were only for a temporary purpose, and yet the case shows how thoroughly the democratic element pervaded the ecclesiastical life, especially in Greece]. The preposition specifies the object of the proceeding (in this case of the journey), in this work of charity, in the management of this benevolent enterprise. Although has considerable authority in its favor, it is probably a gloss; but if it be accepted as genuine, (the grace or charity), in connection with it, would signify the money contributed, is used here as in 2Co 3:3.For the glory of the Lord and the manifestation of our zeal. (2Co 8:19 b).This clause expresses the object they had in view and must not be joined with what immediately precedes it; inasmuch as (which must here be taken as equivalent to: for the showing of our earnestness) would be plain enough by itself, and it would therefore seem feeble. Its proper place seems rather to be in connection with the main sentence commencing with . It would follow from this choice and the coperation of these men that the honor of Christ and the inclination of the Apostle (as well as of Titus) would be enhanced, inasmuch as the burden of cares spoken of in 2Co 8:20, would be lightened and the whole business would be more easily accomplished. If we read before , the effect will be to make more prominent, in contrast with his instruments.The honor of God would be promoted in proportion to the degree in which his love was made known among the churches and in which he as their head inspired them with energy and a common active sympathy in this work; and because all danger of suspicion with respect to the management of the mission would thus be obviated.Avoiding this; that no one should reproach us in this abundance which is ministered by us (2Co 8:20).In this verse he makes a more direct reference to such suspicions. must be connected with in 2Co 8:18 (not with 2Co 8:19 instead of ). In this way 2Co 8:19 forms a parenthesis. does not signify to depart, as if were equivalent to , but rather, to attend to this matter especially. And yet such a meaning does not here seem quite appropriate to the context. It has also the sense of: to withdraw ones self (2Th 3:6), to guard against something, to shun or to avoid it, comp. Mal 2:5 Sept. (The reading is manifestly a gloss). [The Vulg. is: Devitantes hoc, and Erasmus suggests that the word is taken from nautical language, and refers to the act of sailors when they take in sail and turn their course lest they should strike upon rocks. Such is the meaning in the only other passage where the word is used in the New Testament, 2Th 3:6. Paul about this time was making several voyages by sea, and was writing to a maritime people. Comp. Act 20:20]. is an emphatic word in anticipation of what was about to be said. (to reproach) has been used before in 2Co 6:3, and it signifies here, the imputation that he had embezzled the funds, or that he had been unfaithful to his trust in the transaction of his business. presents us the idea of an abundance of the charitable contributions ( is applied to fruits, children, trees, so as to mean that they are ripe, large, big; is to drink in full draughts) not of the in 2Co 8:19, nor of the zeal of those who contributed (Rckert). has the sense of: in, and has reference to the object or reason for the reproach. Meyer: in puncto.For we provide for what may be honorable not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of man (2Co 8:21).He here gives us the principle by which he was guided in this matter ( makes what follows a reason for ). is equivalent to , and signifies to bear care, to be anxious about; it is generally found in the middle voice, as in Rom 12:17; Pro 3:4 ( ), a passage which the Apostle evidently had before his mind when he wrote. The Receptus therefore has , a combination of this passage and the original reading. In cod. C. (Tischendorf) we have . signifies honestas, that which is morally beautiful, noble, honorable. As he took care, to appear blameless and becomingly in the sight not only of that God before whom he was always manifest (2Co 5:11), but of men, he had adopted this precautionary measure.And we have sent with them our brother whom we have many times and in many things have proved diligent but now much more diligent for the great confidence he has in you (2Co 8:22).He here proceeds to commend the other deputies. He says ; and in 2Co 8:18 he had said ; but both expressions have the same object. In 2Co 8:18 the in cannot refer to Timothy (we have sent with another). When he says in this place he no more means a natural brother of his, than in 2Co 8:18, a natural brother of Titus. In both instances he implies a relationship not merely as Christians but as united in the same office. He represents him whom he had sent with Titus and the others, as one whom he had often found to be zealous in many things but whom he had now found much more zealous (than before), inasmuch as his great confidence in the Corinthians had intensified his earlier zeal.The various opinions which have been advanced with respect to these two men are more or less unworthy of confidence. Mark, Luke, Epenetus, Trophimus, Apollos, Silas, Barnabas15 and others have been mentioned as each likely to have been one of them. For the last three a subordinate position, as associate deputies with Titus, would not seem appropriate. In favor of Luke is the subscription to our Epistle, but we know that this has no original authority. In behalf of Mark is sometimes quoted the expression, . in 2Co 8:18, but a written Gospel could not have been here meant. W. F. Besser says that this brother must have been among the seven companions of Paul mentioned in Act 20:4. Both must have been introduced to the Corinthians by Titus, in case they had been unknown before the reading of Pauls Epistle; and yet the name of the one first mentioned had probably been previously known to them, since he had been chosen by the Macedonian Churches to take charge of the collections.as to Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker toward you; as to our brethren, they are the messengers of the churches and the glory of Christ (2Co 8:23).In this verse the Apostle commended the three brethren collectively. The manner in which he speaks of them is here changed: . Whether I speak in behalf of Titus, he is, etc.; whether our brethren be spoken of ( ), they are, etc.. The intercession in favor of Titus was justified by the intimate relation in which he stood to the Apostle himself: he is my companion (in office); but particularly by the intimate relation in which he thus stood to the Corinthians: he is with respect to you my fellow-laborer (2Co 7:7). That they were bound to hold the other two in high esteem, he shows by adverting to the fact that they were the messengers of the (Macedonian) Churches, and were to be honored therefore in proportion to the honor which such representatives deserve. [Alfords imputation (Sunday Mag., May, 1864) that the translators of our English version had some private reasons for rendering by the word messengers, is not very clear. Even the more general sense of the word to which he refers as including apostolic men is not demanded here, for the persons are mentioned, not as sent of the Lord in any sense, but simply as , with reference to a single benevolent mission or journey. It can surely have no reference here to a permanent office, and is used simply as a common noun, as in the instances to which he refers beside our passage (Php 2:25, and Act 14:14; comp. with Act 13:2)]. Indeed, their relation to Christ Himself was sufficient to entitle them to respect, for they were an honor to Christ (by their influence and probably by their daily life) inasmuch as Christs love and power were manifested in them and by their means (comp. in 1Co 11:7). [Calvin:Whoever excels in piety is the glory of Christ, because he has nothing which is not Christs gift.] Having thus introduced 2Co 8:23 without a conjunction (for is not genuine), be proceeds with an to derive a practical inference from his commendation of the three brethren, or (more correctly) of the two last as . .since ye show toward them the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf, ye will show it before the churches (2Co 8:24).The sentence, (a way of speaking which may be found in Plato), stands in need of some verb to supply the ellipsis, and this may be either in the imperative, or (better) in the indicative (present or future) of the same verb: since ye give to them the evidence of your love, and of our boasting in your behalf, ye thus show it, or ye will show it, in the face of the churches. Even if the future tense is preferred, an indirect exhortation is implied. [If the part. is construed as an imperative, as Alford and Stanley contend it frequently may be in St. Paul (Rom 12:9-19; Eph 3:18; Col 3:16), the English rendering of the passage will be the same as if the reading were that of the Recep. Meyer thinks that this throws the emphasis upon . more strongly than is required by the context, and that an indirect admonition, representing the thing as an affair of honor, but without making a formal demand, was more forcible: since ye therefore will give a demonstration to them of your love, and that which we have boasted of you, ye do it, etc. In this way and . . correspond with respect to emphasis. and after the part. . we have supplied the second person of the present Indicative of the same verb]. , if the Indicative is used, will signify, in conspectu, presented to the face, or since the churches are looking upon you, this proof of affection will be seen by them; if the Imperative is preferred, that phrase will be equivalent to: , and will mean towards the churches personally present, i.e., you should, or will give this proof to the churches themselves in the person of those representatives of whom I have just spoken (. .). The last is preferable. Neander:So that the Macedonian Churches may perceive that what Paul had said in praise of the Corinthians was true. here means their love, not merely to Paul, but to the brethren generally. On comp. 2Co 7:14 (2Co 5:12; 2Co 9:3). is to be construed with , and has for its correlative.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The profoundest inducement Christians can have for denying themselves to assist their fellow-men, is derived from the example of the Son of God when He gave up all things and became poor that we might become rich by His poverty. We were completely destitute of spiritual good, and altogether unable to extricate ourselves from our poverty. In His equality with God He was infinitely blessed and glorious in the possession of spiritual riches. But so completely did He renounce all this, and enter into the absolute poverty of sinful beings, that He was dependent upon others and was obliged to pray the Father through the Spirit which was given Him, for light, strength, courage, consolation, refreshment and whatever He needed each moment of his earthly career. This was entirely for our sakes, for no necessity of His own required it. It was to recover for us those spiritual possessions which we had lost by aspiring to independence. And now since His self-sacrifice, as our Head and Surety, has recovered them, we have a rich abundance to use as if it were our own. All who will honestly forsake the sins which occasioned our loss and made us unworthy of riches, all who will confidingly surrender themselves to Jesus, the source of their wealth, shall be put in full possession of this. But those who know this act of grace and consider how great it was and how vast are the benefits which condemned sinners have derived from it, will cheerfully deny themselves in like manner; the joy they feel in the possession of such a salvation will open their hearts to communicate freely to those whom Jesus regards as His brethren, that they may thus make some return of joy to Him who gave himself for us. Nothing they can do will be looked upon as too much, or enough, as a token of their grateful remembrance. The greatest favor they can ask will be, to be allowed to participate in the common work of beneficence. No one will find it needful to plead long for their assistance, and when they contribute to a great work, they will first give their own selves and make no nice calculations as to their own ability. They will be ready to go beyond their power and deprive themselves of ordinary comforts, when anothers greater necessity seems to require it.
2. In the department of Christian fellowship, there must be a consciousness of equality, for all are as sinners, poor; and, as Gods children, rich. This equality in spiritual things would be disturbed by a great inequality in worldly possessions, if one brother exalted himself above another and if the latter brother should to the same extent depreciate himself or become envious of his favored neighbor. But where the spirit of Christ prevails those who possess much will strive to equalize this matter, for they will allow none to be in want. By a simple style of living they will secure the means of helping those who need assistance. This may be so done that the recipients will not feel that they are receiving an alms, but an act of grateful love to Christ which finds its own satisfaction in ministering to his brethren. It will be much easier to do this if these recipients indulge in no spirit of envy for what God has bestowed upon their more favored brethren, and accept of the gift in the same simplicity with which it is given. It came from the infinite riches of their divine Master but through such hands and by such instruments as were calculated to strengthen the bonds of love and fellowship.
[3. The sacred writers constantly recognize the fact that the freest and most spontaneous acts of men, their inward states and the outward manifestations of those states when good are due to a secret influence of the Spirit of God which eludes our consciousness. The believer is most truly self-determined when determined by the grace of God. The liberality of the Corinthians was due to the operation of the grace of God. The zeal of Titus was the spontaneous effusion of his own heart and was an index and element of his character, and yet God put that zeal into his heart. So congenial and congruous is divine influence, that the life of God in us is in the highest sense our own life. Hodge.
4. A high excellence in one or more graces of the Christian character only makes more startling a serious deficiency in others (2Co 8:7). To have great knowledge of divine truth, and a free utterance as to duties and privileges, only exposes our inconsistency, when we lack practical benevolence. And it is one great aim of divine and pastoral discipline, to effect this completeness of character in all believers. Afflictions are sent by God (2Co 8:1), and opportunities and examples will be used by a skilful pastor, so as to prove (2Co 8:8) and to draw forth all graces in their season.
5. We have here a true system of Christian socialism. In the divine kingdom the Liberty of each citizen is so perfect, that its rulers and the Sovereign King himself will receive nothing from compulsion or by the dictation of authority; the Fraternity of all citizens is secured by a recognition of each believer and especially of each suffering believer as a brother of our Lord, and the sympathy of each Christian with his fellow Christians is the measure of his love to Christ; and universal Equality, not in outward circumstances which would be delusive, undesirable and impossible, but in the common poverty from which all are rescued and the common riches which are the inalienable birthright of every one. Each one has his peculiar capacity of enjoyment, beyond which he can enjoy nothing, whatever he may have in possession, and short of which he has a claim upon our assistance. The rights and duties of each individual may not be precisely defined by outward law, but the love of Christ and the Spirit of Christ universally diffused, will secure an equality, in which the rich bestow freely as much as the poor and suffering are willing to receive. Such an equality springs from the feeling of a true and loving brotherhood; which makes each man say: My superabundance is not mine, it is anothers: not to be taken by force, or wrung from me by law, but given freely by the law of love. F. W. Robertson.
6. The whole system of mendicancy, which has been derived from this chapter by ancient and modern ascetics (v. especially Estius), has really no support. Not a word can be found there implying, that the less sanctified believer can derive assistance, even in another world, from the merits of the saints, or that there is such a virtue in almsgiving as to make the giver a participator in the merits of the receiver, (2Co 8:9; 2Co 8:14). Christ became poor not because poverty was in itself more meritorious than riches, but because it was the only condition in which He could reach the special object He had in view. Nor did He ever become strictly a mendicant. The evils of poverty and self-sacrifice were never chosen for any virtue He saw in them for their own sake. No outward condition, separate from the motive with which it is sought and the spirit in which it is endured was desirable to Him. The whole history of mendicant orders is a striking illustration not of the higher perfection of voluntary poverty, but of the injurious influence of such a state when chosen from self-righteous and unspiritual motives. And yet poverty and self-sacrifice are noble, when they are encountered for a noble object, or as a necessary discipline of providence, and are sustained in a Christian spirit.
7. The Apostolic system of charitable collections is admirably developed in this and the following section. The Duty of giving was pressed upon every Christian with earnestness and importunity. It was evidently no unimportant part of the churchs care. It was extensively used as a test of character and a means of usefulness and fellowship. The Motives, by which it was urged, were love to men as men, to Christians as brethren in Christ, and to Christ Himself. But although in the Collection of contributions, this duty and these motives were pressed with all the art and urgency of the most ardent benevolence, every one was scrupulously left to make his gift a token of his own conscientious conviction and affection. There are several higher degrees of the acts of charity and other Christian virtues that are not in prcepto, and may be omitted without sinning, yet are in consilio; and the performance of them most highly acceptable to God (Oxford old Paraphrase on 2Co 8:10.). We ought indeed to do for Christ all which is in our power and hence we can never exceed the measure of duty, but yet neither Christ nor his apostles would force by authority the higher tokens of our affection which derive all their preciousness from their freedom. In the persons selected for managing and disbursing these collections the utmost wisdom and the best characters were put in requisition. It is plain that if giving is an admirable test of a Christians benevolence, the management of charitable funds is one of the severest tests of his integrity and discretion.
8. Gods government is an equal and just and good government (2Co 8:12). What can be more equitable than the principle that a man is accepted according to what he has? Barnes.]
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Starke:
2Co 8:1. We should copy after the good examples of our fellow Christians, for one reason why our Lord would have His people do good works, is that others may have the benefit of their light, and that God may be glorified (Mat 5:16). When our hearts burn with Christian love, and we are prepared to assist those who need our aid, it is the special gift of God.Spener:Not only he who receives, but far more he who confers a favor is blessed, for what can be a greater benefit than to be filled with love, and to have the power to do good (Act 20:35).
2Co 8:2. Hedinger:Much tribulation, much joy! The Lord lays on us crosses, but fills us with pleasures. The faith of the pious poor works by love, and opens their hands to give cheerfully what they have. The three main elements in real goodness, are: to give cheerfully, without being importuned; liberally, according to ability; and sincerely, without a selfish motive (2Co 12:3; 2Co 9:7; Tob 4:9; Rom 12:8).
2Co 8:3. It may sometimes be a Christians duty to give alms to his own suffering. Even if you have no more than your neighbor, if his distress is greater, and your relief is speedier, easier and surer, you ought immediately to help him. Hedinger:Though poor, yet rich! rich to give, rich to bless. Others lay up much; and it proves only as the foam of a boiling vessel. Grudge not the sweat of thy brow!
2Co 8:5. To give nothing but yourself when collections are made for the poor, proves that thou neither knowest God, nor doest His will (1Jn 3:17).
2Co 8:6. A good work in one place should encourage the hope that it will stir up a similar activity in another place. Every Christian needs to be stimulated to benevolence, for the best will sometimes become dull.
2Co 8:7. Faith and Gods Word are as inseparable as food and health, and bodily strength. The only sure evidence that our knowledge of God and of Divine things is correct, must be in the fact that Gods Word is our standard, faith its medium, and practical beneficence its fruit.
2Co 8:8. God Himself condescended to minister to the poor, and His people should be enjoined to do the same, but to what objects, at what time, or how much they shall give, must be left to every ones conscience. One of the first objects of a good minister should be to induce every one to perform his duty, but from his own free will, and from evangelical motives. Gods people are not left entirely to their own freedom with respect to doing good. It is a matter of command that they must love their fellow men, and they are enjoined to love in the only way in which true love can exist.
2Co 8:9. Hedinger:Christ became poor to make others rich. Many become rich by making others poor. Can such persons have the Spirit of Christ.
2Co 8:10 f. We are never the poorer for the giving of alms. Be not weary in well doing, when God bids thee on.
2Co 8:12. If Christians have but little to give, even that little will be acceptable to God; a loving God will be pleased with little, even if it be but a cup of water, Mat 10:42.
2Co 8:13. Hedinger:Christs command is not that beggars should be rich, and the rich beggars; nor that one should have every thing while his brother has nothing. Love can impart, but it cannot receive too much. The rich and the poor should live together, that they may serve each other; but especially when famine threatens, lest the poor should perish. Thank God, there are always some kind and faithful ones who are ready to give help, and are bountiful to the poor, sometimes even to their own apparent loss.
2Co 8:17. Follow no man blindly. Gods Spirit in thine own heart will be thy guide. A willing heart will always please Him.
2Co 8:18 f. None but well tried and honest men, who walk honestly before God and men, not merely those who have a fair show and a glib tongue, are fit to have the control of our charities. Better than every thing else is, a good name for faith and the fear of God. If others praise us, we should never be lifted up, but let it pass, and be stimulated to greater goodness.
2Co 8:20 f. Hedinger:Avoid not only the reality, but even the appearance of evil! Strive to have an honorable name as well as a good conscience; thy neighbor demands that, God this.
2Co 8:22. In matters of importance we cannot watch ourselves too carefully. In pecuniary affairs we should be so especially circumspect, that malice itself can find no occasion to reproach us. Men who have been tried and have passed through great varieties of experience, should be held in great esteem, for they can be profitably employed in almost any station.
2Co 8:23. Those who are employed in the same church are partners and brethren, but even the most exalted and most accomplished should never despise their fellows.
Berlenb. Bible:The church consists of many members who are bound to assist one another, according to their ability and wants. God has left the actual performance of this duty almost entirely to every ones free will; He actually requires it, but in such a way as best to exercise our faith and love. This is especially true of the care of the poor.
2Co 8:1. The obedience which grace produces, is especially cheerful and free from mercenary views. It will always be the fruit of a genuine conversion. Opportunities for it will seem to a Christian a personal favor from the Giver of all good (Jam 1:17).
2Co 8:2. In urging the example of others we should guard against a servile imitation. We should be careful to present not merely the outward action, but the true spirit and idea of it.It is astonishing how much good may be concealed under a little suffering. It is altogether beyond the sight of the thorough man of the world, who is unworthy of it; but such suffering only clarifies the spiritual mans eye to recognize the wonders of the cross. None but the spiritual man can know what it is to rejoice and to suffer at the same moment. In these very troubles, which give no pleasure, and are ominous, only of destruction to the flesh, the spiritual Christian not unfrequently finds nothing but joy (Jam 1:2; Rom 5:3). A covetous man is poor even in his riches, for he is the slave of his own possessions, and can make no profitable use of them, either for himself or others. A poor man, living in simplicity, is rich, for he is satisfied with what he has, and can share even a little with a neighbor. This is a delight to him, for all he has is sweetened by the Divine hand from which he receives it. The ancients used to say that the angels rejoiced when one poor man did a kindness to another.
2Co 8:3. The works of the Spirit must be spontaneous and unconstrained by authority.
2Co 8:5. Those are truly good works which are the fruit of an entire consecration of soul to God. The alms which are of this nature, are therefore called charitable offerings, because they are entirely surrendered to Gods hands. It is something for a man to give what he possesses to God or for Gods sake. But far more is it for him to give up his entire self as a living sacrifice to God. There may be men who condemn it, but in the sight of God it is of great price. Though men may condemn it, is of much value.
2Co 8:6. The true apostolic spirit presses on toward perfection in every thing. The word grace shows: 1, that we are by nature covetous, and would never perform acts of goodness without Divine grace; and 2, that what we give is ours only by free grace.
2Co 8:7. We cannot accept of one part of Christianity without another. When we commend any thing in it, we must except nothing in connection with it.
2Co 8:8. No man must be forced to give in charity, but there is no man who does not need sometimes to be admonished and stimulated to give of his own free act.
2Co 8:9. If we know aright the grace which had compassion on us, we shall proportionately know the grace which sanctifies us; for such love will fill us with shame, and draw us to true repentance, and to a corresponding love and duty. How can a knowledge of such amazing love fail to awaken within us a similar spirit of self-sacrifice? The Christian, as such, with nothing but Christ is rich.
2Co 8:10 f. It is no easy thing to admonish a brother well. Much wisdom and skill are needful to select and present those motives which are likely to produce the best result. Good works which are merely external and forced, differ essentially from those which spring from evangelical principles, and come spontaneously from the heart. Those who know what it is to work, are the ones to have something for the needy (Eph 4:28).
2Co 8:12. Where love is in the heart it will do nothing without consideration, and its gifts will be accepted by God and His people with pleasure. The Gospel demands only what has been received.
2Co 8:13 ff. We must help those who are in distress now, for our turn may soon come. Such a stroke is not unfrequently needful to drive indolent slumbers even from the believers heart. God allows men to live side by side, some with superfluities and others in want, that they may be bound together by offices of mutual kindness.
2Co 8:16. Fix not your eye entirely upon the instruments, but look beyond to the God who gives all things, and thank Him.
2Co 8:18. It is essential to Christianity that all its places should be arranged with careful foresight and order. It should provide especially that its ministers should be pure and blameless before men, and avoid everything which might awaken suspicion.
2Co 8:22. Every form of goodness, even such virtues as diligence, zeal and watchfulness, must be encouraged and thrive under the influence of Christianity.
2Co 8:23. Every Christian might be a glory to Christ, if he would have Christ formed within his heart, and would honor Christ especially in works of charity.
2Co 8:24. We should do it for the glory of God, and for the awakening of our fellow men.
Rieger:
2Co 8:1 ff. Divine grace is always in the heart when we are inclined to acts of charity, and those who thankfully enjoy the gift will not forget the Divine Giver.Our own wants, and perilous times will often be an excuse for neglecting works of kindness, but Gods word reverses this, and makes them a motive for activity in them. Let any man become aware by experience of the little comfort which earthly things can give, and of the mighty aid which grace can give under every variety of condition from sources he never dreamed of, and he will never settle down under the pretence of holding together what he has, but will let it go to the relief of others, and with heartfelt simplicity commit himself to the wonderful care of God.
2Co 8:4. The name of saint, is always a sufficient motive to give liberally and cheerfully.
2Co 8:9. The whole earthly life of our Saviour was as lowly as it was different from everything which the world loves. And yet at every step He was cheered by the tokens of His heavenly Fathers love (Mat 4:4). He thus showed that there are better treasures than can be found on earth; that we can be rich in God, but poor on earth; that one may have every bond which binds him to this world sundered and yet be rich toward God, and that our highest nobility consists in a title to a Divine inheritance.
2Co 8:10 ff. Everything we have should be looked upon as committed to us in trust that we may give to those who need it. Why should not the profitless penny laid up for a wet day be invested in the Lords fund (Pro 19:19)?
2Co 8:14 f. In an unfallen state when men loved God and one another with a pure heart, Gods gifts were enjoyed by all creatures alike. But since man has fallen and mutual envies and wrongs make it needful that each one should have his peculiar possessions and rights of property, great inequalities have been produced by the right of inheritance and other arbitrary arrangements. And though the mingling of the rich and the poor in common society has been overruled for many advantages, we should strive to prevent great inequalities in human condition, and by offices of mutual love equalize as much as possible the bounties of Providence.How happy would it be, if every man would regard and use his earthly goods as the Israelites did their manna, rather as a Divine gift than as a product of human toil, for the supply of his absolute wants rather than for the indulgence of his passions, and for consumption along his journey rather than for a permanent accumulation!
2Co 8:21. O God, give me an honest heart, a pervading desire to perform every duty under the direction not merely of some prescriptive forms and outward letter, but of an enlightened conscience, and as nearly as possible according to that image of love which belonged originally to man, and which is renewed by grace in his heart!
Heubner:
2Co 8:2. Persecutions and crosses give life to the church. They impart to us that firmness and courage which are so indispensable to offices of fellowship and charity. Melancholy and gloom on the other hand contract the heart.
2Co 8:3 f. Christian love regards the gifts which it bestows, as of small consequence compared with the spiritual benefit it derives from the objects of its bounty. Hence it prays with much entreaty.
2Co 8:5. True love when it gives, gives as it were its whole self.
2Co 8:7. The richer one is in moral excellence, the nobler should he appear in kind consideration for all around him. Penuriousness and selfishness would bedim all his virtues, as rust will destroy the lustre of the most brilliant metal. Where real benevolence is wanting among a people, there can be no true life.
2Co 8:8. Example is far more effective than precept, and every work of love should stimulate to something higher.
2Co 8:10. The tenderer a Christians heart is the freer his soul should be; he needs the less your commands, and only hints and opportunities. Precise precepts are for children, but a freer choice is better for the mature youth. We have a right to expect that a congregation of Christians will be of a mature age.
2Co 8:11. The good purpose should never waver when we come to the performance. To fail in doing is especially disgraceful to him who has willed it.
2Co 8:12. Love is never so unreasonable as to demand what is impossible, but neither will it refuse compliance from some apprehension of a remote and only possible danger.
2Co 8:13 ff. The inequalities which God permits should be adjusted only in His own way. True charity is a practical recognition of mans equality. But where inequalities exist, as they will, we should never murmur against God, even when they burn with indignation against the oppressor.Our highest enjoyment of life depends not upon the possession of an abundance; a very moderate portion is enough.
2Co 8:20 f. Even those who are conscious of moral purity, should never be indifferent to that which might draw upon them the suspicions of their fellowmen, but strive to maintain an untarnished reputation before the world.
W. F. Besser:
2Co 8:1. To do good and to communicate are of grace (Heb 13:16). This idea stands at the head of all that the Apostle says in this section, and he thus closes the door against all foolish fancies about human merit. Every blossom of the tree of life is thus protected against the poisonous blight of self-righteousness.
2Co 8:2. This gracious source from which the stream of charity flows to the world is also a source of joy to the heart.
2Co 8:3 f. Seldom do we meet with those who give according to their ability; for we seldom find those who calculate with simplicity what their ability is; but still more uncommon are those who give beyond their power, for very uncommon is that love which seeks not its own, which cheerfully bears its own wants, and which therefore can spare anything from its means of self-gratification.
2Co 8:9. May each of us have the mind which was also in Christ Jesus (Php 2:9)! Our Lords grace in becoming poor is set before us that we may imitate Him.The Scriptures never speak of voluntary poverty as a merit, but they rather commend that voluntary service in which a man uses what he has and of course ought to have, as though he possessed it not (1Co 7:30).
2Co 8:10 f. There is such a thing as the outward performance without the hearty willing of an act of charity especially among those who have an abundance. They may give from a sudden excitement of sympathy, from the example of the multitude, or from the necessity of their position.
2Co 8:12. Even the widows mite (Mar 12:43) should not be kept back from Gods treasury. If there be a willing mind it is acceptable to God and will be estimated in each case according to what it has, and not according to what it has not. Gods pleasure in the free offerings of his people is not proportioned to the extent of their possessions, for some of them have small possessions but large hearts. In such cases the willing among the rich would be more acceptable than the willing among the poor. In Gods sight, says Gregory the Great, no mans hand is without a gift who has a treasury of good desires in his heart.Christs example should be imitated by doing, not what its outward form might seem to require, but what Christs Spirit taught His disciples (Joh 13:15).
2Co 8:13 f. The system of communism and socialism which some have devised are only servile imitations of the true fellowship of the saints, and wherever they have been carried out there are no traces of that equality which Christian love produces. As a stream by its own law, must necessarily descend, so the essential spirit of Christian love inclines the heart of the rich toward them who are in want. Those inequalities of social life, in which the rich and the poor must dwell together, give employment to the love of the members of the Christian household, as they endeavor to equalize the comforts of all and to give enough to all. To this extent the community of goods among the first Christians is an authoritative example for all subsequent ages.
2Co 8:15. The wonderful arrangement which the heavenly Householder ordained for His great family in the wilderness, should be affectionately imitated by His stewards upon earth, that there may be no inequalities in the house of God. As the manna which was carefully kept in store, was soon filled with worms, so the superfluous abundance which is kept back from the supply of a brothers wants will have no blessing.
2Co 8:19. Those who would banish from the church all such things as a choice of spiritual officers, on the ground that they are too secular and legal, may have a great appearance of spirituality, but the Scriptures know nothing of a spiritualism which proudly exalts itself above all external and necessary order, generally to introduce tyranny instead of love, and finally to degrade the body of the church to a machine in the hands of a few.
[Christian beneficence: I. Its proper incentives. 1. It is an indication of divine grace (2Co 8:1). 2. It has an admirable example commended by the Apostle himself. The Macedonians gave without solicitation (2Co 8:3), to brethren in some respects opposed to them, (Jewish Christians), when tried by deep poverty (2Co 8:2) and yet up to and beyond their power (2Co 8:3), with overflowing joy (2Co 8:2), without an overvaluation of what they did (2Co 8:4), and with a complete surrender of themselves (2Co 8:5). 3. It is like Christ (2Co 8:9), who, unlike the Macedonians, was rich, but gave Himself and all His wealth to enrich guilty men. 4. It is needful to our own consistency, for a clear faith, and much knowledge and power (2Co 8:7), a sincere love (2Co 8:8), and an already announced purpose (2Co 8:10), should be carried out into benevolent action. 5. It is needful to an equal distribution of providential favors (vv.1315). II. Its needful precautions. Not to present before men a false show of goodness nor to silence vain talkers, but, 1. Against giving from wrong motives, as under authority (2Co 8:8), and without inward conviction (2Co 8:12) 2. Against intrusting the work to weak or dishonest men (vv.1824). 3. Against plausible objectors (2Co 8:21). 4. Against unequal burdens (2Co 8:13).]
Footnotes:
[1]2Co 8:3.Rec. has , but the predominance of testimony is in favor of . Meyer thinks the former an explanatory gloss. [Bloomfield defends here as in 2Co 1:8, on the ground that it is the more difficult idiom and so likely to be corrected to make it purer Greek.]
[2]2Co 8:4.Rec. has , but it was unquestionably an addition, and should be thrown out.
[3]2Co 8:5.Lachmann following Cod. B. has instead of . He also has on similar authority instead of . His authority however is quite insufficient.
[4]2Co 8:7.Lachmann has instead of . His authority however is feeble, and his reading is probably an attempted amendment of the text. [He is sustained only by Cod. B with 10 cursives and the Syr. and Arm. versions and one Slav. MSS. Origen has in the Lat.: nostra in vos, and Ambrst. has: in nobis et vobis. The common reading is sustained by C. D. E. F. G. K. L. Sin. et al. It was more to the Apostles purpose to speak of the love awakened by him in the Corinthians.]
[5]2Co 8:9.The authorities for instead of are much the feeblest.
[6]2Co 8:12.Rec. has after , against the best authorities. It is an interpolation. [For we have in B. F. G. L. Sin., one MSS. of Chrys. and Damasc.]
[7]2Co 8:13.Lachmann following B. C. and some other less important MSS. throws out after . Meyer agrees with him on the ground that it was inserted to bring out the contrast with the preceding. [The authority of Sin. (1st Cor.) has since been added in favor of . Tisch. in his 7th ed. inserts it. Alford puts it in brackets.]
[8]2Co 8:16.Many MSS. in some respects of importance have instead of , but the change can be explained by an attempt to match the following aorists (Meyer). [C. also adds .]
[9]2Co 8:19.Rec. has for , but it is not well sustained, and it is doubtless a gloss. [And yet it has for it D. E. F. G. K. L. and the more powerful Sin. and it is defended by Reiche and Osiander as the more free and appropriate but more uncommon word]
[10]2Co 8:19.Rec. and Tisch. have before . The weight of authority however is against it. Meyer thinks it has come in by writing the twice. [It has Sin. in its favor, with D. (2d and 3d Cor.) K. and L. the Syr., Chrys., Theodt. and Damasc. Some cursives have .]
[11]2Co 8:19.Rec. has , but it is not well sustained, and was probably so written because seemed unsuitable.
[12]2Co 8:21.Rec. has , but it is rather feebly supported. Tischendorf after C. and some MSS. of less weight gives . But the best evidence is in favor of . [Alford: Meyer thinks that was originally a mere mistake, arising from above; and thus the which was at first retained from oversight, as in C, was at last erased. Probably was introduced from Rom 12:17, where the same words occur. Bloomfield still defends Tischendorfs reading, as the simplest and best confirmed by internal evidence. Wordsworth also thinks the first person plural too direct a self-condemnation.]
[13]2Co 8:24.-Rec. has for . It is doubtless a gloss. [It is sustained by C., Sin., many cursives of considerable authority and the Vulgate. Wordsworth defends it.]
[14]2Co 8:24.Rec. has before , but it is an interpolation [for it has only an ancient Slav. MS. in its favor. And yet it is edited by Griesb. and Scholz.
[15][Chrysostom speaks decidedly for Barnabas, as the brother mentioned in 2Co 8:18, but. we have no evidence that he ever travelled with Paul after the separation mentioned in Act 15:39, and his age and position forbid his subordination to the much younger Titus. Origen and Jerome give us a much more ancient and prevalent tradition in favor of Luke. Indeed, probabilities are all in favor of this. The use or absence of the pronoun we in the Acts indicate that Luke was with Paul on his first journey through Macedonia as far as Philippi (Act 16:10-11), but not with him again until Paul returned from Troas to Philippi, when we find him accompanying Paul in his later travels (Act 20:5, etc). It seems fair to conclude, therefore, that Luke was employed in evangelical labors in Macedonia and Greece, and thus acquired a reputation in the Gospel among the Macedonian Churches. Jerome tells us that Luke composed his Gospel in. Achaiae Boeotiaeque partibus (Cat. Ser. Ecc. c. 7). We do not thus assume that Paul had necessarily any reference to a written Gospel in our passage. Wordsworths idea that Paul had by inspiration a proleptic reference to the future celebrity of Lukes written Gospel seems to us unworthy of serious defence. If all reference to a written Gospel be removed, we have no occasion to think of Mark, who was not probably Pauls companion after his separation from Barnabas. We never read of. Apollos as under Pauls direction or influence after Act 19:1. Beyond Titus and Luke, then, we have no means of determining with any probability who among Pauls company (Act 20:4) were these deputies].
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
DISCOURSE: 2032
LIBERALITY TO THE POOR
2Co 8:1-5. Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the Churches of Macedonia; how that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; praying its with much entreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.
THE texture of the human mind is extremely delicate: and every one, who would produce any beneficial effect upon others, must approach them with tenderness and care. We may, by an unseasonable urgency, cause a person to revolt from a measure, to which by a more gentle address he might have easily been persuaded. The mind of man naturally affects liberty; and will be more powerfully moved, when its decisions appear to be the consequence of volition, than when they are called forth by the compulsory influence of persuasion. This the Apostle Paul well understood, and bore, as it were, in constant remembrance. Not that he on any occasion acted with artifice: no; his caution was the result of his own exquisite delicacy and holy refinement: and his success in affecting the minds of others bore ample testimony to the wisdom of his measures. He was anxious to obtain from amongst the Gentile Churches relief for the distressed and persecuted saints at Jerusalem. In writing therefore to the Church at Corinth who were more opulent, he endeavoured to interest them in behalf of their suffering brethren in Juda. But he did not proceed, as we might have expected, to expatiate upon the wants of the sufferers, or on the obligations of the Church at Corinth to relieve them; but simply communicated, as an article of pleasing intelligence, the liberality that had been displayed towards them by the poorer Churches of Macedonia; and then stirred them up to imitate so laudable an example.
With the same view we shall now,
I.
Consider the example here set before us
The Churches here referred to were those of Thessalonica, Bera, and Philippi: and truly their example was most eminent in respect of,
1.
Their liberality
[The real extent of liberality must not be judged of by the sum given, so much as by the circumstances under which it is given: our blessed Lord has told us, that the widows mite exceeded in value all that the most opulent had bestowed, because their donations were a small portion only of what they possessed, whereas hers was her all, even all her living. To view the liberality of the Macedonians aright, we must particularly notice the time and manner of its exercise.
It was in a time of great affliction and of deep poverty. Now persons in great affliction are for the most part so occupied with their own troubles, as to have but little either of leisure or inclination to enter into the concerns of others And, if they be at the same time in a state of deep poverty, they seem by their very situation, as it were, to be exempt from any obligation to relieve the wants of others: if they shed a tear of sympathy, it is as much as, under their circumstances, can be expected of them But behold, it was in this very state, and under these circumstances, that the Macedonian Churches exerted themselves for the relief of persons belonging to a different and distant country, of persons too, who, though agreeing with them in the profession of Christianity, differed widely from them in many points of subordinate importance.
The manner too in which their liberality was exercised deserves particularly to be noticed. It was put forth voluntarily: they waited not for any application to this effect from the Apostle; they were willing of their own mind to embrace the opportunity afforded them of fulfilling a duty so congenial with the best feelings of their hearts. It was exercised also bountifully. Their ability was the only measure of their gifts. In some respect they seemed, as it were, to exceed even that: for to their power, and beyond their power, they exerted themselves, insomuch that, according to Gods estimate of their gifts, they abounded unto the riches of liberality. And what they did, they did zealously. They did not make an offer which they hoped would be refused, and then, on the refusal, feel pleased that the will had been accepted for the deed: no; they forced the Apostle to accept their donations: they would not suffer him to decline their offer; they prayed him with much entreaty that he would be their almoner, and be the medium of conveying to their afflicted brethren the relief which God had enabled them to bestow.
If we would know whence it was that they were enabled so to act, the text informs us: it was, primarily, from the grace of God operating powerfully on their hearts; and, next, from the joyful frame of their minds, which bore them up above all their own trials, and exulted in every opportunity of manifesting their love to their blessed Lord and Saviour. They had an abundance of joy in the midst of their deep poverty; and that joy in the Lord was their strength.]
2.
Their piety
[This was not a whit less remarkable: indeed, it was the foundation, of which their liberality was the superstructure. They first gave up themselves to God in a way both of secret surrender, and of open profession.
They surrendered themselves wholly to Christ as his willing subjects and servants. Without this, all their liberality would have been a mere heathen virtue. If, without love to man, a person might give all his goods to feed the poor, and yet be no better than sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal, much more would his best actions be of no value, if not springing from love to God. It is this principle that constitutes the perfection of every thing we do, and makes a wish, a sigh, a groan more acceptable to God than the most splendid action without it. Every thing emanating from it has an odour of a sweet smell, and is a sacrifice truly acceptable and well-pleasing to God.
At the same time they openly and boldly confessed Christ before men: They gave themselves to the Apostle and to the Church, by the will of God. They were not timid Christians, fearful of augmenting their afflictions by an open profession of the Gospel: they were willing to bear any cross which their adherence to Christ might bring upon them. They had already been brought into a great trial of affliction, and to deep poverty, for his sake: but none of these things moved them, nor did they count even life itself dear to them, if only they might but honour their Divine Master, and finish their course with joy. This put an additional value on their services, as manifesting the very spirit that was in Christ, who willingly impoverished himself to enrich a ruined world [Note: ver. 9.].]
Having so excellent an example before us, we will now,
II.
Propose it to your imitation
First, we would call you to imitate their piety
[This, though last mentioned in the text, was first in point of time, and was, in fact, the source and fountain of all the graces which they exercised.
We call upon you then to give yourselves up wholly to the Lord. This is the indispensable duty of every child of man. As creatures, we are bound to serve and glorify our God, from whom we have received all that we are and have; but, as redeemed sinners, our obligation to serve him is infinitely enhanced. The Apostle tells the Corinthians in his former epistle, Ye are not your own; ye are bought with a price: so say I to every one amongst you, Ye are not your own. Nothing, that you either are or have, is your own: the members of your bodies, the faculties of your souls, your time, your property, your influence, all belong to him, whose you are, and whom you are bound to serve: all are to be improved for his glory; as St. Paul has said, Ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify him with your body and your spirit, which are his. And this is as reasonable as it is necessary; agreeably to what he has elsewhere said, Yield yourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
But with this secret surrender of yourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ there must also be an open avowal of your adherence to him. With the heart man believeth unto righteousness; but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. If we will be Christs disciples indeed, we must take up our cross daily and follow him: we must follow him without the camp, bearing his reproach: and so far must we be from dreading his cross, that we must glory in it, and rejoice that we are counted worthy to bear it, and esteem as Moses did, the reproach of Christ as greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt. We must never be ashamed of Christ; for, if we be, he will be ashamed of us in the presence of his Father, and of the holy angels. If we confess him, he will confess us; but, if we deny him, he will deny us. When the Apostle says, they gave themselves unto us by the will of God, it must not be understood as if he gloried in gaining proselytes to himself: it is of their union with the Church, as avowed friends and followers of Christ, that he speaks; and this all must be, if they would approve themselves faithful to their Lord and Master: this is the will of God respecting every child of man; that we come out from the world, and be separate from it, and be as lights shining in a dark place, holding forth in the whole of our spirit and conversation the word of life.
Let me then urge upon you all this duty. The Churches of Macedonia acted thus in defiance of all the malice of men or devils: though brought by means of it into a great trial of affliction and deep poverty, they turned not back, but strove the more to glorify their God in proportion as their enemies sought to suppress their zeal. So then do ye also: harbour not for a moment that fear of man which bringeth a snare; fear not man, who can only destroy the body; but fear him, and him only, who, when he has destroyed the body, can destroy both body and soul in hell.]
Next, we would invite you to imitate also their liberality
[Your obligations to it are as great as theirs: for you, as well as they, have been redeemed by the precious blood of that spotless Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ The occasion too, if not altogether similar, is quite as urgent: for if we plead not now in behalf of persons reduced to the deepest distress by persecution, we plead for those whose circumstance are most indigent, and whose temporal benefit is consulted with an ulterior view to the welfare of their souls [Note: This was delivered in aid of a Visiting Society, where the souls of the persons visited are the chief object. But the subject may be adapted to any charity, by stating its peculiar purposes.] May I not add too that the means afforded you are similar? You cannot personally perform all the offices that are executed by those who have undertaken to dispense your charity [Note: Here again, the statement must be varied according to circumstances: if the charity be a hospital, or school, or any other, a suitable statement will be necessary.] Nor will it be necessary for you to pray others with much entreaty to be your agents; since a number of suitable persons have voluntarily devoted themselves to this good work.
Let me then call upon you all to manifest by your liberality the sincerity of your love to Christ. I will not except any from this labour of love. Are any of you in a great trial of affliction, and at the same time in deep poverty? I would not on that account dispense with your exertions; nor would you wish me so to do, if you have received the grace of God in truth. I will not indeed be importunate with you, as with others: but I will remind you of what was done by the Christians of former days in circumstances more afflictive than your own: and I will add, that their conduct is set forth by the Apostle as worthy to be followed by Christians in every age: I say, I will not urge you to liberality on this occasion; but I well know what you will do, if God has bestowed his grace upon you: I know, that to your power, and even beyond your power, you will be willing of yourselves. But to those who are in circumstances of ease and affluence I would say, Look at the example set before you; and think what exertions your circumstances require. O, give not in a grudging or sparing manner; but let it be seen by your donations what you understand by abounding unto the riches of liberality: and, as God in his providence has enabled you to stretch forth Corinthian hands, shew that he has also in his mercy given you Macedonian hearts ]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
CONTENTS
The Historical Part of this Chapter, is in relation to the Provision Paul recommended, for the poor Saints in the Church. He speaks sweetly of Christ, and shews the Fulness, and Suitability of the Lord, to his People.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
(1) Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; (2) How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. (3) For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; (4) Praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. (5) And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. (6) Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also. (7) Therefore, as ye abound in everything, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. (8) I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love. (9) For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
The Apostle opens the Chapter with a very high commendation of the liberality of the Churches of Macedon, which is Philippi. And to be sure, what he saith of those people, gives one a very delightful idea, how truly the grace of Jesus must have wrought upon their minds. But Paul shows the foundation of all that love, and zeal, when tracing it to the source: they first had given themselves to the Lord, and therefore, they might well give of their substance, or even if needful, the whole of their substance, to the Lord’s poor family. I do entreat the Reader to attend to this, for it is in my view most interesting. Neither do I find in the whole Bible, anything which throws a clearer light, on what may be called the true spirit of the Gospel. If God the Holy Ghost, when regenerating my fallen nature, opened to my spiritual apprehension, a full sense, of the nothingness of everything out of Christ; and of the fulness, and all-sufficiency, in Christ; so as to make me out of love with all but Jesus; and Jesus, and his people, became all that was dear to me: what is there, after such views, that a child of God could count dear, or withhold from Christ; in his distressed members?
I cannot do a single act, either of praise, or of service, to shew my attachment to Christ. My praise, cannot add to his glory, no more than my tears could swell his sea. And the services of men, or angels, do not benefit God. So that Christ in his Person, is beyond the reach of all receiving. But Christ in his poor members, is capable of receiving, even the cup of cold water; and hath declared, that the act, when done with an eye to Him, is costly in his view. But it should seem, that notwithstanding everyone who reads his Bible knows this, and believes it; yet perhaps no man, from the beginning of the world to this hour, ever did, fully, and upon every occasion, act up to it. At least, I plead guilty for myself; I have not. And I would go on pilgrimage many a mile, to see the follower of Jesus who hath; and who in every circumstance of life, hath been invariably acting up to this principle!
But, when the Reader hath carried this doctrine to the highest extent the imagination can conceive; and pictured to his view some beautiful representation of a child of God, beholding Christ in everyone of his members, and acting up to that view, in taking part in all their distresses; let him call off his attention, to what the Apostle hath here said, of Jesus himself; and lose all recollection of tenderness, and compassion, in the members of Christ to one another, in contemplating the Son of God, as Paul hath represented him. Ye know (saith he) the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor; that ye, through his poverty, might be rich. Reader! pause over the wonderful account! We were before considering, the greatness of that man’s mind, that in the consciousness of the love of Christ, and an interest in Christ, could give of his substance to any extent, to the relief of any of Christ’s family; and take no account of his possessions, from an attention to Christ and his people. But when we look at Jesus, who though Lord of all, became servant of all: who though Lord of heaven and earth, and rich beyond all calculation of riches, yet made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant; and became poor, that his redeemed, through his poverty, might be made rich: this is a precedent unheard of, an example unparalleled; and which leaves at an infinite distance, all that can be mentioned of liberality, in the whole creation of Genesis and can be said of none but Him, who is One with the Father over all God blessed forevermore. Amen!
Reader! do not hastily pass away from the wonderful subject. Think of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was rich. Yes! so rich, that as God, all divine perfections were his, in common with the Father, and the Holy Ghost. And, as God-Man, in him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. All government His, in his Universal Empire and Dominion; through all the departments of nature, providence, grace, and glory. All things were made by Him, and for Him; and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. All these were, and are, His by right, by possession, essentially and truly his own, underived, eternal, and unchangeable. Now behold his vast humiliation. Though he was thus rich, beyond the utmost imagination of riches; yet, for our sakes, he became poor. So poor, that he had not where to lay his head. He was despised and rejected of men, a man or the man of sorrows; as if, and which was in reality the case, no sorrow, nor all the sorrows of the human state, could be brought into comparison with his, Lam 1:12 .
And all this, that his people through his poverty might be made rich. And, what tends to enhance the mercy still more, is the persons for whom this love of Christ was thus shewn. Not angels, nor holy men, but sinners, and those of the deepest dye; yea, enemies of God, by wicked works, who had done no one thing to merit divine favor; but done everything to merit divine displeasure. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us! Reader! do you know this grace of the Lord Jesus Christ? Many read of it. Many talk of it. But Paul tells the Church of the Corinthians, that they knew it: that is, God the Holy Ghost had taught them to know it, in the blessed effect of it upon their souls, by regeneration: by which they knew the truth of it: and their interest in it. For having been once desperately poor, and ruined by sin; they knew themselves now immensely rich, in Christ, both my Reader know it, and from the self-same cause?
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The Charm of Christ
2Co 8:9
I would take the text as showing the God-nature in the self-giving of Christ.
I. The Divine Plenitude. ‘He was rich’ carries us up into the relation of the Son to the Father, and into the wealth He shared as Son with the Father. We have now to try and realise some of the great things which are of the essence of Deity, and to remember that they belonged to the riches of Christ as sharing in the nature of the Godhead. What, then, are the riches of God? (1) God is rich in omnipotence. In His pre-existence He was one with the Father in that eternal energy which is both the source and conservation of the things that are. (2) God is rich in omnipresence. It is an overwhelming thought that in all the vastness and in all the worlds there is no spot where God is not. (3) God is rich in wisdom. (4) God is rich in generosity. The whole of the life of God is a life of sacrifice. He is the blessed or happy God because He is the self-giving God. In nature He gives with surprising prodigality, and in grace with loving generosity.
II. The Divine Poverty. He ’emptied Himself. Now, ‘if His riches consisted in sharing with the Father the attributes of Deity, surely His poverty must have consisted in the act of self-limitation in the Incarnation. He could no longer share with the Father in placing the seal of infinite wisdom on every flower that blooms and on every star that shines. He could no longer with the Father, out of plenitude of power, revel in the prodigality of Deity; He had ’emptied’ Himself, and was poor; He had not lost His divinity, but it was circumscribed. Deity contracted itself in order to reveal itself, and the contraction is at once the shame and the glory of Jesus. Again Jesus became poor as the Son of Man. He was poor socially. Isolation is the penalty of greatness.
III. The Divine Purpose. There is a legend of Thomas Aquinas kneeling before the cross, when a voice said, ‘Thomas, thou hast written and done much for Me. What reward shall I give thee?’ Lowly he kneeled and said, ‘Lord, give me Thyself!’ When we possess Christ we get the true wealth, which is pure health of soul. That was the purpose of His coming and the grace of His poverty. By the charm of the condescension in which He became poor, He wins us to His wealth.
J. Oates, The Sorrow of God, p. 121.
References. VIII. 9. C. O. Eldridge, Preacher’s Magazine, vol. x. p. 554. H. Woodcock, Sermon Outlines (1st Series), p. 40. G. W. Brameld, Practical Sermons, p. 26. W. H. Hutchings, Sermon Sketches, p. 257. A. Coote, Twelve Sermons, p. 1. F. D. Maurice, Sermons, vol. iii. p. 83. R. C. Trench, Sermons New and Old, p. 249. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iii. No. 151; vol. xxxvii. No. 2232; vol. xl. No. 2364; and vol. xlvii. No. 2716. Expositor (4th Series), vol. ii. p. 278; ibid. vol. v. p. 28; ibid. (5th Series), vol. ii. p. 248; ibid. vol. ix. p. 223; ibid. (6th Series), vol. iii. p. 411; ibid. vol. iv. p. 126.
2Co 8:9
In a small house beside the yard in front of City Road Chapel, John Wesley took his departure out of the world. In his wanderings he was always preaching or meeting classes. He seldom spoke; but once, in a wakeful interval, exclaimed, ‘There is no way into the holiest but by the blood of Jesus. “Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.” That is the foundation, the only foundation; there is no other.’
References. VIII. 9. W. Pulsford, Trinity Church Sermons, p. 1. VIII. 10. Expositor (4th Series), vol. viii. p. 323; ibid. (5th Series), vol. x. p. 426. VIII. 17. Ibid. vol. iv. p. 164. VIII. 18. Ibid. (4th Series), p. 334; ibid. (5th Series), vol. ii. p. 115; ibid. vol. vii. p. 405. VIII. 23. Expositor (6th Series), vol. vii. p. 120. VIII. 24. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxvi. No. 1522. Expositor (4th Series), vol. v. p. 365. VIII. 25. Ibid. (6th Series), vol. iii. p. 373. IX. 1. Expositor (6th Series), vol. i. p. 209. IX. 5. Ibid. p. 276. IX. 6. F. D. Maurice, Sermons, vol. iv. p. 229. IX. 6, 7. W. H. Evans, Short Sermons for the Seasons, p. 108. IX. 7. J. S. Maver, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lvi. p. 127. J. H. Jowett, Examiner, 28th June, 1906, p. 628. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xiv. No. 835. Expositor (5th Series), vol. ix. p. 447. IX. 7-15. Expository Sermons on the New Testament, p. 196. IX. 8. Expositor (6th Series), vol. xi. p. 285. IX. 15. J. Keble, Miscellaneous Sermons, p. 235. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxvi. No. 1550; vol. xxxviii. No. 2247; vol. xxxix. No. 2290. J. M. Neale, Sermons Preached in Sackville College Chapel, vol. i. p. 101. J. Stuart Holden, The Pre-Eminent Lord, p. 225. X. Expositor (6th Series), vol. vii. p. 107. X. 1. John Watson, The Inspiration of Our Faith, p. 190. Expositor (5th Series), vol. vi. p. 66; ibid. (6th Series), vol. xi. p. 287. X. 1-10. Ibid. p. 463. X. 2. Expositor (4th Series), vol. iv. p. 298. X. 3, 4. Ibid. (5th Series), vol. vii. p. 459. X. 3-5. C. Bradley, The Christian Life, p. 362. X. 4. W. G. Horder, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lix. p. 156.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
Paul on Almsgiving
2Co 8:7
We should read the eighth chapter and the ninth chapter right through; they really concern themselves with one subject. The Apostle Paul wants to carry a point, and it will be an education to us to watch how he does it. There never was a greater man. He had all qualities. In a sense, the Christian or religious mind found its consummation in Paul. It ought to be a lesson to you, young business men, and to you, leaders of society, to watch the Apostle cunningly, quickly, so that no action of his hand shall elude your vision that you may see how this master, this leader, carries his point. He is making the most difficult of all speeches; he is making an appeal for a collection. Few men can do that with any success. It ought to be deeply interesting to you, men of the marketplace, to see how Paul sets himself about this. We know his great intellect, his wonderful command of solemn and magnificent language; we know how he can wrestle with a solemn doctrine and a great problem; but how will he persuade these Corinthian curmudgeons to give him money? They had promised a year ago; for it was not a bad city for promising; other cities have followed suit with some energy; but the money was not forthcoming. Paul says, in effect, You began a year ago to get ready; I know your disposition is perfectly good, but now I think the time has come when you might perhaps complete your purpose, especially as some persons are coming over from Macedonia to whom we have been trumpeting your praises; we have said, What beautiful souls there are at Corinth! how willing to give and how willing to labour! and if it should happen that your collection is not ready when they come, where are we? I do not say, Where are ye? but, Where are we? you make us liars; you bring us under great suspicion; the Macedonians and others may turn round upon us and say, You boasted of these Corinthians; by their example you sought to stir our emulation: now where are they? Paul makes arrangements which the nineteenth century will understand: he proposes that the Corinthians should get ready listen “beforehand.” That is the only way to get money for religion if you want it. He says, You had better pay in advance. These are terms that the nineteenth century partially understands. Whenever I observe in London that a new business place is opened upon the “new principle” I find that the “new principle” is to pay for the goods before you have taken them away. I am surprised that that should be a new principle. Let us watch this master-magician.
First of all, he shows what has been done by others, especially by the churches of Macedonia “How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.” They were, then, a poor people; their country and the adjacent countries had suffered from three tremendous and most desolating wars. The taxation was intolerable; the people of Macedonia and Achaia had prayed Tiberius to be released from the government of the senate, and to be placed more immediately under the administration of the Emperor himself, and this was done, that they might in some degree mitigate the pressure of vexatious, harassing, and almost persecuting taxations. These people, so ground down in Grco-Roman citizen provinces, these were the people that astonished the Apostle by their simplicity, here translated “liberality,” their sincerity, their oneness of mind and heart, about the needy people far away. But is it not always so? Who are the people who adopt children? Persons who have nine or ten of their own. Who are kindest to the poor? The poor. Who was that pastor in Brussels long ago, in an age almost romantic now, who, seeing a poor woman in great sorrow and suffering, took down his own bed to her, and himself took away the straw that he might lie upon it? He was a poor preacher, a poor Christian nobody. So we should call him, but his name is writ large in heaven; hardly was there gold enough in all that upper city to make the letters large enough and rich enough with which to build his name on the tablets of the skies. If you propose in a council meeting, composed of wealthy merchants and others, as I have done, not in London, that there should be an offering at every service, these wealthy merchants always say that the poor might feel it, and therefore they think it better that there should not be any arrangement of the kind. The poor never complain. It was the rich merchant who did not want to be troubled, this he saith not that he cared for the poor, but because to himself, as to all gluttons and self-indulgent persons, it would have been a vexation and a toil. Never will you find any trouble in this direction among the poor. All Christ’s trouble is with the rich, greedy man. This had better be said, and better be understood.
This work had been done by men also who had strained themselves “For to their power I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves.” “Beyond their power” a man can always do something more, not in this particular direction, or that, but in some other direction; and the measure will always receive something more, it is so capacious; and yet we never can give all, and the moment we have done our most God begins to do his most. Who can overtake God? Do you know to whom you owe that great balance at the bank, you four-figured man? What does your “Cr.” mean on your books, or your “Dr.”? To whom are you indebted, to whom must you give the credit? It will all be taken away from you, beginning at the first figure, unless you realise in a very wise, sensible, and gracious way the Giver of your store. I shall have you at the door begging some day because you were rich and godless. Take care: riches make to themselves wings and flee away. Be on your guard: your wash-leather purse may have holes in it, and the gold may be leaking out. Who are the men who have made history, who have helped human life? The poor, the men who have strained themselves, who have gone beyond their power. Shall they be forgotten in the resurrection of the just? God is not unrighteous to forget their work of faith and labour of love. No man shall give a cup of cold water to a disciple in the name of Christ but shall receive a hundredfold all wine, intoxicating the heart, but not poisoning the blood.
It was done by persons, further, who asked to be honoured by being allowed to give “Praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift.” We said, Can you do this? and they said, We can. We asked them to consider the whole case, and they said, We have done so. Where have you done it? On our knees. From what standpoint have you looked upon this case? From the Cross. These are the men that make life beautiful. The heathen had done some things in this way. When Alexander the Great accomplished the conquest of Persia people asked him where the treasure was which he had taken up, and he said, ” In scriniis ,” that is to say, In my chest, in my box. Being asked where his chests were, he pointed to the poor, “I have given all to the poor”; then, in modern phrase, What has Your Majesty kept for yourself? ” Spent majorum el meliorum ” hope of greater and better things. That was done by heathen paganism; that was done by a man that we lecture upon as a horrible character in history, from a merely blood-shedding point of view. He made the poor his treasurers; he lived in hope of greater and better things. Who can rival that? Except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of all scribes, Pharisees, moralists, financiers, and prudent men, you cannot see the kingdom of heaven. You can see some superstition, you can lay hold upon some religious prejudice, you can build a sect upon some disjointed text; but God’s kingdom, all light, you cannot see.
How did they do all this? There must be some profound explanation of this heroic self-denial: how was it accomplished? The Apostle tells us. He says, they “first gave their own selves to the Lord”; then all minor gifts became easy. The great demand of the times is that men should give themselves to the Lord. Until a man has done that, he is toiling up a very steep hill, endeavouring to roll a very heavy stone before him; he can hardly move it, and every step he takes forward, he takes a step back. It is toilsome work to go where the heart has not been given. It is easy work to give where the heart leads. So we come to the deepest reply. This is no superficial answer. Many persons say, Remember the words of the Apostle Paul, “We seek not yours, but you”; then they think they have put an end to all appeals and made the matter remarkably simple; these are the expositors who ruin the genius of revelation. Consider the case: “We seek not yours, but you,” knowing that when we have got you we have got yours. The “you” is inclusive, plural; it means the whole total man, body, soul, and estate. How often is that passage misinterpreted; how foolishly men have sought to weaken Christian appeals by quoting the Apostle, who says, “We seek not yours, but you.” Paul had a leading solicitude; Paul was a masterbuilder; Paul was the chief of accountants. He knew what he was talking about. So long as we seek only “yours” we have to fight for it and argue about it and worry it out of the man; but when we have got the man himself, with all his love, the rest is easy. He who has seen the sun, makes nothing of looking upon a little candle: he who is in heaven looks down upon the earth, not up to it: he who has given his whole soul to Christ gives all that he has as a matter of gracious sequence. Until this is done we can make no progress. Do not say you have given yourselves to Christ, if you are keeping anything back from him. We do not want the things you are so ready to give; we want things you do not want to part with. There are many persons who are perfectly ready to give you any amount of good advice. The beggar appealed to the Cardinal for a penny, the Cardinal gave him his blessing; the beggar returned the blessing, saying, “If it had been worth a penny you would not have given it to me.” These beggars can reason! The poor are not necessarily foolish. There is an education which comes of experience as well as an education which comes by intellectual drill. It is impossible for any man to be uneducated to-day; the friction of the time is such that he is bound to be sharpened and stimulated and made sagacious. Do not therefore imagine that we can escape true reasoning and true criticism; do not imagine that you can give your money and keep yourselves back. We do not want such money; no blessing comes with it: only he can give money who has given himself. “Given” is a large word, small in letters, but all-inclusive and all-compendious in utterance. Can a man give who does not feel it? He may part with the money, but has he given it? Where do we find that word “give” “God so loved the world, that he gave.” He gave; then, if we search into that, we shall find the meaning of the word. What did he give? “his only begotten Son.” Can a man who lives upon the interest of his interest give anything? He never knows the luxury of giving. He may give a tenth of what he has or even a fifth, but it is not giving in any Christian or sacrificial sense; it is being respectable or reputable, it is getting a place upon a glaring list, it is ostentation, but it is not piety. Only he gives who smarts, who feels, who gives out of his poverty, and beyond his poverty. We must cleanse all these abused words. We must not let the vessel of the Lord be used wantonly; these holy words are vessels of the sanctuary: they must not be taken away by felonious hands, nor must they be appropriated by cold hearts. A man who gives a sovereign when he ought to have given a thousand has given nothing. It is not giving; it is eluding, escaping, compromising, defrauding. He gives who gives blood.
The Apostle addresses himself to this critical and arduous task with some ability. Let us watch him once more. “Therefore,” saith he, “as ye abound in everything” add this. Some medicines look bad. Paul puts a capsule over the pill that the Corinthians would not like to take. The capsule is not the medicine, but the capsule performs a useful office. Some little children have been persuaded to take medicine, because it was to be taken in treacle. A child will undergo a good deal for that luxury. We remember the days, when the doctor having prescribed that the medicine should be taken in jelly, we thought him wise and kind. How much jelly there is in this verse! “Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us….” Paul would not have a church nine-tenths good, he would have all the ten points: his logic is Therefore, as ye have done so much for your character, do not represent a broken policy; do not put up a pillar and forget the capital. “As ye abound in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence and in your love to us” a very subtle charm of the Greek tongue in which he wrote and spoke, the image being, as your love flows out of yourselves and comes upon us as upon its objects, therefore complete your character. Who would build a house, and forget to put the roof on? The rooms are spacious, the lights are towards the south, but there is no roof on the walls. How many roofless characters there are! How many persons there are who have seven points out of the ten! yea, some persons have nine points out of the ten: the Apostle comes to them and says, As you have health and strength and reason and education and good circumstances, now add this also; put in the one thing that is needful. Jesus Christ will not allow a man to escape upon a large balance of character. The young man made but a mouthful of the commandments; he said All these have I kept from my youth up quite familiar with every one of them; no one of them has any claim against me. Then said the Saviour, One thing thou lackest, add this also: go, sell that which thou hast, and give to the poor, and come. What if for want of the one thing we lose all the other things we have! Suppose a man had a great estate, but had no eyesight; therefore he has no landscape, no poetry, no opening and ever-brightening vision. Suppose a man should have a houseful of little children and be stone deaf, never hearing one of their voices, never hearing his own name, never hearing the prayer of a little child addressed to his own heart. Why, the man had better have his eyesight than have his estate; he had better have his hearing than never to listen to earth’s richest, sweetest music. Do not therefore imagine that, if you have nine points out of the ten, the tenth will be regarded as a mere trifle. There are no trifles in character.
Does not the Apostle rest here? No, he advances, he recedes, he pleads like a special pleader; then he goes to the great fountain of motive and draws his impulses from the very centre of the universe. He says “Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” You know that. Here, then, is no special pleader but a man who states his case like a merchant, argues it like an advocate of the finest capacity and quality, and seals it with the blood of the Cross.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
XXX
THE GREAT COLLECTION FOR THE POOR SAINTS AT JERUSALEM
2Co 8:1-9:15
The Great Collection discussed in 2 Corinthians 8-9 was for the benefit of the poor saints in Jerusalem. We learn from Act 2:44-45 ; Act 4:32-37 ; Act 5:1-11 ; Act 6:1-4 , the following facts:
1. That in the great revival following Pentecost, and lasting three years and a half, up to the dispersion brought about by Saul’s persecution, vast multitudes of the Jews of the dispersion being gathered to attend the annual feasts remained over in Jerusalem on account of the revival, that every year at the feasts this multitude was increased, and that as the majority of the converted were from the poor, very great poverty existed in the church. This constitutes the occasion of these collections.
2. That to relieve this destitution, extraordinary but voluntary donations were contributed by the wealthier class of Christians in order to form a relief fund to be distributed by the apostles.
3. That in connection with donations to this fund occurred the dramatic tragedy of Ananias and Sapphira.
4. That complaints arising among the Christian Jews of the dispersion as to an equitable division of this fund, brought about the creation of the office of deacon. We learn from Act 11:27-30 that a great dearth throughout the world so greatly enhanced the destitution in Jerusalem that the Antioch church took a relief collection and sent it for distribution to the elders of the Jerusalem church, by Barnabas and Paul. This is the first outside collection on record for the poor saints in Jerusalem. We learn also from Gal 2:10 that James, Peter, and John urged Barnabas and Paul, missionaries to the Gentiles, to remember the Christian poor at Jerusalem, which was in the private conference preceding the public conference, both of which are described in Act 15:1-21 . The distress of poverty among the Jerusalem saints must have been very great and persistent to justify this appeal. It was in reference to this necessity and appeal that Paul, in accordance with his promise, is responding in this section.
The scriptures bearing directly on these collections are: 1Co 16:1-4 ; 2Co 8:9 ; Rom 15:25-28 ; Act 20:4 ; Act 24:17 . From these passages we learn the extent and range of the collections; that all the churches of Galatia in Asia Minor, all the churches in Macedonia, all the churches in Achaia took part. There may have been others, but these are specifically named. It was a series of collections in which two continents participated. From the presence of Trophimus, the Ephesian, and Tychicus in Jerusalem with him when he tendered the collection (Act 20:4 ; Act 24:17 ; Act 21:18 ), we may infer that proconsular Asia participated in the collection.
The ground of obligation cited by Paul to justify the collections by his Gentile converts is one of debt, thus expressed: “For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, they owe it to them also to minister unto them in carnal things” (Rom 15:27 ). Paul’s coadjutors in engineering these collections were Titus, Timothy, and others whose names are not given.
The seven rules governing these collections were as follows:
1. As to time, they should, every Sunday, or on the first day of the week, lay by in store until the accumulated fund was ready to be forwarded (1Co 16:2 ).
2. Let the contribution of each be “according as God has prospered him” (1Co 16:2 ). “According as a man hath not according as he hath not” (2Co 8:12 ).
3. It must be voluntary “of a willing mind” (2Co 8:12 ).
4. It must be deliberate, i. e., according to a previous purpose (2Co 9:7 ; 2Co 8:17 ).
5. It must be cheerfully done, not grudgingly or of compulsion (2Co 9:7 ).
6. The donor must have first given himself to the Lord (2Co 8:5 ).
7. They pray for them and long after them (2Co 9:14 ).
The motives to which appeals were made are both higher and lower. The higher motives were:
1. The example of their Lord (2Co 8:9 ).
2. As we sow, so shall we reap (2Co 9:6 ).
3. God’s grace will care for us (2Co 9:8 ).
4. It is a deed of righteousness (2Co 9:9-10 ).
5. This service not only supplied the need of the poor saints but awakened many thanksgivings to God (2Co 9:11-12 ).
6. The recipients of the bounty glorify God on account of the donor’s subjection to God (2Co 9:13 ).
7. They pray for them and long after them (2Co 9:14 ).
8. They should abound in the grace of giving as ‘in other graces (2Co 8:7 ).
The lower motives were:
1. The example of the Macedonian churches (2Co 8:1-5 ).
2. To prove the sincerity of their love (2Co 8:8 ).
3. It is expedient to carry on what has been begun (2Co 8:10 ).
4. They had pledged to help, and should redeem their pledges (2Co 8:11 . Cf. Ecc 5:4-6 ).
5. The zeal of their pledges had stimulated others (2Co 9:2 ), and shame would follow if their pledges were unredeemed (2Co 9:3-4 ).
6. On account of their zeal in pledging the apostles had boasted of their readiness, and he would be put to shame if the pledges were unredeemed (2Co 9:2-4 ).
Wise steps were taken to guard against suspicion and misapprehension in regard to taking collections, and the handling and transporting agents, the brother, “whose praise in the goscreet and trustworthy men were appointed as collecting agents (2Co 8:16-18 ; 2Co 12:18-19 ). and the churches themselves appointed the messengers who should have charge of the funds collected (2Co 8:19-23 ; Act 20:4 ). Among these collecting and transporting agents, the brother, “whose praise in the gospel is spread through all the churches” (2Co 8:18 ), was most likely Luke, as we know from the pronoun “us” in Act 21:18 that he was of the number who went with Paul to Jerusalem when he carried the collection there.
The applications of the principle involved to other kingdom enterprises are as follows:
1. As all the particular churches are related to the same King and kingdom, their co-operation in kingdom enterprises on some equitable method is mandatory.
2. That the method most approved by experience, and which conserves the independence of the churches and expresses their independence, is by voluntary associations and conventions through messengers of the churches.
3. That whatever the plan of association for eliciting, combining and directing the funds of the churches, there must be no projecting of a church into an association or convention so as to merge its sovereignty into a denominational body having
4. That on the voluntary principle and by messengers, such appellate jurisdiction over the private affairs of the churches, a co-operation may be attained as will serve for all kingdom purposes.
5. That such care must be taken in collecting, handling, and distributing such common fund as will remove all just grounds for suspicion.
QUESTIONS
1. For whose benefit was the collection which is discussed in 2 Corinthians 8-7
2. What scriptures furnish the background of so many and so great collections?
3. What is the occasion of these collections?
4. How was this extraordinary destitution relieved?
5. What dramatic tragedy in this connection?
6. What office was created in the church at this time, and what the occasion of it?
7. What is the first outside collection for these poor saints, and what its occasion?
8. What indicates the great and persistent distress of poverty among the Jerusalem saints?
9. What, then, brought forth this discussion in 2 Corinthians 8-9?
10. What are the scriptures bearing directly on these collections?
11. From these and other scriptures, what do we learn as to the extent and range of these collections?
12. What is the ground of obligation, cited by Paul to justify the collection by his Gentile converts?
13. Who were Paul’s coadjustors in engineering these collections?
14. What are the seven rules governing these collections?
15. What are the higher motives?
16. What are the lower motives?
17. What wise steps were taken to guard against suspicion and misapprehension in regard to taking collections and the handling and disbursement of the funds collected?
18. Among these collecting and transporting agents, who most likely was the brother “whose praise in the gospel is spread through all the churches,” and why?
19. What is the application of the principle involved to other kingdom?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
1 Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;
Ver. 1. Of the grace of God ] It is a favour, yea, an honour to us, that we may relieve poor Christ in his necessitous members, Psa 16:2 . When therefore he sets us up an altar, be we ready with this sacrifice, Heb 13:16 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1 6. ] He informs them of the readiness of the Macedonian churches to contribute for the poor saints ( at Jerusalem ), which led him also to beg of Titus to complete the collection at Corinth . See some interesting geographical and historical notices in Stanley’s introduction to this section, edn. 2, pp. 479 f.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1. ] is transitional, passing on to new matter: so 1Co 7:1 ; 1Co 8:1 al. fr.
] For every good gift and frame of mind comes by divine grace, not by human excellency: and this occasion was most opportune for resting the liberality of the Macedonian churches on God’s grace, that he might not be extolling them at the expense of the Corinthians, but holding out an example of the effusion of that grace, which was common to the Corinthians also, if they sought and used it.
It is a mistake, with Orig [11] , Erasm., al., to understand or after , ‘quemadmodum adfuerit mihi Deus in ecclesiis:’ see the construction in reff.: given among, shed abroad in , the churches of Macedonia.
[11] Origen, b. 185, d. 254
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
11 8:1. ] EARNEST EXHORTATIONS TO SEPARATION FROM UNBELIEF AND IMPURITY.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
2Co 8:1 to 2Co 9:15 . ] SECOND PART OF THE EPISTLE: CONCERNING THE COLLECTION FOR THE SAINTS.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
2Co 8:1-7 . THE LIBERALITY OF THE MACEDONIAN CHURCHES AN EXAMPLE TO CORINTH.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
2Co 8:1 . f1 . . .: moreover (for this is the force of the , marking the transition to a new subject; cf. 1Co 7:1 ; 1Co 8:1 ; 1Co 15:1 , chap. 2Co 10:1 , etc.), brethren, we make known to you the grace of God, sc. , the special grace of liberality in giving, which has been given in, i.e. , given to and exhibited in (see on 2Co 1:22 ), the Churches of Macedonia, e.g. , Philippi, Thessalonica and Bera (Act 16:17 ), which places we may presume he revisited on this journey.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
2 Corinthians Chapter 8
The apostle was now free, so far as the state of the Corinthian saints was concerned, to introduce the great duty of remembering the poor. Even the most honoured servants of the Lord were forward in this work, and not least Paul himself. This he would lay on the heart of the Corinthians. As he sought not his own things, he could plead for others; and he would draw out the affections of his children at Corinth toward saints suffering from poverty in Judea, whither he was going.
Yet we may notice how the character of the man comes out. He did not like the task of appealing to others for pecuniary help even though for others. The directness of his language in the first epistle is therefore in the strongest contrast with his circumlocution in the second. The need was deeply on his own heart; and he has no more doubt of the generous feelings of the Corinthians than of their ability, so far as circumstances were concerned, to respond; but the delicacy with which he deals with all is most marked and instructive. Personal influence has no place; faith and love are called out actively; the cheering example of saints where such devotedness could have been least expected opens the way; and Christ is brought in, carrying it home with irresistible power for those that knew Him.
“Now we make known to you, brethren, the grace of God that is given in [or, among] the assemblies of Macedonia; that in much trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches* of their liberality; because according to power [I bear witness] and beyond* power [they gave] of their. own accord, beseeching of us with much entreaty the grace and the fellowship of the ministering unto the saints; and this not as we hoped, but their own selves they gave first to the Lord and to us by the will of God; so that we exhorted Titus, that, even as he before began, so he would also complete as to you this grace also; but as ye abound in everything, faith and word and knowledge and all diligence and love from you to us, that ye abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but through “the diligence of others proving the genuineness of your love also.” (Vers. 1-8.)
* Text. Rec., with most, reads . , but p.m. B C P etc., to; pl. as in verse 3, instead of . Krebs seems not to have been aware of this last fact.
The addition of d in Text. Rec. is supported by some cursives and versions, against the great mass of good authority
Lachmann actually adopts the strange reading of the Vatican MS. supported by other witnesses, . Internal evidence would be decisive against this if the external evidence were not as strong as it is.
|| D E read etc., that is, on account of. Elzevir differs from Stephens in falsely reading “our,” with a few cursives, instead of . “your.”
How blessedly the grace of God” changes everything it takes up And what can it not reach in its comprehensive embrace? Where is the demand too hard for it to entertain? Or the evil too deep for it to fathom? What sin is beyond forgiveness? Whose misery or of what sort can it not turn into an occasion for the all-overcoming goodness of God? See here how that which is among men but “filthy lucre,” an especial object of the covetousness which is idolatry, becomes the means of exercising faith in love, to the glory of God and the exceeding blessing of His children, while it draws out the wisdom of the Holy Ghost through the apostle, who did not deem it beneath the fullest consideration in all its details.
First, the mighty influence of example is brought to bear on the saints in Corinth. (Ver. l.) Nor is this surprising; for are they not one family with its common interests, yea, one body with its fellowship undivided and immediate? Granted that the wants are in carnal things; granted, that it is no question of pleading rights or claims. But a relationship in the Spirit is no less real and far more momentous than one in the flesh; and, if there be suffering, love feels accordingly. In the next place God took care that the first to respond should be saints not in the wealthy city of Corinth, but in the long desolated and impoverished district of Macedonia, that the work might be of God’s grace, and in no way a matter of worldly circumstances. Even in writing to the Corinthians the apostle had reminded them, as all experience shows, that the confessors of Christ are for the most part from the poor and obscure and foolish: and we know that in the Macedonian assemblies at this time the saints were no exception to the generally distressed condition of the country. On the contrary, we are expressly told here of their poverty down into the depths. They gave no gifts of superfluity; it was faith working by love, whilst they were proving themselves a great trial of affliction. The circumstances of Macedonia might have seemed eminently unfavourable; the reality of their liberality was the more evidently from a divine source; for in the face of tribulation their joy abounded, and their deep poverty, instead of appealing for aid to others, abounded unto the riches of their open-hearted generosity. (Ver. 2.) It was unselfish devotedness, loving others better than themselves; and as God gave them the grace that so wrought, so the apostle names it in love to the saints in Corinth, and, indeed we may say, to us all, that our hearts too should go forth in no less love. For love is as energetic and fruitful, as it is holy and free; and God would have not a grain of the good seed lost.
Nor does love calculate what it can spare nor what it can effect. (Ver. 3.) The heart animated by love thinks not of its own trials or deep poverty, but of those it hears to be suffering in any special degree, and acts at once. At least the apostle testifies of the Macedonian saints, that according to means, and beyond means, they gave of their own accord. No earthly incentives were here; no pressure of agents, no rivalry of donations, no moving appeals among multitudes, no circulated lists to shame or to stimulate, no personal or party aims of any kind. It is the grace of God given from first to last; and as God treasures it, so His servant testifies of it so much the more because those in whom it wrought thought nothing of it in the love that felt only the need of its objects.
But this is not all: the Macedonian saints, far from being solicited.. were themselves the suitors of Paul and his companions, and with much entreaty begged of them the grace and the fellowship of the ministering unto the saints, that is, to be allowed a share in the grace or favour of thus caring for the suffering saints of Judea.
It will be noticed that the Authorised Version, following the common Greek text, contains the words, “that we would receive” ( ), which again involves the insertion of ” take upon its” in verse 4. But as the former is not warranted by the best authorities, so the latter is needless and indeed worse; for both additions enfeeble and falsify the sense, which is, that the Macedonian saints might have the grace and fellowship of the service which was to be done the poor saints, not the mere idea that the apostle would receive their collection and undertake its distribution.*
* Even so difficulty has been felt because of the absence of the finite verb expressed; but it seems plain enough, as Bengel long ago suggested, that , which follows in verse 5, is understood in the earliest clause, and this removes all appearance of what has been styled “a sentence entirely shattered in passing through the apostle’s mind.” But it is no less plain that Bengel was mistaken in supposing that and . depend on , for they are unequivocally objects of , which also takes a genitive of the person. “Hoc verbum totam periochae structuram sustinet, tali sensu: Non modo gratiani, communionem, sive , munus illud dederunt, sed plane se ipsos dederunt. Ita Chrysost. Homil. xvi. in 2 Cor. coll. maxime Homil. xvii., ubi repetit . Cum eodem verbo cohaerent nominativi illi, , , et ab eodem peudent accusativi, , , sensu facili et suavi.” Gnomon in loco. ed. Stuttg. 1866.
But the apostle goes farther in his fine sketch of Macedonian devotedness; for it was not only spontaneous, but beyond all expectation of himself, accustomed as he was to live in the walk of faith every day. “And this not as we hoped, but their own selves they gave first to the Lord and to us by the will of God.” Is not this the reflection, yea reproduction, as far as it goes, of Christ’s love in giving Himself? Doubtless directly and necessarily there is a perfection in Christ’s offering which is altogether unique. He gave Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour; it was all this and more to God and for us, as nothing else could be. But these humble and loving saints, the grace of God in whom is commended to the Corinthians, did not merely go beyond their means, but beyond the apostle’s hope, who did not wish to be burdened with the wants of others those who were themselves in the depth of poverty. And no wonder that they thus exceeded, seeing that, as he adds, “their own selves they gave first to the Lord, and to us by the will of God.” Had they not caught a vivid impression of the Saviour’s love, where God always had the first place, whatever His infinite compassion for man? When love for the saints follows in their case, it is qualified by that which was the constant motive of Christ, “by the will of God.” It is not only consistency with His will, though this of course was true, but His will was the spring of the self-sacrifice.
This acted on the heart of the apostle up to the point of beseeching Titus to carry out what he had formerly begun among the Corinthians when he delivered the first epistle. (Ver. 6.) Paul’s love for them was holily jealous that their love should not slacken and that an early promise should not wither in the bud. And Titus was the meet instrument, as he before began, so also now to complete as to* the Corinthians this grace also.
* I see no need whatever of giving so wide a rendering as Mr. Green’s “on reaching you,” or even “among you” as is oftener done. it is not for but more exact as it stands. No more is there any real ground for translating in verse 7 “therefore,” as in A.V. “But” introduces anew appeal.
“But, as ye abound in everything, faith and word and knowledge and all diligence and love from you to us, that ye abound in this grace also.” The apostle exhorts the Corinthians too, as he had Titus. They had their part now, and as God had enriched with everything else, were they to fail in this grace? Nay, He looks that they should abound in it also. (Ver. 7.) Yet he is careful that it should not be by injunction but of grace. “I speak not by command, but through the diligence of others proving the genuineness of your love also.” (Ver. 8.) What a blending of tenderness, delicacy, and of faithfulness withal!
We have seen how powerfully the thought of the Lord acted on the saints of Macedonia, who in spite of their deep poverty had so exceeded the apostle’s expectation. Now he brings His grace to bear on those of Achaia whom he had ground to believe awakened to feel accordingly.
“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sakes he being rich became poor, in order that ye by his poverty might become rich. And I give an opinion in this, for this is profitable for you who began before not only the doing, but also to be willing a year ago. But now also complete the doing, that even as the readiness of the willing [was there], so also the completing [may be] out of what ye have. For if the readiness be there, [one is] accepted according to what he may have, not according to what he hath not. For [it is] not that others [should have] ease and you distress, but on equality: at the present time your abundance for their lack, that their abundance also should be for your lack, so that there should be equality; as it is written, He that [gathered] much had nothing over, and he that [gathered] little had no lack.” (Vers. 9-15.)
The parenthesis of verse 9 is eminently instructive, not only for that which would act powerfully on the Corinthians as on all saints who appreciate the grace of our Lord, but as a sample of the way the Spirit of God turns what was in Christ to every exigency of the individual or of the church. Nor does any other motive act with equal power in holiness. And it could not be otherwise; for who or what can compare with Christ? To His grace, though it be really immeasurable, two measures are applied, the infinite glory of His person in itself, and the depth of humiliation to which He submitted for us. “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sakes he being rich became poor, in order that ye by his poverty might be made rich.” Wealth consists in fulness of means and resources, and poverty in their utter lack. As a divine person our Lord had no need for Himself, and all things at command for others absolutely. He was rich indeed, yet for our sakes became poor, not in the letter only but in spirit to the uttermost. See the picture summed up in Phi 2 , and expanded or detailed in all the Gospels, the perfect pattern of One who hung in dependence on His Father and never used a single thing for Himself throughout His career. He waited on and lived on account of the Father; it was His meat to do His will and finish His work. He had no motive but the one of pleasing His Father, whatever the cost. The fast of forty days in the wilderness was doubtless a special scene of trial which ushered in His public ministry; but it was His ordinary life to count on the care of God while doing His work without an anxiety on the one hand, and on the other without independent resources. But His poverty went down into depths unfathomable in the cross when giving His life for the sheep. I do not speak merely of His garments parted among them and of their casting lots upon His vesture, image though it was of extreme and helpless destitution. Deeper elements were there than man’s eye saw, when all forsook Him and fled. God forsook Him too – His God. What remained then? Nothing but the unsparing judgment of our sins. Was He not the “poor man” then as none other was, never morally so high, yet never so abject, and this not circumstantially alone but in all the unspeakable abandonment of that hour? As He said prophetically in Psa 22 , “I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men and despised of the people . . . . . I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.”
But He was heard from the horns of the unicorns, and in resurrection declares His Father’s name unto His brethren, in the midst of the congregation praising Him. What tongue of men or of angels can adequately tell the change? None but His own when He passed from the abyss of woe where was no standing to the everlasting and immutable ground of divine righteousness where the once guilty objects of grace are set in Him without spot or stain or charge before God, who delights to show them His estimate of Christ’s redemption, and gives the Holy Spirit to seal them unto the day which will declare it. Yet is this but part of the riches of grace wherewith Christ now enriches us who believe. And the blessing of Jehovah is not only for us an exhaustless treasure, but it will go forth with wide-embracing fulness when Messiah’s praise shall be “in the great congregation.” Then all the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto Jehovah; and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Him. For as surely as the Father will surround the Son with His children in His house in heaven, the kingdom is Jehovah’s, and He is the Governor among the nations, and the earth is to be blessed in that day no less than the heavens be filled with the rich harvest gathered into the granary on high, when for the dispensation of the fulness of times He will gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. Truly we by His poverty have been enriched, though not we alone but every soul who ever has been, and ever shall be, blessed. All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship; all they that go down to the dust shall bow before Him; and none can keep alive his own soul. Such is the grace, the known grace, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and these the ways of our God, not now only but in the ages to come for His own glory and to His praise, whose humiliation and redemption have wrought such wonders, as yet only seen by faith, soon to be displayed before every eye. How sweet to associate it with the gracious consideration of the poor saints and the supply of their need at Jerusalem! How worthy of God thus to bring Christ into that which otherwise had been but an exercise of benevolence and compassion!
The apostle adds his judgment of its profit for the Corinthian saints themselves (ver. 10), who began before not only the doing, but also the willing a year ago. He could therefore with the more delicate propriety urge the completing of their purpose out of what they had. Grace repudiates constraint, but values, encourages, and directs readiness of mind: without this, what is the worth of giving? Is the gift acceptable? or the giver? But if the readiness be there, one is accepted according to what one has, not according to what one has not. Sentiment disappears; reality takes its place. Truth accompanies grace; and equity follows. For it is not that others should have ease and the Corinthians pressure, but on equality; and, as the application is made, “at the present time your abundance for their lack, that their abundance area should be for your lack.” This is fortified by God’s way and word as to the gathering of the manna of old; when God adjusted the supply to the demand with a wisdom and power which precluded superfluity no less than deficiency. He that gave the manna from heaven measured it exactly, whatever the differing measures in man’s hands. And we have to do with the same God, who regulates all in the assembly with assuredly no less care and love.
In the rest of the chapter the apostle dwells on the care taken that the administration of the bounty should be not only beyond suspicion, but clothed with dignity and godly confidence by the known character of those entrusted with it. For it is not enough that the end should be divine, but that the means also should approve themselves to every true conscience. If lucre be apt to be filthy, if covetousness be idolatry, if the love of money be a root of all evil, the Spirit of God knows how to bring in Christ into every detail, and to turn both way and end into blessing to God’s glory.
“But thanks to God that giveth the same zeal for you in the heart of Titus, in that he received indeed the exhortation, but being very zealous of his own accord he set out unto you. But we sent together with him the brother whose praise in the gospel [is] through all the assemblies, and not only [so] but also chosen by the assemblies our fellow-traveller with this grace that is being administered by us unto the glory of the Lord [himself]* and our readiness; guarding against this, that none should blame us in this abundance that is being administered by us, for we provide things honourable not only before [the] Lord but also before men. And we have sent with them our brother whom we proved to be zealous many times in many things, but now much more zealous by great confidence that [he hath] in you. Whether as regards Titus, [he is] my partner and fellow-labourer toward you; whether our brethren, [they are] messengers of assemblies, Christ’s glory. The showing forth then of your love and of our boasting for you show forth** unto them in the face of the assemblies.” (Vers. 16-24.)
* B C Dp.m. F G L many cursives and ancient versions omit “himself.”
Text. Rec. has “your,” contrary to the oldest and best MSS which read “our.”
Instead of Text. Rec. with later MSS (or better added as in C. etc.), the best read “for we provide.”
** For Text. Rec. with many old MSS, is real in B Dp.m. Ep.m. F G etc.
The “and” of the Text. Rec. has no adequate authority and encumbers the sense.
The apostle thankfully owned the grace of God in giving Titus to feel as he zealously felt himself about the Corinthian saints in the matter, so that while he met the desire, yet too zealous as he was to require it he was ready to set out of his own accord unto them. He speaks as if it were already done; because in the style adopted in letters the facts would be made good when Titus had reached Corinth with this epistle. How eminently suited to comfort as well as rouse to a holy zeal the saints themselves when such a servant of the Lord as Titus so promptly responded to the apostle’s heart, confident as both were that, whatever appearances indicated to those who judged superficially, grace had wrought in them, really and would yet flow through them to God’s glory abundantly! If Timothy was like-minded with him to care for the state of the Philippians with genuine feeling at a later day, the Corinthians might now learn no less, as they were already prepared to do, how Titus shared the zeal of the apostle in carrying out the proffered bounty of Corinth, which bad been so slow of execution as to compromise them.
Thoughtful too as ever that Christ’s glory should be sustained in His servants, He would not expose Titus to unworthy, however unwarrantable, question; and so he associated with him in this service “the brother whose praise in the gospel is throughout all the assemblies.” So well known was he by this description to the Corinthians that no direct designation was needed, though men of other times have found it so vague as to afford grounds equally plausible for many, equally uncertain for any one in particular. Of one thing we may be assured that, whether or not Luke was intended, “whose praise in the gospel” has nothing to do with him in respect of the inspired account of our Lord which induced many of the ancients to appropriate the description to him, any more than to Mark. Barnabas and Silas have been conjectured; as also Aristarchus, Gaius, Trophimus, etc. But none of these guesses seems less happy than that of some speculative Germans, who have applied to a supposed brother (after the flesh) of Titus, not seeing the incongruity of such an one, if indeed he existed, for the work in hand. The object and character of the association would have been frustrated by selecting one so near to Titus. But we do know the further consideration that, whoever he may have been, he was chosen by the assemblies to travel with the apostle and the rest who were to carry the offering of love from the, Gentile saints to their poor brethren in Judea.
Here we see an important principle in exact accordance with the direction of the twelve in Act 6 . As the christian multitude gave the means, they were left free to choose the administrators. This was as wise as gracious. The apostles kept aloof from all appearance of favouritism, and adhered to their own work with prayer, the condition of power. They might solemnly establish the seven over their business of serving tables; but they called on the disciples in general to look out from among themselves men of good report, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom in whom they had confidence. Such were the proceedings in the assembly of Jerusalem; and a like method was adopted among the Gentile assemblies, where many joined their contributions for the need at Jerusalem as we learn in verse 19. Where the saints gave, they chose according to their best judgment for the due application of their gifts, whether in one assembly, or for the special work of many assemblies. But in no case did they meddle with the ministers of the word. These the Lord gave, not the church; and the church, instead of choosing, received those whom the Lord chose and sent, not merely the higher ones, as apostles and prophets, but the more ordinary, as evangelists, pastors and teachers. For they too all rest on the same principle of the Lord’s gift, and not man’s. And hence it is an utter confusion to mix up two things so different as the Lord’s sole title to give and send His servants in the word, and the assembly’s title to choose those in whom the saints have confidence to administer their bounty.
The case before us falls under the latter. “The brother” un-named was chosen by the assemblies “our fellow-traveller with the grace that is being administered by us unto the glory of the Lord [Himself] and our readiness;” as indeed the apostle had directed in 1Co 16:3 , 1Co 16:4 . The moral reason of the caution follows: “guarding against this, that none should blame us in this abundance that is being administered by us, for we provide things honourable not only before [the] Lord but before men.” (Vers. 20, 21.) It is not lack of faith, but rather faith working by love which would cut off occasion from men, as well as walk with pure conscience before God. The allusion is to Pro 3:4 in the LXX.
The next verse, as well as that which follows, proves that the apostle added another brother. “And we sent with them [i.e. with Titus and the one already described] our brother whom we proved to be zealous many times in many things, but now much more zealous by great confidence that [he hath] in you.” (Ver. 22.) Still less is it possible for us to determine who is this second brother meant; because we have not even so many marks as attached to the first. But two particulars fitting him for the work are mentioned: the apostle’s experience of his proved zeal often and variedly; and again the exceeding warmth of his own zeal now by his (hardly Paul’s) great confidence in the Corinthian saints. For the margin of the Authorised Version is more correct than the text, at least in my judgment. None could be so unsuitable an associate as a near relation, if the aim were, as it was, to inspire confidence in the donors.
It seems to be clear from verse 23 that Titus stood relatively in the higher position of the three who were to accompany the apostle: “Whether as regards Titus, [he is] my partner and fellow-labourer toward you; whether our brethren, [they are] messengers of assemblies, Christ’s glory.” Is it not then incredible that the apostle would have thus classified or described men so eminent as Barnabas, Silas, Luke or Mark? Not to say that it was only at a later day that he expresses his re-assurance as to the last. Could he yet write that Mark was serviceable to him for ministry? or that he was among his fellow-workers for the kingdom of God who were such as had been a consolation to him? Renewed confidence may be gravely doubted then, though it came at length; and the apostle was glad to say so as soon as he could to the Lord’s praise.
It is well to note how the expression “messengers [ ] of assemblies” illustrates the difference of a charge from men however delicate and weighty as compared with a gift or charge from the Lord like an apostle. These brethren, while beautifully and graciously styled “Christ’s glory” as being active in the display of His excellency, were deputed envoys of certain churches who entrusted them with their contributions for Judea. Not only did he decline the sole administration of the gift himself, but he directed and sanctioned the choice of more than one and gave their task dignity in all eyes by associating the two brethren, not only with Titus who shared the highest confidence of the saints, but with himself. Our Authorised Version, however, is quite right in not rendering the word “apostles” (which is appropriated to the envoys of the Lord in the highest rank of His work) and in preferring “messengers” here and in Phi 2:25 , where it is said of Epaphroditus who was the bearer of what the Philippian saints sent at a later day of the apostle in Rome. To translate the passage in our text or in Phi 2 , “apostles” can only be from inconsiderateness, or still worse – the desire to level down the apostles of Christ by levelling up the messenger or messengers of churches. The source of the commission is the measure of their difference. To confound them is to degrade the Lord or to deify the church, the great effort of the enemy by those who know not the truth, however they may look in opposition to each other. For here it is that the highest and the lowest ecclesiastically meet: the one by exalting a merely human caste of church officials to the place which the Lord gave His apostles; the other by reducing the apostles of the Lord to those chosen by the assemblies or delegates of the people. They both agree, one superstitiously, the other rationalistically, in unbelief of Christ’s gracious power in providing for the perfecting of the saints.
Having thus summed up what he had to say of his companions, of moment for the Corinthian saints at this time, he calls on the saints to give the proof of their love and of his boasting about them to those brethren in the face of the assemblies.
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
2 Corinthians
GIVING AND ASKING
2Co 8:1-12 .
A collection from Gentile churches for their poor brethren in Jerusalem occupied much of Paul’s time and efforts before his last visit to that city. Many events, which have filled the world with noise and been written at length in histories, were less significant than that first outcome of the unifying spirit of common faith. It was a making visible of the grand thought, ‘Ye are all one in Christ Jesus.’ Practical help, prompted by a deep-lying sense of unity which overleaped gulfs of separation in race, language, and social conditions, was a unique novelty. It was the first pulsation of that spirit of Christian liberality which has steadily grown in force and sweep ever since. Foolish people gibe at some of its manifestations. Wiser ones regard its existence as not the least of the marks of the divine origin of Christianity.
This passage is a striking example of the inimitable delicacy of the Apostle. His words are full of what we should call tact, if it were not manifestly the spontaneous utterance of right feeling. They are a perfect model of the true way to appeal for money, and set forth also the true spirit in which such appeals should be made.
In verses 1 to 5, Paul seeks to stimulate the liberality of the Corinthians by recounting that of the Macedonian churches. His sketch draws in outline the picture of what all Christian money-giving should be. We note first the designation of the Macedonian Christians’ beneficence as ‘a grace’ given by God to them. It is twice called so vers. 1, 4, and the same name is applied in regard to the Corinthians’ giving vers. 6, 7. That is the right way to look at money contributions. The opportunity to give them, and the inclination to do so, are God’s gifts. How many of us think that calls for service or money are troublesome obligations, to be got out of as easily as possible! A true Christian will be thankful, as for a love token from God, for every occasion of giving to Him. It would be a sharp test for many of us to ask ourselves whether we can say, ‘To me . . . is this grace given,’ that I should part with my money for Christ’s sake.
Note, further, the lovely picture of these Macedonian givers. They were plunged in sorrows and troubles, but these did not dry their fountains of sympathy. Nothing is apt to be more selfish than grief; and if we have tears to spare for others, when they are flowing bitterly for ourselves, we have graduated well in Christ’s school. Paul calls the Macedonians’ troubles ‘proof of their affliction,’ meaning that it constituted a proof of their Christian character; that is, by the manner in which it was borne; and in it they had still ‘abundance of joy,’ for the paradox of the Christian life is that it admits of the co-existence of grief and gladness.
Again, Christian giving gives from scanty stores. ‘Deep poverty’ is no excuse for not giving, and will be no hindrance to a willing heart. ‘I cannot afford it’ is sometimes a genuine valid reason, but oftener an insincere plea. Why are subscriptions for religious purposes the first expenditure to be reduced in bad times?
Further, Christian giving gives up to the very edge of ability, and sometimes goes beyond the limits of so-called prudence. In all regions ‘power to its last particle is duty,’ and unless power is strained it is not fully exercised. It is in trying to do what we cannot do that we do best what we can do. He who keeps well within the limits of his supposed ability will probably not do half as much as he could. While there is a limit behind which generosity even for Christ may become dishonesty or disregard of other equally sacred claims, there is little danger of modern Christians transgressing that limit, and they need the stimulus to do a little more than they think they can do, rather than to listen to cold-blooded prudence.
Further, Christian giving does not wait to be asked, but takes the opportunity to give as itself ‘grace’ and presses its benefactions. It is an unwonted experience for a collector of subscriptions to be besought to take them ‘with much entreaty,’ but it would not be so anomalous if Christian people understood their privileges.
Further, Christian giving begins with the surrender of self to Christ, from which necessarily follows the glad offering of wealth. These Macedonians did more than Paul had hoped, and the explanation of the unexpected largeness of their contributions was their yielding of themselves to Jesus. That is the deepest source of all true liberality. If a man feels that he does not own himself, much less will he feel that his goods are his own. A slave’s owner possesses the slave’s bit of garden ground, his hut, and its furniture. If I belong to Christ, to whom does my money belong? But the consciousness that my goods are not mine, but Christ’s, is not to remain a mere sentiment. It can receive practical embodiment by my giving them to Christ’s representatives. The way for the Macedonians to show that they regarded their goods as Christ’s, was to give them to Paul for Christ’s poor saints. Jesus has His representatives still, and it is useless for people to talk or sing about belonging to Him, unless they verify their words by deeds.
Verse 6 tells the Corinthians that the success of the collection in Macedonia had induced Paul to send Titus to Corinth to promote it there. He had previously visited it on the same errand 2Co 12:14, and now is coming to complete ‘this grace.’ The rest of the passage is Paul’s appeal to the Corinthians for their help in the matter, and certainly never was such an appeal made in a more dignified, noble, and lofty tone. He has been dilating on the liberality of others, and thereby sanctioning the stimulating of Christian liberality, in the same way as other graces may legitimately be stimulated, by example. That is delicate ground to tread on, and needs caution if it is not to degenerate into an appeal to rivalry, as it too often does, but in itself is perfectly legitimate and wholesome. But, passing from that incitement, Paul rests his plea on deeper grounds.
First, Christian liberality is essential to the completeness of Christian character. Paul’s praise in verse 7 is not mere flattery, nor meant to put the Corinthians into good humour. He will have enough to say hereafter about scandals and faults, but now he gives them credit for all the good he knew to be in them. Faith comes first, as always. It is the root of every Christian excellence. Then follow two graces, eminently characteristic of a Greek church, and apt to run to seed in it,–utterance and knowledge. Then two more, both of a more emotional character,–earnestness and love, especially to Paul as Christ’s servant. But all these fair attributes lacked completeness without the crowning grace of liberality. It is the crowning grace, because it is the practical manifestation of the highest excellences. It is the result of sympathy, of unselfishness, of contact with Christ, of drinking in of His spirit, Love is best. Utterance and knowledge and earnestness are poor beside it. This grace is like the diamond which clasps a necklace of jewels.
Christian giving does not need to be commanded. ‘I speak not by way of commandment.’ That is poor virtue which only obeys a precept. Gifts given because it is duty to give them are not really gifts, but taxes. They leave no sweet savour on the hand that bestows, and bring none to that which receives. ‘I call you not servants, but friends.’ The region in which Christian liberality moves is high above the realm of law and its correlative, obligation.
Further, Christian liberality springs spontaneously from conscious possession of Christ’s riches. We cannot here enter on the mysteries of Christ’s emptying Himself of His riches of glory. We can but touch the stupendous fact, remembering that the place whereon we stand is holy ground. Who can measure the nature and depth of that self-denuding of the glory which He had with the Father before the world was? But, thank God, we do not need to measure it, in order to feel the solemn, blessed force of the appeal which it makes to us. Adoring wonder and gratitude, unfaltering trust and absolute self-surrender to a love so self-sacrificing, must ever follow the belief of that mystery of Divine mercy, the incarnation and sacrifice of the eternal Son.
But Paul would have us remember that the same mighty act of stooping love, which is the foundation of all our hope, is to be the pattern for all our conduct. Even in His divinest and most mysterious act, Christ is our example. A dewdrop is rounded by the same laws which shape the planetary spheres or the sun himself; and Christians but half trust Christ if they do not imitate Him. What selfishness in enjoyment of our ‘own things’ could live in us if we duly brought ourselves under the influence of that example? How miserably poor and vulgar the appeals by which money is sometimes drawn from grudging owners and tight-buttoned pockets, sound beside that heart-searching and heart-moving one, ‘Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ!’
Further, Christian liberality will not go off in good intentions and benevolent sentiments. The Corinthians were ready with their ‘willing’ on Titus’s previous visit. Now Paul desires them to put their good feelings into concrete shape. There is plenty of benevolence that never gets to be beneficence. The advice here has a very wide application: ‘As there was the readiness to will, so there may be the completion also.’ We all know where the road leads that is paved with good intentions.
Further, Christian liberality is accepted and rewarded according to willingness, if that is carried into act according to ability. While the mere wish to help is not enough, it is the vital element in the act which flows from it; and there may be more of it in the widow’s mite than in the rich man’s large donation–or there may be less. The conditions of acceptable offerings are twofold–first, readiness, glad willingness to give, as opposed to closed hearts or grudging bestowals; and, second, that willingness embodied in the largest gift possible. The absence of either vitiates all. The presence of both gives trifles a place in God’s storehouse of precious things. A father is glad when his child brings him some utterly valueless present, not because he must, but because he loves; and many a parent has such laid away in sacred repositories. God knows how to take gifts from His children, not less well than we who are evil know how to do it.
But the gracious saying of our passage has a solemn side; for if only gifts ‘according as a man hath’ are accepted, what becomes of the many which fall far short of our ability, and are really given, not because we have the willing mind, but because we could not get out of the unwelcome necessity to part with a miserably inadequate percentage of our possessions. Is God likely to be satisfied with the small dividends which we offer as composition for our great debt?
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2Co 8:1-6
1Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, 2that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. 3For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, 4begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, 5and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God. 6So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well.
2Co 8:1 “the grace of God” This word “grace” (charis) is used over ten times in chapters 8 and 9. It is used in the sense of
1. God’s undeserved, unmerited love in Christ, 2Co 8:1; 2Co 8:9; 2Co 9:8; 2Co 9:14
2. favor/privilege, 2Co 8:4
3. the offering to Jerusalem, 2Co 8:1; 2Co 8:6-7; 2Co 8:19
4. thanks, 2Co 8:16; 2Co 9:15
Notice that grace is understood as referring to God’s undeserved, unmerited love in Christ or as a way of referring to the contribution from Paul’s Gentile churches to the mother church in Jerusalem. The Greek term has a wide semantical field.
“the churches of Macedonia” This would refer to Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea (cf. Acts 16-17). There was a cultural sense of competition between Achaia and Macedonia. See Special Topic: Church at 1Co 1:2.
2Co 8:2 “that in a great ordeal of affliction” We see something of this persecution from Act 17:1-15 and 1Th 1:6; 1Th 2:14. There are two Greek words that are translated “trial,” “test,” or “tempt” (here “ordeal”). One refers to a test with the view toward destruction, while the other refers to a test with a view toward approval (cf. 2Co 8:2; 2Co 8:8; 2Co 8:22; 2Co 9:13). See Special Topic at 1Co 3:13.
For “affliction” see SPECIAL TOPIC: TRIBULATION at 2Co 1:4.
“their abundance of joy” It is so surprising that this phrase occurs between “great ordeal of affliction” and “their deep poverty.” This joy amidst adverse circumstances is a characteristic of the believer (cf. Mat 5:10-12; Rom 5:3; Jas 1:2). Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22) and it is not related to circumstances!
For Paul’s repeated use of “abundance” or “overflow” see note at 2Co 1:5.
“their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality” The term, “poverty” (i.e., ptchos) is a very strong Greek term used of (1) extreme poverty in the Septuagint of Deu 8:9; Jdg 6:6; Jdg 14:15 (2) beggars (cf. 2Co 6:10; Rom 15:26; Rev 2:9; Rev 3:17). They did not give out of excess. They trusted God to provide their needs (cf. Mar 12:42; Luk 21:2). In this context “their deep poverty” seems related to their being persecuted for the gospel (cf. 2Co 8:13-18).
“liberality” This term’s root meaning is “single-mindedness,” which can mean “genuine” or “sincere” (cf. Septuagint 2Sa 15:11; 1Ch 29:17). But, it is used in the NT (i.e., term only in Paul’s writings) in the sense of “liberality” or “generosity” (cf. 2Co 9:11; 2Co 9:13). The Jerome Biblical Commentary (p. 284) thinks the word reflects a Hebrew term meaning “perfection” or “integrity” and, therefore, refers to their purity of motives. The motive for our giving is the key (cf. 2Co 8:12). See full note at 2Co 1:12.
2Co 8:3 Paul had seen their poverty first-hand.
NASB”they gave of their own accord”
NKJV”they were freely willing”
NRSV”they voluntarily gave”
TEV”of their own free will”
NJB”it was of their own accord”
This term is from autos and haireomai, which means “self choices.” It is used in both 2Co 8:3; 2Co 8:17. The root term has the added connotation of choosing with delight or love (cf. Mat 12:18, which is a quote from the Servant Song of Isa 42:1-3). It is used in (1) 2Ma 6:19 and 3Ma 6:6; 3Ma 7:10 and (2) the Koine papyri from Egypt of someone acting on their own accord freely.
A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians by Roger L. Omanson and John Ellington shows how English translations differ grammatically over which clause to attach this phrase.
“These words may be considered a part of the sentence which precedes, that is, the Macedonians gave of their own free will (so RSV, NRSV, NJB, SPCL), or to the sentence which follows in 2Co 8:4, that is, of their own free will they begged to take part in the collection (so TEV, NIV, REB, NJB, TNT, FRCL). The latter interpretation follows the punctuation of the UBS Greek New Testament and is probably more likely” (p. 142).
2Co 8:4 “with much urging” See full note on this phrase at 2Co 1:4-11.
“for the favor of participation” For “favor” see note at 2Co 8:1. The term “participation” (i.e., koinnia) is used often by Paul in his Corinthian letters in several, but related, senses. See Special Topic at 1Co 1:9.
1. intimate, close, personal relationships (related term koinne often used of initiations into the mystery religions)
a. with the Son, 1Co 1:9
b. with the Spirit, 2Co 13:14
c. not with evil, 2Co 6:14
d. Titus and Paul in ministry, 2Co 8:23
2. generosity (related term koinnikos means the liberal sharing of one’s own goods), 2Co 9:13
3. participation in something
a. 1Co 10:16 (i.e., in the blood of Christ)
b. 2Co 8:4 (i.e., in contribution for poor saints in Jerusalem)
c. 2Co 1:7 (i.e., in suffering)
There is an obvious word play between participation (koinnia) and support (or ministry, diakonia). This word for ministry or service is used so often in 2 Corinthians.
1. diakonos (servant), 2Co 3:6; 2Co 6:4; 2Co 11:15; 2Co 11:23
2. diakone (serving), 2Co 3:3; 2Co 8:19-20
3. diakonia (service), 2Co 3:7-9; 2Co 4:1; 2Co 5:18; 2Co 6:3; 2Co 8:4; 2Co 9:1; 2Co 9:12-13; 2Co 11:8
Christianity is sevanthood. We were saved to serve!
“in the support of” See note at 1Co 16:1.
“saints” See SPECIAL TOPIC: SAINTS at 1Co 1:2.
2Co 8:5 “they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God” Stewardship involves everything we are and have. If you give yourself to the Lord there remains nothing to give! Christian stewardship is a thermometer of our spiritual maturity. Believers are owners of nothing and stewards of God in everything. This truth is sometimes easier for poor people to grasp and obey than wealthy people.
2Co 8:6 “Titus” In Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free, F. F. Bruce comments on the theory that chapters 10-13 are a segment of a previous letter, “but this is rendered improbable by 2Co 12:18, which seems clearly to refer back to 2Co 8:6; 2Co 8:16-19” (p. 274 footnote 51).
“this gracious work” This refers to the contribution from Paul’s Gentile churches to the poor of the mother church in Jerusalem (cf. 1Co 16:1-4; Rom 15:26). In Jesus and the Rise of Early Christianity, Paul Barnett makes a good point about the variety of terms Paul used to describe this love offering for the poor believers in Jerusalem.
“The appeal is characterized by its own vocabulary: ‘contribution for the saints’ (1Co 16:1); ‘gift’ (1Co 16:3); ‘grace’ (2Co 8:6-7; 2Co 8:9; 2Co 9:14); ‘service’ (2Co 9:12; cf. Rom 15:27) and ‘fellowship’ (2Co 8:4; 2Co 9:13; Rom 15:26)” (p. 344).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
do you to wit = make you to know. Greek. gnorizo. Compare 1Co 12:3.
grace. App-184.
God. App-98.
on. Greek. en App-104.
churches. App-186.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
2Co 8:1 to 2Co 9:15.] SECOND PART OF THE EPISTLE: CONCERNING THE COLLECTION FOR THE SAINTS.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Chapter 8
Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit [or we would bring to your remembrance] of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; How that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality ( 2Co 8:1-2 ).
And so, though they were impoverished themselves, they were extremely liberal. They say that poor people usually give much more to the poor than do wealthy people, because the poor people understand what it is to be poor. This is, I believe, true. It has been our observation through the years that the most generous people within the church are not the wealthiest people, but the poorer people seem to be more liberal.
Now, giving to God can never be measured by the amount. God doesn’t measure the gift by the amount. God measures the gift by the cost to the giver. You see, if you’re making a million dollars a year and you give God a hundred thousand dollars tithe, you’re not really giving very much. Doesn’t really cost you much. Look at all you’ve got to live on.
If you make ten thousand dollars a year and you give God a thousand dollars, that’s giving a lot, because you don’t have that much left to live on. What did it cost you? Jesus was with His disciples, standing in the temple, watching the wealthy people as they were coming along and putting their gifts there at the altar with all of their show and ostentation. This is what Jesus was referring to when in the Sermon on the Mount, He said, “And when you give, don’t be like the Pharisee who like to get a trumpet band going in front of them.” Fanfare, “Everybody, here’s how much I’m giving. Toot-too-too-toot, too-toot!” Fanfare, you know, you make a big thing out of it.
One little lady came in and dropped in a mite, which was a half of a penny. And Jesus turned to the disciples and He said, “That little lady gave more than all of the rest. For they all had given out of their abundance, but she gave her very substance, all she had.” So, God has an interesting way of accounting and of keeping accounts as far as what you give. For God looks at what it cost you to give, and that is the measurement whereby God measures our gifts.
So the church in Macedonia, they gave out of their deep poverty. Yet, they were so liberal in their giving of their offerings.
For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; Praying us with much entreaty [and begging us] that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints ( 2Co 8:3-4 ).
So the church in Macedonia, Paul was probably reluctant to take the money. Say, “Oh no, you guys need this.” And he was reluctant to take their money, because they had made such a liberal offering and they had needs themselves. But they insisted; they entreated Paul, “Take this money because we want to share. We want to have this koinonia. We want to have this . . . ” Well, the word koinonia was translated one place all things in common. We want to have this total sharing with the church.
And this they did, not as we hoped [more than what we had hoped, actually], but [they] first gave their own selves to the Lord, and [then] unto us by the will of God ( 2Co 8:5 ).
Now, of course, it is important that you give yourself. God is far more interested in you giving yourself than He is giving your money. In fact, if you don’t give yourself to God and just give your money, it’s not going to do you any good. “They gave first of themselves, and then unto us by the will of God.”
Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also. Therefore, as you abound in every thing ( 2Co 8:6-7 ),
Now, this was the poor saints there who were in Macedonia. They gave liberally. Now, “you abound in everything.” You abound,
in faith, and [in the] utterance [of the word], and [you abound in] knowledge, and [you abound] in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace [charis] also ( 2Co 8:7 ).
In this giving. The word charis is an interesting Greek word. It means everything that is beautiful, lovely, glorious, translated grace.
I speak not by commandment ( 2Co 8:8 ),
I’m not ordering you.
but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love ( 2Co 8:8 ).
Now having used, first of all, the church in Macedonia as an example of giving through grace, he now refers to even a greater example.
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich ( 2Co 8:9 ).
And so, calling upon, first of all, the Macedonians as the example of giving. Now a more dramatic illustration, “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, though He was rich.” The universe is His, all that is in it. The world is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof and all they that dwell therein. “Yet for your sake He became poor, in order that through His poverty He might make you rich.”
And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient [necessary] for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago ( 2Co 8:10 ).
“Now we’ve been talking about this,” Paul says, “for quite a while.”
Now therefore ( 2Co 8:11 )
We’ve talked about it, “Now therefore,”
perform the doing of it ( 2Co 8:11 );
“We’ve been talking about it for a long time. Now do it.” There comes a time when we need to quit talking and we need to start acting. Start doing it. There’s a time when, really, you need to quit praying and start moving. When Moses had led the children of Israel out of Egypt, and they came to the Red Sea, and they had camped there near Paihero. And they looked behind them, and the Pharoah had come with his chariots and his army. It says Moses fell on his face and cried unto the Lord, and God says, “Why are you crying unto me? Get up and get moving, Moses.” Now is not the time for a prayer meeting; now is the time to move. “Take your rod, stretch it forth over the sea and all.” And so, there comes the time for action. We can talk about something for a long time, but then the time comes, we’ve got to move upon it. And that’s what Paul was encouraging them here. Look, you’ve been talking about it for a long time. Now do it. Perform it, the doing of it.
that as there was a readiness to will ( 2Co 8:11 ),
Or you were willing to do so.
so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that [which] he hath not ( 2Co 8:11-12 ).
It’s your willingness to do. Now Paul will go ahead and talk further about giving in chapter nine. Actually, this whole thought of giving goes on through into chapter nine. And in chapter nine, he says that your giving should not be from pressure, should not be from constraint nor grudging. In other words, don’t give if you’re going to complain or gripe about it. Better not to give. God doesn’t like a griping giver. Who does? God loves the cheerful giver.
The word in the Greek is hilarious. The offering should be the most hilarious time of the whole service. And if you can’t give with hilarity, you shouldn’t give. You know, if when you give you think, “Oh man, I could go to Bob’s and get a Big Boy and a malt, you know. Now I can’t, because I’m giving it.” It’d be better that you go get your Big Boy and a malt and get your indigestion and all, than to give it in a grudging way to God. God doesn’t want you to begrudge what you’ve given to Him.
And that’s not only in money, that’s in anything, in service, of time, or whatever. What I give to God I ought to give out of a willing heart, out of a loving heart, without begrudging or griping about what I’ve given or done. That completely spoils the gift when someone then begins to complain or gripe about it.
So there was, first of all, a willing mind. That’s great. That’s accepted. God accepts the willingness of your mind according to what you have. You don’t have to give what you don’t have.
For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye be burdened ( 2Co 8:13 ):
I don’t want to lay the whole burden on you.
But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want [needs], that their abundance also may be a supply for your want [needs]; that there may be an equality ( 2Co 8:14 ):
And so, this is what Paul is calling for within the church: an equality. Now, there are places today in the world where the church is really suffering. And that is why we have mission projects. That is why we send thousands of dollars to the Christians in other areas of the world every year. That is why we send out free tapes by the thousands all over the world to various missionary groups, that there might be an equality. God has blessed us abundantly, which lays upon us the responsibility of sharing, then, with those churches that have not been as blessed. That there might be this equality within the body. Who knows? Maybe someday we’ll need help from them.
As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over ( 2Co 8:15 );
This is when God had sent the manna to them in the wilderness.
and he that had gathered little had no lack ( 2Co 8:15 ).
The equality that was there.
Now Paul is going to send some messengers down there to collect this offering.
But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you ( 2Co 8:16 ).
Titus feels for you just like I do, the same feeling.
For indeed he accepted the exhortation; but being more forward, of his own accord he went unto you. And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches ( 2Co 8:17-18 );
Now, just who this brother is that went with Titus, I don’t know. But Titus was wanting to go back and to take this other letter of Paul back to them, and there went with him another brother who was well spoken of in all of the churches. There are those who believe it was probably Luke, but we don’t know for sure.
And not that only, but who was also chosen of the churches to travel with us with this grace ( 2Co 8:19 ),
Or with the money that you sent.
which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord, and declaration of your ready mind ( 2Co 8:19 ):
So, he was chosen to take this offering with us. So, Paul is not going to be solely responsible for seeing that this gets back to Jerusalem, but these trusted men are going to be going with Paul in taking this money to the church in Jerusalem.
Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us ( 2Co 8:20 ):
Paul wanted to be very careful in the money matters, recognizing that it’s the Lord’s money given by the Lord’s people. He sought to be very careful that there was a proper accounting of the money, lest there would be suspicion upon him that he had been taking the Lord’s money.
Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of [all] men ( 2Co 8:21 ).
An honest accounting of the funds that have been given. I think that this is so vital for the church to keep an accurate accounting of the monies that have come in, and how they’ve been dispensed. And our church books are open to anyone who attends here and who supports the church. If you want to know how your monies are expended, the books are open, and you can look at the books, and you can see how the monies are expended. You have a right to know.
If you don’t give, it’s none of your business. Some people want to come in and look at the books, and they’re total strangers. We don’t open up the books. It’s none of their business unless they give. If you give, then it is your business, and we’re happy to provide you with an accounting. We feel that we need to “provide things honest in the sight of all men.”
And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, upon the great confidence which I have in you. Whether any do inquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellow helper concerning you: or our brethren be inquired of, they are the messengers of the churches, and the glory of Christ. Wherefore show ye to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf ( 2Co 8:22-24 ).
“So, go ahead and give a generous offering and show to them, prove to them what I said about you was true. That you’re just good people and generous people.” So, Paul is sending now these men to collect the offering for, from them that he might, when he goes to Jerusalem, take it to them.
And he will continue in the next chapter this thought on their giving before he moves on to the vindication of his apostleship in chapter ten.
I would like to commend you for going through chapter seven and eight. They are not the most inspiring chapters in the Bible. Paul is dealing with local issues in the church of Corinth. However, there are basic principles which we have sought to bring out, because the principles remain though the situations change. And so, though this isn’t the most inspiring portions of the scriptures, yet there are important principles to be gained in this session.
I will frankly confess there are many other areas of scripture where I find much more inspiration, and yet, we don’t want to skip this, because we might skip some principle that is very necessary for us.
Father, we thank You for Your word, a lamp unto our feet, a light unto our path to guide us through our journey through this life. Now, Father, help us to fix our eyes upon the goal, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith that we might run with patience the race that is set before us, that we might be faithful servants, doing Your will, living for Your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
The Lord be with you and bless you abundantly. We look forward to seeing you when we return from Israel in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, you pray for us as we will be praying for you that the Lord will just minister to you of the abundance of His grace, His mercy, His love through Jesus Christ our Lord. That you might be blessed through the work of His Spirit in your inner man, making you strong, bringing you victory. May the Lord guide your life, keep your life, and use your life for His glory. In Jesus’ name. “
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Although this is rather a practical than a spiritual chapter, I hope that we shall get profit out of it by the teaching of the Spirit of God who inspired Paul to write it. Paul was writing to the church at Corinth to commend the churches of Macedonia, that he might stir up the one church by the example of the others. The saints at Jerusalem were starving because of a famine, and it came into the mind of certain Gentile churches to send help to the mother-church at Jerusalem. It was regarded as a very wonderful thing that Gentiles should be sending help to Jews. I hope it would not be thought wonderful now, but it was then; and Paul, who loved the saints at Corinth, and saw that they were a little backward in this matter stirred them up to greater diligence. He did not like the churches in Macedonia to go so far ahead of the church in Corinth which was richer, and more endowed with gifts, and therefore he set to work to stimulate their generosity. Thus he begins:
2Co 8:1. Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;
That is a quaint old expression, We do you to wit. It means, We would let you know, we would tell you, we would inform you of what the Macedonia saints have done; and he does not at first say, We would let you know of the liberality which the Macedonia churches have shown; but, of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. What we do for God, Gods grace has first bestowed upon us. If there be any virtue, if there be any zeal, if there be any faith, if there be any love, it is the result of the grace of God bestowed upon us. Always look upon things in that light, for then you will not grow proud. Give what you may, and do what you may, you may regard it as the elect of the grace of God bestowed upon you.
2Co 8:2. How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of the joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
They were very poor people in Macedonia but they loved God so much that they abounded in liberality. Considering how little they possessed, and how much they were tried and persecuted, they had been wonderfully generous.
2Co 8:3. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves;
They were willing to give even beyond their power. They gave up to the full limit of what they could do, and then wished that they could give even more. And notice that they were willing of themselves. Paul had not to stir them up to do this, nor even to mention the subject to them: They were willing of themselves. That is the best kind of service to God which a man ever does, that in which he is willing of himself. It is the slave who is flogged to his work, the child is willing of himself. Oh, that on the altar of God, you and I may gladly place our offerings because we have been made willing of ourselves!
2Co 8:4. Praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.
Paul did not have to beg them to give, but they begged him to take their gifts; and when the saints of God are in a right state, they come forward voluntarily, as Paul says that these Macedonian Christians did, praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints by going to Jerusalem and giving away this money where it was needed.
2Co 8:5-6. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also.
Paul said, Titus, do not let the Corinthians be behind the Macedonians in this matter. Go and show them how they may receive similar grace.
2Co 8:7. Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound to this grace also.
These Corinthians were an instructed people, they were so well taught that they were able to carry on an open meeting for years without a minister, and the natural consequences followed, they fell into sixes and seven, and there were divisions among them, so that Paul had to counsel them to have a minister: I beseech you, brethren, ye know the house of Stephanas that it is the first fruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints, that ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth. They were a notable church, people of standing among them; Paul admits all that, but he says, Do not be behindhand in your liberality to the canoe of God.
2Co 8:8. I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.
And, Christian men and women, whenever you see other Christians excelling you in any grace, seek to catch up with them; why should you be in the rear rack? You are to run with patience the race that is set before you, so do not be outstripped by your fellow-runners. If God has given to one Christian much of any grace, he can, if he pleases, give as much to you.
2Co 8:9. For ye know-
These are most precious words, worthy of being written in letters of gold: Ye know
2Co 8:9. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
You know the wonderful story of how you are rich through Christs poverty. What a charge it was for him from the riches of heaven to the poverty of his manhood here, and what a change it is for you from the poverty of your sin and ruin to the riches of his grace! Now you know this,
you do not need anybody to tell you about it, so imitate it, distribute to the poor, and especially to the poor saints, as you have the power and the opportunity.
2Co 8:10. And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago.
They had started a year ago, but the project had hung fire, as such things often do. Many a man is good at resolving and starting, but not so good at going on to the end.
2Co 8:11. Now therefore perform the doing of it;
Do not let your good resolves be buried, let them be turned into action: Now therefore perform the doing of it. so I might say to who are here. You have purposed, you have determined, you have resolved a great many times; Now therefore perform the doing of it. If it is a good resolve, it will be best to carry it out at once.
2Co 8:11-12. That as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
This is how we should always act, see what we can do, and do it, not wait till we can do twice as much. There is a great waste of holy effort and of holy giving because so many people are ashamed to do a little, and therefore do nothing because they cannot do much. That is not the way for Gods children to act. With your willing mind do what you can, and God will help you to do more.
2Co 8:13-14. For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:
Paul would have the rich church at Corinth give to the poor church at Jerusalem for the Corinthians themselves might be in need some day, and then the church at Jerusalem would in turn give to them. This is the law of the kingdom; if God prospers you, help another who is not being prospered just now; and then, one of these days, he also may help you in your time of necessity.
2Co 8:15. As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.
That was the law of the manna in the wilderness. Some people brought in a good deal, for they had a great many children, and so it was all eaten up. Some brought in a little, but God multiplied it, so that there was no lack. So, if, in providence, God gives you a large supply of good things, divide it among a large number of needy ones; and if he gives you only a small measure, be content, and do your best with it.
2Co 8:16. But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you.
Titus thought of them as Paul did; they were like-minded in this as in many other matters.
2Co 8:17-18. For indeed he accepted the exhortation; but being more forward, of his own accord he went unto you. And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches;
I do not know who the brother was. There have been many guesses but perhaps none of them were right. You see that human praise, even in the church, is not a very lasting thing. There was somebody whom all Christians praised; yet, now, nobody knows him. So, if you get to be esteemed among men, you may be unknown, even as this good man is; but if you have the praise of God, he will never forget you.
2Co 8:19. And not that only, but who was also chosen of the churches to travel with us with this grace, Paul did not like handling the money at all. They had to press him to do it, and then he sent Titus and somebody else to take charge of it, and to keep a strict account so that they should never be blamed in the matter of this distribution. So, beloved, see that you so serve God that even the devil cannot find fault with you. Be so exact, especially with what is given to Gods cause, that no man shall ever even think that you have taken any of it to yourselves.
2Co 8:19-21. Which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord, and declaration of your ready mind: avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us: providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
The apostle is very particular and careful, and herein he sets an example to all of you who have anything to do with any work for God. Do not let it rest on yourselves alone; have others associated with you to share the responsibility, and help you to look after it.
2Co 8:22-23. And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things, but not much more diligent, upon the great confidence which I have in you. Whether any do inquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellow helper concerning you:
If anybody outside wants to know who Titus is, say that I have sent him to be the leader in this particular work. If you want to know who he is, he is my partner and fellow helper concerning you. Well said, Paul.
2Co 8:23. Or our brethren be inquired of, they are the messengers of the churches and the glory of Christ.
This is the reply to any inquiry about the other brethren, they were probably poor men, humble men, plain preachers of the Word, yet Paul calls them the glory of Christ. What a wonderful thing it is that any man should be the glory of Christ! An honest, upright character a holy gracious conversation does bring glory to Christ. Men say, If that man is a follower of Christ, he does credit to his Master. Dear brothers and sisters, let us think of this; and if we are not the messengers of the churches, we may be the glory of Christ.
2Co 8:24. Wherefore shew ye to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
2Co 8:1. , we make known) This exhortation is inserted in this passage, which is extremely well suited to the purpose, and, after the preceding very sweet declaration of mutual love, with which it is connected by the mention of Titus; it is also set before them according to the order of Pauls journey, that the epistle may afterwards terminate in a graver admonition. Moreover the exhortation itself, even to the Corinthians, in respect to whom the apostle might have used the authority of a father, is even most especially liberal and evangelical.- , the grace) When anything is well done, there is grace to those, who do it, and also grace to those, to whom it is done. This word here is of frequent occurrence, 2Co 8:4; 2Co 8:6-7; 2Co 8:9; 2Co 8:19; ch. 2Co 9:8; 2Co 9:14.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
2Co 8:1
2Co 8:1
Moreover, brethren,-This marks the transition to a totally different subject, which Paul introduces with his usual felicity. The term brethren is the keynote of this section, as brotherly love is the motive of generosity.
we make known to you the grace of God-The disposition, ability, and opportunity to give was a matter of grace or favor bestowed by God, for which he is to be thanked. Every Christian should regard an opening to do good with his means, his talent, his time an act of kindness. Opportunities to do good are opportunities to make investments that will bear fruit unto eternal life. So every Christian should consider it a favor from God to have an opportunity and ability to give his means to do good as God directs.
which hath been given in the churches of Macedonia;-Contributions were being raised to relieve the suffering saints in Judaea. Directions concerning the raising of this fund were: Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I gave order to the churches of Galatia, so also do ye. 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. (1Co 16:1-2). Contributions under the same directions and for the same purpose were taken up throughout Galatia, Asia, Achaia, and Macedonia. To the Macedonian churches this grace involved more than the opportunity to do good. It was such a matter of grace to them that they were glad to accept the opportunity. They had so progressed in the divine life that they esteemed it a privilege to be permitted to give. They had learned that it is more blessed to give than to receive. (Act 20:35). The churches of Macedonia founded by Paul were those of Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
The apostle now turned to the subject of the collection for the saints at Jerusalem, concerning which he had written in his previous letter (1Co 16:1-24). He cites the example of the churches in Macedonia. They gave themselves
(1) to the Lord,
(2) to the apostles and fellow saints. This action of the Macedonian Christians is in harmony with the Spirit of the Christ. While careful to tell them that he is not speaking by way of commandment, he yet gives them his judgment, and it is that as it was they who were to begin in this matter, so it was they who should certainly complete the act.
He then lays down the true principle on which gifts are acceptable to God. It is readiness, so that the value of a gift is never reckoned intrinsically, but by a man’s possessions. The apostle is careful to avoid any chance of misinterpretation in financial matters. “We take thought for things honourable, not only in the sight of men.” It is urgent that nothing should be done which is open to misunderstanding by men of the world. Against this the apostle carefully guarded by seeing to it that such things were attended to by duly accredited persons, himself sedulously avoiding the handling of money.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
8:1-9:15. THE COLLECTION FOR THE POOR CHRISTIANS AT JERUSALEM
This is the second of the main divisions of the Epistle, and it may be divided into five sections, which, however, are made for convenience of study, without any assumption that they were intended by the Apostle. In 8:1-7 he sets forth the Example of Liberality set by the Macedonian congregations; 8:8-15 he points to the Example of Christ and indicates the proportion to be observed in contributing; 8:16-24 he informs the Corinthians that this new Mission to them is to be entrusted to Titus with two others; 9:1-5 he exhorts them to have everything ready when he comes; and 9:6-15 he exhorts them to be liberal, for their own sakes and for the good of the Church.
The subject of this Palestine Relief Fund is mentioned in four places in N.T.; 1Co 16:1-3; these two chapters; Rom 15:26, Rom 15:27; Act 24:17. Paley (Horae Paulinae, ii. 1) has shown how these four passages fit into one another and explain one another, and his arguments well repay study. The fact that St Paul mentions the collection of this fund in three of his four great Epistles, and that in this one he devotes so large a portion of the letter to the subject, is evidence that he took a very keen interest in the matter and was most anxious that the collection should be a success; and there was no place in which it was more important that the collection should be a generous one than at Corinth. The distress at Jerusalem was great; that was an argument that could be urged everywhere. But it was specially fitting that it should be pressed home in Gentile Churches; for seeing that the Gentiles had been admitted to share the spiritual possessions of the Jews, it was not unreasonable that the Jews should be admitted to a share of the worldly possessions of the Gentiles. If this was freely done, the union of Jew and Gentile in Christ would be shown to be a very real and practical thing, and would be made all the more binding in future. This collection formed the one visible expression of that brotherly unity which otherwise was rooted merely in their common faith (Harnack, Mission and Expansion, i. p. 183). It was specially desirable that Corinth should come to the front in this matter. Here Judaizing teachers had been at work, claiming to have the sanction of the Mother Church at Jerusalem, and denying that St Paul had any such sanction; they said that he had no authority from the Twelve and was disowned by them. Therefore, if he succeeded in raising a good sum in Corinth for the Jerusalem poor, it would show Christians in Palestine that his authority in Corinth was an influence for good, and show his detractors that he was on good terms with the Mother Church. But perhaps his chief aim was to strengthen the ties which bound Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians together. See notes on 1Co 16:1-4. It is there pointed out that St Paul uses seven different words in speaking of this collection. Excepting , which is peculiar to 1Co 16:1, all are found in 2 Cor., viz., (1 and 2 Cor.), (2 Cor. and Rom.), , , , and (2 Cor. only). Theodoret notes that is not used in this sense. What is still more remarkable, St Paul does not use , or , or , or in this connexion: he seems to avoid the mention of money.
His thus asking the Corinthians to bring to a generous and speedy conclusion the collection which they had begun to make before their recent attitude of rebellion against the Apostle, was of course strong evidence that he regarded the old happy relation between himself and them as being completely restored. He could not easily have given them a more convincing proof of his complete confidence in them. But at the same time there was risk in doing so. After restoring friendly relations with persons who have been cherishing resentment against us, we do not think it politic to begin at once to ask favours or to remind them of their duties; and yet this is just what the Apostle feels bound to do with the Corinthians, to whom he has only just become reconciled. One sees that he feels the difficulty of the situation. He desires to be, and to seem to be, confident of success; confident that his beloved converts will do all that he wishes them to do, and all that they ought to do, in this matter. And yet he does not quite feel this confidence.* It looks as if the Corinthians were not very generous givers in this or in other things (11:8, 9, 12:13; 1Co 9:11, 1Co 9:12, 1Co 9:16:4). No one from Corinth is mentioned Act 20:4. That may be accidental; yet it may mean that what was subscribed at Corinth was so insignificant that it did not require a special delegate, but was entrusted to one of the others. Be this as it may, St Paul evidently feels his way cautiously, weighing his words and careful about his arguments. The thought of the malice of the Judaizing teachers is still in his mind, and he knows that he has to deal with excitable people. No word of his must give a handle to the former or provocation to the latter. It was probably owing to the Judaizing teachers that the collection had hung fire. They would oppose any scheme that St Paul advocated.
There is no good reason for suspecting that these two chapters are part of another letter, different from both the first seven chapters and the last four. They follow the seventh chapter quite naturally, and the change of tone is thoroughly intelligible. The tone is similar to that in the Epistle to Philemon. In both cases he makes a request with diffidence, delicacy, and courtesy, but at the same time with firmness, with the conviction that it ought to be granted, and the hope that it will be. And in both cases the favour which he asks is not a personal one; he will not be the richer, if it is granted. He pleads for others, assuring those who can grant the favour that they themselves will be the better for granting it.
8:1-7. The Example of the Macedonian Churches is Worthy of Imitation
1 Now I should like to justify this expression of the good courage which I feel respecting you all. Let me make known to you, my Brothers, the grace of God which has been and still is being exhibited very remarkably in the Churches of Macedonia. 2 In the midst of an ordeal of affliction which has served to bring out their genuine Christianity, their overflowing happiness, combined with quite desperate poverty, has issued in a rich stream of simpleminded generosity. 3 For I can testify that up to the very limits, yes, and beyond the limits of their very slender means, they have given freely, and this without one word of suggestion from me. 4 So far from my asking them to help, they begged us most urgently to be allowed the privilege of taking part in the work of ministering to the necessities of their fellow-Christians in Jerusalem. 5 I should be misleading you if I were to say that in this they acted just as we expected that they would; one does not expect much from very poor people; they did far more than we expected. It was their own selves that they gave first and foremost to the Lord and also to us, and they made the offering in both cases because it was so willed by God. 6 The result of their double self-dedication was this. I urged Titus that, as he had been the person to start the raising of a relief-fund on a former visit, so he would now go once more and complete among yourselves this gracious undertaking. 7 Well now, as in everything ye are found to be abundant,-in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and every kind of zeal, and in the love which unites your hearts with ours,-do see to it that in this gracious undertaking also ye are found to be abundant. The possession of so many rich gifts may well bear this noble fruit, and you ought not to fall short of your endowments.
1. , . Now I proceed to make known to you, brethren. Moreover (AV) is certainly wrong. As in Rom 15:14, Rom 15:16:17; 1Co 1:10, 1Co 4:6, 1Co 7:29, 1Co 12:1, etc., the and the address mark a transition to something more or less different from what has preceded, and here perhaps suggests some such connexion as Now do not let the joy which I have just expressed prove vain, or Now I must pass on from the happiness which you have brought me to the happiness which I had in Macedonia. intimates that what he is about to communicate deserves attention (Gal 1:11; 1Co 12:3, 1Co 15:1, where see note). The phrase is found only in the Epistles of this group, but the verb is freq. in N.T. See on 1:8.
. . . . The grace of God which has been given in the Churches of Macedonia. Gods grace has been and still is operating there, producing in the converts a marvellous degree of Christian generosity. Not bestowed on the Churches (AV), but given in them (RV). Contrast 1Co 1:4. It was among the Christians there that this grace was exhibited. St Paul probably means the ancient kingdom of Macedonia, in which Philippi, Thessalonica, and Beroea were situated, rather than the Roman province, which included Thessaly and Epirus. The Romans had been very hard on these Macedonians; they had taken possession of the gold and silver mines which were rich sources of revenue, and had taxed the right of smelting copper and iron; they had also reserved to themselves the importation of salt and the felling of timber for building ships. The Macedonians said that their nation was like a lacerated and disjointed animal (Livy, 45:30). On the top of this had come persecution in the case of Christian converts. But God had enabled these impoverished people to do great things for their fellow-Christians; no doubt, with the grace of God, the Corinthians would do the like.
2. . That in much testing of affliction. The depends on , we make known to you that. For see on 2:9; here it seems to mean testing rather than proof (RV); cf. Rom 5:4. With the general sense comp. Jam 1:3; 1Th 3:3. Affliction tested the Macedonians and showed what genuine Christians they were. The test was severe and prolonged (); , (Chrys.). For sufferings of the Thessalonians see 1Th 1:6, 1Th 2:14.
. The abundance of their joy; a strange thing to be found in much testing of affliction. But few things are more characteristic of the Christians of the Apostolic Age than their exuberant joy. Both substantive and verb are freq. in N.T., and there is plenty of evidence elsewhere. This abiding and conspicuous effect of the good tidings was one leading cause of the Gospels rapid success. Its missionary power was then, and is still, where it exists, very great. Those who witness great joy in people whose lives are full of trouble are led to think that such people are in possession of something which is well worth having. (10:15; Rom 5:17) is a rare word in literature, but it is found in inscriptions (Deissmann, Light from the Anc. East, p. 80). The repetition of in this verse has rather a heavy effect; but the Apostle desires to make quite clear that the joy and the poverty and the liberality are found in the very same people, and that it was the joy and the poverty which produced the liberality. The poverty, extreme though it was, neither extinguished the joy nor prevented the liberality.
. Their down-to-depth poverty. Perhaps a phrase of St Pauls own coining. It does not mean that their poverty was going deeper and deeper, but that it had already reached the lowest stage. Strabos is quoted in illustration. Cf. (1Co 9:4). There is an effective oxymoron in . Cf. The widows two mites given out of her want (Luk 21:4), and one Christian having this worlds good while another has only need (1Jn 3:17).
. The riches of their liberality. The passage from single-mindedness or simplicity to liberality as the meaning of is not quite obvious. In LXX it means innocency (2Sa 15:11; 1Ch 29:17; Wisd. 1:1; 1 Macc. 2:37, 60), generally, if not quite always. In N.T. it is peculiar to Paul, and in 11:3 it seems to mean innocency or simplicity. But in these two chapters (9:11, 13) and in Rom 12:8 (see note there) it seems to mean that simplicity of purpose which is directed towards relieving the necessities of others, and hence to denote generosity or liberality.* St Paul speaks of the richness, not of their gifts, which could not have been large, but of their minds. Munificence is measured, not by the amount given, but by the will of the giver. Excepting 1Ti 6:17, is always used in the Pauline Epp. of moral and spiritual riches; and here, as in Eph 1:7, Eph 1:2:7, Eph 1:3:8, Eph 1:16; Php 4:19; Col 1:27, Col 2:2, the best texts make neut. In Rom 9:23 and Eph 1:18 it is masc., as perhaps elsewhere in N.T.
(* B C P) rather than (3 D F G K L).
3-5. . It will be convenient to take the whole of this long sentence first, and then examine the separate clauses; the constr. is irregular, owing to prolonged dictation. For according to their power, I bear witness, and beyond their power, of their own accord, with much entreaty beseeching of us the favour and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints; and [this] not in the way that we expected, but it was their own selves that they gave first of all to the Lord and to us, through the will of God. Three things have been already stated with regard to the help given by the Macedonian Christians. It was rendered (1) in a time of great affliction, (2) in spite of great poverty, (3) with great joy. The Apostle now adds four more particulars. The help was rendered (4) to an extent quite beyond their small means, (5) of their own free will, (6) so much so that they begged to be permitted to take part in ministering to their fellow-Christians, (7) placing themselves at the disposal of St Paul in a way quite beyond his expectation. The long and awkward sentence requires to be broken up, and this almost necessarily involves inserting a few words. But AV is not quite consistent in putting what is inserted in italics; for take upon us (v. 4) and this (v. 5) should be in italics as well as their, they were, and they did. Moreover, that we should receive (v. 4) is no part of the true text (see below). In RV. this grace (v. 4) is in excess of the Greek, which has the grace. But, in order to make the meaning clear it is almost necessary, with RV., to have they gave twice, although it comes only once in the Greek.
3. . Nowhere else is the word used absolutely, as here; cf. Gal 4:15; Rom 10:2; Col 4:13; Rev 22:18. With this parenthetical insertion of a confirmatory statement comp. (6:13), (Luk 13:24), and the classical , , . Blass, 79.7.
. Somewhat stronger than (1:8), which K L P have here; it implies not only above and beyond, but against, contrary to (Heb 11:11). It was a sort of contradiction to their poverty to give so much. The words do not belong to , spontaneous beyond their power, but to the belated .*
. The word occurs nowhere in Bibl. Grk., excepting here and v. 17. In Xen. Anab. v. vii. 29 we have it of selfelected commanders, but it is more often used of things which are spontaneously accepted, death, slavery, etc. (Thuc. 6:40). Cf. (2 Macc. 6:19; 3 Macc. 6:6), in the same sense as here, viz. of persons acting spontaneously. The combination is freq. in papyri. Of course this excludes only the Apostles asking; vv. 1 and 5 show that the Divine prompting is fully recognized.
4. . Begging of us the favour, viz. the sharing in the ministering to the saints. The Macedonians entreated to be allowed the privilege of fellowship in so good a work. Cf. 1Th 2:3. St Paul had possibly been unwilling to take much from people who were so poor. (Chrys.). AV here is much astray; is not the gift for the Apostle to receive, but the favour for him to grant, viz. allowing the Macedonians to help. Cf. Act 24:27, Act 25:3. They knew that it was more blessed to give than to receive. The probably epexegetic. An aec. of a substantive after is unusual, although is common.
. The charitable ministering to the Christians. This is a freq. meaning of (9:1, 12, 13; Act 6:1, Act 11:29, Act 12:25), a word which occurs more often in 2 Cor. and Acts than in all the rest of the N.T. He adds to explain the motive of the Macedonians; it was because help was wanted for Christians that they were so urgent in asking to be allowed to contribute; sic mavult dicere quam pauperes; id facit ad impetrandum (Beng. on 1Co 16:1). Deissmann (Bib. St. p. 117) thinks that this use of instead of the dat. comm. is Alexandrian rather than Hebraistic; it is found in papyri.
after is an unintelligent gloss found in a few cursives and other inferior authorities.
5. . And they did this, not as we expected (but far beyond our expectations). To confine this to their giving spontaneously is probably a mistake. What follows shows what is meant. Cf. (12:14).
. The emphasis is by position. On the contrary, it was their own selves that they first and foremost gave to the Lord and to us. Cf. Exo 14:31. here does not mean before I asked them, and probably does not mean before they gave money. It means first in importance; the crowning part of their generosity was their complete self-surrender. They placed themselves at the Apostles disposal for the service of Christ. It is possible that this means no more than a general disposition to do all that was within their power; but it may refer to personal service in the work of spreading the Gospel, such as was given by Sopater of Beroea, Aristarchus and Secundus of Thessalonica, and Epaphroditus of Philippi (J. H. Bernard). To these we may add Jason and Gaius, who were Macedonians, and perhaps Demas. With comp. (Act 15:28).
. Some confine this to but it belongs to the whole clause; their offering of themselves was governed by the will of God; see v. 1.
B has , which may be safely rejected; the aor. is quite in place.
6. . We are still under the influence of the rather hard-worked , which totam periochae structuram sustinet (Beng.). It was their own selves that they gave so that we entreated Titus, that, just as he started (the collection) before, so he would also complete among you this gracious work also. The implies some such connecting thought as I was so encouraged by the generosity of the Macedonians that I thought I would send Titus to you. We hardly need in both places, but the pleonasm would easily be made in dictating. The second , however, may mean that there were other things which Titus had started. The rare verb implies that Titus has been at Corinth before he took the severe letter alluded to in 7:12. This is some confirmation of the view that he, rather than Timothy, was the bearer of 1 Cor. But he may have been in Corinth before 1 Cor. to start the collection. In 1Co 16:1 the is mentioned as a subject already known to the Corinthians; see note there. They may have asked about it. See on 12:18. B here has , a verb which occurs Gal 3:3 and Php 1:6, in both of which passages it is combined with , and in both of them Lightfoot thinks that a sacrificial metaphor may be intended, for both verbs are sometimes used of religious ceremonials, the one of initiatory rites and the other of sacrifices and other sacred observances. See Westcott on Heb 9:6. * The gives the purport rather than the purpose of the entreaty or exhortation, and is almost equivalent to a simple infinitive; cf. 1Co 4:3, 1Co 16:12.
. Among you; lit. towards you, in reference to you.
. This gracious work also. This has no reference to (v. 1): it is not the grace of God which Titus is to make efficacious, but the gracious efforts for the poor Christians that he is to bring to a fruitful conclusion. Nor is it likely that there is any reference to the good work done by Titus in reconciling the Corinthians to the Apostle; that would hardly be spoken of as . It is remarkable how frequently , or recurs in this connexion; vv. 7, 19, 20, 9:5, 12, 13. In 9:1. takes its place for variety. The precise force of , as well as something else, remains doubtful.
7. . But there is another and a stronger consideration. What God has enabled the Macedonians to do is one incentive; you must also remember what He has done for you. You abound in everything; do not fall short of your great powers.
. Faith in Christ, such as every believer has. See on Rom 1:17, pp. 31f.
. These were specially valued at Corinth; St Paul treats both as Divine gifts, and, except in his Epistles and 2 Pet., is rarely so regarded in N.T. There is probably no reference to speaking with Tongues. See on 1Co 1:5, which to a considerable extent is parallel to this.
. The word combines the ideas of eagerness, earnestness, and carefulness. AV employs seven different terms in translating it; in the Epistles, carefulness, care, diligence, forwardness, earnest care, and business; in the Gospels, haste. Even the Revisers use four; in the Epistles, earnest care, earnestness, and diligence; in the Gospels, haste. These variations show the wide compass of the word.
. The reading is doubtful, and the meaning in either case is not quite certain, whether we read or . Neither the love which comes from you and dwells in us, nor the love which comes from us and dwells in you, is a phrase which has a very clear meaning. The love which wins love in return may be meant, and that may be expressed by either reading; your love for us which binds us to you seems to suit the context. The love, like the faith, etc., is in the Corinthians.
. This shows clearly the meaning of in v. 6. The is probably elliptical, and we may understand from v. 6, or a similar verb. The elliptical is then a gentle substitute for the direct imperative, as in the letter of the Jerusalem Jews to those in Egypt, 2 Macc. 1:9; . Cf. also Gal 2:10; 33; 23. This use of is found in papyri. The is against making co-ordinate with the v. 6; and in any case this would be an awkward constr. is at rather than sed; it marks, not opposition, but the transition from statement to exhortation (Mat 9:18; Mar 9:22; Luk 7:7). is emphatic by position; in this gracious work also, as in faith, utterance, knowledge, and love. He is anxious not to seem to be finding fault.
8:8-15. I Give No Orders. The Example of Christ Need Only Be Mentioned. Each of You Must Decide How Much He Ought to Give.
3 Do not think that I am issuing commands. I am not dictating to you. Not at all. I am merely calling your attention to the enthusiasm of the Macedonians in order to prove how genuine is your love also. (9 There is no need to give orders to you. You know how gracious the Lord Jesus Christ was. He was so rich in the glory of the Godhead; yet all for your sake He became so poor, in order that you, yes you, might become spiritually rich.) 10 I say I am not giving orders; it is just a view of the matter that I am offering you in what I write. This surely is the proper way in dealing with people like you, who were first in the field, not merely in doing something but in cherishing a desire to help, and that was as far back as last year. 11 But now do carry the doing also through, so that your readiness in desiring to help may be equalled by your way of carrying it through, so far, of course, as your means allow. 12 For if the readiness to give is forthcoming, and to give in proportion to ones possessions, this is very acceptable: no one is expected to give in proportion to what he does not possess. 13 I do not mean that other people should be relieved at the cost of bringing distress on you, but that there should be equality of burdens. At the present crisis your surplus goes to meet their deficit, 14 in order that some day their surplus may come to meet your deficit, so that there may be equality. 15 This is just what stands written in Scripture;-
He who gathered his much had not too much,
And he who gathered his little had not too little.
8. . Not by way of command am I speaking. is a Pauline phrase, and it is used in two different senses. With a negative, as here and 1Co 7:6 (see note), it means not by way of command; there is nothing dictatorial in what he says; he is not issuing orders or laying down rules. Without a negative and with a following gen., e.g. , as Rom 16:26; 1Ti 1:1; Tit 1:3, it means in accordance with Gods command, equivalent to (1:1, 8:5; 1Co 1:1; Eph 1:1; Col 1:1; 2Ti 1:1). Vulg. is capricious; here, non quasi imperans; 1Co 7:6, non secundum imperium; Rom 16:26, secundum praeceptum; so also 1Ti 1:1 and Tit 1:1. Cf. Phm 1:8, Phm 1:9.
. But as proving (13:5), by means of the earnestness of others, the sincerity of your love also. No verb has to be supplied; continues. The mention of the zeal of the Macedonians will show that the Corinthians love is as real as theirs. Excepting Luk 12:56, Luk 12:14:19; 1Pe 1:7; 1Jn 4:1, is a Pauline word, and it is found in all four groups, 17 times in all. Whereas is sometimes neutral, but generally means testing with the sinister object of producing failure, is sometimes neutral (as in Lk.), is never used in the sense of tempt, and often as here, means prove with the hope of a favourable result, or with the implied idea that the testing has had such a result. Hence it acquires the sense of approve (Rom 2:18, Rom 14:22), and is never used of the attempts of Satan to make men fail. AV in translating uses examine, try, discern, prove, approve, allow, like; RV. uses some of these and adds interpret (Luk 12:56). Vulg. has comprobo here, but everywhere else in N.T. probo or temto. The meaning here is that St Paul is quite sure that the good example of the Macedonians will be followed at Corinth. See Trench, Syn. lxxiv.; Cremer, Lex. s.v.
. Whatever is genuine in your love also. St Paul is fond of the substantival adj. followed by a gen.; , , . Cf. 4:17. We have a similar expression Jam 1:3, , and still more similar in 1Pe 1:7, if be the right reading. Deissmann (Bib. St. pp. 250, 259) cites an inscription of Sestos which has . See Blass, 47. 1. means not supposititious, legitimate, genuine, and answers to . both being emphatic.*
9. . The introduces the reason why he issues no orders; there is no need. The Corinthians have their own loyal affection; they have the example of the Macedonians; and, if that were absent, they have the far more constraining example of Christ. The in itself is almost proof that is indicative, which is probable on other grounds. Scitis enim gratiam (Vulg.).
[]. B omits , but it is probably original. The full title adds to the impressiveness of the appeal; Domini nostri Jesu Christi (Vulg.); the free gift of our Lord Jesus Christ.
. Placed first with great emphasis. There is not only the example of a self-sacrificing life, but of a sacrifice made on behalf of the Corinthians. Christ not only claimed obedience by declaring Himself to be the Legislator of a new Church and the Supreme judge of all mankind, He also inspired intense affection and devotion by laying men under an immense obligation. He was One whom it was impossible for men to benefit by conferring on Him earthly advantages, and yet, being so great and rich, He sacrificed for over thirty years more than men can at all comprehend, in order to do them good; Ecce Homo, ch. v. sub fin. The pre-existence of Christ is plainly taught here, as in Gal 4:4 (see Lightfoot). See on Rom 8:3, Rom 8:4 and Col 2:9 f.; also on 1Co 10:4.
. Egenus factus est, cum esset dives (Vulg.). The is imperf. part., and the aor. points to the moment of the Incarnation. Previous to that He was rich (Joh 17:5); at that crisis He became poor. That was the immeasurable impoverishment (Php 2:6-8). That for years He lived the life of a carpenter, and that when He left His Mothers house He had not where to lay His head, is of small account, and would be a very inadequate interpretation of . He was not like Moses, who renounced the luxury of the palace in order to serve his brethren; He never had any earthly riches to renounce. His riches were prior to His earthly life in a pre-existent life with God. He became poor when He entered the world, with a definite purpose to enrich His disciples, not in earthly goods, but in the same riches He Himself originally possessed in the heavenly world (Briggs, The Messiah of the Apostles, p. 121). * Here is the supreme incentive to benevolence; to being willing, nay, eager, to give up a great deal in order to help others. This ineffable surrender was made for you.
. Both pronouns are emphatic; that you, through His poverty, might become rich, viz. with the heavenly riches of union with God in Christ and the assurance of eternal life. Meum ergo paupertas illa patrimonium est, et infirmitas Domini mea est virtus; maluit sibi indigere, ut omnibus abundaret (Ambrose on Luk 2:41). Perhaps the main lesson of the verse is that Christ gave Himself, and in all genuine liberality something of self must be given. Cf. Joh 17:22, Joh 17:24; Rom 8:30; 2Ti 2:11, 2Ti 2:12.
This motive for liberality is remarkable as being made so incidentally, as if there was no need to do more than mention it. It was so well known, and it was so unanswerable. Perhaps we ought hardly to call it a parenthesis; but such a description is only a slight exaggeration. The Apostle at once returns to the point about which he is nervously anxious. He is not giving commands as an authority who must be obeyed; that would spoil everything. He is laying his own views before them, and they must act of their own free will.
We have again the common confusion between and . Read ( B D F G L P, Latt. Syrr. Copt, Goth.) rather than (C K), which makes sense, but very inferior sense. To read (some cursives) in v. 8 spoils the sense.
10. . And it is an opinion that I am offering you in this, not a command. Here, as in 1Co 7:25, where is contrasted with , Vulg. has considium for the former. He has told them before (1Co 7:40) that he believes that his opinion is worth considering. Like in the next sentence, is ambiguous. It may mean either in what I am saying or in this matter of the relief fund.
, … For this is expedient for people like you, who, etc. Lit. for you who are of such a character as, etc. may mean simply This giving liberally which I suggest to you; and in that case means is for your good morally. But may also mean (and with rather more point in connexion with the preceding sentence and v. 8), To offer an opinion, and not give a command, is the method which is suitable to people like you, who were to the front, not only in doing something, but also in desiring to do something, as long ago as last year. People who have not even a wish to move are the kind of people to whom one issues commands. Herveius understands as meaning To win the riches of Christ by imitating His poverty is well worth your doing. This is a more elaborate form of the first interpretation. The force of must in any case be preserved.
But why is doing placed in this position, as if it were inferior to willing? To say that in morals it is the will that is of value, and not what is accomplished, is not satisfying. It is not probable that St Paul had any such thought. Nor is it very satisfactory to suppose that in dictating he inadvertently transposed the two verbs. We get a better explanation if we suppose that he wished to say that the Corinthians were the very first in the field, not only in setting to work, but in intending to set to work. This explanation does not require us to give to the – in the meaning before the Macedonians, which is perhaps too definite; but, if that is the force of the preposition, the explanation has all the more point. The change from the aor. to the pres. is to be noted, indicating the difference between some particular action and the continual wishing to act. This may perhaps intimate that the acting has ceased, and that only the wishing remains. They had been first in both, but now others were before them in acting. There are two other explanations, not only to do, but to do it willingly, and not indeed with the doing, but at any rate with the willing. Both make good sense, but neither can be got out of the Greek as we have it. There must be conjectural emendation of the text in order to justify either; and if we are to make conjectures, the simplest is the transposition of the two verbs, as is done in the Peshitto Syriac.
. From last year, i.e. as long ago as last year. Not a year ago, as AV and RV., which implies twelve months ago. If, as is probable, 2 Cor. was written late in the year, and if St Paul is reckoning, either according to the Jewish civil year, or according to the Macedonian year, then last year might mean the spring of the same year, according to our reckoning. If he is following the Olympiads, which he might do in writing to Corinthians, this way of expressing himself would be still more easy. The Macedonian year is said, like the Jewish civil year (Tisri), to have begun about October; and counting by Olympiads the year would begin in the summer. Therefore in all three cases a person writing in November might speak of the previous January-April as last year. When 1 Cor. was written the collection of money at Corinth had hardly begun (1Co 16:1 f). On this point turns the interval between 1 Cor. and 2 Cor. Here we are told that last year the collecting had begun. Does this imply an interval of much less than a year or of much more than a year? See Introduction; also K. Lake, Earlier Letters of St Paul. p. 140. The expression is found in papyri, and the combination probably belongs to the language of the people; and are also used in the like sense. Deissmann, Bib. St. p. 221.
( B C K L P) rather than (D F G); cf. v. 6.
11. . But now complete the doing also, that as there [was] the readiness to will, so there may be the completion also according to your means. It would be a sad thing that those who were foremost in willing should be hindermost in performing; they must bring their performance into line with their willingness. There is no verb expressed with . We may supply either was or is. Each Corinthian would know whether he still possessed this . The stronger form intimates that there should be no more delay; precisely now and not later. It is rare else where in N.T., but freq. in Paul, generally as here in the usual temporal sense, but sometimes logical, as 1Co 13:13; cf. Heb. 9:29.
. Ambiguous; it might mean out of that which ye have (AV); which has little point: if they give, it must be out of what they possess. The next verse shows that it means in proportion to what you possess. Evidently the readiness to give had for some time not been very great, certainly not since the rupture between the Apostle and the Corinthians, and now he does not wish to alarm them. He had put before them the example of the Macedonians, who had given beyond their means (v. 3). He assures the Corinthians that he is not suggesting that they ought to give beyond their means; but they no doubt see that they ought to give, and he urges them to do so without further delay. Excepting Act 17:11, is peculiar to 2 Cor. (vv. 12, 19, 9:2).
12. . For if the readiness is there (lit. lies before us), it is acceptable according as [a man] may have, and not according as [he] has not. The is not original, but perhaps it ought to be supplied (RV). Otherwise personified is the nom. to and . Cf. Tobit 4:8, which is one of the offertory sentences in the English Liturgy. It is not likely that here means precedes, be first (AV), prius adsit (Beza). The amount that a man may have is indefinite, : his not having is a definite fact ( ). In Rom 15:31 is again used in reference to the Palestine relief fund. See on 6:2, and Hort on 1Pe 2:5; also Index IV. *
(B C D3 E K P) rather than ( D* F G L). B C* D F G K P omit , which C2 L have after and D F G after .
13, 14. . Something is often understood before : I mean (AV), or I say this (RV), or the object is (Waite and others), etc. But the ellipse is just as intelligible in English as in Greek, and in English no conjunction is needed; Not that there is to be relief for others, pressure for you: but according to equality, etc. For see on 2:13; also Index IV.
. These words may be taken either with what precedes or with what follows. Although occurs at the end of the next sentence, it is perhaps best to take at the beginning of it. Place a colon at pressure for you and continue; but according to equality-at the present season your abundance to meet their want, that their abundance also may meet your want, so that the result may be equality.* There is to be reciprocity, mutual give and take, so that in the end each side has rendered the same kind of service to the other. We need not bring in here the thought in Rom 15:27 of Gentiles giving material help in return for spiritual help. Here the help on both sides is material. The Apostle contemplates the possibility of Corinthian Christians being in distress, and of Jerusalem Christians sending money to relieve it, Vulg. supplies words which are not in the Greek; and something must be supplied; vestra abundantia illorum inopiam suppleat; ut et illorum abundantia vestrae inopiae sit supplementum. Beza has suppleat in both clauses. as in Rom 3:26, Rom 11:5.
. This use of between the art. and the noun is freq. in Paul; see on 1:6 and cf. 1Co 7:35, 1Co 9:12.
The after (3 D E G K L P, Vulg. Goth. Arm.) is probably an insertion for the sake of smoothness; * B C 17, d e, Aeth. omit. Note D E and d e.
15. The quotation hardly illustrates more than the idea of equality of some sort; not the equality which is the result of mutual give and take, which is a voluntary process, but that which is the result of the same measure being imposed on all, which is not voluntary. In LXX we have and (Exo 16:18). Some Israelites were eager to gather much manna; others through modesty or indifference gathered little. When they came to measure it, they all found they had exactly the prescribed amount. St Paul perhaps suggests that the equality which had to be forced upon those Israelites ought to be joyfully anticipated in the new Israel. The Corinthian Christians ought spontaneously to secure themselves against getting more than their share of this worlds goods by giving to the Jerusalem Christians before there was any need to require help from them.
. Cf. 9:9; 1Co 1:31. 1Co 1:11:9; Rom 1:17; ect. This form of citation is in Paul confined to Corinthians and Romans, and it is very freq. in Romans.
… Qui multum, non abundavit, et qui modicum, non minoravit (Vulg.). He who gathered his much had not too much, And he who gathered his little had not too little. In one sense this equality holds good in the other world also (Mat 20:9, Mat 20:10); quia omnes habebunt vitae aeternae aequalitatem (Herveius). But it does not follow from this that there will be no distinctions in that life.
In what follows we have the business arrangements respecting the collection for the fund. It is a kind of (3:1) for the officials.
8:16-9:5. Titus and Two Approved Colleagues Will Help You to Organize the Fund. There Shall Be No Room for Suspecting Underhand Dealing. Give a Hearty Welcome to the Three, and Have Everything Ready in Good Time
16 But thanks be to God, who is putting into the heart of Titus the same eager zeal that I myself always entertain. 17 I am not speaking at random. He not only readily responds to my appeal, but being from the first full of zealous eagerness, it is of his own unprompted choice that he is setting off to go to you. 18 And I am sending with him as a colleague that brother whose services in spreading the Gospel have won him the praise of all the Churches. 19 And, what is more, this brother has been elected by the Churches to be our fellow-traveller in this work of benevolence which is being administered by us to promote the honour of the Lord Himself and increase my own readiness. 20 I want to make quite sure that no one shall be able to criticize or suspect our conduct in the matter of this charity-fund which is being administered by us. 21 For I aim at doing what is absolutely honourable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. 22 And with Titus and the brother just mentioned I am sending another brother of whose eager zeal I have had many proofs in many particulars; and in the present matter his zeal is in a very special degree eager, by reason of the special confidence which he has been led to place in you. 23 If anyone wishes to know about Titus, he is my intimate colleague and my fellow-labourer in all work for you; and as to the two brethren who accompany him, they are apostles of Churches, an honour to Christ. 24 Give them therefore a conspicuous proof of your affection and of the good reason that I have to be proud of you; so that the Churches from which they come may know how well you have behaved.
9. 1 For, in the first place, with regard to the ministration to the poor Christians at Jerusalem, it is really superfluous for me to be writing to you: 2 for I know your readiness, about which I am always boasting on your behalf to the Macedonians. Achaia, I tell them, has been ready since last year. And your zeal has been a stimulus to most of them. 3 And, in the second place, I am sending Titus and his two colleagues to make sure that my boasting about you is not stultified in this matter of the relief-fund; that you might be quite ready, as I used to tell the Macedonians that you were. 4 For it would be disastrous if Macedonians were to come with me and find you unprepared. That would bring utter shame to me-to say nothing of you-for having expressed this great confidence in you. 5 To avoid this possible discredit I thought it absolutely necessary to entreat these three brethren to go to you before me, and get into order before I come the bounty which you promised before, so that all may be ready in good time as really a bounty and not as a grudging and niggardly contribution.
16. … But thanks be to God who is perpetually putting the same earnest care on your behalf in the heart of Titus. Vide quam late pateat hoc officium gratias agendi (Beng.). Cf. 2:14, 9:15; 1Co 15:57; Rom 6:17. We had in 1:22; cf. Joh 3:35; Joh_1 Macc. 2:7, 5:50; 3 Macc. 2:20. The implies that whatever is given remains where it is placed. The changes of meaning in this chapter with regard to should be noted (vv. 4, 6, 7, 19 of the relief-fund; but vv. 1, 9, 16 quite different). The same earnest care probably means that I have on your behalf, rather than that you have for the relief-fund, or that Titus had for the Thessalonians. There is a delicate touch in . The Corinthians might think that the zeal of Titus for the relief-fund was zeal on behalf of the Jerusalem poor; but it was really on behalf of the Corinthians. They would be the chief losers if a suitable sum was not raised in Corinth.
( * B C K P, g) rather than ( 3 D E G L, d e Vulg.).
17. . For, to begin with, he welcomes our appeal. This and the next two verbs are epistolary aorists, which must be rendered as presents in English. Cf. 2:3, 9:3.
… Secondly, in his characteristic earnestness, of his own accord he is going forth to you.
18. . And we are sending together with him the brother, whose praise for proclaiming the Gospel rings through all the Churches; lit. whose praise in the Gospel is through all the Churches; der das Lob hat am Evangelio durch alle Gemeinen (Luther). As in Gal 2:12, a verb compounded with is followed by . The point of a description of the two brethren who are to accompany Titus (vv. 18-23) is that St Paul is not sending to the Corinthians persons of no repute.* Both of them are tried men who have done good service. Lietzmann thinks that in the original letter the names must have been given, and that they were afterwards omitted, possibly because these two delegates proved to be not very acceptable at Corinth. But if the two were as yet unknown at Corinth, to mention their names would be of little use; this letter was to go with them, and Titus would introduce them. It was, however, of importance that the Corinthians should know how highly the Apostle and others thought of them.
There have been many conjectures as to the first of the two brethren; Barnabas (Chrys., Thdrt.), Luke (Origen, Hom. 1. in Luc., Ephraem), and (in modern writers) Silas, Mark, Erastus, Trophimus, Aristarchus, Secundus, and Sopater of Beroea. On the whole, Luke seems to be the best guess, and it is evidently assumed in the Collect for St Lukes Day. Bachmann and G. H. Rendall strongly support it. If Luke was left at Philippi from the time when St Paul first visited it to the time of his return to it, a period of about six years, he might have become a favourite in Macedonia and be an obvious person to select to collect alms for Jerusalem in Gentile Churches. Rendall regards it as hardly short of demonstrable that this was none other than S. Luke (p. 79). Renan rejects it (p. 455 n.). But of course cannot refer to St Lukes Gospel, which was not yet written. Souter takes in the literal sense as meaning the brother of Titus (Exp. Times, 18 pp. 285, 325-336).
19. … And not only [is he praised through all the Churches], but he was also appointed by the Churches to be our fellow-traveller in this work of grace which is being administered by us to promote the glory of the Lord Himself and our readiness. There are some doubtful points here. (1) To which word does … belong? To or to ? Was this brother appointed to promote the glory, etc.? Or is the fund being administered for this purpose? The latter seems more suitable, and is adopted in Vulg. (2) Has the same sense in reference to as to ? Both AV and RV make a change of meaning, which is somewhat violent, but not impossible in a dictated letter. Yet no change is necessary. We may render either to show or to promote in both cases. To show the glory and our readiness is simple enough; but to promote the glory and our readiness makes good sense and may be right, if the clause be taken with . The appointment of this efficient colleague tended to increase the glory of God and the Apostles readiness. His enthusiasm was made still greater when the prospects of success were increased by giving Titus such a helper. The constr. of . is irregular; we want . Cf. (7:5), and (v. 20). Blass, 79. 10. is an interesting verb exhibiting three marked stages in its history; (1) elect by show of hands; (2) elect in any way; (3) appoint, whether by election or not. Elsewhere in N.T. Act 14:23 only. It is certain that the verb is used by contemporary writers for appointment without election; and the substantive also. Josephus has the verb of Gods appointing David to be king (Ant. vi. xiii.9) and of Jonathan being appointed high priest by Alexander (Ant. xiii. ii. 2). Philo uses of Pharaohs appointment of Joseph to be governor of Egypt. (De Josepho, 21, Mang. p. 58). Similar usage is found in inscriptions. Neither here nor in Acts does it mean the imposition of hands in ordination, , or the stretching out of the hands previous to imposition, which is a much later use. In Act 14:23 the ordination of the presbyters is implied in , not in . In Acts Vulg. has constituo, here ordino; AV has ordain in Acts and choose here; RV has appoint in both.
. To go abroad with us, to be our companion in travel, a subordinate, not a colleague, like Barnabas. Here and Act 19:20 only. Vulg. has comes perigrinationis here and comites without perigrinationis in Acts, where is used of Aristarchus and Gaius. Hence some think that it refers to Aristarchus here (Redlich, S. Paul and his Companions, p. 217).
(B C P, f Vulg. Copt. Arm. Aeth.) rather than . ( D F G K L, d e g, Syrr.). B C D * G L, Latt. Copt. omit before . F and a few cursives, followed by T. R., have after , an obvious correction, to agree with v. 11 and 9:2, where the is in the Corinthians. Baljon conjectures . .
20. , . Taking precautions about this, that no man blame (6:3) us in the matter of this bounty which is being administered by us. The participle explains why this colleague has been given to Titus, and in construction it belongs to : (v. 12) is some what similar in constr. Cf. Wisd. 14:1; 2 Macc. 5:1; also 2Th 3:6, the only other passage in N.T. in which occurs. From meaning tighten, comes to mean hold back, check, and means draw back from; cf. (Gal 2:13), and see Westcott on Heb 10:38. Here Vulg. has devitantes and in 2Th 3:6 subtrahatis vos: (Thdrt.).
. Plenitudine (Vulg.). From fulness and firmness in the human body and speech it comes to mean any kind of abundance. Wetstein says it occurs four times in Zosimus of munificent giving, which is the meaning here. The Apostle assumes that the amount raised will be large, and he must secure himself against all possibility of suspicion that he administered it dishonestly.* He might have repeated (vv. 7, 19), but he prefers an unusual word (nowhere else in Bibl. Grk.) to show that he feels sure that the Corinthians will be bountiful.
21. . He is quoting LXX of Pro 3:4, , where the Heb. gives, And thou shalt find favour and good understanding in the sight, etc. See Toye, ad loc. St Paul quotes the text again Rom 12:17, , as a reason for not being revengeful, in both cases following LXX rather than the Heb. For we aim at things honourable; lit. we take forethought for; cf. Wisd. 6:8. Caput autem est in omni procuratione negotii et muneris publici, ut avaritiae pellatur minima suspitio (Cic. De Off. 11. 21:75). Coram Deo sufficit bona conscientia, sed coram hominibus necessaria est bona fama (Herveius). Not to care what others think of us may be unfair to them. It would have been disastrous to his converts for them to be able to suspect the Apostle of dishonesty. Qui fidens conscientiae suae negligit famam suam crudelis est, says Augustine (Serm. 355). That St Paul was merely establishing a precedent, to protect future bearers of charitable funds from suspicion, is not probable. He knew that his critics would suspect him. Cf. Ep. of Polycarp, vi. 1.
( B D F G P, Latt. Syrr.) rather than (K L) co-ordinate with , or than (C, Copt. Goth.).
22. . And we are sending (epistolary aor.) together with them our brother whom we have proved to be in earnest many times in many things. Our brother of course does not mean the brother of St Paul, any more than the brother in v. 18 means the brother of Titus. In both cases brother means fellow-Christians. Giving him a name is pure guesswork; some conjecture Tychicus, others Apollos. The freq. alliteration with is conspicuous in this verse. Cf. 1:5, 7:4, 8:2, 9:8, 11, etc.
. But now much more in earnest by reason of much confidence to you-ward. In this way it is easy to continue the alliteration. See on 1:15 for the Pauline word , which no doubt means the envoys confidence (RV) rather than the Apostles (AV). The latter would require a pronoun to make it clear. But this mention of the envoys confidence respecting them does not prove that he had been in Corinth. What he had heard about them might make him eager to come. See Index IV.
23. . The constr. is broken in dictating. Whether [anyone asks] about Titus, he is my partner and fellow-worker to you-ward; or our brethren [be asked about], they are apostles of Churches, a glory to Christ. Titus is to represent the Apostle; the two brethren are to represent the Macedonian Churches. Cf. 1Co 11:7. He does not say Apostles of Christ; that was true of himself and the Twelve, who had received their commission direct from our Lord, but it was not true of these two brethren who were merely messengers or delegates of Churches, as Epaphroditus of Philippi; legati, qui publico nomine pium exsequuntur officium (Beng.). See Harnack, Mission and Expansion, i. pp. 319, 327. Nevertheless, to be selected by their Churches was a guarantee for their characters and capacities. In these two verses he brings the commendatory section to a close. For see on 1:6; cf. 1Co 3:21, 1Co 13:8. Its use without a verb is classical. Blass, 78. 2. See Hastings, DB. and DCG. art. Apostle.
24. . See crit. note below. Demonstrate therefore to them the demonstration of your love and of our glorying on your behalf to the face of the Churches. Show the proof (AV, RV) does not preserve the repetition, which is probably deliberate. Vulg. has Ostensionem ergo ostendite. It is easily preserved in English; Exhibit to them the exhibition, Manifest to them the manifestation. The Corinthians are urged to show that their own love is genuine and that the Apostles pride in them is fully justified. in N. T. is a Pauline word (Rom 3:25, Rom 3:26 and Php 1:28 only), and it is not found in LXX. It means an appeal to facts, demonstratio rebus gestis facta.
. To the face of the Churches; i.e. as if the congregations to which they belong were present. They are representative men; delegates, who will report to the Churches that elected them what they see and hear at Corinth, to which they are coming with high expectations; and the Corinthians must take care that there is no disappointment. This last clause is added with solemnity; it points to a host of witnesses, in whose presence the Corinthians will virtually be acting. The Apostle has suggested a variety of motives, from the example of Christ down to respect for their own reputation, for being generous.
It is not easy to decide between ( C D 2 and 3 E * * K L P, f Vulg. Syrr. Copt. Arm. Aeth.) and (B D * E * G 17, d e g Goth.). WH. prefer the former, with the latter in marg. Tisch. prefers the latter, which would be likely to be corrected to . The before . ., and before the Churches (AV) has very little authority (only a few cursives).
* Lhabilite, la souplesse de language, la dexterite epistolaire de Paul, etaient employees tout entieres a cette oeuvre. 11 trouve pour la recommandevaux Corinthiens les tours les plus vifs et les plus tendres (Renan, Saint Paul, p.453).
* Simplicitas malignitati opponitur (Calvin). In the Testaments the word is freq., esp. in Issachar, e.g. . But the usual meaning is simplicity, innocence, rather than liberality.
(Fourth century). Codex Sinaiticus; now at Petrograd, the only uncial MS. containing the whole N.T.
* information respecting the commentator is to be found in the volume on the First Epistle, pp. lxvi f.
B B (Fourth century). Codex Vaticanus.
C C (Fifth century). Codex Ephraemi, a Palimpsest; now at Paris, very defective. Of 2 Corinthians all from 10:8 onwards is wanting.
P P (Ninth century). Codex Porfirianus Chiovensis, formerly possessed by Bishop Porfiri of Kiev, and now at Petrograd.
D D (Sixth century). Codex Claromontanus; now at Paris. A Graeco-Latin MS. The Latin (d) is akin to the Old Latin. Many subsequent hands (sixth to ninth centuries) have corrected the MS.
F F (Late ninth century). Codex Augiensis (from Reichenau); now at Trinity College, Cambridge.
G G (Late ninth century). Codex Boernerianus; at Dresden. Interlined with the Latin (in minluscules). The Greek text is almost the same as that of F, but the Latin (g) shows Old Latin elements.
K K (Ninth century). Codex Mosquensis; now at Moscow.
L L (Ninth century). Codex Angelicus; now in the Angelica Library at Rome.
* The supra viriuiem of Vulg. has led to needless discussion as to whethe it is right to give supra virtutem: is rather supra vires.
* The meaning here might be that he treated the collection as a religious act, a sacrifice to God.
* Vulg. has vestrae caritatis ingenium bonum comprobans. It this is a corruption of ingenuum, the corruption must be very early, for it is found in the earliest commentators as well as in the most ancient MSS. Augustine loosely renders the words by vertrae caritatis carissimum. It is to the world at large that the genuineness of their love is to be proved; St Paul needed no proof.
* This is a natural and permissible view of the Incarnation, but it is not the deepest. See W. Temple, Foundations, pp. 319, 245.
* In his letter to Eustochium (Ep. cviii. 15) Jerome quotes thus; Non ui aliis refrigerium, vobis autem tribulatio, sed ex equalitate in hoc tempore, ut vestra abundontia sit ad illorum snopiasm abundantia sit ad westram inopiam.
E E (Ninth century). At Petrograd. A copy of D, and unimportant
* At the present season is emphaticm and Lewin thinks that it may refer to the Sabbatic year, during which the means of the Jews were soi stinted, that even the Romans for that year remitted the tribute (Jos. Ant. xiv. x. 6). More probably it refers to the prolonged poverty of the Hebrew Church.
17 17. (Evan. 33, Act_13. Ninth century). Now at paris. The queen of the cursives and the best for the Pauline Epistles; more than any other it preserves Pre-Syrian readings and agrees with B D L.
d d The Latin companion of D
e d The Latin companion of E
g d The Latin companion of G
* St Paul often gives commendations of this kind; to Timothy and Stephanas (1Co 16:10-15), Phoebe (Rom 16:1), Tychicus, Onesimus, and Mark (Col 4:7-10) Zenas and Apollos (Tit 3:12-14).
f d The Latin companion of F
* Moffatt compares Byrons remark to Moore in 1822; I doubt the accuracy of all almoners, or remitters of benevolent cash. Philo tells of the care that was taken to have trustworthy men to carry the temple-tribute (De Monarch. ii. 3, Mang. 224, sub fin.). Schrer greatly enlarges Philos statement (Jewish People, 11. ii p. 289).
If he had a brother, he could not have made use of him as a check on himself. We know of no brother.
Fuente: International Critical Commentary New Testament
Stimulating to Liberality
2Co 8:1-15
Surely the plea for a generous gift of money toward the collection which Paul was making for the poor saints in Jerusalem, could not have been more tenderly and convincingly urged than it is urged here. He begins by mentioning the generosity of the Christians in Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea, who were very poor, the inference being that the wealthier Corinthians would make similar sacrifices. He quotes the example of the Lord Jesus, who made Himself poor that they might be enriched and who for nineteen centuries since has had the joy of enriching myriads of souls. Paul reminds the Corinthians that a year ago they had resolved to make this gift. Finally he sketches his fair dream of reciprocity between church and church, so that wherever there was need the supplies of Christian benevolence should flow forth to meet it.
Notice, then, that Christian liberality originates in the grace of God, ministers abundant joy to those who give, is not staunched by deep poverty, begins with the consecration of the givers soul to God, and does not wait to be entreated, because it demands the privilege of ministering thus to the lack of Christs body.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
The Grace of Liberality
2Co 8:1-24
Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; how that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also. Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago. Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality: as it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack. But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you. For indeed he accepted the exhortation; but being more forward, of his own accord he went unto you. And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches; and not that only, but who was also chosen of the churches to travel with us with this grace, which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord, and declaration of your ready mind: avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us: providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, upon the great confidence which I have in you. Whether any do inquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellow-helper concerning you: or our brethren be inquired of, they are the messengers of the churches, and the glory of Christ. Wherefore show ye to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf. (vv. 1-24)
We have in this chapter a very wonderful window through which we may look into conditions prevailing in the early church. We are allowed, nineteen hundred years later, to look through this chapter, as it were, into the very life of Gods people so long ago. A famine had taken place in Palestine, and many of the Jewish believers, many of the early Christians in Jerusalem and Judea and other parts of Palestine, were suffering. There was a real depression prevailing all over that land. Naturally in such a time the world cares for its own. In those days especially there would be very little provision made, very little concern shown, regarding those who had trusted the Lord Jesus Christ. By that very confession of faith in Him they had lost their standing in Judaism and were obnoxious to the idolatrous system of the Roman Empire. But just as soon as word of their plight reaches the apostle laboring in a distant land, he says, Now here is the opportunity for the Christians among whom I am working to show how true their fellowship is with their brethren over there in Judea, and he immediately stresses the importance of self-denial, of giving generously in order that the needs of the Judean believers may be met.
A chapter like this is most instructive to us, for we are still in the world where believers will be going through difficulties and hardships, and we are to be helpers in this way of one anothers faith. We think particularly of those who have left their homes, left the opportunity of making a good salary in this land, to go out to carry the gospel of the grace of God among the heathen. What a shame it would be to us if they were left there suffering for the lack of temporal necessities. It is our privilege to show our fellowship with them by denying ourselves, in order to keep them free from care along these lines. There is a wonderful principle that runs all through this chapter, the principle of brotherly fellowship with those in need. You will notice that the apostle had already brought this matter before the Corinthians when he went through there the year before. He said, What can you do? Well, they had said, we will give something; we will do our best. Now he has been up in Macedonia laboring, and he is coming back through Corinth on his way to Jerusalem, and so writes and practically says, I hope you are prepared to keep the pledge you made a year ago.
Sometimes people say, I do not believe in making pledges. At the bottom of that there may be utter selfishness. We all make pledges. We make a pledge to the landlord when we promise to pay him so much a month. If you are running a bill at the grocery store, you have pledged to pay for what you purchase. You make pledges when you buy anything on the installment plan. Are God and the work of God the only Person and the only thing that are of so little importance that you cannot risk making a pledge in order to help in Christian service? These Corinthians had made a pledge, and the apostle says, in verse 11, Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. They had been willing to do this, they had said, We will do something, Paul, when you come back again. Now, he says, you keep that pledge; it may take self-denial; you may have to do without a great many things you want, but these Christians in Judea are doing without very much more. And so we may have to do without some luxuries if we are going to make and keep a proper pledge toward our missionaries, but they are doing without far more. They do not have grand pianos, expensive radios, and cars, they do not have beautiful homes and furniture, they are doing without these things for Jesus sake, and so we can do without many things in order to help them on. Let us look at this a little more carefully.
In the first verse of this chapter he says, Moreover, brethren, I want you to know of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. How was that grace manifested? Many of us talk a great deal about grace and show very little. God has manifested grace toward us, and how full of grace our lives ought to be. These Macedonians had been saved by grace, and now the rich grace of giving is bestowed upon them. Giving is a grace. How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. Notice four expressions here: Great trial of affliction, abundance of joy, deep poverty, riches of liberality. Is it not remarkable to find all four of these expressions brought into such an intimate relationship? They were going through a great trial, a great trial of affliction. But out of the abundance of their joy, yet coupled with their deep poverty, they gave, and it abounded unto the riches of their liberality. I do not think that means that they gave large sums. They probably did not have large sums to give, but the little was regarded by God as a larger gift than if very much more had come from people far more wealthy than the Macedonians. Gods way of estimating gifts is different from ours. He estimates our gifts, not by the amount we give, but by the amount we have left. If a man is a millionaire and gives a thousand dollars, that does not count as much as one who has an income of a dollar a day and gives a dime. And so we need not be afraid to bring our little gifts, thinking He may despise them. He said of the poor widow, [She] hath cast in more than they all:[for] she [gave] of her [poverty]all the living that she had (Luk 21:3-4).
They were taking up a missionary offering once in a Scotch church. One rather close-fisted brother was there, known to be worth something like 50,000, which in those days was considered a fortune, and as the deacons went around taking up the offering, one of them whispered to him, Brother, how much are you going to give?
Oh, well, I will put in the widows mite, he said, and prepared to put in a penny.
Brethren, the deacon called out, we have all we need; this brother is giving 50,000.
If he was going to give the widows mite, he would have to give all he had, you see. It is the widows who give like that, not the rich folk.
But these poor Macedonians out of their poverty gave, and gave with joy. They did not give grudgingly; they were glad to do what they could; and the apostle says, For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves. They gave to the very limit, and would have given more if they could have done so.
How much are you going to give, brother? somebody asked. Oh, he said, I guess I can give ten dollars and not feel it.
Brother, said the first man, make it twenty, and feel it; the blessing comes when you feel it.
These people gave until they felt it, and they had to pray the apostle to receive their gifts. It would be a great treat to get to the place where that would be the case. It seems that at Macedonia the apostle just mentioned the need, and then we read, Praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.
In the next verse you can see how they did it. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. You see, if I have given myself to the Lord, the rest all follows.
Naught that I have my own I call,
I hold it for the Giver;
My heart, my strength, my life, my all,
Are His, and His forever.
And so, because they insisted, he says that he has asked Titus to go on to the Corinthians and get their gift, and add it to that of the Macedonians.
Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. In other words, you with your fine homes, you with your elegant dress, with all your privileges, you have everything your heart could wish, you who believe that business is business, now see that you abound in this grace also, see that you are just as rich in the grace of giving as in anything else. I speak not by commandment, I am not commanding you. I am not going to order you to give. This is the dispensation of the grace of God. I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love. In other words, I am trying to make you ashamed as I tell you what others have done, and he points them to the supreme example of self-abnegation. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. How can I speak of following Him, how can I speak of being saved by His grace, if I do not seek to imitate Him in His self-denying concern for those in need? He saw me in my deep, deep need, and He came all the way from His home in heaven, laying aside the glory that He had with the Father from eternity, down to the depths of Calvarys anguish-and to the darkness of the tomb. He who was rich for my sake became poor, that through His poverty I might be enriched through eternity. And He has left us an example that we should follow His steps.
Notice, Paul never asked for money for himself. Even when he was laboring in Corinth he said, I robbed other churchesto do you service (11:8). Other churches sent their missionary money to him, but now that they are Christians he does not want them to forget their responsibilities. He never asks anything for himself, and the true servant of Christ is not going to try to stir people up to do for him, but he will be concerned for the needs of others. Paul would never beg for himself, but he had no shame about pleading most earnestly for others when occasion arose.
Herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago. Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. And then verse 12, For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. It was not a question of saying, Well, I would do something but am not able, but a question of doing what they could. If you can give only a little to the Lord, give that, and He will multiply it. If you can give a great deal, give it to Him. He looks into the heart. Many a one puts in a dime, and on the books of heaven it goes down as though it were a dollar, but do not put in a dime if you could give the dollar, for that wont go down at all!
I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality. Someday things may change; someday it may be the Corinthians who will be in poverty, and the Jerusalem saints may be sending to minister to them in their need, but give as unto the Lord, because it is written in the Old Testament, and this refers to the manna, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack. You remember it was God who gave the manna, and He said, Just gather for your need. A man may have said, Well, I am going to gather in while the gathering is good. Bring out all the pots and pails and the wash-tub, and I will fill them, and he might have had enough to last him a month. But the next morning when he went to look at it, he would find that it had bred worms and was worthless. If he did not use what he got from day to day it went for nothing, but if he got just a little it saw him through. After all, you can only use so much of this worlds goods; use the surplus to the glory of God and the blessing of a needy world.
In verse 16 to the end of the chapter he shows the importance of carefully handling funds that are entrusted to the church. I think that a great many otherwise well-meaning servants of Christ have failed tremendously right along this line. They gather vast sums of money, making themselves responsible for its use, and no one ever knows whether it has been used in the way promised. The apostle says there should never be anything like that. You must handle the funds in such a way that they can be checked up, and people may know that everything has been used aright. And so the apostle would not touch a penny of it, but said, We will appoint accredited men to look after it, and he appointed two unnamed brethren and his friend, Titus, as a committee to handle all the money, to pay it out and to give an account of everything.
But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you. For indeed he accepted the exhortation; but being more forward, of his own accord he went unto you. Paul had urged Titus to do this work, but he was also anxious to do it of his own accord; he was glad to take up this service. And then we read, And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches. This brothers name is not given but they knew him well, for he was chosen by the church. And not that only, but who was also chosen of the churches to travel with us with this grace, which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord, and declaration of your ready mind. And why did they do this? Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us. In other words, he did not want anybody to be able to say, Oh, Paul is gathering in a great deal of money. Who knows what he is doing with it! First thing we know he will be coming out with some very expensive equipage that he has bought out of that money.
Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. The Lord knows what we do with the money, but he says, That is not enough; we want Gods people to know also. And then, in addition to Titus and this brother, Paul had sent another one. The testimony of two men is true, we read, but it is written, In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established (Mat 18:16). And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, upon the great confidence which I have in you. He found a man who was an expert in business matters, and says, We have sent him along too.
And then he gives a little word of commendation of these brethren. Whether any do inquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellow-helper concerning you: or our brethren be inquired of, they are the apostles of the churches [the word messenger there is the word apostle], and the glory of Christ. Wherefore show ye to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf. The proof of love is in giving. We say we are interested in missions-prove it by giving. We say we are interested in poor saints-prove it by giving. We say we are interested in supporting the Lords work-prove it by giving. God gave-God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son. Christ so loved the church that He gave Himself for it, and now we who through grace know God as our Father and Christ as our Savior are called upon to show our love by giving.
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
2Co 8:8
An Apostle pleading for Liberality in Giving.
If you will glance at the context, two things appear on the surface of it: first that St. Paul is very anxious to obtain a handsome contribution from the Church at Corinth; and secondly, that he is just a little doubtful about succeeding in his endeavour. When we find him dwelling on the subject for two whole chapters together, placing it in a variety of lights and making his appeal to every conceivable motive, the very accumulation of arguments inclines us to suspect that a great effort was required in order to evoke the generosity of the Corinthian Church. We do not usually waste our strength where there is no obstacle to be overcome. And there is some confirmation of this view in the fact that the Apostle declined to be indebted for his own personal maintenance, or for any part of it, to this particular Church. To some of his converts-to the Philippians, for instance-he was not too proud to be beholden. But from the Church at Corinth he would accept nothing, and the reason probably lay in the difference of temper and character between the two Christian communities.
I. Let us now see how St. Paul sets about accomplishing his object. He begins by informing the Corinthians of what the Churches of Macedonia had done in the matter. He does not hesitate for a moment to stimulate the sluggish benevolence of the wealthier Church by narrating to them what the poorer Churches have done. He proposes an example of liberality worthy of imitation.
II. He points out that there ought to be a proportion maintained among what may be called the component parts of the Christian character. The inner and the outer should keep pace with each other. “See that ye abound in this grace also.”
III. He disclaims all intention of exerting anything like compulsory power. There is in Christians a deep, underlying love to their Master, and love to those for whom their Master died; and if you can succeed in touching this spring-in setting this motive free to act-you have more than half accomplished what you are attempting to do.
IV. In the last place, the Apostle speaks of an equalisation in the material condition of Christian people. Inequality in the present condition of being enters into the Divine plan respecting the people of Christ. But it is the object of Christian benevolence to counteract this inequality as far as possible. The Corinthians had fulness, the Hebrew Christians had emptiness. It was the duty of the Corinthians, then, to restore the balance.
G. Calthrop, Penny Pulpit, new series, No. 840.
2Co 8:9
Christ’s Privations a Meditation for Christians.
I. What is meditating on Christ? it is simply this, thinking habitually and constantly of Him, and of His deeds and sufferings. Christ is gone away; He is not seen; we never saw Him, we only read and hear of Him. We must recall to mind what we read in the Gospels and in holy books about Him; we must bring before us what we have heard in church; we must pray God to enable us to do so, to bless the doing so, and to make us do so in a simple-minded, sincere, and reverential spirit. In a word, we must meditate, for all this is meditation, and this even the most unlearned person can do, and will do, if he has a will to do it.
II. Now of such meditation, or thinking over Christ’s sufferings, I will say two things: (1) that such meditation is not at all pleasant at first; (2) it is only by slow degrees that meditation is able to soften our hard hearts, and that the history of Christ’s trials and sorrows really moves us. It is not once thinking of Christ or twice thinking of Christ that will do it. It is by going on quietly and steadily, with the thought of Him in our mind’s eye, that by little and little we shall gain something of warmth, light, life, and love. We shall not perceive ourselves changing. It will be like the unfolding of the leaves in spring. You do not see them grow; you cannot, by watching, detect it. But every day, as it passes, has done something for them; and you are able, perhaps, every morning to say that they are more advanced than yesterday. So it is with our souls; not indeed every morning, but at certain periods we are able to see that we are more alive and religious than we were, though during the interval we were not conscious that we were advancing.
J. H. Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, vol. vi., p. 39.
Poverty a Holy State.
I. The poverty of Christ is intended as an example to all men. To His earliest followers He gave the precept of poverty; He made it binding on them; He made it even the condition of entering His service and His kingdom. Poverty, toil, and a common life were the daily bonds of their society with Him; and they chose to live on as He had left them, still realising His presence who, though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor. Out of this common life came the fixed endowments of the Church. First, the bishop and his clergy and the poor of Christ lived of one stock and revenue, as it were at one table, at which the spiritual father presided in Christ’s stead. Afterwards, when the Church had peace, and in God’s good providence was permitted to make itself fixed homes and certain dwelling-places, the necessity which lay on them by reason of the then present distress ceased. That which was a precept of necessity, became a counsel of perfection. It was a fuller and closer imitation of the life of Christ for those who, by the providence of God, were permitted to forsake all for the love of their heavenly Master. And there have been many, in all ages of the Church, who have willingly made themselves poor for Christ’s sake, that through their poverty and labour of love the elect might be made rich in God’s kingdom.
II. Another reason for Christ’s choosing so bare and destitute a condition was, that He by His poverty might set us an example of deadness to the world. The gifts and allurements of the secular state are among the chief dangers of Christ’s servants. There are very few that can resist the offers of wealth, ease, elevation, power, and the like. And Christ, foreseeing the trial of His Church, especially in the days when the world was to come into its fold, stamped for ever in His own example the visible tokens of perfect deadness to the secular state, by choosing for Himself a life of poverty. This is another great lesson set us in the poverty of our Lord-so to die to the world that it cannot find the price at which to buy our submission. The man that covets nothing, seeks nothing, looks for nothing, nay, that would refuse and reject the solicitations of the world unless they bore on them some sure and expressive marks of the Master’s hand, is above all worldly power. He is truly independent; out of the reach of hope and fear; and next under God, lord of his own spirit.
III. And once more, the example of the Son of God was no doubt designed to show us the relation between poverty and holiness. The very state of poverty is a wholesome corrective of many subtle and stubborn hindrances of our sanctification. Let us embrace it with gladness. Let us, when the choice is before us, choose it rather than to be rich. How much of mercy and meaning does this put into all worldly reverses. The loss of fortune is, as it were, a call to perfection; the appointment of a poor lot in life, or of a precarious livelihood, are tokens of His will to make us share in the likeness of His poverty. Let us bless Him for every degree of approach He permits us to make towards His perfect life. Whether we be in the sacred or the secular state, let us use the narrowing of worldly fortunes as a means of chastening our desires, and in making ourselves independent of all things but His truth, His Spirit, the laws of His Church, and the hope of His heavenly kingdom.
H. E. Manning, Sermons, vol. ii., p. 284.
When a beggar asks alms of me for the love of Christ, can I safely hold back my hand? When I am assured, by persons of wisdom and experience, that I shall do a positive wrong to society if I listen to his prayer, dare I give him anything? These are questions which are troubling a great many of us. They do not concern only the case of the street beggar. They have a very wide application. Some will tell us that almost every time we bestow anything on a fellow-creature we are indulging a fancy or a sentiment and violating a law. Some will say that the most indiscriminating kindness is most like the kindness of God, who giveth liberally to all and upbraideth not, who sendeth His rain upon the just and upon the unjust. These opposite opinions do not only distract us. Too often they drive us to the conclusion that there is no principle at all which can guide us, or to the conclusion, more dangerous still, that there are two principles, one of which is good for earth, the other for heaven. Perhaps there is no time when this conflict is likely to be greater in our minds than at Christmas.
I. It is certain that if we receive the incarnation of Christ as the revelation of God’s mind and character to men, any language which has ever been used or can ever be used to denote the fulness and universality of the Divine love and compassion, instead of being exaggerated, instead of requiring to be modified and justified, must be tame and cold. So far then it would seem that the defenders of an expansive indiscriminating charity have much to urge on their behalf. If we are to be followers of God as dear children; if nothing can be wrong in our character which is like His, nothing right which is inconsistent with His,-there can be no fear of our regarding the race of man or any individual of that race with too much affection and sympathy; there must be the greatest fear of stinting of affection and sympathy.
II. Again, if we have not followed a cunningly devised fable in supposing that Christ, who was rich, for our sakes became poor, it cannot be a true maxim that men should generally be left to the consequences of their own acts, that we should turn away on the other side when we see one who has fallen into poverty or into crime, comforting ourselves with the thought that it was his own fault, and that we are not to save him from the results of his folly and recklessness. Our Lord drew no artificial distinctions between cures of the body and of the soul. He claimed to be the Lord of both; He proved Himself to be the Deliverer of both. His example, then, may fairly be pleaded by those who say that they are not bound in dispensing gifts and services to choose the meritorious, who remind us that if we had to prove our title to live, we must all be left to perish.
III. But there is another aspect of the Nativity which requires to be as seriously contemplated as either of those we have considered. Christ did not merely heal the sick and cast out devils. He called forth the true manhood in the poor degraded creatures to whom He came; He found the sheep that He had been seeking. It is clearly not good for any man that he should live as a mere animal, when God has intended him for a man. If by our alms we tempt him to be a miserable creature, sustained by chance bounty, selling his soul for pence, we are guilty of our brother’s blood; we are not leading him to feel that he is a child of God; we may be keeping him from that new and high life which Christ took on flesh to vindicate for him.
F. D. Maurice, Sermons, vol. Hi., p. 83.
The Riches and Poverty of Christ.
I. The native riches of Christ. “He was rich.” The first display of the riches of the Eternal Word was not in our nature, but in the things which He made. Creation presupposes Him as its origin, underlying ground, and sustaining presence. The history of the universe is but the record of the progressive display of His unsearchable riches. But whilst He is the presupposition of all things, without whom the universe were an unsolved and insoluble problem, He is also the prophecy of all things. All things look to, move towards, and only rest in Him. All that has hitherto been done forms, as it were, but the initial revelation of His wealth, its first opening up, the early prophecy of the great future to which the growing heavens of His fulness point and cry, “Respice finem!” The riches of our Lord will only be seen in the end.
II. The poverty He chose. “He was rich; He became poor.” (1) The poverty of His nature. He who had life in Himself became dependent for life and breath and all things. His nature was subject to all the limitations of time and space, of human weakness and wants. (2) The poverty of His circumstances. He was born in poverty, in poverty He was brought up, and in poverty He lived and died. (3) His experience presents to us an inner life of poverty in keeping with the poverty of His nature and circumstances. He was a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. In His mighty work He made the experience of all poverty.
III. The wealth of His poverty. This is seen (1) in its voluntariness, (2) in its vicariousness, (3) in its beneficence of purpose, and (4) in its fittingness for the communication of His riches. He who was rich became poor, was compassed with our infirmity, touched with our feeling, tempted in all points as we are, that we might find grace to help in every time of need, and that He might become our eternal salvation.
W. Pulsford, Trinity Church Sermons, p. 1.
References: 2Co 8:9.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iii., No. 151; Ibid., Morning by Morning, p. 359; W. Cunningham, Sermons, p. 103; Homilist, vol. v., p. 346; F. Ferguson, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiii., p. 48; H. P. Liddon, Ibid., vol. xxvii., p. 252; G. Brooks, Five Hundred Outlines, p. 11; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. vi., p. 173; A. M. Fairbairn, The City of God, p. 288; J. Oswald Dykes, Sermons, p. 151; Hewlett, Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. xv., p. 309.
2Co 8:11
Performance.
Consider:-
I. Promises in relation to the kingdom of heaven. Men do not like to lose sight of the beautiful city of God. They like to feel some sort of connection with Christ; they mean to return to an earnest Divine life. Yes, there is a kind of purpose in their hearts to be as true to Christ as in their first days of consecration to His service, and they live, in a way, on the flattering tale. But let them come to the point of reality. Oh, the tragedy written in the lives of well-meaning persons! The promiser is still a slave, and still dwells in the enchanted palace of evil. Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation.
II. Promises in relation to the responsibilities of gifts and service. God is always saying to us, Begin; begin. Performance, once honestly commenced, tempts out more and more of loyal effort.
III. Promises in relation to the example of Christ. You vowed yourself in seasons of sickness and bereavement to Christ. Have you fulfilled that vow? It has been said that sometimes drowning men, who have been rescued at great peril to others, have thinned down their promised gratuity when time has been allowed to elapse. Miserable selfists! Yes, we can all say, Amen, to that. But how many might hear God’s voice, “Now, therefore, perform the doing of it.”
IV. Promises in relation to the bountifulness of God. What shall we render unto the Lord for all His benefits towards us? The Saviour’s life was a life of deeds, and we ought to be living epistles of Him.
V. Promises in relation to the influence of example. Actions, as of old, speak louder than words. A kind, stimulating word is of immense service when it is accompanied by courageous endeavour. We are afraid, some of us, to begin; but, although at first we tremble, the whispered words of Jesus will restore our courage, for He hath said, “I will never leave thee; I will never forsake thee.”
W. M. Statham, Christian World Pulpit, vol. vii., p. 312.
References: 2Co 8:12.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. ii., p. 544. 2Co 8:15.-F. W. Robertson, Lectures on Corinthians, p. 395. 2Co 8:21.-J. Taylor, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxxiv., p. 186; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ii., p. 250; H. Murray, The Fruits of the Spirit, p. 351. 2Co 8:24.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxvi., No. 1522; Church of England Pulpit, vol. iv., p. 191. 2Co 9:7.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xiv., No. 835; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ix., p. 77.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
II. THE MINISTRY OF GIVING. Chapters 8-9
1. The Examples and Principles of Giving.
CHAPTER 8
1. The Grace of God Manifested in the Churches of Macedonia. (2Co 8:1-7)
2. The Great Example. (2Co 8:8)
3. The Advice, Principles and Administration. (2Co 8:9-24.)
There is to be a practical ministry in giving, especially in remembering the poor of the flock. He is anxious now to lay this responsibility upon their hearts. In the first epistle he had written them that his glory was in giving the gospel gratuitously. He would not take anything from the Corinthians for himself, but he wants their gifts for others. He was making up a collection for the poor saints in Judea and Jerusalem; of this he writes to them. Thus Gentile believers were to show their appreciation for the blessing which they had received through the Jews, for salvation is of the Jews.
We also see in this an illustration of the oneness of the body of Christ, how the members are to minister to each other. Great grace in this ministry had been bestowed upon and manifested by the churches in Macedonia. They were themselves stricken with great affliction. They were very poor, but their deep poverty did not stint their gifts; they joyfully gave and abounded in the riches of liberality. These poor, afflicted Macedonian saints had even prayed the apostle with much entreaty to receive the gift from their hands. And the secret of it was that they had given themselves first to the Lord. All else was the outflow of this self-surrender. In all this the apostle rejoiced greatly, and therefore he exhorts the Corinthians to abound in this grace also. But the greatest example, which should constrain to abundant giving is the Lord Jesus Himself. He was rich and became poor, even for such as the Corinthians were, that through His poverty ye might be rich. (His Riches–Our Riches, by A.C.G., unfolds the three leading truths of this precious word. The eternal Riches of the Son of God; His deep poverty in our behalf, and His Riches in resurrection-glory.)
What confidence the apostle had in the Corinthians that they would indeed abound in this grace. They had begun a year before not only to do, but to forward also. He urges them to act now in performing what they had begun. It depends upon the willing mind: without this giving has no value at all. But if there is the willing mind, one is accepted according to what he has, and not according to that he hath not.
And in all this ministration Paul exercised great caution, avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us, providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. There is always danger of reproach in these matters. Messengers were chosen to travel with the apostle with this grace (the collections) which is administered by us to the glory of the self-same Lord, and for a witness of your ready mind. The apostle knew the devices of the enemy and therefore watchfully guards against suspicion and mischievous insinuations. Alas! what havoc the filthy lucre, the love of money, covetousness, which is idolatry, has worked in the professing church, and what offenses have been given by it to unbelievers.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
Moreover
In 2 Corinthians 8, 9, the apostle sums up the Christian doctrine of giving. It may be thus summarized:
(1) It is a “grace,” i.e. a disposition created by the Spirit 2Co 8:7
(2) In contrast with the law, which imposed giving as a divine requirement, Christian giving is voluntary, and a test of sincerity and love 2Co 8:8-12; 2Co 9:1; 2Co 9:2; 2Co 9:5; 2Co 9:7
(3) The privilege is universal, belonging, according to ability, to rich and poor 2Co 8:1-3; 2Co 8:12-15; 1Co 16:1; 1Co 16:2.
(4) Giving is to be proportioned to income 2Co 8:12-14; 1Co 16:2. The O.T. proportion was the tithe, a proportion which antedates the law Gen 14:20.
(5) The rewards of Christian giving are (a) joy 2Co 8:2 (b) increased ability to give in proportion to that which has been already given 2Co 9:7-11 (c) increased thankfulness to God 2Co 9:12 (d) God and the Gospel glorified 2Co 9:13; 2Co 9:14
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
we: 2Co 8:19
the grace: 2Co 8:2-7, 2Co 9:12, Act 11:23, 1Co 15:10, Eph 3:8, Col 1:29
churches: 2Co 9:2, 2Co 9:4, 2Co 11:9, Act 16:9, Rom 15:26, 1Th 1:7, 1Th 1:8, 1Th 4:10
Reciprocal: Psa 110:3 – Thy Pro 22:9 – He that hath a bountiful eye Pro 26:12 – a man Son 5:4 – put Mat 13:23 – some an Mat 21:3 – straightway Mat 25:22 – I have Mat 25:35 – I was an Mar 14:8 – hath done Act 19:22 – Macedonia Rom 12:8 – giveth Rom 12:13 – Distributing 1Co 16:1 – concerning 1Co 16:2 – as God 2Co 6:1 – the 2Co 8:8 – by occasion 2Co 9:14 – the exceeding Gal 2:10 – that Phi 1:5 – General 1Th 1:6 – received 1Th 2:14 – ye also 1Th 3:4 – even 1Ti 6:18 – ready Heb 6:10 – which 1Pe 2:19 – thankworthy
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
HAVING OPENED HIS HEART to the Corinthians, both as to his own experiences and as to their need of separation from the world of unbelievers, and having expressed his joy in their obedience to the Word of God, and the confidence as to them which this gave him, Paul now felt ready to write to them more particularly concerning the collection then being made amongst the various Gentile assemblies for the benefit of poor saints in Jerusalem. He had alluded to it briefly in the closing chapter of his first epistle. He now refers to it at length in chapters 8 and 9 of this epistle; and in urging the Corinthians to liberality he brings out some very important instruction.
There has been a very remarkable display of the grace of God in the assemblies of Macedonia, and it has been put permanently on record, so that not only the Corinthians but ourselves might be stirred up by it. Some of us might be inclined to think that a recital of the devotedness of others, with a view to stirring up sluggish saints, would be an appeal to rather low-down motives and not a worthy proceeding. Here however we find the Spirit inspiring the Apostle to do this very thing. So we never need be afraid of telling how the grace of God has wrought in others. Such recitals not only reveal the grace of God to us as a real and practical thing, but also they serve to convict us of our own shortcomings: and both these results are much to be desired.
The giving of the Macedonian believers was remarkable. Paul himself could bear witness that they gave according to their power. This in itself was a big thing. It means that having righteously discharged all their proper living expenses, they then gave up to the limit of their ability. They did more than this however. They gave beyond their power; that is, they denied themselves what might be considered proper living expenses in order to give to the Lord and His people. And this they did in the most willing-hearted way, begging Paul to accept the money and undertake the responsibility of having it distributed to the saints. They had caught the spirit that was exemplified when the tabernacle was to be made, and it was reported to Moses, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the Lord commanded to make (Exo 36:5).
And there is more even than this; for they exceeded Pauls expectations in another direction. They began their giving at the right point by first giving themselves to the Lord. Yielding themselves to the Lord, they necessarily yielded to Him all that they had. Thus their possessions they regarded as the Lords, to be used at His direction; and consequently they carried out the will of God in placing themselves and their possessions in the hands of Paul.
This, without a doubt, is the only true way to look at this matter of giving. God does not merely claim our superfluity but all that we have, because He claims us. When we see this, we at once become conscious how far our standard of giving falls below the standard set by the Macedonians. They were characterized by a liberality that was enhanced by their deep poverty and the fact that they were in the midst of a time of much affliction. What moved them to their liberality was the abundance of their spiritual joy. They had by faith so real and joyous a grasp of the things of heaven, that they could afford to be liberal with the things of earth.
Is liberality in giving a characteristic feature of modern Christian life? We fear there can be only one answer to that question. What devices are resorted to in many quarters in order to raise funds! What advertisements and appeals are issued! What lamentable stories as to shortness of funds! Doubtless a great deal of the trouble arises from people taking up causes and launching enterprises to which they were never called by God. Still, it also indicates that many a believer is withholding more than is meet, and it tends to spiritual poverty-to themselves as well as others. There are exceptions no doubt, in the cases of some who acknowledge their stewardship and give largely according to their means, and of some very few who have given with a liberality that is astonishing. But they are the exception, and not the rule.
We are more like the Corinthians than the Macedonians, and we need to be stirred up, as they did, by this shining example. So Paul had begged Titus during his recent visit to carry the matter to completion. Giving is spoken of as a grace, you notice, and this indeed it is, if rightly considered and carried out. It becomes a potent method of expressing the working of the grace of God in blessing. If our own hearts are filled to overflowing with blessing from God, we are bound to overflow ourselves in giving to others. Verse 2Co 8:7 is a very gentle and tactful rebuke to the Corinthians-and we believe, to ourselves also. Whether we can be said to abound in faith and in all diligence may be doubted, but we evidently do in utterance and knowledge. Is it not true that we know in our heads, and we utter with our lips, a good deal more than we express in the form of large-hearted giving?
Verse 2Co 8:8 shows that the Apostle did not wish to be understood as issuing a command on the subject. If we gave only because we were commanded of God to do so, our giving could no longer be spoken of as grace. It would be done under the compulsion of law. No, the forwardness and zeal of the Macedonians was to be a stimulus merely, and the giving for which he asked was to be an expression and proof of the sincerity and genuineness of their love. Love always delights to give.
The working of the grace of God in other Christians may act as a stimulus to us, but nothing short of the supreme working of the grace of God in Christ can supply us with the mainspring and motive we need, if we are to be characterized by the grace of generous giving. To that mainspring we come in verse 2Co 8:9.
How often verses which are like sparkling gems lie embedded in the discussion of matters which seem very ordinary and even common-place! This is a case in point. The Corinthians had been quite ready to consider the making of this collection. They had willingly taken up the idea a whole year before, and yet they had so far failed to bring it to completion, and actually give the money. What would bring them to the point? What, but the fresh sense of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ?
This marvellous verse is an epitome of the New Testament. Though He was rich, carries us back into the depths of His Godhead glory before His incarnation; the glory that is unfolded in the opening verses of Johns Gospel and elsewhere. Yet for your sakes He became poor, opens out into the wonderful story of His life, sufferings and death, as recorded in all four Gospels. That ye through His poverty might be rich, indicates the wealth of blessing and glory into which we are introduced by Him and in Him, as unfolded in the Epistles and the Revelation. And the whole story is the supreme expression of GRACE; which consists in the down-stooping of Divine love to meet mans need, not merely according to the need that is met, but according to the love that meets it.
Having used this grace as a powerful lever to move and uplift the hearts of the Corinthians, the Apostle turned to enunciate a few important principles that are to govern the Christian in his giving. In the first place, we are to give out of that which we have; not that which we used to have, or that which we hope to have in the future. We are to live and act in the present, trusting in God as regards the future.
For, in the second place, he did not contemplate the Corinthians being always, or in every matter, in the position of givers. The time would come when they would be receivers, and the flow of gifts would be toward them instead of out from them. Indeed, if Rom 15:25-27 be read, it will be evident that there had already been a rich flow of spiritual giving from Jerusalem to Corinth. Now there was to be a flow of giving in material things from Corinth to Jerusalem. The thought of God is that among His people there should never be a vacuum, but rather a flow of supply according to the need.
Verse 2Co 8:15 quotes Exo 16:18, in support of this. Reading Exodus, one might suppose that the verse simply meant that each gatherer of the manna was able to rightly gauge his appetite and gather accordingly. The way the verse is quoted here shows however that there is more in it than that, since it is cited in support of the principle of sharing with others what God may have entrusted us with.
Verses 2Co 8:16-24 are occupied with details concerning the administration of the funds collected, which was to be in the hands of Titus and two other brethren. Though the circumstances then existing have passed away, there are points of abiding interest which we ought to notice. Paul had exhorted Titus to take up this service, and he on his part did so with willingness and alacrity. He did not count a service of this kind as beneath him. Nor did the unnamed brother who was a gifted evangelist; nor the second unnamed brother, of verse 2Co 8:22, who was a man of diligent zeal in many things, though not perhaps a man of gift in the gospel, nor an apostolic delegate like Titus. All three evidently recognized that to be bearers and administrators of funds, which were given as an expression of Divine love working in the hearts of saints, was no mean service.
Again, it is evident from verse 2Co 8:19 that the churches that gave the money chose the man who was to have the handling of the money on their behalf. This is in accord with the choosing of the seven men of honest report to serve tables, as recorded in Act 6:1-15. So long as men provide the wherewithal, it is within their competency to select those who shall administer their bounty. In contrast to this, we do not read of saints selecting those who are to fill the office of elder, bishop, or overseer. But that is because such are called to exercise their spiritual functions on Gods behalf, not mans. Hence God and not man must choose. We read of those whom the Holy Ghost had made overseers. The most that man can do is to recognize those whom the Holy Ghost has appointed.
Further, everything had to be done honestly as before God, and also in the sight of men. It is not enough that the thing shall be handled in a way that is right before the God who knows all things. It must also be obviously right before the eyes of men who only see a very little way, but who are often very critical of what they do see. Verses 2Co 8:20-21 show this. So these men were marked by carefulness that all should be so handled as to be to the glory of the Lord, remembering that they were messengers of the churches, which are spoken of as the glory of Christ. Let us remember that this is the proper character of every true assembly. We shall not think lightly of such, if we do remember it.
Fuente: F. B. Hole’s Old and New Testaments Commentary
The Grace of Giving
2Co 8:1-24
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
Our Lord lifts Christian liberality out of the mire of coercive necessity, into the realm of grace. As introductory to this sermon on giving, we will show this Divine conception, and discuss “giving” in its relation to grace.
1. In 2Co 8:1 giving is spoken of as the grace of God bestowed on the Churches of Macedonia. We all know what God’s grace toward us was. It was unmerited favor, freely bestowed.
Among certain saints, there had been great need. There was no human obligation on the brethren in Macedonia to supply that need. They could easily have pleaded their own poverty, and want. However, to the contrary they opened their hearts and took upon them the fellowship of ministering to the saints. God called this, a bestowal of the grace of God.
2. In 2Co 8:7 “giving” is reckoned among such graces as faith and utterance, and knowledge, and diligence, and love. The saints in Corinth abounded in the graces just mentioned. Therefore the Lord urges them to abound in “this grace” also, even in the grace of giving. According to this Scripture giving stands side by side with faith and with love. God does not isolate the grace of giving to the scrap pile. He sets it on a pedestal, and glorifies it.
3. In 2Co 8:9 the grace of “giving” is compared to the giving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus, “Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.” Thus, when giving reaches the realm of grace, it joins with Christ in becoming poor that others may be made rich.
4. In 2Co 8:19 the grace of giving is connected with the glory of the Lord. Here is the statement: “This grace, which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord.” The highest ambition of every believer should be to give the Lord glory. Giving, in the way it was done by the Churches at Macedonia, did this very thing.
In the close of the ninth chapter there is another statement on this line. In 2Co 9:12, “giving” brings forth many thanksgivings unto God. In 2Co 9:13, “giving” is a ministration which glorifies God. When we seek to glorify God by preaching, soul-winning, missionary endeavor, let us remember that we may also glorify Him in our gifts.
5. In chapter 9, 2Co 9:8, “giving” is a grace in which God is able to make us abound. When He sees us giving unto His glory and to the needs of our fellow Christians, He will give unto us. This is the promise of another Scripture, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.” Truly “the liberal soul shall be made fat.”
6. In chapter 9, 2Co 9:14, “giving” is spoken of as the exceeding grace of God. The saints longed after those who gave, “for the exceeding grace of God” which was in them. Thus, giving is not only a grace, but an exceeding grace. Not only grace, but grace magnified, grace enlarged, excessive grace.
From this moment let us no more think of Christian giving as a bore. This was the conception over which Malachi grieved. To those to whom he wrote he said: “Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of Hosts; and ye brought that which was torn and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the Lord.”
When giving enters the realm of grace, it enters the realm of cheerful, hilarious beneficence. We do not give because we are under necessity, we do not give grudgingly, but gladly and cheerfully.
I. WHEN GIVING BECOMES PRAISEWORTHY (2Co 8:1)
Paul in the Holy Spirit wrote to the Corinthians, saying, “Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the Churches of Macedonia.” The expression “We do you to wit” means, “we bring to your remembrance”; that is, “we would not have you ignorant, concerning the Churches of Macedonia.”
In other words, the Churches of Macedonia were worthy of praise, and of recognition because of their giving.
We suggest to you the following reasons for this Divine commendation:
1.They gave in a great trial of affliction.
2.They gave in the abundance of joy.
3.They gave through their deep poverty.
4.They gave with riches of liberality.
5.They gave as they were able, that is according to their power.
6.They gave beyond their power.
7.In giving they were willing of themselves.
8.They gave with much entreaty that their gift might be received.
9.They gave because they wanted fellowship in ministering to the saints.
Let us study these nine statements. Let us lay our own giving, our method of giving, our conception of giving, along side of these statements.
Do we give as they gave? Does our spirit line up with theirs? Too many give because they are intreated to give. They do not intreat others to receive their gifts. Too many give according to their stinginess, not according to their power; they give according to the pressure brought to bear upon them, not according to the willingness of their own hearts.
They may be rich in possessions, but they are scant in their liberality. Would that a new vision of giving might grip the people.
II. THE BACKGROUND OF PRAISEWORTHY GIVING (2Co 8:5)
Here is something that is most revealing. Our key verse says: “And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.”
1. Praiseworthy giving of our goods must be preceded by the giving of our own lives unto God. If a pastor wants large giving among his people, he must have a people who have yielded themselves unto God. Consecration of the life, precedes consecration of the possessions of the life. If we ourselves are not on the altar as a willing sacrifice unto God, we will not be willing to sacrifice the things which belong to ourselves.
An unyielded life is a self-centered life. A yielded life is a God-centered life.
2. Before we give our goods to our brethren we must give ourselves to our brethren. The Holy Spirit says of the Macedonians not only that they gave their own selves to the Lord, but they gave their own selves “unto us” by the will of God.
When we have bestowed our time, our talents, our love, ourselves as a gift unto the needs of our brethren, we will not hesitate to bestow upon them our goods. Thus, in whatever realm, whether we are giving to the Lord, or giving to our brethren we must first give ourselves.
3. There is a basic principle in giving which is suggested here. The money which we give to others, is no more than ourselves transferred through our toil and service into coin. My money is myself. I am my money. Where do we get our money? We get it as the reward of our labor. What is our labor? It is work of our brain and our brawn. What is our brain and brawn? It is ourselves.
If, therefore, we withhold ourselves from God and the brethren, we will naturally withhold our coin from them. If we give ourselves, we will give of the fruitage of ourselves. Those who yield their lives to God in full consecration, will never need committees to wait upon them and to beg them for their gifts.
III. THE DEMONSTRATIVE PROOF OF LOVE (2Co 8:8)
Our verse says: “I speak * * to prove the sincerity of your love.” We speak of grace as a proof of the sincerity of the greatest of all graces, which is love.
1. No Christian service apart from love is excessive. Love never counts the cost. Love never weighs the sacrifice.
When Christian giving is carried on under the law of the tithe it may never go a step beyond the law. A man foreign to love may, under the sense of obligation and Christian duty, deposit his tithe in God’s storehouse. Love, however, will give a tithe, and will give additional offerings, not of necessity, and not of legality.
He who deposits his offering in the plate under the Law will not, necessarily, manifest any particular delight in his giving. He will give, but he. may give grudgingly. He will give but give, so as by force. He will give, but will give nothing beyond what duty demands.
On the contrary, the gifts of love are exuberant, overflowing, superabounding. Love is rich in liberality. Under law, one may give according to their power; under love, they will give beyond their power. Legality will travel the first mile, the commanded mile; love will travel twain.
The gifts under law, legality, are what we may call force-pump giving. The gifts under love are artesian well giving; gifts which flow freely and superabundantly, gifts without constraint.
2. True giving is a proof of love’s sincerity. If the woman tells the man she loves him, but at the same time she is unwilling to give to him her life, and her all, there is no proof of the sincerity of her words. Gifts to our loved ones,-our wife, or our husband, our children, or our dearest friends are always the expression of our love.
The florists frequently place in their windows a card which says: “Say it with flowers”: and, flowers do say it. So, also, may we say it unto God with flowers. We show our love by our sacrifices; by the exuberance of our gifts.
IV. A PRIMAL NECESSITY OF ACCEPTABLE GIVING (2Co 8:12)
Our verse says: “For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted.”
This Scripture is much in line with the one we have just considered. Love always gives with a willing mind. If there is no expressed willingness, there is no love.
1. Would a man accept a gift of compulsion. Suppose we gave our gifts at Christmas time, grudgingly? Suppose we set up a cry, as we gave the dearest woman in the world her Christmas gift? Suppose we said: “Here it is, I knew you would expect it, and I suppose I ought to do it, but I certainly couldn’t afford it.” There would be no joy in her heart as she received it. She would feel like saying, “Keep your old thing, I don’t want it.”
Be it much, or be it little, it is the willing mind that makes a gift acceptable. It isn’t what we get. but the heart that lies behind it, that counts. Even so doth our God look beyond everything that we give at the heart which prompts the giving.
2. God accepts a willing gift according to that we have and not according to that we have not. A gift, be it ever so small, is reckoned as great in the eyes of God as a gift ever so large, according to that which we have, or we have not. The truth is that the poor widow who did not have much, but gave all her living, gave, in the eyes of the Master, far more than they who gave large gifts out of a larger abundance.
Let not the poor, therefore, become discouraged because of their scanty giving. They should remember that God reckons giving by a willing mind. He counts the value of our gift, not by what we give but what we have left.
V. EQUALIZED GIVING (2Co 8:13-14)
As we see it it is utterly wrong for a few wealthy people to endow the church and make it unnecessary for the majority of members to give. God distinctly says that He does not want some men eased and others burdened. Every man is to give according to that he hath, and not according to that he hath not.
1. Every man must give something, that is, if he has anything. If a brother has nothing, he should be cared for by the church. If he has something, he should give.
If a careful and concise data was furnished by the average church, we are sure that a large group of its fellowship will be found as non-supporters of the Word and work of God.
This simply means that the group of non-givers are not only disobedient to God but they are losing the blessing which real munificence brings from God. “There is that withholdeth * * but it tendeth to poverty.”
2. Every man must give as he is able. God accepts our gifts according to that we have, and not according to that we have not. If we take the Old Testament tithe as our standard, that will not be a proportionate amount of giving. He, whose income is larger, will give more than he whose income is smaller; however, it must be recognized that a man with a large family and an income of $100.00 per month, will only have $90.00 left after his tithe is paid. At the same time, a man with a smaller family and with $500.00 a month income, will have $450.00 after his tithe is paid. This is not giving according to that a man hath.
As we view the New Testament standard of giving, we are sure that if the small income man gives a tithe; the large income man should give far more than a tithe. What God wants is expressed in 2Co 9:14.
VI. PROPER ADMINISTRATION OF GIFTS (2Co 8:19-21)
1. Providing for honest things. Churches, in their administration of gifts often place too much confidence in men. Not that men may not be trusted, but that church treasurers and those who handle church funds, should be safeguarded against any blame.
The Lord gives definite declarations on these things, and tells us that we should so handle gift funds, “Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us.”
As we have seen “giving,” in the general run of churches, the membership as a whole knows little or nothing of how much money is given, and of how it is spent. This is utterly wrong. The people who give their money should give it intelligently, knowing to what they are giving. They should also be intelligently informed as to how their money is used.
2. The realm of honest things, includes honesty in the sight of the Lord, and in the sight of men. God is watching over our beneficences, and He wants everything done in a way that is right in His sight. Men also are looking on, and we should strive to have their approval and commendation as to our methods of handling God’s money.
In the matter of Paul’s financial dealings, first of all, there was Titus, who was his partner and fellow helper. In addition there were certain brethren who were messengers of the Churches, and of the glory of Christ. Paul gave assurance that these men were trustworthy, and could be depended upon. Then Paul added: “Shew ye to them, and before the Churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf.”
VII. HOW GOD MAKES UP TO HIS CHILDREN (2Co 9:6-11)
1. In 2Co 9:6 is a warning, and also a promise. The Lord says: “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” This verse, in connection with 2Co 9:10, shows how the Lord is able to multiply our seed sown.
In the Book of Malachi the curse upon those who withhold their offerings is clearly stated. God says, “Ye have robbed Me. * * In tithes and offerings.” Then He adds, “Ye are cursed with a curse.”
On the other hand a plea and a promise is given. God says through Malachi, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse”; and then He promises that He will open the windows of Heaven and pour them out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive.
The Lord continues to say: “I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground.”
2. In 2Co 9:8 is a description of the all-sufficient God. God is able “To make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”
Some one has suggested that God will never allow one of His children to outdo Him in giving. A Scripture says: “Give and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and running over.” “The liberal soul shall be made fat.”
We are not urging you to give, so you may get. We are merely telling you that God is not unfaithful to reward your gifts of love.
3. In the last verse of the chapter is this expression: “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift,” We may bring all of our gifts, the gifts of our lifetime, and lay them down before God and men. Then, by their side, we may place God’s one unspeakable gift to us. How our gifts would then dwindle, in comparison with His unspeakable gift.
1.God has given us eternal life,
2.God has given us the Word of life.
3.God has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit.
4.God has given us all things that appertain to Godliness, both the things present and the things to come.
With all of these things before us, we have but one word further to say, the unspeakable gift of God is this: “He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
When we think of how God has given to us, let us rejoice in the privilege of giving unto Him.
AN ILLUSTRATION
“Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” A poor man was once obliged to seek financial aid of a wealthy Christian woman. After hearing of the need, the lady made out a check for the amount and, as she handed it to the man, told him that he need not return the money. Then she made a strong remark: “This is more than God ever gave me,” she said. The man looked at her in surprise and said: “Mrs. D-, I am surprised to hear you say that. You have abundance, and God has given you all you have.” She smiled and replied: “I speak the truth, for God has not given me but lent unto me what I have, that I may in His Name, bestow it upon those who are in need.”-King’s Business.
Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water
2Co 8:1. We do you to wit is an obsolete translation that means, “we will make known to you,” etc.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
2Co 8:1. Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God which hath been bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. That celebrated peninsula which lies between the Adriatic Sea on the west and the gean Sea on the east, was divided into two parts, of which the southern and narrower portion was Achaia or Greece, and the northern and wider portion was Macedonia proper, or what constituted the ancient kingdom of that name. To the former division belonged Corinth, whose Christian Church owed its existence to our apostle, with Athens, where he failed to establish one. To the Macedonian division belonged Philippi, where the first European church was established; and Thessalonica, the seat of the second church; and Berea, where there certainly were noble Christians (Act 17:11), and in all probability an organized church, with, no doubt, smaller groups of Christians lying between those places, or scattered up and down the province, and considered as belonging to the churches just named. These are the churches of Macedonia, whose Christian liberality is here so admiringly described and held up for imitation.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Division 5. (2Co 8:1-24; 2Co 9:1-15.)
The communication to the need of others on the part of those who have ability to supply the need,
We have now come to a form of ministry which it is evident the apostle makes much of, and which, perhaps, is in little danger of being thought little of at any time. As we see in the body of Christ itself, the fitting together of the whole by that which every part supplieth, -the need of one being met by the ability that is in another, -so in the world itself, not in its evil shape, but as God has ordained things amongst men, we see the same fitting together, the dependence of one upon another, the need intended, as is evident, to draw out the heart in men towards one another, and to make conscious the weakness which is after all a weakness manifest in all in different ways and measures. Here is, I suppose, what makes the suitability also of this subject forming a fifth division of the epistle, the number 5 speaking, as has often been said, of the weak with the strong, primarily of the creature with God, but which may thus have, and surely has, its application in a lower sphere. The ministry of power of whatever kind to weakness, is essentially that all through here; and, as we have seen already in the sermon on the mount, the Lord makes even alms-giving an example of what is simply righteousness on the part of those who realize their own need of the ministry which thus goes out to others.
1. All this is a matter in which, alas, the heart is so often separated from the hand, and the easy liberality of the rich may so assume an appearance of goodness beyond that which can really be sustained before God, that we have need of care in handling it. The Lord has shown us how the largeness of the gift is in no wise the test of what is good in God’s sight, and how the two mites of a poor widow, making one farthing, can be more to Him than all the treasures piled up by the wealthy. In fact, those of whom the apostle speaks here were manifesting in their deep poverty the riches of their free-hearted liberality. This is what makes liberality noteworthy. It is not so much what is given as what remains to the giver. What the apostle valued, as there is no possibility of questioning, was not the largeness of the gift, but the heart displayed in it. The collection of which he is speaking here was for the poor Jews at Jerusalem, a witness of the appreciation on the part of the Gentiles of the blessing which God had ministered to them through the Jews. It was righteousness on their part to own this; and the spiritual blessing which they had received was far beyond anything that could be compensated pecuniarily, however much it might be acknowledged. It was the manner of the giving here which rejoiced the heart of the apostle. The saints did not give to release themselves, as it were, from a certain obligation to the Lord, but they had given themselves first to Him, and this made it a simple matter to give all the rest. Thus the material ministry became spiritual; and this is why the apostle rejoiced in it. It was an evidence of love and devotedness, and thus he could exhort the Corinthians to follow the example which the assemblies of Macedonia had set them; and, as they were abounding now in all Christian grace, they would surely abound in this grace too, among the rest.
2. He sets before them the transcendent example of One who was rich, and yet for our sakes became poor to enrich us through His poverty. What an example to keep all other giving in its place, to make it seem as little as it really is, and yet at the same time to make it more acceptable to God by the consciousness of its littleness! The Corinthians had, in fact, manifested their readiness for that of which he was speaking a year before. He had only to urge them, therefore, to carry out what had been in their thoughts so long already, remembering that, as to individual giving, God did not expect from a man what he had not, and He did not mean to ease some by putting burdens upon others. The beautiful example of the manna is that which he sets before them here, where -in a ministry which was from heaven itself and in which men had only to gather that which God had bestowed, -yet “he who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack.” That was God’s thought and desire for them all, but using human instrumentality to accomplish it, and thus binding the hearts of His people to each other, and drawing forth the love, of which the gift, if it were anything, was but the manifestation.
3. The apostle goes on to speak of his care that in the ministration of the “carnal things,” as he calls them (which prove themselves so much a temptation to the flesh, and as to which the jealous eyes of enemies would so surely be upon him) there should not be the slightest opportunity given for even a question as to his conduct. It was not enough for him here that God would know all, so that he might leave it to Him to justify him in His own time and way. Where there were means that could be taken to prevent even suspicion he would take them, which even his not taking might be in itself a cause of suspicion. It is a principle of importance that we are called to recognize in a man whose faith in God was so pre-eminent, that he would not act simply upon this, in a matter of this kind. He would not say here, as in another relation he does say, that with him it was a very small matter to be judged of any. He does not build upon his apostleship, or the undoubted blessing that God had given to his labor, in such a way as to think himself beyond the need of justifying himself by the use of such precautions as would be thought needful in the case of another man. It would rather seem as if the sense of the place he filled in this way only made more imperative the necessity to “provide for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.” He did not, as many lesser men might do, and have done, stand upon the dignity of his office and disdain the thought of any account to be rendered to those before whom his life had so evidently spoken, tested as he had been by innumerable trials. No, he “magnified his office” in a wholly different way. Thus for this cause also he could be glad of the zeal of others which could lead them to accept readily association with him in this matter of ministry of even “carnal things.” And he thinks it right that not only should these be men of the highest character, but also the choice of the assemblies themselves. Of these he can speak in terms of fullest assurance. “They are the messengers of the assemblies,” he says, “and the glory of Christ.” He would not allow it to be thought that he had covered any defects in the administration either with the cloak of his apostleship or of his personal faith.
4. He goes on to express his anxiety as to them also, that the zeal which they had shown in regard to these things a year before might not be found to have waned, as is so common a case with regard to mere human impulse. Nor would he have it appear, as any unreadiness on their part now might make it, as if their boasted zeal, which had stirred so many to action, was after all only the effect of pressure put upon them -of the “covetousness” of the apostle, whether for them or for others.
5. Yet the decline which had been manifest among them in other ways might indeed have easily affected them in this manner also. It would not be therefore in vain for them to remember the sure principles of divine government. Even in nature, he who spared the seed of harvest must expect to find the result in harvest; only, as the harvest here was spiritual, it would not be as if a certain sum paid in would secure a certain amount of interest. There must be heart in it, not a gift grudgingly bestowed, for which God cared not. The apostle longed as to them for such a spiritual state as that the Giver of all good should freely pour out upon them His blessing, and that for this, as well as the fruit of their ministration itself, thanksgivings might every way ascend to God, and the hearts of the saints might in this way also be drawn to one another. These are the perfect ways of God who, whether He gives or whether He withholds, is serving us in giving or withholding. It is grace all through, reminding us ever of how He made us by the consciousness of our primal need to know Himself in the reception of His love’s first offer. “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable Gift!”
Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary
CONTRIBUTION FOR THE SAINTS
The mother church at Jerusalem was passing through stormy days, and its common chest was replenished by all the daughter churches. Macedonia, in poverty, had contributed liberally, but the wealthy, flourishing Corinthians had been backward. Paul uses nearly one-sixth of his present letter to argue and plead for greater generosity on their part. He enjoins the duty of giving:
1. By the example of the churches in Macedonia (2Co 8:1-4). They were poor, yet lavish. The effect of divine grace on their hearts.
2. By the sense of congruity in the Christian life (2Co 8:7). They already abounded in other gifts such as faith, utterance and knowledge; liberality therefore was expected. Its absence would be a defect in the symmetry of their spiritual experience.
3. As a proof of their love and gratitude to Jesus Christ (2Co 8:8-9), who, though rich, yet for their sakes had become poor.
4. In consideration of what they professed to be willing to do. Regard for their promises (2Co 8:10-11).
5. The offering would be appreciated not according to its size, but the 2Co 8:4-5 spirit in which it was given (2Co 8:12).
6. The care of the poor saints should not fall on a few but all should be equally burdened (2Co 8:13-15).
7. The apostles honor was at stake (2Co 8:24, also 2Co 9:3-4).
8. As they sowed they would reap (2Co 9:6).
9. God was able to reward them (2Co 9:8-11).
10. They would thus glorify God (2Co 9:13).
11. They would thus secure the prayers and love of the saints (2Co 9:14). There is further homiletic value in the following division of the chapters in the Scofield Bible: The example of Macedonia (2Co 8:1-6); the exhortation, (2Co 8:7-15); the messengers, (2Co 8:9-16); the encouragement (2Co 8:6-15).
From the same source we get a summing up of the Christian doctrine of giving, as follows:
1. It is a grace, i.e., a disposition created by the Spirit (2Co 8:7).
2. In contrast with the law, which imposed giving as a requirement, it is voluntary, a test of sincerity and love (2Co 8:8-12; 2Co 9:1-2; 2Co 9:5; 2Co 9:7).
3. The privilege is universal, belonging, according to ability, to rich and poor (2Co 8:1-3; 2Co 8:12-15. Compare 1Co 16:1-2).
4. It is to be proportioned to income (2Co 8:12-14; compare with. 1Co 16:2). The Old Testament proportion was the tithe, a proportion which antedates the law (Gen 14:20).
5. Its rewards are (a) joy (2Co 8:2); (b) increased ability to give in proportion to that which has been already given (2Co 9:7-11); (c) increased thankfulness to God (2Co 9:12); and (d) God and the gospel glorified (2Co 9:13-14).
QUESTIONS
1. Have you carefully examined the eleven arguments for Christian giving?
2. Divide the eleven arguments among the four homiletic divisions of the chapter.
3. Summarize the doctrine of Christian giving.
Fuente: James Gray’s Concise Bible Commentary
The first argument which our apostle makes use of to excite the charity of the Corinthians, is drawn from the example of the Macedonians, into whose hearts God had poured that excellent grace of charity: insomuch that the churches of Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea and other churches in the region of Macedonia, though under great trials and afflictions themselves, yet such was their joy in, and their affection to the Christian profession, that notwithstanding their deep poverty, they abounded in their liberality towards the necessities of the poor saints in Jerusalem and Judea.
Note here, 1. The root from which all acceptable charity to the members of Christ must arise and spring, namely, from the grace of God; from an inward principle of love to God, in obedience to his command, and with a pure and fixed eye at his glory. Liberality to the poor distressed members of Christ, as such, must flow from that habit of divine love, by which men are taught of God to love one another; for though, from a natural sympathy and compassion men may relieve the afflicted, as men, yet without a gracious inclination they cannot do good to them, as members of the household of faith. Charity then is here called the grace of God, because it proceeds from a gracious disposition wrought in the heart by God, as the root and spring, the motive and attractive, of it.
Note here, 2. The condition which the churches of Macedonia were in themselves; when they thus liberally and cheerfully administered to the necessities of others, they were first under great affliction, and then in great poverty themselves; and yet the riches of their liberality are here said to abound.-
From whence learn, That poverty excuses not from charity: If we have nothing actually to give, God accepts the inclination of the mind, and a willing desire. If we have but little to give, God will accept of our mite, and reward us for that little, if given for his sake. It is not the quantity of the gift, but the good affection of the giver, that God’s eye is upon. If we give but a cup of cold water to a disciple, and as a disciple, God accepts it and rewards it, provided we have nothing better to give; for if our charity be not in some degree proportionable to what we have, it will not be acceptable, but we shall miss of its reward.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Verse 1 Paul gave instructions concerning this collection in 1Co 16:1-3 . “Grace” is the opportunity to do good for others, which Christians should be thankful for. Macedonia would include Philippi, Berea, and Thessalonica. The money is for poor saints at Jerusalem.
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
2Co 8:1-2. Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit , we make known to you; the grace of God The great degree of grace conferred by God; on the churches of Macedonia Namely, of Philippi, Thessalonica, Bera, and other places in this province; which grace has induced them to exert themselves in a most liberal and generous contribution for the relief of the poor saints in Judea. It appears that the directions which the apostle, in his former letter, gave to the Corinthians concerning the collection to be made for the saints in Judea, had not been fully complied with. At the persuasion of Titus, indeed, they had begun that collection; but they had not finished it when he left Corinth, owing perhaps to the opposition made by the faction, or to the disturbances which the faction had raised in that church. Wherefore, to stir up the sincere among the Corinthians, to finish what they had so well begun, the apostle in this chapter sets before them the example of the Macedonian churches; who, notwithstanding their great poverty, had contributed beyond their ability, being inclined to that good work by an extraordinary measure of divine grace conferred upon them. How that in a great trial of affliction Amidst great sufferings, which they met with from their persecuting enemies, always ready to harass and plunder them. See Act 16:10, &c.; Act 17:5, &c.; 1Th 2:14. The abundance of their joy Arising from the doctrines and promises of the gospel, and from the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit; and their deep poverty That is, amidst their deep poverty; abounded unto Or hath overflowed in; the riches of their liberality So that, indigent as they are, they have done far beyond what could have been reasonably expected for the relief of their yet poorer brethren. By mentioning the poverty of the Macedonian Christians as the circumstance which enhanced their liberality, the apostle, in a very delicate manner, intimated to the Corinthians, who were an opulent people, (1Co 4:8,) that it was their duty to equal, if not exceed, the Macedonians, in the greatness of their gift. From 1Th 2:14, it appears that the Christians in Thessalonica had been spoiled of their goods. So also it is probable the Berans had been, Act 17:13. In places of lesser note the disciples may have been few in number, and not opulent.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
[In this section Paul exhorts the Corinthians to proceed with the collection for the poor of the Jerusalem church. For Paul’s instructions in regard to this collection, and the reasons for it, see 1Co 16:1-3; and notes thereon.] Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God which hath been given in the churches of Macedonia;
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
THE CONTRIBUTION TO THE POOR SAINTS OR JERUSALEM
Having been exceedingly encouraged by the ministry of Timothy at Corinth at an earlier date, the report of Titus now in reference to the glorious success of his first letter, and the wonderful revival which had taken place under his ministry, transporting him with joy unutterable, he winds up the portion of the letter appertaining to those irregularities being satisfied with the reformations reported by Titus. And now he devotes a considerable space to the interest of the contributions they were raising throughout the entire churches for the relief of the poor saints at Jerusalem, who had found it necessary to sell out their estates to support that great Pentecostal revival, and consequently needed financial help.
1. But we make known to you, brethren, the grace of God which was given in the churches of Macedonia, that amid a great trial of persecution the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. Paul was a wonderfully deep thinker on everything to which he gave his attention, showing up the nicest and most delicate distinctions and revealing occult facts which grosser minds would pass without recognition.
3. Because I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they are willing.
4. With much entreaty praying of us the grace and fellowship of the ministry toward the saints. Here we see an astounding manifestation of Christian liberality in the fact that these Thessalonian Christians did not have to be solicited, but were actually running after Paul and his preaching comrades, and begging them to let them make contributions to the poor saints at Jerusalem.
5. And not as we hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and to us through the will of God, that we should exhort Titus, in order that as he previously began it, so also he may complete this benefaction even among you. Paul here is stirring them up by telling them of the wonderful zeal in Macedonia, where they are not only anxious to give according to their ability, but even going ahead of their ability and entreating them to give them a chance to take part in this benefaction, but they are now exhorting Titus that as he has given attention of this enterprise among you, i. e., Corinthians, we must have him go ahead and complete it.
7. But as you abound in everything, in faith. This is the fundamental grace in the plan of salvation, underlying every other like the great strata of the earth underlying and holding up the oceans, continents and mountain ranges. And in word. That is the grand, rich treasure which God gives to His people, the precious Word of life and salvation, which is bread, meat, milk, honey, wine, the fatted calf and all the delicious fruits of Canaan, and at the same time the sword of the Spirit with which we are to fight our way through the battlefields of earth till we stand on the mount of celestial triumph. And knowledge. That is one of the inestimable gifts of the Spirit (1Co 12:8) which shed light on the revealed Word, and qualify us to understand its deep spiritual meaning. Those Corinthians were wonderfully enriched with faith, word and knowledge, most invaluable gifts and graces. And all zeal. This was a necessary concomitant to their faith, word and knowledge. They are all on fire, studying the Word and proclaiming it to others, rolling the tide of salvation on all sides. And the Divine love which is from you among us, i. e., love which God has poured into your hearts and now running out toward us. The glowing report of Titus had flooded them with consolation in reference to the abounding love of the Corinthians in his behalf. In order that you also may abound in this grace, i. e., the grace of this philanthropy in behalf of the Jerusalem saints. He now stimulates them, by the consideration that they abound in everything else, that they may also add this beautiful star to the constellation of Christian graces, already large, bright and increasing into, the adornment of their Christian character.
8. I do not speak according to commandment, but through the zeal of others also proving the sincerity of your love. He disclaims every disposition to make this duty mandatory, leaving it purely optionary and hortatory. From this we should learn a profitable lesson. All the castigations we find in the apostolical letters simply appertain to spiritualities, temporalities all being left optionary. Among the sad indices of ecclesiastical apostasy we find an undue emphasis laid on material interest, and a corresponding laxity on the spiritual. Here the whole church is stirred over one case of fornication. We learn from this that finances are always to be purely optionary, otherwise they forfeit all the grace of God. The current assessment systems are much out of harmony with the pure and disinterested Christian liberality taught in Gods Word. They are rendered entirely too imperative, thus forfeiting the sweet influences of the blessed Holy Spirit.
9. (For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that He being rich, for your sakes became poor, that you through His poverty might be made rich.) This verse is a beautiful allusion to the example of our Savior, who left the boundless riches of Heaven to be born in a stable, and live and die so poor that He had not a ace to lay His head. Here we see the only incentive that Paul gives them to inspire their liberality and secure a contribution. He simply refers them to the example of the Savior.
10. And I give my opinion in this. The emphasis in this verse is in opinion in contradistinction to commandment in 2Co 8:8. So he disclaims the mandatory attitude in the matter altogether and modestly gives it as his opinion that they should make a contribution to the poor saints. Lord, help us all to follow Pauls example, and when we want to raise money, instead of commanding the people, merely give them our modest opinion that they ought to do this, and refer them to the example of our Savior, who gave His Heavenly inheritance that we might be redeemed from the bankruptcy of sin.
11. And now indeed complete the enterprise in order that as there is first a promptitude of willingness, so also to finish it according to that which you have.
12. For if there is first a willing mind it is accepted according to that which he may have, and not according to that he may not have. He reminds here that they had begun this enterprise a year ago, and now exhorts them to consummate it according to their resources, assuring them that God takes the will for the deed, and accepts the contribution, not according to what we have not, but simply that which we have. Hence all Christian giving is easy and delightful, no burden about it, but all glad and joyous privilege. Unless there is first a willing mind in the case God does not want a contribution, because He is not poor and does not need it, and if there is not first a willing mind it would not prove a blessing to the contributor. Hence the willing mind is the necessary antecedent to all contributions. Then the contribution is accepted, not according to what we have not, but simply according to what we have. Hence in case of financial inability, God always takes the will for the deed. A vast amount of the backsliding in popular churches results from the financial yokes laid on the people. It is all out of harmony with Gods Word and grievous to the Holy Spirit. It actually scandalizes God, advertising Him to the wicked as very poor and needy, which is utterly false, and abominable in the sight of God. He is not only infinitely rich, but infinitely good. So He is certain to take care of His own cause. He will feed the poor and support the gospel without any of your stingy contributions. He does not want them. They are an insult to His majesty.
13. For not that there is relief to others and burden to you, but that it may be according to equality, at the present your abundance corresponding to their deficiency, i. e., your abundance of temporal things corresponding to the deficiency of the poor saints at Jerusalem.
14. In order that their abundance may correspond to your deficiency, in order that there may be equality. The Corinthians had already become partakers of the abundant grace which God on the day of Pentecost had conferred on His saints at Jerusalem. It has rolled out a salvation wave over the Gentile world. Hence the pertinency that they may partake of the temporal abundance enjoyed by the Gentiles.
15. As has been written, He that abounded had no surplus, and he that gathered little lacked nothing. A beautiful allusion to the gathering of manna in the wilderness, when they all had just what they needed, whether they gathered much or little. Hence a recognition of the community of Gods great family, all having an abundant supply regardless of their conditions in life, because our Heavenly Father is good, feeding all of His children like He feeds the birds.
16. Thanks be unto God, who giveth this zeal in your behalf in the heart of Titus. See how beautifully Paul imputes all of their amiable philanthropy to God.
17. Because he received the exhortation, and, being more zealous, he came unto you of his own accord. The preaching of Titus among them had gloriously toned them up on all lines, and literally enthused them in behalf of Paul and all of his enterprises.
18. We sent also along with him, whose praise in the gospel is in all the churches. We do not know what brother this is so highly commended by Paul. Doubtless the verdict is in favor of Gains, Aristarchus or Trophimus, all prominent traveling companions of Paul, and his associate evangelists, and famous among all of the churches for their piety and godly zeal.
19. Not only so, but, having been elected by the churches our companion in this philanthropy ministered by us unto the glory of the Lord and our promotion. Aristarchus accompanied Paul to Jerusalem when he carried those contributions, remained with him during his two years imprisonment at Caesarea, and sailed with him to Rome, passing through the shipwreck, and wintering on Mileta. Most probably he is the man here alluded to. Do not forget that Luke was all this time with Paul, serving as his amanuensis, but too modest to give us a hint with reference to himself. He accompanies Paul down to Corinth, and there, responsive to his dictations, wrote the letter to the Romans during the three months Paul spent there during the winter of A. D. 57-58, and journeyed with him to Jerusalem. Here Paul says this benefaction to the poor saints conduced to the glory of God and their advancement in the Divine life. Observe the word Paul uses throughout these writings to designate that contribution; that word is grace; the regular world charis, used one hundred and twenty times in the New Testament, where we have grace. Hence it involves the fact that they considered it grace. Such it was, both to donors and recipients.
20. Avoiding this that any one may blame us in this philanthropy which is ministered by us. How important it is that we all deal carefully in church finances, diligently keeping clear of all censure. I have seen many preachers ruined by tinkering with money raised for public benefactions. You can not be too careful in those matters. An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.
21. We not only provide things beautiful before the Lord, but in presence of men. The Greek word here describing the public transactions of Paul and comrades means having the beauty of holiness. Lord, help us to be sure that all of our transactions are characterized by the beauty of holiness.
22. Here we are utterly at sea again with reference to the brother who accompanied Titus. Several. would well answer the description, but there is no direct clue to any certain one. It illustrates how exceedingly spiritual the history of the New Testament churches. The Bible is a book of doctrines and facts rather than biography.
23. Whether concerning Titus, he is my companion and fellow-worker unto you. Whether our brethren, the apostles of the churches, they are the glory of Christ.
24. Showing unto them the proof of your Divine love and of our boasting in you in the face of the churches. The original meaning of apostle is one sent out into a new field, i. e., the pioneer. Paul certainly here uses the word in that broad sense, including his comrades, such as Apollos, Barnabas, Timothy, Titus. Apostles of the churches evidently means their founders.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
2Co 8:1. Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God. Better to say, It is requisite that I should apprise you of the grace that God has conferred on the churches of Macedonia. Though planted but a few years before, they stood and flourished in every grace; and now their laudable contributions were extended to the poor of distant churches. Truly, he that loveth not, knoweth not God. Worthily are all those fine elucidations of the heart, and liberalities called the grace of God.
2Co 8:7. Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and as God has withheld no spiritual endowment, see that ye abound in this grace also. A highly elegant and powerful appeal, and worthy of this great master of the human heart. Who could resist when solicited with so much elegance.
2Co 8:9. Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. His prexistence, his divestment to assume the form of a servant, that you might by him inherit eternal glory. Here then is the model of your charity.
2Co 8:12. If there be first a willing mind, it is accepted. The Lord never asks what is unreasonable. This virtue shone in the Macedonians, who in the preseding year had contributed above their ability. What a gracious providence, that God should thus provide for the poor and persecuted saints in Judea. Let the righteous ever learn to trust in the tender cares of a Fathers love.
2Co 8:18. The brother whose praise is in the gospel. Jerome says this was Luke, but Justin thinks it was Barnabas. Apollos and Silas are also named among critics; but Poole contends that it was Mark who received this honour. The majority however incline to Luke, whose gospel was canonized, and widely circulated. It is remarkable that Poole should contend it was Mark, merely because he was received back into favour. 2Ti 4:2.
2Co 8:23. Whether any do enquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellow- helper concerning you; or of our brethren, the messengers of the churches and the glory of Christ. The Mons testament reads, Et que vous traitterez demme Tite, qui est uni avec moi, et qui travaille comme moi pour votre salut, et nos autres freres qui sont les apotres des eglises, et la gloire de Jesus Christ. If any of you shall enquire concerning Titus, who alone is with me, and who labours like me for your salvation; and our other brethren, who are the apostles of the churches, and the glory of Jesus Christ. From these encomiums we learn the duty of honouring ministers, according to the honour that Christ has conferred upon them in all divine endowments, of personal virtues, and labours wearing out life for the salvation of souls. If you, oh christians, lower your ministers, you lower the Saviour, and destroy religion.
REFLECTIONS.
Charity is the character of God, and charity is the badge of all his people. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. The saints in Macedonia were now severely pressed with persecution, and much poorer than those of Achaia; yet when they heard of the sufferings and poverty of the churches in Judea, who suffered alike from jews and heathens, they were the foremost, and of their own accord, to help the brethren whom they had never seen. Love makes the family of Jesus all one; the rich and the poor, the stranger and the servant, all taste the sweets of heavenly friendship and brotherhood in Christ.
The Macedonian charity was accompanied with much of grace. They pressed the apostles to take even more than had been solicited. Having first given themselves to the Lord, they deemed it a small object to honour him with their substance. It is a genuine mark of piety, when men contribute willingly to the gospel, and to the wants of the church; and that not barely as ministers hope, but often to surpass their expectation.
Christ is the grand model and pattern of charity to his church. He was rich in coqual glory and essence with the Father, yet for our sakes he became poor, so as not to have where to lay his head, that we might be enriched with every covenant blessing, and with eternal glory. Who then, when ministers and saints are short of food and raiment, can withhold his hand? Who can build a fine house, purchase sumptuous furniture, and aggrandize his family, while he gives only a bare pittance to the cause of piety? On what ground does this man hope for a seat at Christs right hand, whose whole life was charity? On the other hand, a truly good man will give as God shall prompt the first thought of his heart; and the cheerfulness with which he gives is more than the gift. Christians, being one body and one spirit, are bound to help the gospel in dark corners of the land, and in distant nations. What, shall a city receive a confluence of wealth from the country, and be the emporium of colonial produce, and not assist the poor villages, and distressed cases, where the poor have nothing but what they dearly earn? Surely we should think of these, and give them the parings of commercial redundance.
Ministers who thus preach, suffer, and help the churches, are in brotherhood with the holy apostles, and called the glory of Christ. If the honour of a king consist in the fidelity and valour of his subjects, what king had ever subjects that suffered and laboured like the first planters of christianity? Whoever loved a sovereign as the martyrs loved Christ?
Hence they deserve the honour and esteem of the churches.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2 Corinthians 8, 9. The Collection for Poor Christians at Jerusalem.Paul attached the highest importance to this collection, to which he seems to have invited all the Gentile churches to contribute. He valued it not merely for the relief it would bring to the deep poverty of the Christians at Jerusalem, but also as a means of eliciting generosity in the churches to which he appealed, and as a symbol of that binding unity in which all the churches of God in Christ were held together. He thinks of the liberality thus evoked as a grace, a gift of God to man, and a gift of man to God, and also as a fellowship, a common participation in common service which was a precious symbol of participation in common life.
2Co 8:1-15. Of this liberality, significant of so much, the churches of Macedonia, such as Thessalonica, Philippi, Bera, had already given an example all the more remarkable because of their notorious poverty, and also of the persecution they were enduring. And, best of all, this offering was really a self-offering, and had been made not, as well might have happened, to the apostle, but first to Christ and then to Paul and the cause for which he pleaded.
Paul had already laid this subject of the collection before the Corinthians (1Co 16:1 ff.), and possibly Titus had taken the opportunity of a previous visit to set it on foot, and now Paul, encouraged by what has happened in Macedonia, has instructed him to bring it to a successful issue in Corinth. The readiness of the Macedonians is to be used as a test of the loyalty of the Corinthians. And they have a still higher example before their eyes. What else did they see in Jesus Christ Himself but a liberality which knew no limits? In view of this Paul contents himself with a suggestion, leaving it to the prompting of their own conscience to give effect to that resolve which already a year ago had been present behind the first steps of action. In 2Co 8:12 he lays down the same principle as that which underlies our Lords appreciation of the liberality of the widow who cast in all that she had (Mar 12:42-44).
[2Co 8:9. The reference is not to the fact that Jesus lived a life of poverty on earth. The contrast is between His pre-incarnate life in heaven and the state of humiliation on which He entered at the Incarnation. This is strongly suggested by the parallel in Php 2:6-8; and the poverty which was His earthly lot could hardly be said to be the cause that many became rich.A. S. P.]
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Chapters 8 and 9 deal with the subject of proper care for poor saints on the part of the assembly. The wisdom and delicacy with which the apostle writes is both admirable and beautiful. He avoids absolutely anything like the demands of law with its system of tithing; and yet encourages every activity of grace, every motive of faith and love, so that each individual will be free to willingly and cheerfully give as directly to the Lord, and as the Lord lays upon his heart.
He first makes known to them the lovely example of the assemblies of Macedonia, their giving being in no way a legal obligation, but the fruit of the grace of God bestowed on them. While suffering a great trial of affliction, they had abundance of joy alongside of abundance of poverty; and this issued in “the riches of their liberality.” Whatever the depth of their poverty, and however little they could possibly give, still their attitude of willingly giving what they could was “riches of liberality” in the sight of God. The occasion was that of a famine in Judea (Act 11:27-30), and Gentile saints were desirous of sending help to the saints there. Philippi and Thessalonica were prominent assemblies in Macedonia, and these were willing to give more than they were able, urging the apostles to accept this for the poor saints.
Paul and his fellow-servants had doubtless made known to the saints the great need in Judea, and the Macedonians had not merely helped as the apostle hoped, but beyond this; giving their own selves to the Lord, and to them, by the will of God. Is this not a matter of laying both themselves, and therefore all they have, at the feet of the Lord and of the apostles, to be disposed of simply by the will of God? What precious and proper effect of the grace of God in souls!
Paul had desired Titus, when he came to Corinth, to encourage the Corinthians in “the same grace also.” Evidently Titus had, a year previously, begun this by informing the Corinthians of the need, and they had willingly promised to help (v. 10). This being so, Paul desired Titus to “finish” in them this work. Apparently however, even at the second visit of Titus, they still procrastinated. Paul therefore appeals to the fact of their “abounding” in a general way “in everything,” because of the grace of God conferred upon them; and he speaks specifically of faith, utterance, knowledge, diligence, and love to the apostles. On such a commendable basis he encourages their abounding also in the grace of sharing their means with the poor saints.
But he is careful to insist that he does not speak as commanding this: he does not want them to consider it a matter merely of obligation. The example of the Macedonians, of which he has spoken, was that of wholehearted willingness; and on the other hand there is the question of proving the sincerity of the love of the Corinthians. Paul is seeking therefore to reach and stir proper motives, not to make them merely give.
In verse 9 he reminds them of the supreme Example of sacrifice, He whose grace led Him to come from the place of infinite glory and riches, to become poor in a world of sorrow and need, not only in His life of lowly grace and kindness toward men, but in going to the utter extremity of poverty, in bearing alone the dread judgment of God against our sins at Calvary. Here was the grace that willingly gave up His own riches; and indeed gave Himself, in order that we might be enriched beyond all human imagination. No legal obligation is involved here at all, but pure, real love, the voluntary willingness to do His Father’s will, for the sake of the blessing of those who deserved nothing. Can we rightly appreciate such grace as this without being moved with desire to willingly help those who are in need?
With such a background Paul gives his advice, because he is persuaded it is profitable for them: it is for their own spiritual good. Since they had begun in this matter, having a year before willingly expressed themselves in desire to give help, he tells them, “Now therefore perform the doing of it.” For it would be grievously wrong to go back on their word in this. They had not been coerced, but promised willingly. So Paul is not going to allow them to forget this. It involves no question as to how much each one is to give, or how much the company is to give, but the matter of keeping their word in willingly giving. They must not allow this to die with the good intention, but act upon it.
It is to be out of what they have, not what they might hope to get in the future. A year’s procrastination is certainly more than enough to warrant Paul’s pressing exhortation. This delay is in striking contrast to the purpose of heart of the Philippians, who, though in circumstances of poverty, sent help to Paul twice at Thessalonica, when he was there only three Sabbath days, and this only a short time after he had left Philippi (Php 4:15-16).
Verse 12 certainly implies that at any time one should give according to the amount he has, not wait until such time as he thinks he has a substantial amount to give. A willing mind that gives only a little because there is little to give, is that which God accepts. The widow with her two mites teaches us a salutary lesson.
It is not that Paul wanted the Corinthians to assume a responsibility out of proportion to others, to make things hard for them in order that others might be eased. But the spirit of willingly sharing what God has given, with those in evident need, is a proper expression of unity that desires the blessing of all saints. At another time the situation might be reversed, but “at this time” the Corinthians had the wherewithal by which those in need might be relieved, and this therefore makes for equality.
Exo 16:18 is quoted here in regard to the manna, not speaking of the prime interpretation of the verse, but giving an excellent application. The Lord had provided the manna: some gathered more, some less; but His care was the same for all, and all had sufficient with no excess. If such is the Lord’s way, then if I have excess, I should be thankful to be able to share it with another who has lack. If I see others not having equality, at least let me have the heart to equalize things.
In verse 16 Paul thanks God for having put in the heart of Titus such concern for the Corinthians, that he was willing to go to them, even without having been urged by Paul. Paul’s exhortation to him to go therefore was gladly received, and Titus went of his own volition. No doubt this applies to the visit of Titus of recent date, but also to his willingness to return to Corinth with this present epistle. For two other brethren (vv. 18,22) are now sent with him, and Paul is careful to give witness to the dependable character of each of them.
The first enjoyed an evident reputation of devotedness in the work of the gospel, and had been chosen by the assemblies to travel with Paul and others to Jerusalem with the gift for the poor saints. The administering of this was a sacred matter, with the glory of the Lord predominant, and with its witness to the willingness of the servants thus chosen.
No matter how faithful a reputation one had, he would not alone travel with these funds. It must be carefully avoided that there might be the least occasion given to anyone for suspicion that all might not be done in total honesty. Not only was the sight of the Lord important, but the sight of men, too.
The other brother sent was well commended for his diligence in many things, and now seen as specially diligent because of the great confidence he had in the Corinthians. He was akin to Titus in this, and well chosen. Each of these three men is evidently willing to be subjected to the scrutiny of the saints; and Paul gives his own evaluation of them for the benefit of any who might enquire. Titus is his own partner and fellow-helper in connection with the welfare of the Corinthians themselves. The two brethren had been chosen as the messengers of the assemblies, therefore approved of them, and Paul adds, “the glory of Christ.” It was true that they represented the assemblies, yet above this, there was in them the sense of representing Christ in so serious a labour committed to them.
This being so, Paul appeals to the Corinthians to recognize what is plainly true, and show before the assemblies the proof Of their love, by the willing gift of their means, and fulfil Paul’s boast as to them. This is a definite purpose for which these men are sent: Paul expects no more delay.
Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible
Verse 1
We do you to wit; we make known to you.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
DIVISION II.
THE COLLECTION FOR THE POOR AT JERUSALEM CHAPTERS 8, 9.
SECTION 11. BY THE EXAMPLE OF THE MACEDONIAN CHURCHES, PAUL URGES HIS READERS TO PERFORM THEIR OWN PURPOSE OF LIBERALITY CH. 8:1-15.
Moreover, we make known to you, brothers, the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia; that in much proof of affliction the abundance of their joy is, and their deep poverty has abounded for the riches of their sincerity. Because, according to their power, I bear witness, and beyond their power, of their own accord, with much exhortation begging of us the favour* (*Or, grace.) and the partnership in((AGreek, of) the ministry for the saints, and not as we hoped but themselves they gave first to the Lord and to us by the will of God; that we might exhort Titus that according as he had before begun so he should also complete in reference to you this grace also.
Yes, just as in everything you abound, faith and utterance and knowledge and all earnestness and love from you to us, that also in this grace you may abound. Not by way of command do I say it, but by means of other mens earnestness putting to the proof the genuineness of your love. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that because of us He became poor, although rich, that you by His poverty may become rich. And an opinion in this matter I give. For this is profitable for you, who not only to do but also to wish began first, last year. And now complete the doing also, in order that just as there was the readiness to wish so there may be also the completing, according as you possess. For, if the readiness exists, according to whatever one may have it is acceptable, not according to what he has not. Not in order that to others there may be relief, to you pressure: but by way of equality, in the present season your abundance for their deficiency, that also their abundance may come to be for your deficiency; that there may be equality, according as it is written, (Exo 16:18,) He that had much had not more: and he that had little had not less.
2Co 8:1-2. For the altogether new matter of DIV. II. Paul has prepared the way by the confidence and joy about his readers expressed in 2 Corinthians 7, and especially in 2Co 7:16. He now enters it by recounting the great liberality of the Macedonians, from whose midst he writes to the Corinthians. This liberality he introduces as grace of God given, i.e. as a gift of the undeserved favor of God. Thus, while holding up human excellence as an example, he shuts out beforehand all human merit. With the same thought (2Co 9:14-15) he concludes DIV. II.
In the churches etc.: the locality in which the grace was given. Cp. 2Co 8:16. The kind of grace given, 2Co 8:2 states in plain words.
Much proof of affliction: affliction putting to the test, and thus manifesting, their faith. Cp. Rom 5:4. It directs attention to the spiritual significance of their affliction.
The abundance of their joy is. We should say their joy abounds. Their abundant joy is represented as a definite object of thought. [Similar construction in 2Co 8:11.] For an example of Macedonian joy amid affliction, see 1Th 1:6.
And their deep poverty etc.: a second excellence.
Abounded for: Rom 3:7 : produced abundant results in the direction of spiritual riches.
Their sincerity: the purity of motive of their Christian life; the opposite of guile.
Riches of sincerity: more than abundance. For sincerity is true wealth. The liberality of the Macedonians was of value to Paul chiefly as proof of the sincerity of their profession of Christianity. Their deep poverty increased the force of this proof, and thus itself produced abundant results in the direction of spiritual wealth.
2Co 8:3-5. A statement of fact, in proof of 2Co 8:2.
I bear witness: writing from the midst of this liberality.
Of their own accord: probably, while Paul told them (2Co 9:2) of the readiness of the Corinthians, and without any suggestion from him.
With much exhortation etc.: they pleaded hard to be allowed as a favor to join with the other churches in this service for the brethren in Judaea. This suggests that Paul hesitated, because of their poverty, to accept their cooperation.
Exhortation: see under Rom 12:1.
Favour or grace: as in 2Co 8:19; see under Rom 1:5. It is in apposition to partnership. They begged for the favour, viz. the partnership etc.
Ministry: often used for supply of bodily needs. See under Rom 12:7. That the collection was for the saints, (cp. 1Co 16:1,) i.e. for men standing in special relation to God, gave it special significance.
And not as we hoped but themselves: last point which Paul specifies. They gave, beyond their power of their own accord, earnestly begging to be allowed to give, and beyond Pauls expectation they gave themselves.
Disregarding their own need, and moved by loyalty to Christ, they gave. So that their gift was not money but themselves, not to men but to Christ. And this was the primary element of their gift: first to the Lord. And to us] Their self-surrender to Christ was also a surrender to those whom Christ had set in authority in His Church. For the liberality of the Macedonians was loyalty to Paul as well as to Christ.
By the will of God: as in 2Co 1:1. The Macedonians recognized by their gift Pauls divinely given authority: they thus did the will of God.
The instructive parallel of Php 4:10-18 suggests that in the liberality of the churches of Macedonia the Philippians (Act 16:12) took a prominent part. They who were the first to contribute to the support of their beloved teacher while preaching to others were also abundant in their liberality to unknown and far off brethren. And since we read here not of Philippian but of Macedonian liberality, we may suppose that their example had moved to liberality other Macedonian churches.
2Co 8:6. Pauls request to Titus (cp. 2Co 8:17) is represented as not only a result of the liberality of the Macedonians, but as a designed result; i.e. designed by God. This implies that the request was itself an accomplishment of a purpose of God by means of the grace given to the Macedonians. God intended Paul to send Titus to Corinth, and used the liberality of the Macedonians to bring this about. Thus Paul viewed his own action as an outworking of a divine purpose.
He had begun before: on a former visit to Corinth; doubtless that referred to in 2Co 12:18, undertaken at Pauls request, probably with express reference to this collection, some time before Paul wrote the First Epistle. See under 2Co 9:5.
Your grace, or favour: as in 2Co 8:19, the unmerited kindness of the contribution for the poor at Jerusalem. Moved by the liberality of the Macedonians Paul begged Titus to go to Corinth and complete the work he had already begun there. And in making this request he felt that his meeting with Titus amid churches manifesting such wonderful liberality was by divine arrangement to encourage them to press forward the contribution at Corinth. Thus Paul introduces, as an accomplishment of a divine purpose, the specific matter of DIV. II.
2Co 8:7-8. Just as etc.; appeals to them on the ground of their excellence already shown.
In everything you abound: 1Co 1:5.
Faith, utterance, etc.: having these, they are in everything spiritually rich.
Utterance and knowledge: 1Co 1:5.
All earnestness: an example in 2Co 7:11.
Love to us: manifested in the longing of 2Co 7:11.
Also in this grace: this act of undeserved kindness.
That you may abound: Pauls purpose in requesting Titus to complete the collection at Corinth. Practically, it is an exhortation: for it is not given by way of command.
Putting to the proof: as in 2Co 2:9.
Your love: to fellow-Christians and to mankind, as in 1 Corinthians 13. It is the essence of Christian character. Therefore, to put to the proof the genuineness of their love, is to test the worth of their Christian profession. And there is no surer way of doing this than to ask money for Christian purposes. For men generally trust in, and cling to material good.
2Co 8:9. A reason why Paul has no need to command, but only to put to the test his readers Christian love. To those who know the grace of Christ towards themselves, command to be kind to others is needless.
The grace of etc.: the free undeserved favor which moved Christ to become man to save men. So Rom 5:15 : 1Co 16:23; 2Co 13:13.
That because of us etc.; recounts the grace of Christ.
He became poor; involves, as do 2Co 13:4 and Php 2:7, the mystery of the incarnation. It means infinitely more than abstinence from material good while on earth. For riches denotes, not actual enjoyment of the things possessed, but control over things needful or pleasant to us. This is the real worth of money. Poverty is the absence of control over things needful or pleasant. Now, from eternity the Son of God had absolute control over all things; and was therefore infinitely rich. Want was unknown to Him. But at His incarnation He laid aside this absolute control, and submitted, in a way to us inconceivable because divine, to creaturely and human limitations, that thus by personal experience He might become conscious of human dependence and need.
All this is implied in Mar 13:32, (Luk 22:43, genuineness very doubtful,) Heb 5:7. This self-impoverishment of Christ I venture to illustrate by supposing a rich man to leave the luxuries of home and go to the Arctic Regions to rescue a friend. For by doing so he not only abstains from his accustomed comforts but puts himself for a time beyond reach of them. And only by some similar conception, excluding however all idea of peril and thinking only of hardship, can we attach any meaning to the words He became poor; and to Php 2:7, He emptied Himself. But He did not (for He could not: 2Ti 2:13) lay aside even for a moment His divine Nature, of which the essence is Love. Never before did the divine Love of the Son of God shine forth so wonderfully as when to save men He became Man.
Because of you: more forceful than because of us. Cp. Gal 2:20. Paul sets the Corinthians alone, and says that Christ died for them.
May become rich: all our needs and desires supplied in the wealth of our Fathers house, and already in sure anticipation of it. The self-impoverishment of Christ is a motive for Christian liberality. For, by giving money we limit our own control over things needful and pleasant to us, in order to supply the needs of others. And this we cannot refuse to do, in the lower sphere of material good, in view of the infinite self-sacrifice of Christ for our eternal enrichment. Thus, after setting before his readers the example of the Macedonians, Paul strengthens his appeal by pointing to the infinitely greater example of Christ.
2Co 8:10-11, Continues 2Co 8:8, after supporting it in 2Co 8:9 by the example of Christ. Far from commanding, Paul merely gives in 2Co 8:7-11 an opinion (1Co 7:25; 1Co 7:40) about what is best for his readers.
For this: viz that he gives an opinion, not a command.
For you: emphatic, a courteous recognition of the readiness of the Corinthians. For others less ready a command might be needful.
Who not only etc.: proof of the foregoing words.
Began first: literally began before, as in 2Co 8:6; i.e. before the Macedonian Christians.
Last year: cp. 2Co 9:2 : not necessarily a full year ago. When, about Easter, Paul wrote 1Co 16:1, the collection was already well known at Corinth. And, since about Titus who began (2Co 8:6) the collection there no mention is made in the First Epistle, probably he went to Corinth some time before it was written. The Corinthians took up the matter at once. Consequently, the collection may have been begun, and in some sense the Corinthians ready, (2Co 9:2,) the autumn before these letters were written. And this would be naturally spoken of as last year. During the previous year the Corinthians had not only begun it before the Macedonians, but were before them in wishing to contribute. They were earlier, not only in beginning to give, but also in wishing to give. For such ready contributors an opinion was certainly better than a command.
And now also the doing: in addition to what last year they did and wished to do.
Complete: (same word as accomplish in 2Co 7:1 🙂 in contrast to begin. Same contrast in Php 1:6. A year ago they were first to begin not only to do something but to wish to do. The wish continues: but the doing is not yet completed. Paul bids them complete what they then began, and accomplish what they then wished.
That according as so also: that with the purpose, which was so ready, (see under 2Co 8:19,) performance may correspond. It suggests the uselessness of a purpose not followed by corresponding action.
According as you possess: developed and supported in 2Co 8:12. Only so far as they were able could their performing correspond with their wish. Paul thus reminds his readers that in asking for the accomplishment of their purpose of liberality he takes into account their limited resources.
2Co 8:12. Justifies the foregoing words, by stating the general principle that the limits of our ability to give do not limit the reward of our liberality, and yet are the measure of our reward. For, according to our ability, the readiness (or eagerness: see 2Co 8:19) itself is acceptable. But, if genuine, it will, according to whatever the giver may have, develop into action. The contrasted negation, not according to what he has not, restates emphatically the standard of acceptability. This verse, introduced to explain 2Co 8:11, shows that Paul was thinking not about the gift itself but about its acceptability to God.
2Co 8:13-14. That Paul was seeking something acceptable to God, not a large sum of money, he now proves by stating his real purpose in making the collection, viz. not to enrich others by impoverishing the Corinthians, but to bring them material gain.
Relief: removal of affliction; cp. 2Th 1:7.
To you pressure: literally affliction: privation of the necessaries of life, through liberality towards the Christians of Judaea.
By way of equality: taking equality as his standard and aim.
Their abundance your deficiency: in the same sense as 2Co 8:13, viz. material good. For, the spiritual blessings from the Jews to the Gentiles (Rom 15:27) had been already received: but Paul refers to something still future. Although now the Corinthians are richer than the Judaean Christians, matters may some day be reversed. And in view of the uncertainties of the future Paul now presses this collection, in order that in days to come those who now give may themselves receive material help; and that thus in the family of God there may be an equality unknown outside it. Therefore, so far from seeking to enrich others at his readers cost, Paul is really seeking, in view of the uncertainties of life, ultimately to enrich them. In Rom 15:27 he gives a nobler justification than this, and in 2Co 9:12 ff a nobler result, of the collection. But these do not cause him to overlook its material benefits. By establishing the principle of mutual monetary help, he was doing something to shelter the people of God in the dark days awaiting the Church and the world.
2Co 8:15. As a pattern of what he desires to see in the Christian Church, Paul quotes Exo 16:18, almost word for word from the LXX., viz. the narrative of Israel in the wilderness, supplied by the gift of God so that none had too much and none too little.
Had not more, had not less; than he needed. For they gathered according to the size of their families. So far as the Christian life permeates church-members and churches will there be reproduced this ancient and beautiful ideal of a company in which each has sufficient, an ideal never realized in material good so completely as in Israel in the wilderness. For all men are but gatherers of food freely given by God.
The important matter of the collection for the Christian poor in Judaea, Paul introduces by the noble example of the Macedonians, whose liberality he speaks of as a gift of the undeserved favor of God working out for them spiritual wealth. This liberality moved him, by the design of God, to send Titus to Corinth, that the Corinthians, so rich in spiritual gifts, may be rich in spiritual liberality. To them he forbears to give commands: for the example of the Macedonians is enough, and his readers know the greater example of Christ. Indeed they were themselves the first not only to begin, but also to wish to join in, this contribution. Paul asks therefore that with their readiness to purpose performance may correspond. He asks only for gifts in proportion to ability: for this will be the measure of the reward. For his purpose is, not to enrich others by impoverishing them, but ultimately to bring them material help. He wishes to bring about in the people of God the equality of those who in the wilderness were fed by the providence of God sufficiently, but not in excess.
Fuente: Beet’s Commentary on Selected Books of the New Testament
CHAPTER 8
SYNOPSIS OF THE CHAPTER
i. He exhorts the Corinthians to imitate the generosity of the Macedonian Christians in sending alms to the poor at Jerusalem.
ii. He points (ver. 9) to the example of Christ, who for our sakes was made poor, that through His poverty we might be rich.
iii. He urges them (ver. 10) to fulfil their purpose and half-promise, and bids each one give according to his means.
iv. He says (ver. 13) that by so doing rich and poor will be equalised, through the former giving their temporal goods in return for spiritual benefits.
v. He reminds them (ver. 16) that he had sent Titus and other Apostles to make this collection, and warns them that if they put His messengers to shame they themselves will also be put to shame before them.
The first example of the almsgiving referred to in this and the next chapters is related by S. Luke (Act 11:28). This famine under Claudius is referred by many to his fourth year, by Baronius to his second, i.e., A.D. 44. From S. Luke’s narrative it appears that the Christians of Antioch zealously met the famine beforehand by sending alms by the hands of Barnabas and Paul. Many years afterwards, in A.D. 58, the collection spoken of in this chapter was made in Corinth and the neighbouring places. Further, a greater and more lasting cause of the poverty of the Christians of Jerusalem was the constant persecution suffered by them at the hands of the Jews since the death of Stephen, frequently taking the form of banishment and confiscation of their goods (Act 8:1, and Heb 10:34). From that time forward the Jews were sworn foes to Christ: and bitterly persecuted the Christians; and since the Church of Jerusalem was the mother of all others, the custom prevailed amongst Christians in all parts of the world of sending, help to the poor of that Church. When Vigilantius found fault with this custom in the time of Theodosius, S. Jerome, writing against him, testifies to its prevalence with approbation. He says: “This custom down to the present time remains, not only among us, but also among the Jews, that they who meditate in the law of the Lord day and night, and have no lot in the earth save God only, be supported by the ministry of the synagogues, and of the uhole earth.”
In this chapter, then, the Apostle is urging the Corinthians, as being rich, to the duty of almsgiving. Corinth was the most frequented emporium of Greece, and in it were many wealthy merchants
Ver. 1.-Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace. God has given to the Macedonian Christians great patience, liberality, and pity for others.
Ver. 2.-How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy. When greatly tried by sundry tribulations, they were very joyful.
And their deep poverty abounded. Having sounded the depths of poverty, the Macedonians, as it were, broke out into plentiful and abundant kindness and almsgiving
Liberality is given in the Latin version simplicity, and denotes a pure, liberal, and ready will to give. Liberality is measured not by the greatness of the gift, but by the promptitude of the mind, as Chrysostom and Theophylact say. “Simplicity” says Ambrose (Ep. 10), “weighs not pros and cons, has no mean suspicions or dishonest thoughts, but overflows with pure affection.” Cf. Rom 12:8.
Ver. 3.-For to their power . . . they were willing. Of their own free will, without being solicited, they came forward and contributed as much as and more than they were able to afford.
Ver.4.-Praying us. Begging us to undertake the gracious work of collection, and take our part in it. The Apostle often applies the word (gift) to what is gratuitous and munificent. Here he applies it to the work of collection. In ver. 7 and elsewhere he applies it to the alms itself.
Ver. 5.–Not as we hoped They gave much more than we expected.
But first gave their own selves to the Lord and unto us. They first surrendered themselves to the will of God and then to ours, to do and give whatever I wished.
Observe here that they who give alms ought, if they are to do it properly, first to give their hearts to God, and in token that they have so surrendered themselves to Him, they ought then to give alms, as tribute paid to Him.
By the will of God. God wishes people to follow our directions, and regard our wish as His, and us as the interpreters of His will, so what we will God also wills to be done by those under us. He Himself says: “He that heareth you heareth Me” (Anselm and Theophylact).
Ver. 6.–Insomuch that we desired Titus. We asked Titus to collect these alms, just as we had collected them in Macedonia. We doubted not for a moment that the liberality of the rich Corinthians would not be outshone in readiness and amount by the poverty of the Macedonians. This is to stimulate the Corinthians to liberality by the example of the Macedonians.
Ver. 7.–See that ye abound in this grace also. See that, as ye abound in faith, care, and love towards me, so ye abound in almsgiving to the poor (Anselm).
Ver. 8.–By occasion of the forwardness of others. I do not command, but seek to move you by the example of the Macedonians, who were so anxious to help the poor.
And improve the sincerity of your love. I say this to make test of your love, sincerity, and goodness, and to stimulate you by others’ example. The Latin ingenium, which is the rendering of the Greek , does not here denote the good disposition of charity, as Anselm thinks, in which case the meaning would be: I say this, not to test and show that your charity has a good disposition, by its suggesting, dictating, and advising that you do this good deed without any order from me; but denotes, not ingenium, but ingenuum, or an innate disposition. Again, the word for prove has the double idea of testing and then demonstrating. Maldonatus, indeed (Not Manusc.), renders it, “longing to prove to others;” for, as he says, the Greek verb here denotes not the effect but the affection.
Ver. 9.–For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is a fresh stimulus to almsgiving. Christ, the King of kings, for your sakes became poor when He was born in the stable, because there was no room for Him in the inn. Instead of His royal throne He had a manger; for bedding, hay; for fire, the breath of ox and ass; for curtains, spiders’ webs; for sweet perfumes, stable ordure; for purple, filthy rags; for His stud, ox and ass; for a crowd of nobles, Joseph and Mary. So, too, His whole after-life was stamped with poverty, or, as Erasmus renders the Greek here, with beggary. From this it appears that Christ was not merely poor, but was also an actual beggar.
That ye through His poverty might be rich. Rich with spiritual riches, with lessons of godliness, with forgiveness of sins, righteousness, holiness, and other virtues. The Corinthians are tacitly bidden, if they wish to imitate Christ closely, to enrich the poor with their alms, to impoverish themselves so as to enrich others. Cf. Anselm on the riches and poverty of Christ, and Chrysostom (Hom. 17), who points out how the Christian should not be ashamed of or shrink from poverty.
S. Gregory Nazianzen (Oral. 1 in Pascha) beautifully contrasts our benefits and Christ’s loving-kindness. He says: “Christ was made poor that we through His poverty might be rich. He took the form of a servant that we might regain liberty. He descended that we might be exalted. He was tempted that we might overcome. He was despised that He might fill us with glory. He died that we might be saved. He ascended, to draw to Himself those lying prostrate on the ground through sin’s stumblingblock.” S. Augustine again says beautifully: “What will His riches do if His poverty made us rich?” Lastly, from these words of the Apostle, Bede infers: “All good faithful souls are rich: let none despise himself. The poor in his cell, being rich in his conscience, sleeps more quietly on the hard ground than he that is Rich in gold sleeps in purple.”
Ver. 10.-And herein I give my advice. Bede takes this: “Herein I give my opinion,” but wrongly; for advice is here contrasted with precept.
Not only to do but also to be forward. Or “to be willing,” i.e., of your own accord, no one forcing you. This, as S. Paul hints, is more than to do it when asked (Anselm). Gregory (Hom. 18 in Ezek.) says: “This very exhortation contains a reproach. ‘A year ago,’ he says. They did well then, but slowly. Their teacher, therefore, while he praises, chides. He is a physician who applies to the wound a remedy which both soothes what has been already cleansed, and bites the parts that are found unsound.”
Ver. 11.-So there may be a performance. Lucian’s lines are well known:-
If slow is the hand that bestows,
Its grace becomes empty and vain
And title to grace must resign.” “Sweeter is grace that is prompt;
And again:-
“He double gives who promptly gives.”
Ver. 12.-It is accepted according to that a man hath. In other words, “Give what you can” (Ambrose, Chrysostom, Anselm). Observe here 1. that the perfection and merit of almsgiving and of every virtue consists in the readiness of the will and not in the greatness or the number of the gifts; and, therefore, before God, when this readiness is greater then the virtue is greater, even if, on account of poverty or some other cause, the wish is unable to issue in the external act of giving. Hence S. Paul says that the willing mind is accepted, not the gift. Cf. S. Mar 12:43.
2. Notwithstanding, in order that this readiness be accepted before God, says S. Thomas, as true, earnest, and efficacious, it must issue in act according to what it has, i.e., give of what it has according to its power; otherwise it would be merely a wish, not an earnest and ready will. It is not expected to give what it has not, as S. Paul says. “Let him who has,” says Theophylact, “carry out his work; he who has not has already carried out his work by willing it.” S. Leo (Serm. 4 de Jej. Dec. Mensis) says: “Unequal expenditure may give equal merits; for the intention may be the same, though the incomes be widely different;” and Anselm says: “Here all, whether poor or rich, give equally, if each gives in proportion to what he has.”
3. It follows that amongst those who are equally rich or equally poor that one is the more liberal and has more merit who gives more. Amongst those, however, whose wealth is unequal, that one merits more who gives the more in proportion to his means, although absolutely he may give less than his richer neighbour. Cf. Tob. 4:9. S. Augustine (Enarr. in Ps. 104) says: “If you can give, give. If you cannot, give courtesy. God crowns the goodness within when He finds not means without. Let no one say, I have not.’ Charity is not paid from the pocket.”
Ver. 13.–For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened. I do not enjoin on you such liberal almsgiving as to enable the poor to live in luxury and you in need, but I wish every one to think of the necessities of others according to his power, without neglecting his own (Theophylact). S. Paul does not enjoin this, but he counsels it. It is, say S. Thomas and Anselm, an evangelical counsel, and, therefore, a sign of greater perfection, to give all your goods to the poor and become wholly poor yourself. “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor,” said Christ (S. Mat 19:21). This can be done not only by those who are going to devote themselves to the religious life, but even by those who remain in the world, as, e.g., by the poor widow (S. Mar 12:43). Do not mistake me: any one may do this provided he do not bring himself into extreme necessity, and if he has no family, for whom he is bound to provide. Theophylact adds that in the next verse the Apostle exhorts the Corinthians to give beyond their strength, when he says “that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want,” meaning: If you wish for a great reward, give liberally; if for the whole reward, give your all. He takes abundance to mean profuse almsgiving, abounding beyond their strength, such as S. Paul praised in the Macedonians. The reason is this, that such an act is one of supreme, heroic almsgiving, poverty, fortitude, and hope in God.
We have a striking example of this in S. Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, who, after spending all his goods on the poor, at last gave himself up to the Vandals to be enslaved in the place of the son of a widow. His self-abnegation is praised by S. Augustine (de Civ. Dei, lib. i. c. 10). The event showed that his action was pleasing to God, for, when he was living as a slave, he was recognised by the Vandals under the inspiration of God, and was honourably treated and sent back home. S. Paula, again, was so liberal to the poor that her frequent prayer was heard, and, according to her wish, she had to be buried at the expense of others, and in another’s garments. S. Jerome, in his Life of her, praises her warmly for this. S. Martin, S. John the Almoner, and many others are examples of the same liberality. But abundance in this verse more properly denotes the abundant wealth of the Corinthians; for S. Paul contrasts it with the poverty of the Christians of Jerusalem, and desires that one may relieve the other.
Ver. 14.-But by an equality. I do not command so large almsgiving that your homes be pauperised while the poor have ample, but of your superfluity, which supplies the proper matter of almsgiving, I beg you to communicate with the poor, and supply their want, so that you may both have the necessities of life, and may each hold the mean between the two extremes of poverty and abundance. Let there be nothing superfluous in the means of them that give, and nothing deficient in the way of the necessaries of life to them that receive (Theophylact).
That their abundance also may be a supply for your want. So their abundant supply of faith and hope and all graces will, by their prayers and merits before God, assist your spiritual poverty in this life, and in the other life they will, when you die, receive you into everlasting habitations. The kingdom of heaven is the possession of Christ’s poor (Anselm).
That there may be equality. By an interchange of spiritual goods as well as temporal.
Ver. 15.–As it is written. Exo 16:18. Paul applies what is said of the gathering and eating of manna, to show that God wishes men to strive after equality in communion of goods.
He that had gathered much. He that gathered much had no more than he that gathered little, and vice vers. The passage quoted from Exodus declares that by a continuous miracle God rained down manna for forty years in the wilderness on so many hundreds of thousands of Jews, in such a way that the greedy who gathered much, and the idle who gathered little, both found, when they returned home and measured what they had got, that they had but an homer full, or enough for a day’s food for each. If they collected either more or less, God or an angel subtracted from it or added to it invisibly, to bring all to an equality. So, then, an homer was the measure for men, women, and children, and it contained as much only as a man would ordinarily eat in a day (Nyssen, de Vita Moysis, Chrysostom, Anselm, Vatablus, Theophylact).
The reason for this was (1.) that God would in this way restrain the greediness and gluttony of the Jews, and their excessive love of earthly things (Chrysostom and Theophylact). (2.) By this continuous miracle God would remind us that in all our necessity we should look to His Providence, and recollect that He provides for each all that is needful for his life; therefore, as we sit at table, let us regard God as raining down manna upon us from heaven. So now God supplies, not only to the rich but the poor also, and those that have bad health or are burdened with a large family, their daily portion, which is enough to maintain the life of all. This will seem to any one who considers the matter, and compares the small gain made with the great expenditure of so many heads of families, a wonderful and incredible thing; and by this test alone any one may see God’s sweet and wondrous care for all. Let not the poor, therefore, bewail their lot, nor desire great riches, “For since we all,” says S. Chrysostom, “have but one belly to fill, and one time to live in, and one body to cover, the rich man has no more from his abundance, nor the poor man less from his poverty; but both have food and clothing, and in this they are equal.”
Observe, again, the beautiful application S. Paul makes of the symbolic manna. As God gave of it an equal measure to all, so is it right that Christians should cultivate an equality: those who have abundant wealth should distribute to the poor, and make them equal to themselves, so far as the necessaries of life go, that all may be content, and, having what is necessary, live equally (Theophylact and Chrysostom). Observe, however, that as the rich, by giving of their superfluous wealth to the poor, make them equal to themselves, so too do the poor, by a fellowship of merits, make the rich equal to them, not altogether absolutely, but by way of proportion, in such a way that neither has any lack of either kind of benefits, or has an excessive supply when compared with others; for otherwise the rich would not by giving to the poor make them as rich as themselves, nor would the poor by giving in return his prayers and other spiritual goods give an equal gift, but rather a far more valuable gift than he received. Nor again does he give of his spiritual goods as much as he has (S. Thomas).
Analogically, S. Chrysostom and Anselm refer this passage to the glory of heaven, which all will share equally. But this must he understood of the objective bliss; for all will see the same God, and in Him will be satisfied and blessed; but in this vision, and consequently in joy and glory, there will be degrees, and a disparity proportioned to merit. It was so in the case of the manna: an equal share was given to each, satisfying all equally, yet it tasted differently to different people.
Ver. 16.-But thanks be to God. For having made Titus anxious for you and for your spiritual progress and gain, whereby he was led to exhort you to liberality towards the poor. “The same earnest care” refers to the fact that S. Paul as well as Titus was exhorting them to this liberality.
Ver. 17.–For indeed he accepted the exhortation. The duty of exhorting you to almsgiving (Anselm).
Of his own accord. Without being bidden by me, he took on himself this task of exhorting you to this pious work.
Ver. 18.-And we have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the Gospel. Barnabas, whose praise is in the preaching of the Gospel. He was ordained as S. Paul’s companion (Act 13:3) (Theodoret, Chrysostom, cumenius); but since Barnabas and Paul were now separated, and Silas had taken S. Barnabas’ place at S. Paul’s side (Act 15:40), it is better with Baronius to take the reference as being to Silas, or, with Anselm and Jerome, to Luke. S. Paul calls him brother, not Apostle, and this applies better to S. Luke, who wrote a Gospel, and was the inseparable companion of S. Paul. S. Ignatius, writing to the Ephesians, assigned this eulogy to Luke in the words: “As Luke testifies, whose praise is in the Gospel.”
Ver. 19.–But who was also chosen of the churches. For this work of grace of collecting the alms of the Church. The word rendered here chosen is , i.e., ordained by imposition of hands-consecrated either deacon or priest. It was the deacon’s office to have care of the poor, and to distribute the alms to them; but the priest’s to help the Apostle on his journeys in preaching and administration of the sacraments. The sacrament of Order is called by the Greeks , from the imposition of the Bishop’s hands on the ordinands. Cf.
1Ti 4:14; 1Ti 5:22; Act 14:22. From this it is evident that to lay hands on presbyters is to ordain them, and by ordaining to make them presbyters.
Which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord. The Latin version reads, in the last clause of this verse, “to our destined mind;” the meaning of this is, to show the readiness of our mind in this pious service to God and the poor. The Greek is . “Destined,” therefore, as S. Thomas remarks, does not here mean “predestinated by God,” but ready, prompt, and cheerful. But the Greek MSS. give your, not our. We have received, says S. Paul, this grace, this ministry of almsgiving, to glorify God by it, and to make you more ready for it by the exhortations of Titus and Luke (Theophylact).
Ver. 20.–Avoiding this. I have sent Titus and Luke to collect such large alms that no one may suspect me of collecting for my own private use (Anselm). The possession of large sums of money is wont to expose a man to suspicion of fraud, because it is easy to abstract a little secretly from a large amount without any one being aware of it.
Ver. 21.-Providing for honest things. I endeavour to act honourably, not only before God but also before men, lest suspicious persons should have some occasion for suspecting me of some wrongdoing. Wherefore, to show that I administer this collection honestly, I make Titus and Luke my witnesses, I make them the treasurers of it, and refrain from handling it myself. Hence learn this practical rule: We owe a good conscience to God, a good report to our neighbour. He who neglects good report acts cruelly towards his neighbour’s salvation (Anselm).
Ver. 22.–And we have sent with them our brother. Who this is is uncertain. Some, says Anselm, think that it is Apollos; but they suspect only, for S. Paul neither names him nor describes him, but leaves the Corinthians to their personal knowledge of him.
Upon the great confidence which I have in you. Having great confidence and hope that, as is right, they will be received honourably and lovingly by you, and also partly out of love and respect for Titus, who is my companion and fellow-helper. Hence Titus was now at Corinth, having been sent there by S. Paul to collect these alms and to transact other business.
Maldonatus supplies the verb show, and makes the sentence run: “Upon the great confidence that whatever love you show to Titus you will show to me, for he is my partner.” But there is no need to supply anything-the sense given above is clear enough without it.
Ver. 23.-Or our brethren. I trust that you will, as is right, receive them worthily, partly because of the brethren sent with Titus, and partly because of Titus himself.
The glory of Christ. The Apostles are the glory of Christ, inasmuch as they spread and make known His glory. “Whether, therefore,” says Chrysostom, “You will receive them as brethren, or as the Apostles of the Churches, or as those who promote the glory of Christ, you will have many reasons for showing them kindness.” By metonymy, glory is put for the cause and care of Christ’s glory.
Ver. 24.-Therefore shew ye to them. Show to Titus and his companions that signal love which becomes you and your generous love, as well as my boasting of you.
Fuente: Cornelius Lapide Commentary
8:1 Moreover, {1} brethren, we do you to wit of the {a} grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;
(1) The sixth part of this epistle containing different exhortations to stir up the Corinthians to liberality, with which the poverty of the church of Jerusalem might be helped at an appropriate time. And first of all he sets before them the example of the churches of Macedonia, which otherwise were brought by great misery to extreme poverty, so that the Corinthians should follow them.
(a) The benefit that God bestowed upon the Corinthians.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
III. INSTRUCTIONS CONCERNING THE COLLECTION FOR THE POOR SAINTS IN JUDEA 8:1-9:15
The New Testament reveals that Paul was actively collecting money for "the poor among the saints in Jerusalem" (Rom 15:26) for about five years (A.D. 52-57). He solicited funds from the Christians in Galatia (Act 18:23; 1Co 16:1), Macedonia (Act 19:22; 2Co 8:1-5; 2Co 9:2; 2Co 9:4), Achaia (Rom 15:26; 1Co 16:1-4; 2 Corinthians 8-9), and Asia Minor (Act 20:35). [Note: See the excursus on Paul’s collection in Martin, pp. 256-58.] Delegates from most of these regions accompanied Paul when he took the gift to Jerusalem (Act 20:4).
The recipients were Hebrew Christians who were poor for several reasons. Conversion to Christianity, and particularly baptism, resulted in social and economic ostracism in Jerusalem society where Judaism dominated all of life. The communal sharing of goods that the early Christians in Jerusalem practiced did not solve their economic problems (cf. Act 2:44-45; Act 4:32; Act 4:34-35). All Palestinian residents suffered from lack of food due to a famine that descended during the reign of Emperor Claudius (A.D. 46, Act 11:27-30). As the mother church of Christianity, the Jerusalem church probably had a larger number of teachers, missionaries, and visitors to support than its daughter churches did. Finally, Jews, including Jewish Christians, who lived in Palestine had to pay double taxes, to Rome and to the Jewish authorities.
Why did Paul devote so much of his time and energy to raising and delivering this collection? Undoubtedly love for his needy Christian brethren was a primary motivation (Rom 12:13; Rom 13:8; Gal 6:10). He also believed this gift would honor Jesus Christ (2Co 8:19). It would help equalize God’s provision for His people’s physical needs too (2Co 8:13-15). Moreover, it provided a visual demonstration of the equality that exists between Gentile and Jewish Christians (Eph 2:11-22). It was something that God might use to allay Jewish suspicions of Christianity and of Paul’s mission to the Gentiles (cf. Act 11:2-3). It also illustrated the spiritual indebtedness that the Gentiles owed to their Jewish brethren (Rom 15:19; Rom 15:27; 1Co 9:11). Personally it was one way that Paul could compensate in part for his earlier persecution of the Jerusalem saints (Act 8:3; Act 9:1; Act 26:10-11; 1Co 15:9; Gal 1:13; 1Ti 1:13).
Paul wrote as he did in the following two chapters of 2 Corinthians to facilitate the collection and to set forth a philosophy of Christian stewardship. This is not the first that the Corinthians had heard about this collection. Paul’s abrupt introduction of "the collection for the saints" in 1Co 16:1 and his subsequent discussion of it in that chapter suggest that he had spoken to them about it previously. Evidently they began to participate but then dropped the project. Probably the controversy concerning Paul that developed contributed to that decision (2Co 2:5-11; 2Co 7:12). However now that Paul had learned that the Corinthian congregation was responding more positively to him again he could reintroduce the subject and press for its completion. [Note: See Carson and Moo, pp. 440-42, for discussion of the integrity of these chapters.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
A. The example of the Macedonians 8:1-7
Paul was not only proud of the Corinthians but he also rejoiced over the Christians in Macedonia, the Corinthians’ neighbors to the north. This joy connects the present section with the former one.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Paul tactfully began his appeal by referring to the good example of others rather than to the duty of his readers. The behavior of the Philippian, Thessalonian, Berean, and perhaps other Christians manifested the grace of God. These believers were both poor and persecuted (cf. 1Th 1:6; 1Th 2:14; Act 16:20; Act 17:5). Notwithstanding they demonstrated joy and generosity (cf. Rom 12:8; Php 4:15).
"In 2Co 8:1 a similar pattern to that of 2Co 4:7-15 is used to describe the Macedonian participation in the collection. Out of their affliction and depth of poverty comes a wealth of liberality. Just as life has come from death in Paul’s ministry, so here the Macedonians give liberally from their scarce monetary resources." [Note: Kraftchick, p. 177.]
"The paradox of Paul’s expression, ’the abundance . . . of their extreme poverty’ (2Co 8:2) lies at the heart of this section; and it invites the present-day reader to see how Paul regarded the meaning of Christian commitment in the most practical area of stewardship." [Note: Martin, p. 255.]
"Liberality" means generosity that is free of any self-serving motive. Paul did not mention the size of their gift. Their attitude and their sacrifice were more important (cf. Mar 12:41-44).
"Christian giving is estimated in terms not of quantity but of sacrifice." [Note: Hughes, p. 288.]
The first of ten occurrences of the word "grace" (Gr. charis) in chapters 8 and 9 occurs here. Paul used it to refer to God’s enablement to participate in the collection here (cf. 2Co 9:8; 2Co 9:14). Elsewhere it refers to the honor and opportunity of giving, which God gives (2Co 8:4), and God’s lavish display of His generosity (2Co 8:9). It also refers to the offering itself as an expression of goodwill (2Co 8:6; 2Co 8:19). Paul further referred to grace as a generous, virtuous act of helping by sharing (2Co 8:7). He also used it as a synonym for thanks (2Co 8:16; 2Co 9:15). Thus the range of meanings of charis is quite broad.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Chapter 20
THE GRACE OF LIBERALITY.
2Co 8:1-15 (R.V)
WITH the eighth chapter begins the second of the three great divisions of this Epistle. It is concerned exclusively with the collection which the Apostle was raising in all the Gentile Christian communities for the poor of the Mother Church at Jerusalem. This collection had great importance in his eyes, for various reasons: it was the fulfillment of his undertaking, to the original Apostles, to remember the poor; {Gal 2:10} and it was a testimony to the saints in Palestine of the love of the Gentile brethren in Christ. The fact that Paul interested himself so much in this collection, destined as it was for Jerusalem, proves that he distinguished broadly between the primitive Church and its authorities on the one hand, and the Jewish emissaries whom he treats so unsparingly in 2Co 10:1-18 and 2Co 11:1-33 on the other.
Money is usually a delicate topic to handle in the Church, and we may count ourselves happy in having two chapters from the pen of St. Paul in which he treats at large of a collection. We see the mind of Christ applied in them to a subject which is always with us, and sometimes embarrassing; and if there are traces here and there that embarrassment was felt even by the Apostle, they only show more clearly the wonderful wealth of thought and feeling which he could bring to bear on an ungrateful theme. Consider only the variety of lights in which he puts it, and all of them ideal. “Money,” as such, has no character, and so he never mentions it. But he calls the thing which he wants a grace (), a service (), a communion in service (), a munificence (), a blessing (), a manifestation of love. The whole resources of Christian imagination are spent in transfiguring, and lifting into a spiritual atmosphere, a subject on which even Christian men are apt to be materialistic. We do not need to be hypocritical when we speak about money in the Church; but both the charity and the business of the Church must be transacted as Christian, and not as secular, affairs.
Paul introduces the new topic with his usual felicity. He has got through some rough water in the first seven chapters, but ends with expressions of joy and satisfaction. When he goes on in the eighth chapter, it is in the same cheerful key. It is as though he said to the Corinthians: “You have made me very happy, and now I must tell you what a happy experience I have had in Macedonia. The grace of God has been poured out on the Churches, and they have given with incredible liberality to the collection for the Jewish poor. It so moved me that I begged Titus, who had already made some arrangements in connection with this matter among you, to return and complete the work.”
Speaking broadly, the Apostle invites the Corinthians to look at the subject through three media:
(1) the example of the Macedonians;
(2) the example of the Lord; and
(3) the laws by which God estimates liberality.
(1) The liberality of the Macedonians is described as “the grace of God given in the Churches.” This is the aspect of it which conditions every other; it is not the native growth of the soul, but a divine gift for which God is to be thanked. Praise Him when hearts are opened, and generosity shown; for it is His work. In Macedonia this grace was set off by the circumstances of the people. Their Christian character was put to the severe proof of a great affliction; {see 1Th 2:14 f.} they were themselves in deep poverty; but their JOY abounded nevertheless, {1Th 1:6} and joy and poverty together poured out a rich stream of liberality. This may sound paradoxical, but paradox is normal here. Strange to say, it is not those to whom the Gospel comes easily, and on whom it imposes little, who are most generous in its cause. On the contrary, it is those who have suffered for it, those who have lost by it, who are as a rule most open-handed. Comfort makes men selfish, even though they are Christian; but if they are Christian, affliction, even to the spoiling of their goods, teaches them generosity. The first generation of Methodists in England-the men who in 1843 fought the good fight of the faith in Scotland-illustrate this law; m much proof of affliction, it might be said of them also, the abundance of their joy, and their deep poverty, abounded unto the riches of their liberality. Paul was almost embarrassed with the liberality of the Macedonians. When he looked at their poverty, he did not hope for much (2Co 8:5). He would not have felt justified in urging people who were themselves in such distress to do much for the relief of others. But they did not need urging: it was they who urged him. The Apostles sentence breaks down as he tries to convey an adequate impression of their eagerness (2Co 8:4), and he has to leave off and begin again (2Co 8:5). To their power he bears witness, yes and beyond their power, they gave of their own accord. They importuned him to bestow on them also the favor of sharing in this service to the saints. And when their request was granted, it was no paltry contribution that they made; they gave themselves to the Lord, to begin with, and to the Apostle, as His agent in the transaction, by the will of God. The last words resume, in effect, those with which St. Paul introduced this topic: it was Gods doing, the working of His will on their wills, that the Macedonians behaved as they did. I cannot think the English version is right in the rendering: “And this, not as we had hoped, but first they gave their own selves to the Lord.” This inevitably suggests that afterwards they gave something else-viz., their subscriptions. But this is a false contrast, and gives the word “first” () a false emphasis, which it has not in the original. What St Paul says is virtually this: “We expected little from people so poor,” but by Gods will they literally put themselves at the service of the Lord, in the first instance, and of us as His administrators. They said to us, to our amazement and joy, “We are Christs, and yours after Him, to command in this matter.” This is one of the finest and most inspiring experiences that a Christian minister can have, and, God be thanked, it is none of the rarest. Many a man besides Paul has been startled and ashamed by the liberality of those from whom he would not have ventured to beg. Many a man has been importuned to take what he could not have dared to ask. It is a mistake to refuse such generosity, to decline it as too much; it gladdens God, and revives the heart of man. It is a mistake to deprive the poorest of the opportunity of offering this sacrifice of praise; it is the poorest in whom it has most munificence, and to whom it brings the deepest joy. Rather ought we to open our hearts to the impression of it, as to the working of Gods grace, and arouse our own selfishness to do something not less worthy of Christs love.
This was the application which St. Paul made of the generosity of the Macedonians. Under the impression of it he exhorted Titus, who on a previous occasion had made some preliminary arrangements about the matter in Corinth, to return thither and complete the work. He had other things also to complete, but “this grace” was to be specially included ( ). Perhaps one may see a gentle irony in the tone of 2Co 8:7. “Enough of argument,” the Apostle says: “Let Christians distinguished as you are in every respect-in faith and eloquence and knowledge and all sorts of zeal, and in the love that comes from you and abides in us-see that they are distinguished in this grace also.” It is a real character that is suggested here by way of contrast, but not exactly a lovely one: the man who abounds in spiritual interest, who is fervent, prayerful, affectionate, able to speak in the Church, but unable to part with money.
(2) This brings the Apostle to his second point, the example of the Lord. “I do not speak by way of commandment,” he says, “in urging you to be liberal, I am only taking occasion, through the earnestness of others, to put the sincerity of your love to the proof.” If you truly love the brethren you will not grudge to help them in their distress. The Macedonians, of course, are no law for you; and though it was from them I started, I do not need to urge their example; “for ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might become rich.” This is the one pattern that stands forever before the eyes of Christian men, the fountain of an inspiration as strong and pure today as when Paul wrote these words.
Read simply, and by one who has the Christian creed in his mind, the words do not appear ambiguous. Christ was rich, they tell us; He became poor for our sakes, and by His poverty we become rich. If a commentary is needed, it is surely to be sought in the parallel passage Php 2:5 ff. The rich Christ is the pre-existent One, in the form of God, in the glory which He had with the Father before the world was; He became poor when He became man. The poor men are those whose lot Christ came to share, and in consequence of that self-impoverishment of His they become heirs of a kingdom. It is not necessary, indeed it is utterly misleading, to ask curiously how Christ became poor, or what kind of experience it was for Him when He exchanged heaven for earth, and the form of God for the form of a servant. As Mr. Gore has well said, it is not the metaphysics of the Incarnation that St. Paul is concerned with, either here or in Philippians, but its ethics. We may never have a scientific key to it, but we have a moral key. If we do not comprehend its method, at least we comprehend its motive, and it is in its motive that the inspiration of it lies. We know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; and it comes home to our hearts when the Apostle says, “Let that mind- that moral temper-be in you which was also in Him.” Ordinary charity is but the crumbs from the rich mans table; but if we catch Christs spirit, it will carry us far beyond that. He was rich, and gave up all for our sakes; it is no less than poverty on His part which enriches us.
The older theologians, especially of the Lutheran Church, read this great text differently, and their opinion is not yet quite extinct. They referred , not to Christs entrance on the incarnate state, but to His existence in it; they puzzled themselves to conceive of Him as rich and poor at the same time; and they quite took the point from St. Pauls exhortation by making describe a combination, instead of an interchange, of states. It is a counsel of despair when a recent commentator (Heinrici), sympathizing with this view, but yielding to the comparison of Php 2:5 ft., tries to unite the two interpretations, and to make cover both the coming to earth from heaven and the life in poverty on earth. No word can mean two different things at the same time: anti in this daring attempt we may fairly see a final surrender of the orthodox Lutheran interpretation.
Some strange criticisms have been passed on this appeal to the Incarnation as a motive to liberality. It shows, Schmiedel says, Pauls contempt for the knowledge of Christ after the flesh, when the Incarnation is all he can adduce as a pattern for such a simply human thing as a charitable gift. The same contempt, then, we must presume, is shown in Philippians, when the same great-pattern is held up to inspire Christians with lowly thoughts of themselves, and with consideration for others. It is shown, perhaps, again at the close of that magnificent chapter-the fifteenth in First Corinthians – where all the glory to be revealed when Christ transfigures His people is made a reason for the sober virtues of steadfastness and patience. The truth is rather that Paul knew from experience that the supreme motives are needed on the most ordinary occasions. He never appeals to incidents, not because he does not know them, or because he despises them, but because it is far more potent and effectual to appeal to Christ. His mind gravitates to the Incarnation, or the Cross, or the Heavenly Throne, because the power and virtue of the Redeemer are concentrated there. The spirit that wrought redemption, and that changes men into the image of the Lord-the spirit without which no Christian disposition, not even the most “simply human,” can be produced-is felt there, if one may say so, in gathered intensity; and it is not the want of a concrete vision of Jesus such as Peter and John had, nor a scholastic insensibility to such living and love-compelling details as our first three Gospels furnish, that makes Paul have recourse thither; it is the instinct of the evangelist and pastor who knows that the hope of souls is to live in the presence of the very highest things. Of course Paul believed in the pre-existence and in the Incarnation. The writer quoted above does not, and naturally the appeal of the text is artificial and unimpressive to him. But may we not ask, in view of the simplicity, the unaffectedness, and the urgency with which St. Paul uses this appeal both here and in Philippians, whether his faith in the preexistence can have had no more than the precarious speculative foundation which is given to it by so many who reconstruct his theology? “Christ, the perfect reconciler, must be the perfect revealer of God; Gods purpose-that for which He made all things must be seen in Him; but that for which God made all things must have existed (in the mind of God) before all things; therefore Christ is (ideally) from everlasting.” This is the substance of many explanations of how St. Paul came by his Christology; but if this had been all, could St. Paul by any possibility have appealed thus naively to the Incarnation as a fact, and a fact which was one of the mainsprings of Christian morality?
(3) The Apostle pauses for a moment to urge his plea in the interest of the Corinthians themselves. He is not commanding, but giving his judgment: “this,” he says, “is profitable for you, who began a year ago, not only to do, but also to will. But now complete the doing also.” Every one knows this situation, and its evils. A good work which has been set on foot with interest and spontaneity enough, but which has begun to drag, and is in danger of coming to nothing, is very demoralizing. It enfeebles the conscience, and spoils the temper. It develops irresolution and incapacity, and it stands perpetually in the way of anything else that has to be done. Many a bright idea stumbles over it, and can get no further. It is not only worldly wisdom, but divine wisdom, which says: “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” If it is the giving of money, the building of a church, the insuring of a life, complete the doing. To be always thinking about it, and always in an ineffective way busy about it, is not profitable for you.
It is in this connection that the Apostle lays down the laws of Christian liberality. In these verses (2Co 8:2-15) there are three.
(a) First, there must be readiness, or, as the Authorized Version puts it, a willing mind. What is given must be given freely; it must be a gracious offering, not a tax. This is fundamental. The law of the Old Testament is re-enacted in the New: “Of every man whose heart maketh him willing shall ye take the Lords offering.” What we spend in piety and charity is not tribute paid to a tyrant, but the response of gratitude to our Redeemer: and if it has not this character He does not want it. If there be first a willing mind, the rest is easy; if not, there is no need to go on.
(b) The second law is, “according as a man has.” Readiness is the acceptable thing, not this or that proof of it. If we cannot give much, then a ready mind makes even a little acceptable. Only let us remember this, that readiness always gives all that is in its power. The readiness of the poor widow in the Temple could only give two mites, but two mites were all her living; the readiness of the Macedonians was in the depths of poverty, but they gave themselves to the Lord. The widows mites are an illustrious example of sacrifice, and this word of the Apostle contains a moving appeal for generosity; yet the two together have been profaned times innumerable to cloak the meanest selfishness.
(c) The third law is reciprocity. Paul does not write that the Jews may be relieved and the Corinthians burdened, but on the principle of equality: at this crisis the superfluity of the Corinthians is to make up what is wanting to the Jews, and at some other the situation will be exactly reversed. Brotherhood cannot be one-sided; it must be mutual, and in the interchange of services equality is the result. This, as the quotation hints, answers to Gods design in regard to worldly goods, as that design is indicated in the story of the manna: He that gathered much had no more than his neighbors, and he that gathered little had no less. To be selfish is not an infallible way of getting more than your share; you may cheat your neighbor by that policy, but you will not get the better of God. In all probability men are far more nearly on an equality, in respect of what their worldly possessions yield, than the rich in their pride, or the poor in their envious discontent, would readily believe; but where inequality is patent and painful-a glaring violation of the divine intention here suggested-there is a call for charity to redress the balance. Those who give to the poor are co-operating with God, and the more a community is Christianized, the more will that state be realized in which each has what he needs.