Paul's Appeal for the Grace of Giving

Paul does not command the Corinthians to give. He makes known to them a grace that has already appeared in the churches of Macedonia, and he lets that grace do its own work. The Macedonians gave out of severe affliction and deep poverty, and their joy overflowed into a liberality that surprised even Paul. They gave beyond their power, and they did it of their own accord, begging for the privilege of sharing in the ministry to the saints.

What marked the Macedonians was not the size of their gift but the order of their giving. They gave themselves first to the Lord, and then to Paul and his companions, through the will of God. This is the pattern Paul holds up to Corinth: the self given to the Lord precedes the money given to the work.

Paul had already sent Titus to Corinth to begin this work of collection. Now he urges Titus to complete it. The Corinthians abound in everything—faith, speech, knowledge, earnestness, love—and Paul wants them to abound in this grace of giving as well. He does not say this as a commandment, but as a way to test the sincerity of their love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.

Then Paul brings the argument to its deepest ground. The Corinthians know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ: though he was rich, for their sakes he became poor, so that through his poverty they might become rich. This is not a metaphor for spiritual enrichment only; it is the theological engine of the entire appeal. The incarnation and the cross are the measure of giving. If Christ emptied himself for them, they can empty their purses for others.

Paul gives his judgment, not a command. A year earlier, the Corinthians were the first to begin this work, not only to do it but even to will it. Now Paul calls them to complete the doing, according to their ability. The readiness to give is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. No one is asked to give what they do not possess.

Paul is not trying to relieve others by burdening the Corinthians. He is aiming at equality. Their abundance now supplies the need of the saints in Jerusalem, and at another time the abundance of those saints may supply the Corinthians' need. This is not leveling by force but mutual provision in the body of Christ. Paul quotes the manna principle from Exodus: the one who gathered much had no surplus, and the one who gathered little had no lack.

Paul thanks God for putting the same earnest care for the Corinthians into the heart of Titus. Titus accepted Paul's exhortation, but he was already very earnest himself, and he went to Corinth of his own accord. Paul sends with him a brother whose reputation in the gospel is known through all the churches—a brother appointed by the churches to travel with Paul in the administration of this gift, for the glory of the Lord and as proof of Paul's readiness.

Paul is careful about appearances. He takes thought for what is honorable not only before the Lord but also before men. He sends a third brother, one whom he has tested many times and found earnest, now even more earnest because of his confidence in the Corinthians. These men are not Paul's private agents. Titus is his partner and fellow worker. The other brothers are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.

Paul closes with a direct charge. The Corinthians are to show these men, in the sight of the churches, the proof of their love and the proof of Paul's boasting on their behalf. The collection is not a transaction. It is a public demonstration of whether the grace they have received has taken hold of their wallets.