avoiding this, that any one should blame us in this abundance [which is] administered by us;
Paul is gathering a large gift from many assemblies for poor believers in Jerusalem. In this verse he explains why he will not carry it alone: the question is not whether he is honest, but what people could say.
Paul never speaks of this collection as plain money. One writer lists the names he gives it.
He uses a great variety of expressions for the gift for Jerusalem, and so brings out its value in the sight of God: ministry of the saints (8:4; 9:1); "this grace" (8:6, 7, 19); for the glory of the Lord (8:19); a rich gift (8:20); "the proof of your love" (8:24).
Money attracts accusation, and Paul knows it. One writer sets his caution beside the damage money has done to the church since.
There is always danger of reproach in these matters... The apostle knew the enemy's schemes, so he guarded against suspicion and malicious hints. See what damage the love of money — covetousness, which is idolatry — has done in the professing church, and what offence it has given to unbelievers.
Paul had every reason to say his record spoke for itself. Instead, his standing made him more careful.
It was not enough for him here that God would know all, so that he might leave it to Him to justify him in His own time and way. If there was any way to prevent even suspicion, he would use it. Not using it might itself become a cause of suspicion... He did not build on his apostleship, or on the clear blessing God had given his work. He never thought himself above the need to clear his name by the same precautions anyone would expect from any other man.
Does such care show a lack of trust in God? One writer says the opposite.
Here is the moral reason for the caution. It is not lack of faith, but faith working by love, which would cut off occasion from men, as well as walk with a pure conscience before God. Paul's words about providing things honourable before the Lord and before men allude to Proverbs 3:4 in the Greek version of the Old Testament.
The practical answer was a team. Paul sent Titus with two others, and the arrangement protected the men as much as the money.
Paul clearly had full confidence in Titus. Even so, he arranged for two other brothers to travel with him, to protect Titus and his reputation (8:18, 22). That way at least two witnesses would confirm everything (verses 20-21). He valued his fellow worker Titus (verse 23), and he did not want any shadow of suspicion to fall on him.
Paul did not appoint the escorts himself. The assemblies that raised the money chose the men who would carry it.
Here we see an important principle, exactly in line with what the twelve apostles directed in Acts 6. The whole body of Christians gave the money, so the apostles left them free to choose those who would handle it. This was as wise as it was gracious. They kept clear of any appearance of favouritism. They stayed with their own work and with prayer, the condition of power... Where the saints gave, they chose. They used their best judgment for the right use of their gifts, whether in one assembly or for the special work of many assemblies.
This care was never meant to stop with Paul. One writer turns it into a test of honesty.
Indeed, the more honest a man is, the more he should want others to examine his actions. So too, anyone trusted to handle money in an assembly should make sure that others check the amounts and the use of any funds.
- The danger. Money in religious hands always draws reproach. The enemy is quick to turn it into suspicion.
- The refusal. Paul would not lean on his apostleship or his record. If a precaution could remove suspicion, he took it.
- The motive. His care was not weak faith. It was faith working by love, cutting off occasion from men and keeping a clear conscience before God.
- The method. Three men travelled together, so at least two witnesses confirmed everything.
- The result. Those who give choose who handles the gift. The honest man welcomes the check.
for we provide for things honest, not only before [the] Lord, but also before men.
Paul was carrying a large gift from the churches to poor believers in Jerusalem, and he refused to handle it alone. Why take such care, if God already knew he was honest?
That care could look like a failure to trust God with his own good name. One writer reads it the other way round, and traces the wording back to Proverbs.
The moral reason for the caution follows in verse 20: Paul guards against anyone blaming him over the large gift that he and others are handling. It is not a lack of faith, but faith working by love, that would cut off any occasion for blame from men, and would also walk with a pure conscience before God. The allusion is to Proverbs 3:4 in the Greek Old Testament.
"Aim at what is honorable" is not a vague call to be good. It describes planning ahead so that the arrangement itself looks right.
Our God is above all a God of order. He delights to see His people careful in all their ways, and especially with money… In Darby's translation there is a footnote to the word "provide": "taking care by forethought that there should be what is proper and fitting."
One writer clears away a common misreading of these words, then sets them against a familiar excuse.
Paul is not telling us to provide for ourselves or our families in an honest way. He means acting in a way that wins the confidence and good opinion of everyone… That openness of character and conduct in providing what is good and proper seems to be the true sense of this clause. It lifts the Christian far above any idea of suspicion. We may have heard Christians say, when challenged about something that looked crooked, "Well, my own conscience is clear on that point, and I don't care what anyone else thinks of me." But that spirit is the exact opposite of this command, which means, "above suspicion before all men."
Paul had every reason to consider himself above questioning. He refused to use that standing as a shortcut.
It was not enough for him that God knew it all, so that he could leave it to Him to clear his name in His own time and way. Where he could take steps to prevent even suspicion, he took them — and not taking them might itself have caused suspicion… He does not build on his apostleship, or on the clear blessing God had given his work, as if that put him beyond the need to clear himself. He takes the same precautions that would be thought necessary for any other man.
Paul was not being over-careful. He knew who watches how Christians handle money.
The apostle knew the enemy's schemes, and so he guards carefully against suspicion and sly accusations. Sadly, the love of money and greed — which is idolatry — have done great damage in the professing church, and have given unbelievers real cause for offence.
The travelling companions were not a hint that Paul suspected anyone. They shielded the reputation of the man he trusted most.
There is no doubt that Paul had full confidence in Titus. Even so, he arranged for two other brothers to travel with him, to protect Titus and his reputation (8:18, 22). That way at least two witnesses confirmed everything. He valued his fellow-worker Titus, and he did not want any shadow of suspicion cast on him.
One writer turns the usual instinct around.
Indeed, the more honest a man is, the more he should want others to examine his actions closely. So too, anyone trusted to handle money in a church should make sure that others check the amounts and the use of the funds closely.
Another writer says the first move belongs to the person holding the money.
They should be careful to give an account of their stewardship, and not wait until someone asks for it.
- Two sights. A pure conscience before the Lord is the starting point, not the finish line. The verse adds the sight of men.
- Forethought. Plan honesty in advance. Arrange things so they look proper and fitting, instead of defending them later.
- Above suspicion. "I know my own heart, and I don't care what others think" is the exact attitude this command overturns.
- Precautions. Paul would not rest on his standing or his record. Where a step could prevent suspicion, he took it — and it guarded Titus's name as well as his own.
- Accounts. The more trustworthy you are, the more you welcome others checking the books — and you give the account before anyone asks.
And we have sent with them our brother whom we have often proved to be of diligent zeal in many things, and now more diligently zealous through the great confidence [he has] as to you.
Paul has already named Titus and sent with him an unnamed brother known as a gifted evangelist; now he adds a third man, again with no name. The only credentials he gives are proven earnestness and a confidence in the Corinthians that makes this man keener still.
We are not told who this man is. One commentator points to the two things that fitted him for the work.
The next verse, and the one after it, show that the apostle added another brother. It is even less possible for us to decide who this second brother is, because we do not have as many marks as were attached to the first. But two things fitted him for the work. The apostle knew from experience that his zeal had been proved, often and in varied ways. And his own zeal is now unusually warm, because of his — hardly Paul's — great confidence in the Corinthian saints.
His name never appears. One writer says what we should notice instead, and why Paul speaks up for him so warmly.
Another trusted fellow worker is pointed out here, but not named. If for a moment we feel like regretting the loss of something that could not fail to interest us, let us remember again that what calls for our attention and imitation is not the individual, but the grace and godly zeal that mark his character. Unlike his companion in verse 18, the credit of this second messenger rested at that time on Paul's word alone. That is why Paul commends him to their love so pointedly and warmly, out of his own experience of the man's worth.
Paul says the man was proved, and proved again. Scripture puts the same test on deacons, the church's servants, before they serve. One commentator explains why.
Even here there was to be care in bringing deacons into their duties step by step: "And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless." Proving them first might bring out their unfitness for the work. There are many believers who cannot bear a little brief authority. What raises such people outwardly soon exposes them to moral decline. To walk blamelessly in the smallest of these new duties was no small evidence of fitness to serve in all of them.
This brother may have had no preaching gift, and he was no apostolic delegate. That did not make his errand a small one.
Paul had urged Titus to take up this service, and Titus for his part did so willingly and promptly. He did not count a service of this kind beneath him. Neither did the unnamed brother who was a gifted evangelist. Nor did the second unnamed brother of verse 22. He was a man of diligent zeal in many things, though perhaps not a man of gift in the gospel, and not an apostolic delegate like Titus. All three saw that carrying and handling these funds was no small service. The money was given as an expression of divine love working in the hearts of the saints.
Sending a second and third man was a safeguard — and not only for Paul.
There can be no doubt that Paul had full confidence in Titus. Even so, he arranged for two other brothers to travel with him, to protect Titus and his reputation (8:18, 22). In this way everything was done with at least two witnesses to confirm it (vv. 20–21). He valued his fellow worker Titus (v. 23), and he did not want any shadow of suspicion cast on him.
The churches chose the men who travelled with Titus. One writer traces that same pattern elsewhere in Scripture.
It is worth noting where we find the church choosing the men to be employed. It is only in connection with the fair distribution of money or other benefits. In Acts 6 the church chose the seven men of good report who were to hand out the daily ration properly. In Acts 11 the disciples at Antioch sent the relief they had collected for the believers in Judea by men of their own choice. In our passage again the men who act were chosen by the churches. So the principle clearly has divine sanction: those who give are the ones to decide who shall handle the gifts.
- Tested. His first credential is a record Paul had checked himself: often tested, and found earnest in many matters, not once.
- Trusted. Proving exposes unfitness early. Faithfulness in the smallest duty is real evidence of fitness for all.
- Trusting. His extra eagerness comes from his own confidence in the Corinthians. One commentator reads the phrase as his confidence, not Paul's.
- Teamed. Two companions travelled with Titus. At least two witnesses stood behind the money, and Titus's name stayed clear.
- Timeless. Scripture drops his name and keeps his character, so what lasts for us to copy is the zeal, not the man.
Whether as regards Titus, [he is] my companion and fellow-labourer in your behalf; or our brethren, [they are] deputed messengers of assemblies, Christ's glory.
Paul has just named the three men who will carry the Corinthians' gift to the poor believers in Jerusalem. Now he vouches for them: one is his own partner, two are sent by the churches, and all of them are called the glory of Christ.
The gift will travel from one church to another, and Paul will not let its handling become a weak point.
In the rest of the chapter the apostle dwells on the care taken over the handling of the gift. It was to be more than beyond suspicion. The known character of the men entrusted with it also clothed it with dignity and godly confidence. It is not enough for the end to be divine. The means must also commend themselves to every true conscience. If money tends to be dirty, if covetousness is idolatry, if the love of money is a root of all evil — even so, the Spirit of God knows how to bring Christ into every detail. He turns both the way and the end into blessing for God's glory.
Titus is more than an errand-runner. He stands in Paul's place toward this church, so his coming counts as Paul's own coming.
He could count Titus's coming as a real visit from himself, and speak of it that way. Titus was not only his messenger, but his true and faithful representative — his "partner and fellow worker" for their benefit.
The other two men carry a different commission. The churches picked them, and Paul wanted it that way.
This is the meaning of the phrase "messengers of churches." The assemblies that sent help to the poor saints elsewhere chose these men. The apostle would not take charge of the collection on any other terms.
Kelly points out what the apostles gained by standing back from the money.
The Christian community gave the money, so they were free to choose who handled it. This was as wise as it was gracious. The apostles kept clear of any appearance of favouritism. They held to their own work with prayer, which is the condition of power.
The Greek word behind "messengers" is the same word translated "apostles" elsewhere, and Kelly warns against blurring the two, however high the honour these men are given.
These brothers are beautifully and graciously called "Christ's glory," because they were active in displaying His excellence. Yet they were appointed envoys of certain churches, which had entrusted them with their contributions for Judea… To translate the word here, or in Philippians 2, as "apostles" can only come from carelessness, or something worse. It is the wish to lower the apostles of Christ by raising the messengers of churches to their level. The source of the commission is the measure of their difference.
Commentators read the last phrase in two ways. The first points to the men themselves: they show what Christ can achieve in a person.
The architect draws his plans and raises a magnificent building. It is his glory… Here were men devoted to the service of Christ. They cared nothing for their own lives. They served Christ among His people at great inconvenience and hardship, because they loved Him and loved them for His sake. They were serving Him lovingly and devotedly instead of seeking greatness for themselves. So the Spirit of God says they were Christ's glory. That is what He can achieve in men… Think of it: this is within your reach. You may be unknown and hardly noticed by others, yet if the fragrance of Christ fills your life and ways, heaven looks down on Christ's glory.
A second reading keeps the phrase tied to their errand: they carried more than the churches' name.
The two brothers had been chosen as the messengers of the assemblies, and so had their approval. It was true that they represented the assemblies. Yet above this, they felt they were representing Christ in such a serious task entrusted to them.
- Suspicion — Paul arranges it all so no one can question how the gift is handled. A good end does not excuse careless means.
- Partner — Titus comes as Paul's true representative, not just his courier. To receive him is to receive Paul.
- Chosen — the churches picked the other two. Those who give the money choose who carries it.
- Sent — "messengers" is not "apostles." What sets them apart is who sent them.
- Glory — the errand ends in Christ. Men who serve His people instead of seeking greatness are called His glory.