1 Corinthians 16:1-4

Collection for the Poor Saints at Jerusalem, 1-4.

The occasion of this “collection” was the “great dearth” which a Christian prophet who came from Jerusalem to Antioch predicted would come upon the Empire, and which came to pass in the reign of Claudius. It fell, as we know, with great severity upon Jerusalem; and the poor Christians there, who perhaps were now suffering from the warmth of their generosity in early Pentecostal days, would feel it keenly. In prospect of the coming calamity, the converts of the Gentile Church of Antioch at once determined to make a collection for their Jewish brethren at the headquarters of the faith, requesting Barnabas and Saul to deliver it to the elders at Jerusalem (Acts 11:27-30). The great mind of our apostle, intent upon soothing the prejudices of his Jewish brethren against the uncircumcised Gentile converts, seems to have resolved on utilizing the idea of the Antioch Christians, by organizing a general collection from the other Gentile Churches for the relief of the poor Christians of Jerusalem; and the Epistles to the Romans, Corinthians, and Galatians are so full of this subject as to shew that he must have thrown his heart into it. He appears to have broached the proposal first at Corinth, where it was taken up with great zeal (2 Corinthians 9:1-2; 2 Corinthians 8:10). Encouraged by this, he laid the proposal next before “the Churches of Macedonia” at Philippi, at Thessalonica, and smaller bodies of Christians scattered over that region (Romans 15:26; 2 Corinthians 8:1-2; 2 Corinthians 9:1-2), then before “the Churches of Galatia” (1 Corinthians 16:1), with probably other bodies of Gentile converts. From the abrupt way in which the subject is here introduced for the first time, it seems plain that this was one of the topics on which the Corinthians had written to him for direction; and as his instructions are very explicit, and have an important bearing on Christian beneficence in general, we give it a distinct place as a supplementary Topic.

1 Corinthians 16:1. Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I gave order to the churches of Galatia, so also do ye. The great object in view over and above the temporal relief which this collection would give being to soften the prejudices of the Jewish converts against their Gentile brethren, the practical mind of the apostle sought to plan some way of having it all conveyed to Jerusalem at the same time; a thing of some difficulty, from the distance of the churches from each other. The plan fixed on was first given, it appears, as an “order to the churches of Galatia,” and no plan better fitted for the purpose could have been devised.

1 Corinthians 16:2. Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper (Gr, ‘whatever he may succeed in'), that no collections be made when I come. Note here (1) that it is not a weekly offering at their meetings for public worship, but that each one at his own home should lay by his own weekly contribution, to be handed in only at the last as one entire gift. The weekly offering at the church meetings was a subsequent modification of this, which soon became universal. (2) No definite sum is named as either of Divine appointment or even as expedient; but each one was to judge for himself what he ought to give “as he might prosper.” Had the tithe principle been recognised as obligatory, as some allege, could the apostle have so written? (3) The principle here laid down for the churches to act on of a fund to be collected for some specific object, and to be made up of successive periodical accumulations recommends itself at once to all Christians as full of wisdom. It is the principle, in fact, of ‘Systematic Beneficence,' as it is now called. When urgent calls are made, the necessary funds might not be in hand; whereas when a fund has been gradually accumulating, even by very small periodical additions, it can be drawn upon, on an emergency, to an extent otherwise impracticable; and in then and thus giving it, one feels something of that satisfaction of which the apostle says, “The Lord loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). (4) This weekly contribution was to be reserved for “the Lord's Day.” This renders it certain, by the way, that that day was already regarded by all Christians as a sacred day, and, as such, the proper day (as we find from Acts 20:7) for public worship. In this view, their laying by their weekly sum on that day would both stamp the contribution with a sacred character and hallow and stimulate the generous principle itself. And surely nothing could tend more to swell the receipts of the churches for all Christian and benevolent objects, as well as to stimulate and strengthen the principle of Christian giving, than just to have this practice of systematic beneficence carried into general effect, and especially if the mode adopted were that here “ordered” of making the offering of each one to be weekly, and “on the first day of the week.”

1 Corinthians 16:3. And when I arrive, whomsoever ye shall approve by letters, them will I send to bring your bounty unto Jerusalem. The apostle, with a high-minded delicacy, leaves it to the Corinthians to make choice themselves of the bearers of their bounty to Jerusalem, and says he will give them “letters” to the proper authorities at Jerusalem, to be delivered along with their contributions. (Our Authorised Version, by inserting “ your” before “letters,” makes the meaning to be that the Corinthians were to write letters to the apostle himself; therein wrongly following Calvin, Beza, etc.)

1 Corinthians 16:4. and if it be meet that I go also, they shall go with me: ‘If this shall prove a fitting occasion for me to carry out my purpose to go again to Jerusalem (as intimated in Acts 19:21; Acts 20:3), I will take your delegates along with me.' But as this was not yet definitely fixed, he now proceeds to tell them his present views as to his movements for the future.