For I know your readiness, which I boast of as respects you to Macedonians, that Achaia is prepared since a year ago, and the zeal [reported] of you has stimulated the mass [of the brethren].
Paul is writing about a collection for poor believers. He tells the Corinthians they need no letter from him on this. Yet the eagerness he praises in public was already a year old, and still nothing had been sent.
Paul does not open with pressure. He credits them with a love he believes is already there. The duty itself came from God's own teaching.
His tact here is just as striking and instructive. He gives the believers in Corinth full credit for the same love that overflowed his own heart: "it is superfluous for me to write to you." God Himself had taught them this. Why then did he write at such length? Not because he did not know their ready mind. And not because they had failed to give him ground to boast in what God had worked in them.
Another writer sees praise itself as the method here. Paul revives their generosity by holding up to them what they used to be.
He mixes praise with words of counsel. That is the surest way to rekindle the generous zeal of his readers: he reminds them of its earlier, spontaneous efforts. It is unnecessary for him to write to them about ministering to God's people. Why should he? Teaching them that duty was no part of his responsibility; God had already put it in their hearts. He will only remind them of their former selves.
Achaia here means the Corinthians themselves. Their good intention had gone a whole year without action.
Nothing is more deeply rooted in man's fallen nature than selfishness. That is what lay behind the sluggish action of the Corinthians. When this collection for the poor believers first came up, they gladly agreed to give. The apostle could speak of "your readiness," so he boasted of them to others, "that Achaia has been ready since last year." The willingness was there in mind and word. But the action was delayed, and so far nothing had come of it. They were ready to will it, yet they did not readily do it out of what they had. What could stir their sluggish hearts — or ours — so effectively as a fresh sense of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ?
Their early eagerness did not stay in Corinth. It reached other believers, whose own giving now shines back on the ones who first sparked it.
In the early, bright morning of their love, they had shown an eagerness in this good work. It cheered his heart. It also stirred most of those who have since been so active in it to their present generosity. Now the fresher zeal of those givers reflects back on Corinth its own light and warmth.
Paul praised the believers in Macedonia to Corinth, and the Corinthians to Macedonia. Is that a fair way to move people to give?
Some of us might think it wrong to recite the devotedness of others in order to stir up sluggish believers. It can look like an appeal to low motives, and not a worthy thing to do. Here, however, we find the Spirit inspiring the Apostle to do this very thing. So we never need be afraid of telling how the grace of God has worked in others. Such accounts show us the grace of God as something real and practical. They also convict us of our own shortcomings. Both results are worth having.
The word behind "stirred up" is worth weighing. It appears in only one other place in the New Testament, where it carries a warning.
The word for stir up (or, provoke) is found also in 2 Cor. 9:2; not elsewhere in the New Testament. God our Father is the God of all Encouragement, and we are not to do anything that will dishearten or discourage our children.
Paul had praised them in public. If they now fell short, the shame would fall on everyone.
How painful it would be for him, and for them too, if believers came from Macedonia and found a shortfall here! These were the very people whose reported zeal had done so much to kindle their own. What shame on all sides if this confidence in the Corinthians should prove unfounded!
- Readiness — Paul knew their willing mind. He said no letter was needed, because God had already put the duty in their hearts.
- Report — that readiness became his boast to Macedonia. Telling one group how God's grace worked in another is something the Spirit Himself inspired.
- Ripple — their zeal stirred most of the others. The warmth of those fresher givers now reflects back on Corinth.
- Risk — a year of willingness with no action left his boasting exposed. If visitors found nothing prepared, everyone would be ashamed.
- Remedy — the cure for a sluggish heart is not shame but a fresh sense of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
But I have sent the brethren, in order that our boasting about you may not be made void in this respect, in order that, as I have said, ye may be prepared;
Paul had told the believers in Macedonia that Corinth was ready to give. Now he sends men ahead to make sure that claim holds up.
Two things moved Paul to act: his care for the Corinthians and the Lord's honour among them.
So he was zealous for them and for the Lord's honour in them, and he wanted love to flow happily in every way. He speaks of sending the brothers mentioned at the close of the previous chapter. They were to guard his boast on their behalf against mishap on this point. He wanted them prepared beyond any danger of disappointment. He would do all he could to secure this. How painful it would be for him, and for them too, if men came from Macedonia and found a shortfall! And this in the very people whose reported zeal had done so much to kindle their own.
Paul's public praise had tied his own good name to what they did next.
The previous chapter held one touching reminder (2 Cor. 8:9). After that, nothing could appeal more strongly to the hearts of these Corinthians than this: Paul had tied his own credit among the churches completely to theirs. He had committed himself by making this confident claim about them. So he placed his truthfulness and honour in their hands. Could they show themselves unworthy of such trust?
And the next verse shows that Paul is not the only one exposed:
Suppose some from Macedonia came with Paul and found the Corinthians unprepared to supply what they had promised. Paul himself would be ashamed — and how much more should they be!
"That you may be ready" points at a gap the Corinthians had let open.
The Corinthians had been quite ready to consider making this collection. They had willingly taken up the idea a whole year earlier. Yet they had still not finished it and given the money. What would bring them to the point? What, except a fresh sense of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ?
He sent men in advance to keep the gift free of pressure.
He told them that "each one must give as he has decided in his heart." He also took the precaution of sending certain brothers ahead of his own coming, to collect what they intended to give. The gift was to be ready as a blessing, and not as something got out of them. He did not want their giving to happen under pressure, either in appearance or in fact. He had no desire to squeeze out unwilling gifts. Nor did he want to stir them into a generosity beyond the faith and grace they had, which they might later regret.
Another writer names the men sent and the dangers Paul was guarding against:
He did not wish, as we know from 1 Corinthians 16, that there should be collections when he came himself. He would guard against haste on one side, personal influence on the other, and malicious hints as well. But his love for them, and his desire for the Lord's glory in the matter, made him urge Titus and his two companions to go on ahead to Corinth and complete their promised blessing before he arrived.
Paul lets one group of believers hear how another has given. Some might question whether that is a worthy way to stir people up.
Some of us might think that telling how devoted others have been, to stir up sluggish believers, is an appeal to low motives. It would not be a worthy thing to do. Here, however, we find the Spirit inspiring the Apostle to do this very thing. So we never need be afraid of telling how the grace of God has worked in others. Such accounts show us the grace of God as something real and practical. They also convict us of our own shortcomings. Both results are very desirable.
- Boast — Paul had praised Corinth's readiness to others, so his truthfulness and honour lay in their hands.
- Gap — They took up the collection a year earlier and never finished it. Willingness had not yet become giving.
- Send — He did not leave the gap to chance. He sent men ahead, wanting them ready beyond any danger of disappointment.
- Free — The early visit kept the gift a blessing, not something squeezed out under pressure.
- Spread — Their zeal had kindled others. Reports of grace in one place are meant to stir and convict another.
lest haply, if Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, *we*, that we say not *ye*, may be put to shame in this confidence.
Paul has praised Corinth to other churches as an example of readiness to give. Now he names his fear: Macedonians may come with him and find nothing ready — so why does an apostle appeal to shame?
One writer sets out the worst case that the brothers Paul sends are meant to prevent.
Paul is sending the brothers so that the zeal of the Corinthians, and the confidence of the apostles in them, might not prove empty. The purpose is that they show themselves ready. Suppose some men from Macedonia came with Paul and found the Corinthians unprepared to supply what they had promised. Paul himself would be ashamed — and how much more should they be!
Paul had spoken well of Corinth to other churches. That praise came at a cost: it tied his own standing to what they did next.
These people led the way in doing good. Do not let them seem to fall below themselves. Only the touching reminder in the previous chapter appeals more strongly to these Corinthians than this: Paul has joined his own credit in the churches completely with theirs. He committed himself when he made this confident claim about them. So he placed his truth and honour in their hands. Could they show themselves unworthy of such trust?
The phrase Paul slips in — to say nothing of you — softens the blow while making the point. One writer says his fear ran mainly the other way.
Towards these Macedonians he had boasted of how generous the Corinthians were. The reputation of the Corinthian believers was at risk — and he feared more for theirs than for his own. These Macedonian brothers might be disappointed, or even stumbled, if the Corinthians lacked the energy and determination to see this matter through. To avoid embarrassing the Corinthians or stumbling the Macedonians, he sent Titus on ahead. Titus could then organise the gift before Paul arrived.
The shame would not stop with Paul.
How painful it would be for him — not to say for them — if brothers came from Macedonia and found these believers falling short! The report of their zeal was the very thing that had kindled Macedonia's own. What shame on all sides if this confidence in the Corinthians should not prove well-founded!
There was a gap between agreeing to give and giving.
When this collection for the poor believers first came up, they were willing to give. The apostle could speak of their readiness of mind, and so he boasted of them to others, saying that Achaia had been ready since last year. Yet the willingness stayed in mind and word. There was delay in action, and so far nothing had come of it. They were ready in desiring it, but they did not match that by completing it out of what they had.
Paul chose not to be there when the money was gathered.
As we know from 1 Corinthians 16, he did not want collections taken while he was there himself. He would guard against haste on the one hand, personal influence on the other, and malicious hints. But his love for them, and his desire for the Lord's glory in the matter, made him urge Titus and his two companions to go on ahead to Corinth and complete their promised blessing before he arrived.
He wanted their gift given freely.
He did not want them to give under pressure, and he did not want it to look that way either. He had no wish to squeeze out unwilling gifts. Nor did he want to stir them into a generosity beyond the faith and grace they had — one they might regret later.
Money is the one subject Paul finds hard to raise.
We now come to what Paul is uneasy about, and that is getting money from them. He would not take any for himself, but he would for others... He circles around the subject, but he thought it better to send someone, in case his boasting proved empty and he was ashamed of it in front of the Macedonians, who were coming with him. Paul the man — the instrument — comes out in all of it.
- Boast — Paul had praised Corinth's readiness to other churches. That praise put his own credit in their hands.
- Risk — If Macedonians came and found nothing ready, the shame would fall on both sides. He names his own shame first, and theirs only by hint.
- Send — He would not press them in person. He sent brothers ahead to guard against haste, his own influence, and malicious hints.
- Ready — A year of willing words had not become action; the gift was to be complete before he arrived.
- Blessing — A gift prepared in advance comes as blessing. One squeezed out under pressure is regretted later.