2 Corinthians 8:20–24

2 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 8

Paul’s Tactful Appeal and Recommendation. 2 Cor. 8, 1–24.

Commendation of Titus and his companions: avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us; v.21. providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

V.22. And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, upon the great confidence which I have in you. V.23. Whether any do enquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellow-helper concerning you; or our brethren be enquired of, they are the messengers of the churches and the glory of Christ.

V.24. Wherefore show ye to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf.

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 he 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.