“2 Corinthians 8:16-24”

Monday, June 11, 2018

"But thanks be to God who puts the same earnestness on your behalf in the heart of Titus. For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest, he has gone to you of his own accord. We have sent along with him the brother whose fame in the things of the gospel has spread through all the churches; and not only this, but he has also been appointed by the churches to travel with us in this gracious work, which is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord Himself, and to show our readiness, taking precaution so that no one will discredit us in our administration of this generous gift; for we have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. We have sent with them our brother, whom we have often tested and found diligent in many things, but now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you. As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brethren, they are messengers of the churches, a glory to Christ. Therefore openly before the churches, show them the proof of your love and of our reason for boasting about you."

---End of Scripture---

Paul has established the example of the Macedonian Christians, used great persuasion to encourage the Achaian Christians to complete their promised benevolence, and now moves into some of the specifics regarding the safe-guards and trustworthy companions involved in the process of conveying these funds to the brethren in Jerusalem.

A couple of things stand out in this section. For one, verses 16-24 are framed by commendations of Titus (vv. 16, 23). Titus’ work with the Corinthians cannot be understated (2:13; 7:6, 13f; 8:6; 12:18). It’s no surprise that he would take part in the denouement of the collection. He is doing this of his own accord, a phrase reminiscent of the Macedonian example (8:3). While Titus was certainly one of the standouts in this process, there is at least one other brother (possibly two?) whose anonymity makes him stand out even further. Why the anonymity? Was it to prevent vainglory? Was it to demonstrate the man's trustworthiness? We cannot be sure but it is intriguing, so intriguing in fact, that scholars have named everyone from A-to-Z and tried to prove their hypothesis. Regardless of our futile speculations, we know this: these men were of the highest caliber of character and trustworthiness. Their service could be meaningful because they lived meaningful lives!

Secondly, the section provides both the apostolic directives for giving and the way in which autonomous congregations are to function in a cooperative effort of benevolence. There were to be safeguards throughout the process. As it was such a large sum of money, Paul was intimately aware that accusations of tampering could be made very easily. Consequently, each congregation was to safeguard its own funds at all points during the process so that no accusations of tampering withstood (Acts 20:4). The entire process was a service administered by all of the men in an effort to promote the glory of God throughout the Roman Empire as well as the good will of the Corinthians. For Paul, “He hopes this labor of love will allay suspicions that his work among the Gentiles has in some way lessened his indebtedness to and concern for the Jewish saints in Jerusalem.” (Melvin Curry, "Second Corinthians", Truth Commentaries, 279).

Thirdly, everyone involved in the process seems to have possessed a great zeal (7:12; 8:7-8, 16-17, 22) in the endeavor. No doubt this is a reflection of understanding the grace of God behind it all. The proof of their love would be seen in their willingness to carry out what they had promised from the beginning. This proof would be done literally in the face of (Greek: eis prosopon) the churches and their honor would be restored after the shame brought on by past sins. At the end of this passage, Paul returns to his boast of Corinth to all the churches to reinforce their commitment and self-imposed obligation to meet the need.

We learn two more things from this passage:

1) We can learn from Corinth that as we grow in and express our confidence in one another, that we become more interested in and more willing to help them in the work!

2) And while we continue this section looking at this benevolence in 2 Corinthians, we are humbled by the truth that no matter the unfathomable nature of Christian willingness in graciousness, it still falls far short of divine willingness!

Please read 2 Corinthians 9:1-5 for tomorrow.

Have a blessed day!

- Eric Parker

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