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‘I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.’
2Co_8:8
There was still a sore feeling amongst the believing Israelites with regard to the reception into the Church of those who were of the uncircumcision. It might serve, then, to smooth away asperities, perhaps, to change ill-feeling into kindly regard, if the distrusted Apostle could bring with him on returning to Jerusalem a substantial proof of the love which the Gentiles entertained towards their elder brethren in the Christian faith. For these reasons we believe St. Paul was anxious to be especially successful in this particular appeal.
And now let us see how he sets about accomplishing his object.
I. He begins by informing the Corinthians of what the Churches of Macedonia had done in the matter.—Compared with others—compared, for instance, with the inhabitants of Corinth, one of the wealthiest cities of the old Greek world—these Macedonians might almost have been said to be abjectly poor. The Apostle speaks of their ‘deep poverty.’ And yet they had contributed a very large sum to the general collection. This good example of the Churches of Macedonia the Apostle fearlessly proposes for the imitation of his friends in Corinth. ‘Fearlessly,’ I say. He does not hesitate for a moment to stimulate the sluggish benevolence of the wealthier Church by narrating to them what the poorer Churches had done. He puts the bright example in the very forefront of his argument. He does not shrink from his line, as perhaps we should have done, for fear of arousing the baser motive of emulation. And yet, fearless as he is, there is a wisdom and a tact in his procedure which it would be wrong for us to pass by altogether without notice. In the first place, he traces the benevolence of the Macedonians to its proper source in the grace of God. ‘We do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the Churches of Macedonia.’ The statement, as you see, is an important one. It removes the act of the benevolent Macedonians into the higher region of spiritual impulse; and at the same time serves to remind the Corinthians that the same treasury of Divine grace from which their fellow-believers drew their inspiration to good is equally accessible to them if they choose to avail themselves of it. In the next place, the Apostle recalls it to their memories that the idea of a collection for the poor Hebrew Christians in Palestine originated in Corinth. The Corinthian Church itself was the first to suggest the plan and the first to begin to carry the plan into execution.
II. In taking the second step he turns to a different plea.—The Church of Corinth was conspicuous for the abundance of brilliant spiritual endowments which had been bestowed upon her. When the power of the Gospel had laid hold of the quick-witted and eloquent inhabitants of the Grecian town, it found a ready outlet and manifestation in those various forms of religious utterance of which the Apostle speaks so much in his former Epistle. The Corinthian Christians were blessed with especial insight into Divine mysteries. They were enriched, the Apostle says, in all knowledge. They spoke with other tongues. They prophesied. They exhorted. When they came together, almost every one could bring his psalm, or his doctrine, or his interpretation, to throw into the common stock; and indeed, so great was the profusion of spiritual gifts, and so eagerly were opportunities sought for the exhibition of them, that scenes of disorder and unseemly contention were of no unfrequent occurrence, even in the midst of their most solemn religious assemblies. But with all this display of the more showy spiritual endowments, there seems to have been a deficiency in the Corinthian Church—or a deficiency, at least, to some extent—of the solid, practical, Christian virtues. And the Apostle was grieved to observe it. ‘Therefore,’ says St. Paul, ‘as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.’ You take the Apostle’s meaning, of course. There ought to be a proportion maintained amongst what may be called the component parts of the Christian character. The inner and the outer should keep pace with each other; and if there is a high spirituality, we are justified in expecting to find a corresponding elevation of practice—a commensurate abounding in those things which are true, and pure, and honest, and lovely, and of good report.
III. In the third place, he puts forward the plea of the text.—Observe here, that the Apostle disclaims all intention of exerting anything like compulsory power. He will not command; ‘I speak not in the way of commandment’—for that is the meaning of the words. He will not dictate. He will only persuade. The matter, after all, must be left to themselves; for the absence of a willing mind would vitiate the largest bestowments, and utterly destroy their value in the sight of God. ‘God loveth a cheerful giver.’ He will not accept the grudging gift. We must put our heart into our donation, or God will have nothing to do with it. Again I am sure you will see the Apostle’s drift. When you are dealing with Christian people you have got something to work upon. There is in them a deep underlying love to their Master, and love to those for whom their Master died; and if you can succeed in touching this spring—in setting this motive free to act—you have more than half accomplished what you were attempting to do.
IV. The Apostle speaks of an equalisation in the material conditions of Christian people.—That there should be an equalisation of lot of that community; that all should share and share alike, whether skilled or unskilled, whether clever or dull, whether thrifty or careless—this, of course, was never intended. To attempt to bring about such a state of things would be to contravene the Divine order, as well as to remove many opportunities for the exercise of Christian virtues that are now continually presented to us. It is the difference of lot between the rich and the poor, between the strong and the weak, which calls forth charity on the one side and gratitude on the other, and knits together with a firmer bond the framework of human society. This would be lost if all stood on precisely the same level of worldly prosperity. Inequality, then, in the present condition of being, enters into the Divine plan respecting the people of Christ. But it is the object of Christian benevolence to counteract this inequality as far as is possible; at least so far as to provide that the Christian brother should have what is necessary for his subsistence and comfort.
Rev. Prebendary Gordon Calthrop.