1There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the saints. 2For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. 3But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready, as I said you would be. 4For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we—not to say anything about you—would be ashamed of having been so confident. 5So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given.
Dig Deeper
A few years ago the church of which I was then a part was hosting a conference for college students. The tricky aspect of the conference was that, rather than staying in hotels, all of the students were by housed by families in the church. Before we hosted the conference, we noted that one downside of many good conferences in the past had been a lack of solid communication. Things often seemed to be thrown together (even though they were not) because of holes in communication. In order to avoid the appearance of that, we made an extra effort to communicate clearly every single aspect of the conference, particularly to the host families. We went by the philosophy that it is nearly impossible to communicate too much and be too clear.
Paul has had his problems with the Corinthians in the past, and although we will never know for sure, it is possible that a lack of clear communication may have contributed to some of the problems. Whether that ever was a problem or not, it is clear that Paul is determined for it not to be now. In an effort to have everything ready when he comes so that his visit can be one of joy and celebration rather than correction and discipline, Paul has carefully orchestrated things. He also goes to great lengths here to communicate everything step-by-step, point-by-point, and explain everything that he is doing. Paul, if nothing else, is going to be well understood and transparent in his upcoming plans. This is yet another example of his eminent pastoral concern that he shows for those that he leads spiritually.
In verse 1, the NIV removes the beginning word “for,” a small but important word which indicates that the subject is still connected to verse 24. Thus, Paul continues to discuss the reception of the three brothers rather than their specific response to the collection. Paul wants the Corinthians to respond positively to the three man delegation because they are coming to ensure that their desire to give will be completed before Paul arrives (v. 3) and that completing the collection will demonstrate God’s blessing and grace in their lives. In fact, in chapter 8, Paul was discussing their discipline in completing the collection not in their desire to participate in it. That means that in vv. 1-2 Paul wants to ensure that will respond positively and graciously to the brothers by both being hospitable and by completing the collection before Paul comes.
It appears, in this section, that Paul has switched the focus from the Corinthians alone to the entire region of Achaia (of which Corinth was still the primary city). Again, Paul is not worried about their eagerness and desire to have the collection but simply wants to encourage them to complete the collection in a disciplined fashion. He engages in a fantastic bit of circular logic in order to continue to encourage them. They should finish the task because of the example of the Macedonians, but now we find out that, all along, he has encouraged the Macedonians with the eagerness of Achaia. This provides, then, another impetus for Corinth and the rest of Achaia. Paul wants them to be motivated by both the Macedonian example and by their own earlier example to the Macedonians. If you realize that someone has been motivated by your great example, it makes it quite difficult to not finish the job that you started.
Paul seems quite unafraid to motivate and encourage Christian communities by looking to the motivation and actions of other Christian communities. He doesn’t do this by fostering unhealthy envy but by encouraging a healthy desire to imitate others who are embracing the life of Christ. Christians today seem oft hesitant to engage in this sort of healthy imitation of those who have the life of Christ flowering in their community but this is precisely what Paul wants the Corinthians and the Macedonians to do. Imitation of others who were worth imitating was a basic staple of the early Christian church for individuals to be able to learn and grow in the life of Christ (1 Thess. 2:14, 4:10; 1 Cor. 4:14-17; Phil. 3:17; Heb. 6:12; 1 Cor. 11:1; Heb. 4:11; 3 Jn. 1:11; 2 Thess. 3:6-8; Eph. 5:1; 1 Pet. 2:21; 1 Jn. 2:6; 1 Tim. 3:1-12). Paul wants them to to apply that core Christian value to communities as well as to individuals.
Paul, in verse 3, provides another reason for completing this important task. He has been boasting about the great work that God was doing in them. If they should now fail to complete the collection by the time the three brothers arrived, it will be a demonstration that the power of God has not been flowing through Corinth and Achaia as Paul has said. This would be a serious issue for Paul who believed that actions were the visible sign of God’s transforming power in one’s life. Not only would their failure to have the collection ready for the brothers be a sign of the lack of God’s grace, but it would also be a damaging blow to the reliability of Paul’s word, which had already been under a bit of fire in Corinth.
In verse 4, Paul switches ahead to his own impending trip to Corinth. He wants them to avoid the embarrassment, both for himself and for them, of having the Macedonians come and see that they have waned in their commitment and discipline. If that were to happen, it would be a clear sign that Paul’s boasting in them was unfounded, meaning that Paul’s apostleship would be called into question, as well a poor demonstration of where their faith was at. Paul knows that any Christian or Christian community can start a wonderful project or new routine but it takes someone firmly rooted in the sustaining power of Christ to continue in that project or routine until it is completed.
Now the real motivation for Paul is clearly stated. There is no question in Paul’s mind that the collection will be completed. What he wants, however, is that they finish on time in a genuine display of the heart rather than Paul having to come and wrench it out of them. This, perhaps, provides two surprising nuggets for those of us in the 21st century. The first thing is the absolute authority Paul expresses in declaring and carrying out a collection, that by his own admission, was not a command from the Lord. This leads us to believe that church leaders had a great deal more authority than would make most of us comfortable in our time. The second surprise is that Paul has urged, cajoled, and pleaded with them to complete this collection on time, and yet still feels that if they do so, it will be a sign that they have done so out of their own freedom and generosity. We tend to think that something done generously from the heart is only so if we are never asked or even reminded. Yet, this does not seem to be the case for Paul. Paul knows that situations happen and people can drift in their commitments, but God can still work. As long as they complete the task on time, the difficulties along the way are not at all a sign that God has not been working in their hearts. For Paul, one could obey their leaders and it was still seen as a sign of God’s grace rather than them just being pushed around by his orders. This is a surprising lesson for us, but perhaps one that we need to learn.
Devotional Thought
If someone were to look for signs of God’s grace flowing through your life, what would they find? Would they find a life of power, love, and discipline, or a life of timidity, fear, and half-finished projects? What can you learn from Paul’s gentle reminders to the Corinthians about your own needs in helping you to be more consistent?
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