The Collection for the Lord’s People
8 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. 6 So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7 But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you [Some manuscripts and in your love for us]—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake, he became poor so that you through his poverty might become rich.
10 And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. 11 Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. 12 For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.
13 Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14 At the present time your plenty will supply what they need so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, 15 as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”[Exodus 16:18]
Titus Sent to Receive the Collection
16 Thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you. 17 For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative. 18 And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel. 19 What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help. 20 We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. 21 For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.
22 In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is my partner and co-worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ. 24 Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.
NOTES:
8:1–9:15 Paul turns to a new topic, the collection for the
church in Jerusalem. There is an early precedent for this project in the
agreement mentioned in Gal 2:6–10. According to Acts, the church at Antioch had
sent Saul and Barnabas to Jerusalem with relief (Acts 11:27–30). Subsequently
Paul organized a project of relief for Jerusalem among his own churches. Our
earliest evidence for it comes in 1 Cor 16:1–4—after it had already begun (see
notes there); by the time Paul wrote Rom 15:25–28 the collection was completed
and ready for delivery. 2 Cor 8–9 contain what appear to be two letters on the
subject. In them Paul gives us his fullest exposition of the meaning he sees in
the enterprise, presenting it as an act of Christian charity and as an
expression of the unity of the church, both present and eschatological. These
chapters are especially rich in the recurrence of keywords, on which Paul
plays; it is usually impossible to do justice to these wordplays in the
translation.
8:1–24 This is a letter of recommendation for Titus and two
unnamed companions, written from Macedonia probably at least a year later than
1 Cor 16. The recommendation proper is prefaced by remarks about the ideals of
sharing and equality within the Christian community (2 Cor 8:1–15). Phil
4:10–20 shows that Paul has reflected on his personal experience of need and
relief in his relations with the community at Philippi; he now develops his
reflections on the larger scale of relations between his Gentile churches and
the mother church in Jerusalem.
8:1–5 The example of the Macedonians, a model of what ought
to be happening at Corinth, provides Paul with the occasion for expounding his
theology of “giving.”
8:1 The grace of God: the fundamental theme is expressed by
the Greek noun charis, which will be variously translated throughout these
chapters as “grace” (2 Cor 8:1; 9:8, 14), “favor” (2 Cor 8:4), “gracious act”
(2 Cor 8:6, 7, 9) or “gracious work” (2 Cor 8:19), to be compared to “gracious
gift” (1 Cor 16:3). The related term, eucharistia, “thanksgiving,” also occurs
at 2 Cor 9:11, 12. The wordplay is not superficial; various mutations of the
same root signal inner connection between aspects of a single reality, and Paul
consciously exploits the similarities in vocabulary to highlight that connection.
8:2 Three more terms are now introduced. Test (dokimē): the
same root is translated as “to test” (2 Cor 8:8) and “evidence” (2 Cor 9:13);
it means to be tried and found genuine. Abundance: variations on the same root
lie behind “overflow” (2 Cor 8:2; 9:12), “excel” (2 Cor 8:7), “surplus” (2 Cor
8:14), “superfluous” (2 Cor 9:1) “make abundant” and “have an abundance” (2 Cor
9:8). These expressions of fullness contrast with references to need (2 Cor
8:14; 9:12). Generosity: the word haplotēs has nuances of both simplicity and
sincerity; here and in 2 Cor 9:11, 13 it designates the singleness of purpose
that manifests itself in generous giving.
8:3–4 Paul emphasizes the spontaneity of the Macedonians and
the nature of their action. They begged us insistently: the same root is
translated as “urge,” “appeal,” “encourage” (2 Cor 8:6, 17; 9:5). Taking part:
the same word is translated “contribution” in 2 Cor 9:13 and a related term as
“partner” in 2 Cor 8:23. Service (diakonia): this word occurs also in 2 Cor 9:1,
13 as “service”; in 2 Cor 9:12 it is translated “administration,” and in 2 Cor
8:19, 20 the corresponding verb is rendered “administer.”
8:5 They gave themselves…to the Lord and to us: on its
deepest level their attitude is one of self-giving.
8:6 Titus: 1 Cor 16 seemed to leave the organization up to
the Corinthians, but apparently Paul has sent Titus to initiate the collection
as well; 2 Cor 8:16–17 will describe Titus’ attitude as one of shared concern
and cooperation.
8:7 The charitable service Paul is promoting is seen briefly
and in passing within the perspective of Paul’s theology of the charisms.
Earnestness (spoudē): this or related terms occur also in 2 Cor 8:22
(“earnest”) and 2 Cor 8:8, 16, 17 (“concern”).
8:9 The dialectic of Jesus’ experience, expressed earlier in
terms of life and death (2 Cor 5:15), sin and righteousness (2 Cor 5:21), is
now rephrased in terms of poverty and wealth. Many scholars think this is a
reference to Jesus’ preexistence with God (his “wealth”) and to his incarnation
and death (his “poverty”), and they point to the similarity between this verse
and Phil 2:6–8. Others interpret the wealth and poverty as succeeding phases of
Jesus’ earthly existence, e.g., his sense of intimacy with God and then the
desolation and the feeling of abandonment by God in his death (cf. Mk 15:34).
8:11 Eager: the word prothymia also occurs in 2 Cor 8:12,
19; 9:2.
8:12–15 Paul introduces the principle of equality into the
discussion. The goal is not impoverishment but sharing of resources; balance is
achieved at least over the course of time. In 2 Cor 8:15 Paul grounds his
argument unexpectedly in the experience of Israel gathering manna in the
desert: equality was achieved, independently of personal exertion, by God, who
gave with an even hand according to need. Paul touches briefly here on the
theme of “living from God.”
8:16–24 In recommending Titus and his companions, Paul
stresses their personal and apostolic qualities, their good dispositions toward
the Corinthians, and their authority as messengers of the churches and
representatives of Christ.
8:18 The brother: we do not know the identity of this a co-worker of Paul, nor of the third companion mentioned below in 2 Cor 8:22.
8:20–22 That anyone blame us: 2 Cor 12:16–18 suggests that
misunderstandings may indeed have arisen concerning Paul’s management of the
collection through the messengers mentioned here, but those same verses seem to
imply that the Corinthians, by and large, would recognize the honesty of Paul’s
conduct in this area as in others (cf. 2 Cor 6:3).
8:24 As Paul began by holding up the Macedonians as examples
to be imitated, he closes by exhorting the Corinthians to show their love (by
accepting the envoys and by cooperating as the Macedonians do), thus justifying
the pride Paul demonstrates because of them before other churches.
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