17 For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going to you of his own accord. 18 With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. 19 And not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of grace that is being ministered by us, for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will. 20 We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us, 21 for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man. 22 And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters, but who is now more earnest than ever because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ. 24 So give proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting about you to these men.
9:1 Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints, 2 for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them. 3 But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be. 4 Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated—to say nothing of you—for being so confident. 5 So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
In light of Paul’s encouragement to the Corinthians to give generously toward the relief of the Jerusalem church as they had previously decided to do, he now introduces the three men who will carry that gift. Titus was already known to the church and he eagerly took up the task. It is likely that Titus was the one who delivered this letter of 2 Corinthians at the same time. Along with Titus, Paul sent two unnamed men who we are unable to identify today but the second was known to the Corinthians. The first man was well known among the churches (likely in Macedonia) and had an untarnished reputation in the gospel (“his preaching of” is not in the original greek). He was chosen by the churches to be part of this delegation. It was important that the team traveling with what would be a sizable donation were men who were above reproach and who could not easily be accused of doing things for selfish gain. Paul aimed to always be honourable in God’s sight, but it was important also to be honourable before men. While Paul was driven to please God, he wanted people to understand his motivation and not be able to find fault with his actions. The second unknown member of the team was equally qualified in character and was motivated to join the mission because of Paul and Titus’s great confidence in the Corinthian believers. Paul trusted that the church would welcome and accept these men and validate his confidence in their giving. While the Corinthians expressed their eagerness to give, they had failed to follow through. Paul was sending these three men ahead to help the Corinthians follow through on their commitment and ensure they were ready with their finances in order and on time.
Even when our motivations and actions are right before God, it is wise to put in checks and balances to ensure that people have no opportunity to question what we do. Our witness is improved when nobody has an opportunity to bring an accusation against us.
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
The Trumpets: Revelation 8-9