2 Corinthians 8:16-24
16 But thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus. 17 For he not only accepted the exhortation, but being more diligent, he went to you of his own accord. 18 And we have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches, 19 and not only that, but who was also chosen by the churches to travel with us with this gift, which is administered by us to the glory of the Lord Himself and to show your ready mind, 20 avoiding this: that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us— 21 providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
22 And we have sent with them our brother whom we have often proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, because of the great confidence which we have in you. 23 If anyone inquires about Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker concerning you. Or if our brethren are inquired about, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ. 24 Therefore show to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love and of our boasting on your behalf.
The collection for the needy Judean saints in Jerusalem was gathered at the direction of the apostle Paul by the trusted hands of Titus who cared deeply for those in the churches in Judea and elsewhere, as they had all trusted him with this task. He had the same spirit of service and loving care for the destitute believers in need and was the perfect ambassador in the apostle’s place to collect the collection from Corinth for Paul to take to the head church in Jerusalem where they were struggling (Romans 15:26). Titus went of his own diligent accord without having to be told what to do along with another well-known yet unnamed brother in the Lord. This gift is described as being administered by them to the glory of the Lord Himself and revealed the eager willingness of the Corinthians to supply their lack as they had likely been ministered to in the past. These gifts of monetary and other supplies also had spiritual and moral support behind them as love offerings to these struggling believers. It was an honor to God and man to provide these needs, a good motivation for us as well in meeting urgent needs at home and abroad. Paul had such confidence in the believers of Corinth to contribute to the collection for the mother church that he sent the trusted Titus and another diligent brother to them to gather their contributions so he could spend less time collecting them when he passed through on the way to Jerusalem to supply their pressing needs. Titus was Paul’s co-laborer, his synergetic worker and right hand man in the ministry and was to be accepted and heeded as if Paul himself was there taking up the collection. This he made clear to them in this letter. He asked the Corinthians therefore to show Titus and company the proof of their love and Paul’s boasting of their faithfulness to them by their eager and overflowing gifts they came to gather. We should be so willing and faithful to give to the poor, especially among God’s people (Galatians 6:10), as we put aside planned amounts to offer as part of being living sacrifices (Romans 12:1, 1 Peter 2:5) ourselves. This is sacrificial and faithful giving given as our example here.
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