2 Corinthians 8:24

Wherefore show ye to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf.

Having named the motives which should incite the Corinthians to take up the matter of the collection with all speed and energy, Paul now gives evidence of his practical sense and carefulness, especially in the matter of avoiding evil impressions, the very appearance of practices that are not altogether frank and honest. To this end he here sends a formal commendation of Titus: But thanks be to God, who gave the same zeal on your behalf into the heart of Titus! For not only did he accept our appeal (v., but being himself all the more zealous, he has gone of his own accord unto you. Paul here speaks after the manner of writing letters in those days, according to which the writer always placed himself in the position of the person that received the letter, this fact governing also the tenses which he employed. He here records his thanks to God for giving to Titus the same earnest care in their behalf as Paul himself felt. This was proved by the fact that Titus had acceded to the wish of Paul to return to Corinth without the slightest hesitation. Without further solicitation, of his own free will, he was making the trip and bearing also this letter. This fact alone should have been sufficient to dispose the Corinthians in favor of Titus.

But Paul includes credentials also for the companions of Titus. Of the first one he says that he has sent with Titus the brother who was well known to them, a man whose praise in the Gospel was spread throughout all the congregations. He was thus a man who had the very best reputation as a hard worker in the interest of the Word of God, of whom all the Christians thought very highly. The identity of this brother is not known, although Luke and Trophimus have been named. This man was not only well spoken of in all the churches, a fact which would have recommended him for kind acceptance with the Corinthians, but the Macedonian churches had placed so much confidence in him that they had formally chosen him to accompany the apostle on his journey to Jerusalem. It was Paul's intention, in case the collection was worthwhile, to make the journey to Jerusalem in the company of the bearers of the money, 1 Corinthians 16:3. This man, as the representative of the Macedonian churches to bring their gift to the poor brethren in Jerusalem, was coming with Titus. And of the offering which had been contributed Paul says: Which is being ministered by us to the glory of the Lord and as an evidence of our willingness. So conscientious was Paul in the matter of giving all glory to God that he makes mention of this end of the good work first. But while the contribution which was being gathered served primarily for the glory of the Lord, it incidentally proved the readiness of Paul, who now found himself strengthened in the carrying out of his undertaking by the lively interest which was being shown in the congregations. He was relieved of a great burden of care and felt confident that the whole business would now be the more easily accomplished.

At the same time, Paul used every precaution against false suspicion: Avoiding this, making provision for this contingency, that any man should blame us, cast slurs upon us, in the matter of this bountiful collection which is being taken care of by us; for we provide things honest not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. By having the congregations elect trusted fellow-members to accompany him on his journey and to have charge of the collected moneys with him, all danger of scurrilous charges as to his honesty and as to the proper disposal of the money was removed. The apostle felt the wisdom of this precautionary measure all the more because the collection promised to be very abundant. He knew, of course, that in the sight of God he was clean of any wrong-doing, that he was not prompted by a false ambition, that he was not acting in an autocratic manner, that the idea of appropriating so much as a cent of the money was far from his mind. But he knew also that evil tongues could easily hurt his work and harm the cause of the Gospel by spreading suspicions which could not be disproved except by his unsupported word. For this reason he preferred to have these witnesses with him. This prudence is to he commended very highly to all congregations, especially in business and financial matters. The appointment of finance and auditing committees is not a reflection upon the honesty of either the treasurer or the financial secretary, but is a wise policy, which keeps these men above reproach and suspicion if the work is done in a proper Christian spirit.

Of a second man who was coming to Corinth as a companion of Titus, Paul says that he is a brother whose worth had been tested in many instances, that he had proved himself to be filled with the same zeal as Paul himself, and now all the more so, in an even higher degree, on account of the great confidence which he had in the Corinthians. This man must have been familiar with the situation in Corinth, either from a personal visit, or on account of the very complete reports which he had heard from Paul and Titus. It may have been Tychicus; at any rate, he was an envoy of the contributing congregations. So far as Titus, finally, was concerned, in case anyone should desire to know his official relation to Paul, he is here told that Titus is a colleague and fellow-worker of the apostle, his personal representative to the Corinthian congregation; for him the apostle personally took the responsibility. And of all three brethren he states that they are the envoys of the congregations, that they were duly elected to represent their entire congregation, in each case. They are thus the glory of Christ, their work was done in the direct service of the Lord and redounded immediately to His honor. Paul concludes with the admonition that the Corinthian Christians should give evidence of their love, not only to Paul, but to all the brethren, and support him in his glorying in their behalf, by giving these men a demonstration of their love before all the congregations. In the same way, brethren that come to a Christian congregation from a sister church with the proper credentials should be shown every consideration of love and brotherly kindness, since the glory of Christ, the Lord of the Church, is thereby enhanced.

Summary

Paul tactfully appeals to the Corinthians to begin active work on the collection by urging the example of the Macedonian churches, the love shown them by Christ, and the principle of equality; he includes a recommendation of Titus and his companions.