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8:1-9:15. THE COLLECTION FOR THE POOR CHRISTIANS AT JERUSALEM
This is the second of the main divisions of the Epistle, and it may be divided into five sections, which, however, are made for convenience of study, without any assumption that they were intended by the Apostle. In 8:1-7 he sets forth the Example of Liberality set by the Macedonian congregations; 8:8-15 he points to the Example of Christ and indicates the proportion to be observed in contributing; 8:16-24 he informs the Corinthians that this new Mission to them is to be entrusted to Titus with two others; 9:1-5 he exhorts them to have everything ready when he comes; and 9:6-15 he exhorts them to be liberal, for their own sakes and for the good of the Church.
The subject of this Palestine Relief Fund is mentioned in four places in N.T.; 1Co_16:1-3; these two chapters; Rom_15:26, Rom_15:27; Act_24:17. Paley (Horae Paulinae, ii. 1) has shown how these four passages fit into one another and explain one another, and his arguments well repay study. The fact that St Paul mentions the collection of this fund in three of his four great Epistles, and that in this one he devotes so large a portion of the letter to the subject, is evidence that he took a very keen interest in the matter and was most anxious that the collection should be a success; and there was no place in which it was more important that the collection should be a generous one than at Corinth. The distress at Jerusalem was great; that was an argument that could be urged everywhere. But it was specially fitting that it should be pressed home in Gentile Churches; for seeing that the Gentiles had been admitted to share the spiritual possessions of the Jews, it was not unreasonable that the Jews should be admitted to a share of the worldly possessions of the Gentiles. If this was freely done, the union of Jew and Gentile in Christ would be shown to be a very real and practical thing, and would be made all the more binding in future. “This collection formed the one visible expression of that brotherly unity which otherwise was rooted merely in their common faith” (Harnack, Mission and Expansion, i. p. 183). It was specially desirable that Corinth should come to the front in this matter. Here Judaizing teachers had been at work, claiming to have the sanction of the Mother Church at Jerusalem, and denying that St Paul had any such sanction; they said that he had no authority from the Twelve and was disowned by them. Therefore, if he succeeded in raising a good sum in Corinth for the Jerusalem poor, it would show Christians in Palestine that his authority in Corinth was an influence for good, and show his detractors that he was on good terms with the Mother Church. But perhaps his chief aim was to strengthen the ties which bound Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians together. See notes on 1Co_16:1-4. It is there pointed out that St Paul uses seven different words in speaking of this collection. Excepting λγα which is peculiar to 1Co_16:1, all are found in 2 Cor., viz., χρς(1 and 2 Cor.), κιωί (2 Cor. and Rom.), δαοί, ἁρτς ελγα and λιορί (2 Cor. only). Theodoret notes that φλνρπαis not used in this sense. What is still more remarkable, St Paul does not use ἀγρο, or ἄγρς or χυίν or χυό in this connexion: he seems to avoid the mention of money.
His thus asking the Corinthians to bring to a generous and speedy conclusion the collection which they had begun to make before their recent attitude of rebellion against the Apostle, was of course strong evidence that he regarded the old happy relation between himself and them as being completely restored. He could not easily have given them a more convincing proof of his complete confidence in them. But at the same time there was risk in doing so. After restoring friendly relations with persons who have been cherishing resentment against us, we do not think it politic to begin at once to ask favours or to remind them of their duties; and yet this is just what the Apostle feels bound to do with the Corinthians, to whom he has only just become reconciled. One sees that he feels the difficulty of the situation. He desires to be, and to seem to be, confident of success; confident that his beloved converts will do all that he wishes them to do, and all that they ought to do, in this matter. And yet he does not quite feel this confidence.* It looks as if the Corinthians were not very generous givers in this or in other things (11:8, 9, 12:13; 1Co_9:11, 1Co_9:12, 1Co_9:16:4). No one from Corinth is mentioned Act_20:4. That may be accidental; yet it may mean that what was subscribed at Corinth was so insignificant that it did not require a special delegate, but was entrusted to one of the others. Be this as it may, St Paul evidently feels his way cautiously, weighing his words and careful about his arguments. The thought of the malice of the Judaizing teachers is still in his mind, and he knows that he has to deal with excitable people. No word of his must give a handle to the former or provocation to the latter. It was probably owing to the Judaizing teachers that the collection had hung fire. They would oppose any scheme that St Paul advocated.
There is no good reason for suspecting that these two chapters are part of another letter, different from both the first seven chapters and the last four. They follow the seventh chapter quite naturally, and the change of tone is thoroughly intelligible. The tone is similar to that in the Epistle to Philemon. In both cases he makes a request with diffidence, delicacy, and courtesy, but at the same time with firmness, with the conviction that it ought to be granted, and the hope that it will be. And in both cases the favour which he asks is not a personal one; he will not be the richer, if it is granted. He pleads for others, assuring those who can grant the favour that they themselves will be the better for granting it.
8:1-7. The Example of the Macedonian Churches is Worthy of Imitation
1 Now I should like to justify this expression of the good courage which I feel respecting you all. Let me make known to you, my Brothers, the grace of God which has been and still is being exhibited very remarkably in the Churches of Macedonia. 2 In the midst of an ordeal of affliction which has served to bring out their genuine Christianity, their overflowing happiness, combined with quite desperate poverty, has issued in a rich stream of simpleminded generosity. 3 For I can testify that up to the very limits, yes, and beyond the limits of their very slender means, they have given freely, and this without one word of suggestion from me. 4 So far from my asking them to help, they begged us most urgently to be allowed the privilege of taking part in the work of ministering to the necessities of their fellow-Christians in Jerusalem. 5 I should be misleading you if I were to say that in this they acted just as we expected that they would; one does not expect much from very poor people; they did far more than we expected. It was their own selves that they gave first and foremost to the Lord and also to us, and they made the offering in both cases because it was so willed by God. 6 The result of their double self-dedication was this. I urged Titus that, as he had been the person to start the raising of a relief-fund on a former visit, so he would now go once more and complete among yourselves this gracious undertaking. 7 Well now, as in everything ye are found to be abundant,—in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and every kind of zeal, and in the love which unites your hearts with ours,—do see to it that in this gracious undertaking also ye are found to be abundant. The possession of so many rich gifts may well bear this noble fruit, and you ought not to fall short of your endowments.
1. Γωίοε δ ὑῖ, ἀεφί ‘Now I proceed to make known to you, brethren.’ ‘Moreover’ (AV) is certainly wrong. As in Rom_15:14, Rom_15:16:17; 1Co_1:10, 1Co_4:6, 1Co_7:29, 1Co_12:1, etc., the δ and the address mark a transition to something more or less different from what has preceded, and here δ perhaps suggests some such connexion as ‘Now do not let the joy which I have just expressed prove vain,’ or ‘Now I must pass on from the happiness which you have brought me to the happiness which I had in Macedonia.’ Γωίωὑῖ intimates that what he is about to communicate deserves attention (Gal_1:11; 1Co_12:3, 1Co_15:1, where see note). The phrase is found only in the Epistles of this group, but the verb is freq. in N.T. See on 1:8.
τνχρντῦΘο τνδδμννἐ τ ἐκ. τ Μκ ‘The grace of God which has been given in the Churches of Macedonia.’ God’s grace has been and still is operating there, producing in the converts a marvellous degree of Christian generosity. Not ‘bestowed on the Churches’ (AV), but ‘given in’ them (RV). Contrast 1Co_1:4. It was among the Christians there that this grace was exhibited. St Paul probably means the ancient kingdom of Macedonia, in which Philippi, Thessalonica, and Beroea were situated, rather than the Roman province, which included Thessaly and Epirus. The Romans had been very hard on these Macedonians; they had taken possession of the gold and silver mines which were rich sources of revenue, and had taxed the right of smelting copper and iron; they had also reserved to themselves the importation of salt and the felling of timber for building ships. The Macedonians said that their nation was like a lacerated and disjointed animal (Livy, 45:30). On the top of this had come persecution in the case of Christian converts. But God had enabled these impoverished people to do great things for their fellow-Christians; no doubt, with the grace of God, the Corinthians would do the like.
2. ὅιἐ πλῇδκμ φίες ‘That in much testing of affliction.’ The ὅιdepends on γωίοε, ‘we make known to you that.’ For δκμ see on 2:9; here it seems to mean ‘testing’ rather than ‘proof’ (RV); cf. Rom_5:4. With the general sense comp. Jam_1:3; 1Th_3:3. Affliction tested the Macedonians and showed what genuine Christians they were. The test was severe and prolonged (πλῇ οδ γρἁλςἐλβσν ἀλ οτςὡ κὶδκμιγνσα δὰτςὑοοῆ (Chrys.). For sufferings of the Thessalonians see 1Th_1:6, 1Th_2:14.
ἡπρσεατςχρςατν ‘The abundance of their joy’; a strange thing to be found ‘in much testing of affliction.’ But few things are more characteristic of the Christians of the Apostolic Age than their exuberant joy. Both substantive and verb are freq. in N.T., and there is plenty of evidence elsewhere. This abiding and conspicuous effect of ‘the good tidings’ was one leading cause of the Gospel’s rapid success. Its missionary power was then, and is still, where it exists, very great. Those who witness great joy in people whose lives are full of trouble are led to think that such people are in possession of something which is well worth having. Πρσεα(10:15; Rom_5:17) is a rare word in literature, but it is found in inscriptions (Deissmann, Light from the Anc. East, p. 80). The repetition of ατνin this verse has rather a heavy effect; but the Apostle desires to make quite clear that the joy and the poverty and the liberality are found in the very same people, and that it was the joy and the poverty which produced the liberality. The poverty, extreme though it was, neither extinguished the joy nor prevented the liberality.
ἡκτ βθυ πωεαατν ‘Their down-to-depth poverty.’ Perhaps a phrase of St Paul’s own coining. It does not mean that their poverty was going deeper and deeper, but that it had already reached the lowest stage. Strabo’s ἄτο κῖο κτ βθυ is quoted in illustration. Cf. κτ κφλς(1Co_9:4). There is an effective oxymoron in ἡπωεαἐείσυε εςτ ποτς Cf. The widow’s two mites given out of her want (Luk_21:4), and one Christian having this world’s good while another has only need (1Jn_3:17).
τ ποτςτςἁλττςατν ‘The riches of their liberality.’ The passage from ‘single-mindedness’ or ‘simplicity’ to ‘liberality’ as the meaning of ἁλτςis not quite obvious. In LXX it means ‘innocency’ (2Sa_15:11; 1Ch_29:17; Wisd. 1:1; 1 Macc. 2:37, 60), generally, if not quite always. In N.T. it is peculiar to Paul, and in 11:3 it seems to mean ‘innocency’ or ‘simplicity.’ But in these two chapters (9:11, 13) and in Rom_12:8 (see note there) it seems to mean that simplicity of purpose which is directed towards relieving the necessities of others, and hence to denote ‘generosity’ or ‘liberality.’* St Paul speaks of the richness, not of their gifts, which could not have been large, but of their minds. Munificence is measured, not by the amount given, but by the will of the giver. Excepting 1Ti_6:17, ποτςis always used in the Pauline Epp. of moral and spiritual riches; and here, as in Eph_1:7, Eph_1:2:7, Eph_1:3:8, Eph_1:16; Php_4:19; Col_1:27, Col_2:2, the best texts make ποτςneut. In Rom_9:23 and Eph_1:18 it is masc., as perhaps elsewhere in N.T.
τ ποτς(א B C P) rather than τνποτν(א D F G K L).
3-5. ὅικτ δνμν…δὰθλμτςΘο. It will be convenient to take the whole of this long sentence first, and then examine the separate clauses; the constr. is irregular, owing to prolonged dictation. ‘For according to their power, I bear witness, and beyond their power, of their own accord, with much entreaty beseeching of us the favour and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints; and [this] not in the way that we expected, but it was their own selves that they gave first of all to the Lord and to us, through the will of God.’ Three things have been already stated with regard to the help given by the Macedonian Christians. It was rendered (1) in a time of great affliction, (2) in spite of great poverty, (3) with great joy. The Apostle now adds four more particulars. The help was rendered (4) to an extent quite beyond their small means, (5) of their own free will, (6) so much so that they begged to be permitted to take part in ministering to their fellow-Christians, (7) placing themselves at the disposal of St Paul in a way quite beyond his expectation. The long and awkward sentence requires to be broken up, and this almost necessarily involves inserting a few words. But AV is not quite consistent in putting what is inserted in italics; for ‘take upon us’ (v. 4) and ‘this’ (v. 5) should be in italics as well as ‘their,’ ‘they were,’ and ‘they did.’ Moreover, ‘that we should receive’ (v. 4) is no part of the true text (see below). In RV. ‘this grace’ (v. 4) is in excess of the Greek, which has ‘the grace.’ But, in order to make the meaning clear it is almost necessary, with RV., to have ‘they gave’ twice, although it comes only once in the Greek.
3. μρυῶ Nowhere else is the word used absolutely, as here; cf. Gal_4:15; Rom_10:2; Col_4:13; Rev_22:18. With this parenthetical insertion of a confirmatory statement comp. ὡ τκοςλγ (6:13), λγ ὑῖ (Luk_13:24), and the classical οδ, ομι ὁᾷ. Blass, §79.7.
πρ δνμν Somewhat stronger than ὑὲ δνμν(1:8), which K L P have here; it implies not only ‘above and beyond,’ but ‘against, contrary to’ (Heb_11:11). It was a sort of contradiction to their poverty to give so much. The words do not belong to αθίεο, ‘spontaneous beyond their power,’ but to the belated ἔωα.*
αθίεο. The word occurs nowhere in Bibl. Grk., excepting here and v. 17. In Xen. Anab. v. vii. 29 we have it of selfelected commanders, but it is more often used of things which are spontaneously accepted, death, slavery, etc. (Thuc. 6:40). Cf. αθιέω (2 Macc. 6:19; 3 Macc. 6:6), in the same sense as αθίεο here, viz. of persons acting spontaneously. The combination ἑοσω κὶαθιέω is freq. in papyri. Of course this excludes only the Apostle’s asking; vv. 1 and 5 show that the Divine prompting is fully recognized.
4. δόεο ἡῶ τνχρνκὶτνκιωίντςδαοίς ‘Begging of us the favour, viz. the sharing in the ministering to the saints.’ The Macedonians entreated to be allowed the privilege of fellowship in so good a work. Cf. 1Th_2:3. St Paul had possibly been unwilling to take much from people who were so poor. οχἡεςατνἐεθμνἀλ ατὶἡῶ (Chrys.). AV here is much astray; τνχρνis not the gift for the Apostle to receive, but the favour for him to grant, viz. allowing the Macedonians to help. Cf. Act_24:27, Act_25:3. They knew that it was more blessed to give than to receive. The κίprobably epexegetic. An aec. of a substantive after δοα is unusual, although τῦοδμιὑῶ is common.
τςδαοίςτςεςτὺ ἁίυ. ‘The charitable ministering to the Christians.’ This is a freq. meaning of δαόν (9:1, 12, 13; Act_6:1, Act_11:29, Act_12:25), a word which occurs more often in 2 Cor. and Acts than in all the rest of the N.T. He adds εςτὺ ἁίυ to explain the motive of the Macedonians; it was because help was wanted for Christians that they were so urgent in asking to be allowed to contribute; sic mavult dicere quam ‘pauperes’; id facit ad impetrandum (Beng. on 1Co_16:1). Deissmann (Bib. St. p. 117) thinks that this use of εςinstead of the dat. comm. is Alexandrian rather than Hebraistic; it is found in papyri.
δξσα ἡᾶ after ἁίυ is an unintelligent gloss found in a few cursives and other inferior authorities.
5. ὃκὶο κθςἠπσμν ‘And they did this, not as we expected (but far beyond our expectations).’ To confine this to their giving spontaneously is probably a mistake. What follows shows what is meant. Cf. ο τ ὑῶ ἀλ ὑᾶ (12:14).
ἀλ ἑυοςἔωα πῶο. The emphasis is ἑτύ by position. ‘On the contrary, it was their own selves that they first and foremost gave to the Lord and to us.’ Cf. Exo_14:31. Πῶο here does not mean ‘before I asked them,’ and probably does not mean ‘before they gave money.’ It means ‘first in importance’; the crowning part of their generosity was their complete self-surrender. They placed themselves at the Apostle’s disposal for the service of Christ. It is possible that this means no more than a general disposition to do all that was within their power; but it may refer to “personal service in the work of spreading the Gospel, such as was given by Sopater of Beroea, Aristarchus and Secundus of Thessalonica, and Epaphroditus of Philippi” (J. H. Bernard). To these we may add Jason and Gaius, who were Macedonians, and perhaps Demas. With τ κρῳκὶἡῖ comp. τ πεμτ τ ἁί κὶἡῖ (Act_15:28).
δὰθλμτςΘο. Some confine this to κὶἡῖ but it belongs to the whole clause; their offering of themselves was governed by the will of God; see v. 1.
B has ἠπκμν which may be safely rejected; the aor. is quite in place.
6. εςτ πρκλσιἡᾶ Ττν We are still under the influence of the rather hard-worked ἔωα, which totam periochae structuram sustinet (Beng.). ‘It was their own selves that they gave …so that we entreated Titus, that, just as he started (the collection) before, so he would also complete among you this gracious work also.’ The εςτ implies some such connecting thought as ‘I was so encouraged by the generosity of the Macedonians that I thought I would send Titus to you.’ We hardly need κίin both places, but the pleonasm would easily be made in dictating. The second κί however, may mean that there were other things which Titus had started. The rare verb πονραοimplies that Titus has been at Corinth before he took the severe letter alluded to in 7:12. This is some confirmation of the view that he, rather than Timothy, was the bearer of 1 Cor. But he may have been in Corinth before 1 Cor. to start the collection. In 1Co_16:1 the λγαis mentioned as a subject already known to the Corinthians; see note there. They may have asked about it. See on 12:18. B here has ἐήξτ, a verb which occurs Gal_3:3 and Php_1:6, in both of which passages it is combined with ἐιεέ, and in both of them Lightfoot thinks that a sacrificial metaphor may be intended, for both verbs are sometimes used of religious ceremonials, the one of initiatory rites and the other of sacrifices and other sacred observances. See Westcott on Heb_9:6. * The ἵαgives the purport rather than the purpose of the entreaty or exhortation, and ἵαἐιεέῃis almost equivalent to a simple infinitive; cf. 1Co_4:3, 1Co_16:12.
εςὑᾶ. ‘Among you’; lit. ‘towards you,’ ‘in reference to you.’
κὶτνχρντύη. ‘This gracious work also.’ This has no reference to τνχρντῦΘο (v. 1): it is not ‘the grace of God’ which Titus is to make efficacious, but the gracious efforts for the poor Christians that he is to bring to a fruitful conclusion. Nor is it likely that there is any reference to the good work done by Titus in reconciling the Corinthians to the Apostle; that would hardly be spoken of as χρς It is remarkable how frequently τύη, τύῃor τύη recurs in this connexion; vv. 7, 19, 20, 9:5, 12, 13. In 9:1. εςτὺ ἁίυ takes its place for variety. The precise force of κί ‘as well as something else,’ remains doubtful.
7.ἀλ ὥπρἐ πνὶπρσεεε ‘But there is another and a stronger consideration. What God has enabled the Macedonians to do is one incentive; you must also remember what He has done for you. You abound in everything; do not fall short of your great powers.’
πσε. Faith in Christ, such as every believer has. See on Rom_1:17, pp. 31f.
λγ κὶγώε. These were specially valued at Corinth; St Paul treats both as Divine gifts, and, except in his Epistles and 2 Pet., γῶι is rarely so regarded in N.T. There is probably no reference to speaking with Tongues. See on 1Co_1:5, which to a considerable extent is parallel to this.
σοδ. The word combines the ideas of eagerness, earnestness, and carefulness. AV employs seven different terms in translating it; in the Epistles, ‘carefulness,’ ‘care,’ ‘diligence,’ ‘forwardness,’ ‘earnest care,’ and ‘business’; in the Gospels, ‘haste.’ Even the Revisers use four; in the Epistles, ‘earnest care,’ ‘earnestness,’ and ‘diligence’; in the Gospels, ‘haste.’ These variations show the wide compass of the word.
τ ἐ ὑῶ ἐ ἡῖ ἀάῃ The reading is doubtful, and the meaning in either case is not quite certain, whether we read ὑῶ ἐ ἡῖ or ἡῶ ἐ ὑῖ. Neither ‘the love which comes from you and dwells in us,’ nor ‘the love which comes from us and dwells in you,’ is a phrase which has a very clear meaning. The love which wins love in return may be meant, and that may be expressed by either reading; ‘your love for us which binds us to you’ seems to suit the context. The love, like the faith, etc., is in the Corinthians.
ἵακὶἐ τύῃτ χρτ π This shows clearly the meaning of τνχρντύη in v. 6. The ἵαis probably elliptical, and we may understand πρκλ from v. 6, or a similar verb. The elliptical ἵαis then a gentle substitute for the direct imperative, as in the letter of the Jerusalem Jews to those in Egypt, 2 Macc. 1:9; κὶννἵαἄηετςἡέα τςσηοηίςτῦΧσλὺμνς Cf. also Gal_2:10; 33; 23. This use of ἵαis found in papyri. The ἀλ is against making ἵαco-ordinate with the ἵαv. 6; and in any case this would be an awkward constr. Ἀλ is at rather than sed; it marks, not opposition, but the transition from statement to exhortation (Mat_9:18; Mar_9:22; Luk_7:7). Τύῃis emphatic by position; ‘in this gracious work also,’ as in faith, utterance, knowledge, and love. He is anxious not to seem to be finding fault.
8:8-15. I Give No Orders. The Example of Christ Need Only Be Mentioned. Each of You Must Decide How Much He Ought to Give.
3 Do not think that I am issuing commands. I am not dictating to you. Not at all. I am merely calling your attention to the enthusiasm of the Macedonians in order to prove how genuine is your love also. (9 There is no need to give orders to you. You know how gracious the Lord Jesus Christ was. He was so rich in the glory of the Godhead; yet all for your sake He became so poor, in order that you, yes you, might become spiritually rich.) 10 I say I am not giving orders; it is just a view of the matter that I am offering you in what I write. This surely is the proper way in dealing with people like you, who were first in the field, not merely in doing something but in cherishing a desire to help, and that was as far back as last year. 11 But now do carry the doing also through, so that your readiness in desiring to help may be equalled by your way of carrying it through, so far, of course, as your means allow. 12 For if the readiness to give is forthcoming, and to give in proportion to one’s possessions, this is very acceptable: no one is expected to give in proportion to what he does not possess. 13 I do not mean that other people should be relieved at the cost of bringing distress on you, but that there should be equality of burdens. At the present crisis your surplus goes to meet their deficit, 14 in order that some day their surplus may come to meet your deficit, so that there may be equality. 15 This is just what stands written in Scripture;—
‘He who gathered his much had not too much,
And he who gathered his little had not too little.
8. Ο κτ ἐιαὴ λγ. ‘Not by way of command am I speaking.’ Κτ ἐιαή is a Pauline phrase, and it is used in two different senses. With a negative, as here and 1Co_7:6 (see note), it means ‘not by way of command’; there is nothing dictatorial in what he says; he is not issuing orders or laying down rules. Without a negative and with a following gen., e.g. Θο, as Rom_16:26; 1Ti_1:1; Tit_1:3, it means ‘in accordance with God’s command,’ equivalent to δὰθλμτςΘο (1:1, 8:5; 1Co_1:1; Eph_1:1; Col_1:1; 2Ti_1:1). Vulg. is capricious; here, non quasi imperans; 1Co_7:6, non secundum imperium; Rom_16:26, secundum praeceptum; so also 1Ti_1:1 and Tit_1:1. Cf. Phm_1:8, Phm_1:9.
ἀλ …δκμζν ‘But as proving (13:5), by means of the earnestness of others, the sincerity of your love also.’ No verb has to be supplied; λγ continues. The mention of the zeal of the Macedonians will show that the Corinthians’ love is as real as theirs. Excepting Luk_12:56, Luk_12:14:19; 1Pe_1:7; 1Jn_4:1, δυιάωis a Pauline word, and it is found in all four groups, 17 times in all. Whereas πιάωis sometimes neutral, but generally means testing with the sinister object of producing failure, δκμζ is sometimes neutral (as in Lk.), is never used in the sense of ‘tempt,’ and often as here, means ‘prove’ with the hope of a favourable result, or with the implied idea that the testing has had such a result. Hence it acquires the sense of ‘approve’ (Rom_2:18, Rom_14:22), and is never used of the attempts of Satan to make men fail. AV in translating uses ‘examine,’ ‘try,’ ‘discern,’ ‘prove,’ ‘approve,’ ‘allow,’ ‘like’; RV. uses some of these and adds ‘interpret’ (Luk_12:56). Vulg. has comprobo here, but everywhere else in N.T. probo or temto. The meaning here is that St Paul is quite sure that the good example of the Macedonians will be followed at Corinth. See Trench, Syn. §lxxiv.; Cremer, Lex. s.v.
κὶτ τςὑεέα ἀάη γήιν ‘Whatever is genuine in your love also.’ St Paul is fond of the substantival adj. followed by a gen.; τ μρντῦΘο, τ ὑεέο τςγώες τ χητντῦΘο. Cf. 4:17. We have a similar expression Jam_1:3, τ δκμο ὑῶ τςπσες and still more similar in 1Pe_1:7, if τ δκμνbe the right reading. Deissmann (Bib. St. pp. 250, 259) cites an inscription of Sestos which has πὸπεσο θμνςτ πὸ τνπτίαγήιν See Blass, §47. 1. Ιήιςmeans ‘not supposititious,’ ‘legitimate,’ ‘genuine,’ and ὑεέα answers to ἐέω. both being emphatic.*
9. γνσεεγρ The γρintroduces the reason why he issues no orders; there is no need. The Corinthians have their own loyal affection; they have the example of the Macedonians; and, if that were absent, they have the far more constraining example of Christ. The γρin itself is almost proof that γνσεεis indicative, which is probable on other grounds. Scitis enim gratiam (Vulg.).
τῦκρο ἡῶ Ἰσῦ[Χιτῦ B omits Χιτῦ but it is probably original. The full title adds to the impressiveness of the appeal; Domini nostri Jesu Christi (Vulg.); ‘the free gift of our Lord Jesus Christ.’
δʼὑᾶ. Placed first with great emphasis. There is not only the example of a self-sacrificing life, but of a sacrifice made on behalf of the Corinthians. Christ not only claimed obedience by declaring Himself to be the Legislator of a new Church and the Supreme judge of all mankind, He also inspired intense affection and devotion by laying men under an immense obligation. He was One whom it was impossible for men to benefit by conferring on Him earthly advantages, and yet, being so great and rich, He sacrificed for over thirty years more than men can at all comprehend, in order to do them good; Ecce Homo, ch. v. sub fin. The pre-existence of Christ is plainly taught here, as in Gal_4:4 (see Lightfoot). See on Rom_8:3, Rom_8:4 and Col_2:9 f.; also on 1Co_10:4.
ἐτχυε ποσο ὤ. Egenus factus est, cum esset dives (Vulg.). The ὤ is imperf. part., and the aor. points to the moment of the Incarnation. Previous to that He was rich (Joh_17:5); at that crisis He became poor. That was the immeasurable impoverishment (Php_2:6-8). That for years He lived the life of a carpenter, and that when He left His Mother’s house He had not where to lay His head, is of small account, and would be a very inadequate interpretation of ἐτχνε. He was not like Moses, who renounced the luxury of the palace in order to serve his brethren; He never had any earthly riches to renounce. “His riches were prior to His earthly life in a pre-existent life with God. He became poor when He entered the world, with a definite purpose to enrich His disciples, not in earthly goods, but in the same riches He Himself originally possessed in the heavenly world” (Briggs, The Messiah of the Apostles, p. 121). * Here is the supreme incentive to benevolence; to being willing, nay, eager, to give up a great deal in order to help others. ‘This ineffable surrender was made for you.’
ἵαὑεςτ ἐενυπωεᾳποτστ. Both pronouns are emphatic; ‘that you, through His poverty, might become rich,’ viz. with the heavenly riches of union with God in Christ and the assurance of eternal life. Meum ergo paupertas illa patrimonium est, et infirmitas Domini mea est virtus; maluit sibi indigere, ut omnibus abundaret (Ambrose on Luk_2:41). Perhaps the main lesson of the verse is that Christ gave Himself, and in all genuine liberality something of self must be given. Cf. Joh_17:22, Joh_17:24; Rom_8:30; 2Ti_2:11, 2Ti_2:12.
This motive for liberality is remarkable as being made so incidentally, as if there was no need to do more than mention it. It was so well known, and it was so unanswerable. Perhaps we ought hardly to call it a parenthesis; but such a description is only a slight exaggeration. The Apostle at once returns to the point about which he is nervously anxious. He is not giving commands as an authority who must be obeyed; that would spoil everything. He is laying his own views before them, and they must act of their own free will.
We have again the common confusion between ἡεςand ὑες Read δ ὐᾶ (אB D F G L P, Latt. Syrr. Copt, Goth.) rather than δ ἡᾶ (C K), which makes sense, but very inferior sense. To read ἡεέα (some cursives) in v. 8 spoils the sense.
10. κὶγώη ἐ τύῳδδμ. ‘And it is an opinion that I am offering you in this,’ not a command. Here, as in 1Co_7:25, where γωμ is contrasted with ἐιαή Vulg. has considium for the former. He has told them before (1Co_7:40) that he believes that his opinion is worth considering. Like τῦοin the next sentence, ἐ τύῳis ambiguous. It may mean either ‘in what I am saying’ or ‘in this matter of the relief fund.’
τῦογρὑῖ σμέε, οτνςκτλ ‘For this is expedient for people like you, who, etc.’ Lit. ‘for you who are of such a character as, etc.’ Τῦοmay mean simply ‘This giving liberally which I suggest to you’; and in that case σμέε means ‘is for your good morally.’ But τῦοmay also mean (and with rather more point in connexion with the preceding sentence and v. 8), ‘To offer an opinion, and not give a command, is the method which is suitable to people like you, who were to the front, not only in doing something, but also in desiring to do something, as long ago as last year.’ People who have not even a wish to move are the kind of people to whom one issues commands. Herveius understands τῦοas meaning ‘To win the riches of Christ by imitating His poverty is well worth your doing.’ This is a more elaborate form of the first interpretation. The force of οτνςmust in any case be preserved.
But why is doing placed in this position, as if it were inferior to willing? To say that in morals it is the will that is of value, and not what is accomplished, is not satisfying. It is not probable that St Paul had any such thought. Nor is it very satisfactory to suppose that in dictating he inadvertently transposed the two verbs. We get a better explanation if we suppose that he wished to say that the Corinthians were the very first in the field, not only in setting to work, but in intending to set to work. This explanation does not require us to give to the πο in πονραθ the meaning ‘before the Macedonians,’ which is perhaps too definite; but, if that is the force of the preposition, the explanation has all the more point. The change from the aor. πισιto the pres. θλι is to be noted, indicating the difference between some particular action and the continual wishing to act. This may perhaps intimate that the acting has ceased, and that only the wishing remains. They had been first in both, but now others were before them in acting. There are two other explanations, ‘not only to do, but to do it willingly,’ and ‘not indeed with the doing, but at any rate with the willing.’ Both make good sense, but neither can be got out of the Greek as we have it. There must be conjectural emendation of the text in order to justify either; and if we are to make conjectures, the simplest is the transposition of the two verbs, as is done in the Peshitto Syriac.
ἀὸπρσ. ‘From last year,’ i.e. ‘as long ago as last year.’ Not ‘a year ago,’ as AV and RV., which implies twelve months ago. If, as is probable, 2 Cor. was written late in the year, and if St Paul is reckoning, either according to the Jewish civil year, or according to the Macedonian year, then ‘last year’ might mean the spring of the same year, according to our reckoning. If he is following the Olympiads, which he might do in writing to Corinthians, this way of expressing himself would be still more easy. The Macedonian year is said, like the Jewish civil year (Tisri), to have begun about October; and counting by Olympiads the year would begin in the summer. Therefore in all three cases a person writing in November might speak of the previous January—April as ‘last year.’ When 1 Cor. was written the collection of money at Corinth had hardly begun (1Co_16:1 f). On this point turns the interval between 1 Cor. and 2 Cor. Here we are told that ‘last year’ the collecting had begun. Does this imply an interval of much less than a year or of much more than a year? See Introduction; also K. Lake, Earlier Letters of St Paul. p. 140. The expression ἀὸπρσ is found in papyri, and the combination probably belongs to the language of the people; ποέυιand ἐπρσ are also used in the like sense. Deissmann, Bib. St. p. 221.
πονραθ (אB C K L P) rather than ἐήξσε F G); cf. v. 6.
11. νν δ κὶτ πισιἐιεέαε ‘But now complete the doing also, that as there [was] the readiness to will, so there may be the completion also according to your means.’ It would be a sad thing that those who were foremost in willing should be hindermost in performing; they must bring their performance into line with their willingness. There is no verb expressed with κθπρἡπουί τῦθλι. We may supply either ‘was’ or ‘is.’ Each Corinthian would know whether he still possessed this πουι. The stronger form νν intimates that there should be no more delay; ‘precisely now and not later.’ It is rare else where in N.T., but freq. in Paul, generally as here in the usual temporal sense, but sometimes logical, as 1Co_13:13; cf. Heb. 9:29.
ἐ τῦἔεν Ambiguous; it might mean ‘out of that which ye have’ (AV); which has little point: if they give, it must be out of what they possess. The next verse shows that it mean’s ‘in proportion to what you possess.’ Evidently the readiness to give had for some time not been very great, certainly not since the rupture between the Apostle and the Corinthians, and now he does not wish to alarm them. He had put before them the example of the Macedonians, who had given ‘beyond their means’ (v. 3). He assures the Corinthians that he is not suggesting that they ought to give beyond their means; but they no doubt see that they ought to give, and he urges them to do so without further delay. Excepting Act_17:11, πουί is peculiar to 2 Cor. (vv. 12, 19, 9:2).
12. ε γρἡπουί πόετι ‘For if the readiness is there (lit. ‘lies before us’), it is acceptable according as [a man] may have, and not according as [he] has not.’ The τςis not original, but perhaps it ought to be supplied (RV). Otherwise ἡπουί personified is the nom. to ἔηand ἔε. Cf. Tobit 4:8, which is one of the offertory sentences in the English Liturgy. It is not likely that πόετιhere means ‘precedes,’ ‘be first’ (AV), prius adsit (Beza). The amount that a man may have is indefinite, ἐνἔῃ his not having is a definite fact (οκἔε). In Rom_15:31 επόδκο is again used in reference to the Palestine relief fund. See on 6:2, and Hort on 1Pe_2:5; also Index IV. *
ἐν(B C D3 E K P) rather than ἄ (אD* F G L). אB C* D F G K P omit τς which C2 L have after ἔῃand D F G after ἔε.
13, 14. ο γρἵαἄλο ἄνι. Something is often understood before ἵα ‘I mean’ (AV), or ‘I say this’ (RV), or ‘the object is’ (Waite and others), etc. But the ellipse is just as intelligible in English as in Greek, and in English no conjunction is needed; ‘Not that there is to be relief for others, pressure for you: but according to equality, etc.’ For ἄει see on 2:13; also Index IV.
ἀλ ἐ ἰόηο. These words may be taken either with what precedes or with what follows. Although ὅω γντιἰόη occurs at the end of the next sentence, it is perhaps best to take ἀλ ἐ ἰόηο at the beginning of it. Place a colon at ‘pressure for you’ and continue; ‘but according to equality—at the present season your abundance to meet their want, that their abundance also may meet your want, so that the result may be equality.’* There is to be reciprocity, mutual give and take, so that in the end each side has rendered the same kind of service to the other. We need not bring in here the thought in Rom_15:27 of Gentiles giving material help in return for spiritual help. Here the help on both sides is material. The Apostle contemplates the possibility of Corinthian Christians being in distress, and of Jerusalem Christians sending money to relieve it, Vulg. supplies words which are not in the Greek; and something must be supplied; vestra abundantia illorum inopiam suppleat; ut et illorum abundantia vestrae inopiae sit supplementum. Beza has suppleat in both clauses. Ἐ τ ννκιῷas in Rom_3:26, Rom_11:5.
τ ὑῶ πρσεμ …τ ὑῶ ὑτρμ. This use of ὑῶ between the art. and the noun is freq. in Paul; see on 1:6 and cf. 1Co_7:35, 1Co_9:12.
The δ after ὑῖ (א D E G K L P, Vulg. Goth. Arm.) is probably an insertion for the sake of smoothness; א B C 17, d e, Aeth. omit. Note D E and d e.
15. The quotation hardly illustrates more than the idea of equality of some sort; not the equality which is the result of mutual give and take, which is a voluntary process, but that which is the result of the same measure being imposed on all, which is not voluntary. In LXX we have οκἐλόαε ὁτ πλ and ὁτ ἔατνοκἠατνσν(Exo_16:18). Some Israelites were eager to gather much manna; others through modesty or indifference gathered little. When they came to measure it, they all found they had exactly the prescribed amount. St Paul perhaps suggests that the equality which had to be forced upon those Israelites ought to be joyfully anticipated in the new Israel. The Corinthian Christians ought spontaneously to secure themselves against getting more than their share of this world’s goods by giving to the Jerusalem Christians before there was any need to require help from them.
κθςγγατι Cf. 9:9; 1Co_1:31. 1Co_1:11:9; Rom_1:17; ect. This form of citation is in Paul confined to Corinthians and Romans, and it is very