II CORINTHIANS: MINISTERING TO BELIEVERS FACING FALSE TEACHERS

II. Paul’s Directives On Collections For Needy Believers, 2 Corinthians 8-9

C. Righteous Handling Of The Donations

(2 Corinthians 8:16-9:5)

I. Introduction

A. False teachers, claiming to be apostles, had entered the Church at Corinth, and they had tried to promote their own views while discrediting the person and message of the Apostle Paul. (Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 552)

B. This was a difficult situation for Paul: his readers were immature believers who had been saved out of corrupt backgrounds in a city known for its vice, so they were easy prey for false teachers, and Paul had to be careful how he handled the situation lest his readers think he was being unjustly defensive and thus discredit himself.

C. Accordingly, on the subject of giving of one’s money, Paul could not afford to appear to be unrighteous before believers who had been led to doubt his character and who might think that he was trying to influence them for his own interests of greed, so in 2 Corinthians 8:16-9:5, Paul gave insight on rightly handling the donations.

D. We view the passage for our insight, application and edification (as follows):

II. Righteous Handling Of The Donations, 2 Corinthians 8:16-9:5.

A. Paul obtained the help of several credible representatives to handle the donations of the churches, v. 16-28:

1. Paul’s coworker Titus was very concerned about the spiritual welfare of the believers at Corinth, and he was highly motivated by his own initiative to want to be involved in handling their collections, v. 16-17. The motive on Titus’ part served to handle the giving of Paul’s readers with utmost integrity.

2. Accompanying Titus was another unnamed believer who was highly respected by all the churches represented in the collection for the Jerusalem believers, 2 Corinthians 8:18. In addition, this unnamed believer had actually been chosen by the contributing churches and not Paul’s ministry team to accompany Paul’s team as they transported the collections to Jerusalem. The involvement of this man honored the Lord and demonstrated the eagerness of Paul’s team to help the transfer of moneys from the churches to the Jerusalem saints be marked by integrity, 2 Corinthians 8:19. Paul stressed his goal to handle the moneys in a way that not only pleased God but was also upright in the eyes of all involved, 2 Cor. 8:20-21.

3. A third believer, Paul’s partner and fellow worker, was appointed to join the collection party, adding another layer of security in the handling of the collections, 2 Corinthians 8:22a. “He was apparently an appointee of the Macedonian churches” and “would take their gift to its destination in Jerusalem,” Ibid., p. 874. This man had often proved to Paul’s team his zeal for the Lord, a man who also had great confidence in Paul’s readers and who would obviously then handle their collection in an upright way, 2 Cor. 8:22b.

B. Paul then took steps to insure that the donation that had not yet been performed by his readers might occur in an edifying way as influenced by the men who were handling the collections, 2 Corinthians 9:1-5:

1. On the one hand, Paul’s readers at Corinth had eagerly begun to want to give toward the material needs of the Judaean believers (2 Corinthians 8:6, 10), so Paul’s readers had enthusiastically agreed to be involved in this ministry (2 Corinthians 8:11). Their motivation to give, when reported by Paul to the Macedonian believers, had stirred the Macedonians to make their donation for the Jerusalem believers, 2 Cor. 9:1-3.

2. However, the Corinthians had not yet transferred their initial giving intent into the act of giving, Ibid.

3. Thus, part of the ministry of Titus and the two other believers who were handling the contributions involved not only their handling the collections of the churches, but also of encouraging the Corinthian believers to convert their initial intent to give into making the actual donation, 2 Corinthians 9:3.

4. Paul had boasted to the Macedonians that the Corinthians were willing to make their donation, so he was sending these reputable handlers of the donations to spur the Corinthians to give as they had intended to do that Paul might not be embarrassed by having made an empty boast about them when he arrived along with believers from Macedonia and finding the Corinthians not having made their donation, 2 Cor. 9:4.

5. Thus, in sending the collection handlers ahead of himself to prepare the Corinthian believers to make their donation, Paul intended that before he and his Macedonian companions arrived, the Corinthians would have made their donation, so that everyone involved in this matter could relax and rejoice, 2 Cor. 9:5.

Lesson: Paul involved several credible representatives of the donating churches to handle the collections and to prepare those whose pledge to give was known actually to give lest their lack of giving be an embarrassment to all.

Application: May we take care to give and handle the collections of believers in ways that edify all relationships.