The extraordinary liberality of the Macedonians, vs. 1–6. Exhortation to the Corinthians to follow the example of their Macedonian brethren, vs. 7–16. Commendation of Titus for his zeal in promoting the collection of contributions for the poor, and of the other brethren who were to accompany him to Corinth, vs. 17–24.
Exhortation to liberality to the poor
TO this subject the apostle devotes this and the following chapter. He begins by setting before the Corinthians the liberality of the churches in Macedonia. They, in the midst of great affliction and of extreme poverty, had exceeded their ability in the contributions which they had made for the saints, vs. 1–3. And this not by constraint or in obedience to earnest entreaties on the part of the apostle; but on the contrary, it was they who besought him to receive and take charge of their alms, v. 4. Liberality to the poor was only a part of what they did; they devoted themselves to the Lord, v. 5. The conduct of the Macedonians led the apostle to exhort Titus, as he had already begun the work, to carry it on to completion in Corinth, v. 6.
He begs them, therefore, to add this to all their other graces, v. 7. This was a matter of advice, not of command. He was induced to give this exhortation because others had evinced so much zeal in this matter, and because he desired them to prove the sincerity of their love. What was all they could do for others, compared to what Christ had done for them, vs. 8–9. The exercise of liberality was a good to them, provided their feelings found expression in corresponding acts, vs. 10–11. The disposition, not the amount of their contributions, was the main thing, v. 12. What the apostle wished was that there might be some approximation to equality among Christians, that the abundance of one may supply the wants of another, vs. 13–15.
He thanks God who had inspired Titus with so much zeal on this subject, vs. 16–17. With him he had sent a brother who had not only the approbation of the churches, but had been chosen for the very purpose of taking charge of the contributions in connection with the apostle, vs. 18–19. Paul was determined to avoid all occasion of reproach, and therefore he associated others with himself in the charge of the money intrusted to him, vs. 20–21. With those already mentioned he sent another brother of approved character and great zeal, v. 22. Therefore if any one inquired who Titus was, they might answer, He was Paul’s companion and fellow-labourer; or who those brethren were, they might say, They were the messengers of the churches, and the glory of Christ. Let the church therefore prove their love and justify his boasting of them, vs. 23–24.
- Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia.
Moreover (δέ) marks the transition to a new subject. We do you to wit, (γνωρίζομεν,) ‘we cause you to know.’ The word to wit, (Anglo-Saxon, Witan; German, Wissen,) to know, and the cognate words, Wis and Wot, are nearly obsolete, although they occur frequently in our version. The grace of God, the divine favour. The liberality of the Corinthians was due to the operation of the grace of God. The sacred writers constantly recognize the fact that the freest and most spontaneous acts of men, their inward states and the outward manifestations of those states, when good, are due to the secret influence of the Spirit of God, which eludes our consciousness. The believer is most truly self-determined, when determined by the grace of God. Bestowed on, (δεδομένην ἐν,) “given in,” i.e. given so that it is in. See 1:22. “Given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” In v. 16 of this chapter, διδόντι ἐν is rendered “put into.” The churches of Macedonia. Under the Romans Macedonia included the whole of the northern provinces of Greece. The churches of that region founded by the apostle were those of Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berœa. Of the extraordinary liberality of those churches the epistles of Paul furnish numerous intimations. 11:9; Phil. 2:25, 4:15, 18.
- How that, in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy, and their deep poverty, abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
A somewhat condensed sentence, meaning, as some say, that in the midst of their afflictions their joy, and in the midst of their poverty, their liberality abounded. But this brings into view two graces, joy in affliction, and liberality in poverty, whereas the context calls for only one. The meaning rather is, that notwithstanding their afflictions, their joy and their poverty abounded to their liberality. This the grammatical structure of the passage requires. How that (ὅτι); the connection is with the verb in the preceding verse, ‘I cause you to know that, &c.’ In a great trial of affliction, i.e. in afflictions which were a great trial (δοκιμή), i.e. a test of their sincerity and devotion. These afflictions were either those which they shared in common with their fellow-citizens, arising out of their social condition, or they were peculiar to them as Christians, arising from persecution. In writing to the Thessalonians, Paul reminds them that they had received the word in much affliction. 1:6, 2:14. Comp. Acts 16:20, 17:5. The abundance of their joy; i.e. the joy arising from the pardon of their sins and the favour of God, which in 1 Thess. 1:6, he calls the joy of the Holy Ghost, was abundant. That is, it rose above their sorrows, and produced in them the effect of which he afterwards speaks. And their deep poverty, (ἡ κατὰ βάθους πτωχεία,) their abject poverty, or poverty down to the depth. Abounded unto, i.e. manifested itself as abundant in relation to. The same verb (ἐπερίσσευσεν) belongs to both the preceding nouns, “joy” and “poverty,” but in a somewhat different sense. Their joy abounded unto their liberality, because it produced it. The effect proved the joy to be abundant. Their poverty abounded unto their liberality, because it was seen to be great in relation to it. Their liberality made their poverty, by contrast, appear the greater. Unto the riches, (πλοῦτος,) a favourite word with Paul, which he often uses in the sense of abundance. Rom. 2:4, “Riches of his goodness,” for abundant goodness. Eph. 1:7, “Riches of his grace,” for his abundant grace; 1:18, “Riches of his glory,” for abundant glory, &c. Of their liberality, ἁπλότης, which is properly the opposite of duplicity, or double-mindedness, and, therefore, singleness of heart, simplicity, sincerity. Eph. 6:5; Col. 3:22. The Scriptures, however, often use a generic term for a specific one, as glory for wisdom, or mercy, or power, which are different forms of the divine glory. So here the general term for right-mindedness is put for liberality, which is a specific form or manifestation of the generic virtue. Comp. 9:11; Rom. 12:8. In reference to the poverty of the Macedonian churches, Mr. Stanley, in his Commentary on this Epistle, appropriately quotes a passage from Dr. Arnold’s Roman Commonwealth, in which he says, “The condition of Greece in the time of Augustus was one of desolation and distress. It had suffered severely by being the seat of the successive civil wars between Cæsar and Pompey between the Triumvirs and Brutus and Cassius, and lastly, between Augustus and Antonius. Besides, the country had never recovered from the long series of miseries which had succeeded and accompanied its conquest by the Romans; and between those times and the civil contest between Pompey and Cæsar, it had been again exposed to all the evils of war when Sylla was disputing the possession of it with the general of Mithridates.… The provinces of Macedonia and Achaia, when they petitioned for a diminution of their burdens, in the reign of Tiberius, were considered so deserving of compassion that they were transferred for a time from the jurisdiction of the Senate to that of the Emperor, (as involving less heavy taxation.)”