Servants of Satan
11:7-15 and 20

Servants of Satan DIG: Why do you think Paul refused support from the Corinthians but accepted it from the Macedonian churches? How was Paul’s servant-attitude distorted by the false prophets? Why was Paul’s anxiety for the church a proof of his love for them? How do their motives compare to his? What is Paul’s conclusion about the false prophets?

REFLECT: What comes to mind when you hear the word “Satan?” Why doesn’t he appear with his pitchfork, horns and pointed tail image as mankind’s archenemy? When in your life have you experienced that Satan and his servants are real? What is your criteria when you give to different ministries? How can you tell if someone is in ministry just for the money?

For Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light;
so it’s not surprising that his demons masquerade as servants of righteousness.

Having asserted that he was not inferior to the false prophets, Paul takes up a new and unrelated topic: his refusal to accept the financial support from the Corinthians church that would have allowed him to exercise his ministry without working even though the apostle knew that he was permitted financial support (see the commentary on First Corinthians, to see link click Bo – Laying Aside Rights). The Corinthians must have thought that Paul didn’t love them. The false prophets, who accepted payment, probably wanted the apostle to do likewise, since that would have put them on the same footing as him. Nonetheless, although under pressure to reverse his policy, Paul refused to do so.²⁴²

The true servant of God (11:7-12): Paul began with a rhetorical question: Did I sin in humbling myself so that you could be exalted, in proclaiming God’s Good News to you free of charge (11:7)? It was Paul’s policy not to accept financial support from churches in which he was currently ministering. But from the Corinthians’ point of view, Paul had painfully breached social norms in rejecting their support which were usually given to those who taught and lectured in the Greco-Roman culture of the day. It is probably, however, that “sin” was Paul’s word rather than theirs, reflecting his deep pain in response to their criticism.²⁴³

His words dripping with irony, Paul acknowledged that he accepted financial support from other churches in order to minister to the Corinthians. Yes, he said: I “robbed” the other congregations of Macedonia by accepting support from them in order to serve you. Paul had plied his trade as a tentmaker while in Corinth (Acts 18:3). However, either business became slow or the demands of his ministry curtailed the amount of time he had to work. In either case, Paul was for a time in a terrible financial situation, lacking the basic necessities of life. Yet even then, when he had needs, he did not burden anyone. Eventually, Silas and Timothy providentially arrived with the support from the churches in Macedonia, allowing him to devote himself to full-time ministry (Acts 18:5). Just as Paul had kept himself from being a burden to the Corinthians in the past, he would continue to do so on his planned upcoming visit (11:8-9). Unlike the proud, lying false prophets, who would not dream of lowering themselves to do manual labor, Paul humbled himself to the place of a common worker. True servants of God are free from the love of money (First Timothy 3:3) and seek nothing but the opportunity to faithfully carry out their ministry.²⁴⁴ Paul said: The truthfulness of the Messiah is in me, so that this boast concerning me is not going to be silenced anywhere in Achaia (11:10).

The Corinthians undoubtedly interpreted Paul’s refusal of their support as an indication that he didn’t love them, or at least, loved them less, because he had accepted the support of other churches. Why won’t I ever accept your support? Is it that I don’t love you? God knows I do (11:11)! Therefore, Paul needed to affirm his love for them, and in 12:13 he asked in what way were they any worse off than any of the other churches except that I myself did not burden you financially, and concluded with a dose of irony: Forgive me this injustice! It seems likely that there was a group of wealthy Corinthians who offered Paul a gift of financial support that he refused, but the false prophets accepted (see Af – The Problem of the False Prophets). No, I do it – and will go on doing it – in order to cut the ground from under those who want an excuse to boast that they work the same way we do (11:12). Understanding this, it then becomes easier to understand the point of contention between Paul and the congregation at Corinth. In their minds, the wealthy Corinthians had made him an offer of “friendship.” By refusing it, Paul offended them, raising doubts about his love for them and the church. That opened the window of opportunity for the false prophets to call into question Paul’s apostleship and compare him unfavorably to themselves.

As for Paul, he probably refused this offer, not because he loved them less than his other converts, but because he understood all too well that such “friendship” would have made him indebted to certain wealthy Corinthians. Since Paul was the apostolic father of the church, whose duty was to provide for his children (12:14), he couldn’t tolerate any arrangement in which his allegiance to God would be compromised.²⁴⁵

The servants of Satan (13-15 and 20): Throughout his letter, Paul had alluded to the false teacher, who claimed apostolic authority in Corinth, referring to them indirectly as the many who were guilty of peddling the Word of God (2:17); as some who regard us as living in a worldly way (10:2b); as those other men who tell you how important they are (10:12a NLT); and as those who preach another Yeshua and a different Gospel (11:4). But now the time had come to bluntly and directly expose them.

The fact is that such men are deceitful workers and false prophets (11:13a). Paul called them exactly what they were. The name false prophets (Greek: pseudo apostoloi) appears only here in the B’rit Chadashah. Some think that Paul coined this word after the analogy of false Messiah’s and false prophets (Mark 13:22), and false brethren (Greek: pseudadelphous) in Galatians 2:4. The term false prophets shows that the Yeshua whom they preached, and the spirit of the gospel they offered, were entirely false.²⁴⁶

Dramatically and emotionally, Paul began to expose their lies (11:13b). Such deceivers have plagued God’s people from the beginning. ADONIA through Jeremiah warned of deceitful false prophets, saying: The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds (Jeremiah 14:14, 23:14 and 26 NASB). In the Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua warned: Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves (Matthew 7:15). In the Olivet discourse, the Lord noted that they would be especially active in the end times: For false Messiah’s and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if that were possible, even the elect (Matthew 24:24). Dear friends, don’t trust every spirit. On the contrary, test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets had gone out into the world (First John 4:1).²⁴⁷

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that You are a God of holiness who is always perfectly trustworthy and 100% truthful! Your trustworthiness makes You such a strong rock to run to and such a comfort to go to. Obeying and pleasing You is so much more important than pleasing any person. We must listen to You over what someone else says. It is important to be in Your Word daily, to meditate on it asking for Your wisdom so we are not deceived. The world is cunning and clever, but You are eternal, all wise and loving!

In today’s culture, sin is thrown out the window and everyone does what is right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25b). Your Word speaks of the need to tell someone if they are not speaking the truth (James 5:19). You desire all to be saved. But without repentance there is no need for salvation. The desires of this world, the cravings of the sinful nature, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (First John 2:16) blinds the lost from seeing their need of a Savior. They miss out on being filled with Your peace and love when they are satisfied by their own sinful thoughts. Please help us to be bold with gentleness as we correct deceitful ideas and seek to enlighten people on to the straight and narrow path (Matthew 7:13-14) that leads to eternal joy in heaven. Thank You for living in Your children who love You (John 14:23), and for helping us to be bold and know how to wisely answer deceivers. In your holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Though they brazenly posed as equal to Paul and the Twelve, the false apostles were actually deceitful workers, servants of Satan, masquerading as apostles of the Messiah to deceive the gullible and undiscerning (11:13c). The charge is a serious one. For if the false prophets were really servants of Satan, then they were not merely Paul’s opponents, but also enemies of Messiah. Paul said as much earlier when he expressed his fear that the Corinthians were being deceived from their undivided loyalty to Messiah (11:3).²⁴⁸ Satan and his servants are most effective in the congregations of God when they come not as an open enemy, but as a friend; not when they persecute the Church, but when they join it.

Paul has referred to Satan’s evil designs in 2:11 and 4:4. Now he ties his opponents to the Serpent who deceived Eve (see By – Being Deceived). There is nothing surprising in that, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light (11:14). The present tense of the verb masquerades is important. Satan does this again and again. It is his practice. He makes people think that they are dealing with an angel of light when, in fact, they are dealing with the prince of darkness himself! How else can Satan get his deadly lies across except by presenting them as God’s words that are being spoken by God’s angels?²⁴⁹

The narrative in Genesis 3, however, does not explicitly mention Satan as an angel of light. Paul may have been alluding to popular Jewish tradition. In the Apocalypse of Moses, Eve recalls her seduction, saying, “Satan appeared in the form of an angel and sang hymns like the angels. And I bent over the wall and saw him, like an angel” (17:1-2). What was important for Paul was that the shining stars dazzle and make the ones working in the trenches, like Paul, look boring and unspiritual by comparison. But Satan is more likely to take the disguise of a shining star with glamorous appeal than a foot soldier. He is seductive and insidious.

The greatest weapon the devil has in his arsenal to test us . . . is praise and flattery. The Serpent offered the promise of special knowledge to Adam and Eve that supposedly would have allowed them to become like God. The Corinthians, who wanted to become rich and reign like kings (First Corinthians 4:8), were particularly susceptible to a false gospel spewed out by the dashing, diamond-studded apostles that appealed to their innate human pride and desire to be special. Swollen with pride themselves, they fooled the Corinthians by stroking their vanity. And Paul, with his frank criticism of their sins and uncompromising stand against any partnership with idolatry, was far less appealing as an apostle when compared to those who flattered them. But the false flatterers were servants of Satan!²⁵⁰

So it’s not surprising that his demons masquerade as servants of righteousness (11:15a). In 3:9 Paul described his own ministry as a ministry of righteousness. His Gospel proclaims that God made Messiah who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (5:21). The rivals posed were acting like they were participating in that same ministry. But they were frauds. Paul doesn’t pinpoint the exact nature of their false teaching, but focuses more on their boasting to an extreme. Ministers of righteousness are those who live righteously, not those who claim to be righteous or preach a righteous message. Ministers of righteousness remove the veil of hard-heartedness and lead God’s covenant people to be transformed into the image of Messiah (see Aw – Veiling and Unveiling). They renounce shameful things and deceitful practices (4:2). They also reject all fleshly boasting and boast only in the Lord (see the commentary on First Corinthians An – The Foolishness of Worldly Wisdom).

But it is comforting to know that neither Satan nor his servants will get away with their charade forever. John records that Satan will be bound at the start of the Messianic Kingdom (Revelation 20:1-3). Satan’s ultimate fate will be eternal punishment in the lake of fire. And Satan who had deceived them was hurled into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Revelation 20:10). The Bible reveals an equally fearful judgment awaits all false prophets. In Matthew 7:7-21-23 the Lord solemnly warned: Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, only those who do what my Father in heaven wants. On that Day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord! Didn’t we prophesy in your name? Didn’t we expel demons in your name? Didn’t we perform many miracles in your name?’ Then I will tell them to their faces, ‘I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness! They will meet the end their deeds deserve (11:15b).²⁵¹

You put up with it if someone makes slaves of you, devours you, takes advantage of you, puffs himself up, slaps you in the face (11:20). This must have been a sad verse for Paul to write, for it reveals just how seriously the Corinthians were seduced. Delivered in a repetitive form and with a driving rhythm, the apostle uses five conditional clauses that detail the ways that the false apostles had abused the church in Corinth. His main point is that the Corinthians had tolerated such abuse, which was the opposite of Paul’s normal policy of leniency (10:1).

They willingly tolerated harsh treatment from the false apostles. Makes a slave of you (Greek: katadouloo) is a verb that in its only other appearance in the B’rit Chadahah refers to the Judaizers’ enslavement of the Galatians (see the commentary on Galatians Ax – False Brothers slipped in to Spy Out our Freedom in Messiah). The Greek word translated devours pictures the false apostles preying on the Corinthians like predatory animals. It could be a reference to their demands for money. It was used this way in Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47 to describe the greedy Pharisees seizing widows’ houses. The Corinthians just stood by while the false apostles took advantage of them (12:16) and puffed themselves up in their pride and arrogance. Their mistreatment of the Corinthians was, in short, a slap in the face, which was (and is) a symbol of extreme disrespect (First Kings 22:24; Lamentations 3:30; Luke 22:64; John 18:22; Acts 23:2).

Three valuable lessons can be learned from Paul’s contrast of himself with the false apostles. First, believers must not be taken in by smooth, clever, seemingly spiritual speech. It may be satanic lies and deception. Many false apostles (teachers) use biblical terms but use them with a radically different meaning. Second, believers must go beyond a teacher’s words and examine his or her life. Religion is a big business to false apostles (teachers), but those consumed with accumulating wealth and power are not true servants of Yeshua Messiah (Matthew 6:24). Finally, believers must avoid the temptation to make tolerance a virtue. Toleration is the supreme virtue only to those who lack strong conviction. To discern the true from the false spiritual leaders is vital to the health of the Church. To fail to exercise discernment is to open wide the door to the sheepfold and allow Satan’s savage wolves to ravage God’s flock.²⁵²

Being Deceived
11: 1-6

Being deceived DIG: What upsets Paul about those false apostles? What is the hallmark of all false religions and cults? How does this relate to 6:14? What evidence of his fatherly love did Paul point out to the Corinthians? How were the Corinthians at risk of spiritual adultery? Playing the fool, how did Paul compare himself to those false apostles?

REFLECT: What are some of the ways that Satan attacks believers. Have you ever faced a temptation that questioned or denied God’s Word? If so, what lie was substituted for the truth? Why are the methods of false apostles sometimes successful? Sin rarely reveals itself as evil, from verses 2-4 how can you guard yourself against this Satanic strategy?

Paul was afraid that somehow the minds of the Corinthians had been deceived.

Paul had already established that self-praise was inadmissible and worthless (3:1, 5:12, 10:12), but he realized that his present situation demanded it if his converts at Corinth were to be preserved intact for Messiah. His antagonists, the false apostles (to see link click Af – The Problem of False Apostles), had indulged in self-praise (5:12, 10:7 and 12-18), and most of the Corinthians had been duped by them. Consequently, his hand was forced (12:11); he was pressed to indulge in foolish boasting in order to win the Corinthians’ attention and gain a fair hearing. Reluctantly, he decided to employ the methods of his opponents; unlike theirs, however, his motive was not personal gain, but the welfare of the Corinthians.²³³ Paul further undercut his rivals’ boasting by the use of irony. He does not boast about his glorious accomplishments, as they had, but recounts a string of humiliating experiences and boldly contends that he was a better servant of Messiah because of them (11:23). The battle lines therefore were drawn between Paul, the weak but true apostle authorized by God, and the false apostles working under Satan.

The fool’s discourse begins here in 11:1, but Paul does not start speaking as a fool until 11:21. Paul first warns them about what he is going to do. He starts with a plea for tolerance. I would like you to bear with me in a little foolishness – please bear with me (11:1)! He doesn’t immediately tell them what this foolishness might be. It was a different kind of foolishness than the folly of the cross (see the commentary on First Corinthians An – The Foolishness of Worldly Wisdom); it was foolish human vanity that glorifies in itself, instead of ADONAI. Foolishness, foolish and fools are key words repeated throughout this section (11:1, 16-17, 19, 21; 12:6 and 11). Here in 11:1-6 Paul gives three reasons for this proposed foolishness and why the Corinthians should be tolerant and at least humor him.²³⁴

1. Paul’s zeal for the church (11:2-3): Paul puts the matter in the framework of engagement and marriage. He saw himself as the father of the congregation (First Corinthians 4:15), and as such, he had pledged them to Messiah – to one man, not a slew of husbands. For I am zealous for you with God’s kind of zealousness (11:2a). Moses told the second generation of the Exodus that they were not to go after the gods of the pagan peoples around them. For ADONAI your God in the midst of you is a jealous God (Deuteronomy 6:14-15a). The reason that idols are not to be worshiped is that ADONAI is a jealous or zealous God, and Isra’el’s idolatry is looked upon as spiritual adultery. The Hebrew word qanna’ combines the two concepts of jealousy and zeal (not envy or suspicion). So, zeal, or zealousness, meaning a passionate devotion to, would be a better term to use than jealous, which has negative, even petty connotations. So, idolatry would cause God’s zeal to burn like a husband’s zealousness would burn against an unfaithful wife (Hosea 2:2-5). Because God and Isra’el are viewed as married, Isra’el is viewed as the wife of ADONAI (Deuteronomy 5:1-3, 6:10-15, 7:6-11; Isaiah 54:1-8, 62:4-5; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezeki’el 16:8; Hosea 2:14-23). For that very reason, the Israelites should not have worshiped other gods. God has a right to be zealous over what is rightfully His. This was the kind of zealousness Paul had for the church at Corinth.

Among the Jews engagement was the first stage of marriage, and it took place at a very early age. Unlike engagement today, Jewish engagement of the first century was not something that was entered into lightly, nor was it easily broken. The engagement could only be canceled by an official bill of divorce. If an engaged woman had sexual relations with any other man, it was treated as adultery. The engaged couple didn’t live together until the marriage ceremony when they entered the wedding canopy, or huppah, and the marriage blessings were recited. Therefore, a year normally passed before the woman moved into her husband’s home where they would live together. The responsibility of safeguarding his daughter’s virginity fell to the father (Deuteronomy 22:13-21). So, Paul pictured himself as the father of the bride (11:2b) whose ultimate purpose was to engage the church of God in Corinth (1:1) to her heavenly Bridegroom, Yeshua Messiah, and present her as a virgin to her Husband at His appearance (Second Corinthians 4:14; Ephesians 5:27; First John 3:2-3).²³⁵

Undivided devotion and purity are the requirements for a continuing relationship with Messiah, and Paul feared that the Corinthians may have already been unfaithful. And I fear that somehow your minds may have been deceived (Greek: phthalein, frequently applies to moral corruption) from simple and pure devotion to the Messiah, just as Eve was deceived by the serpent and his craftiness (11:3). As the serpent ensnared Eve with lies, so his smooth- talking rivals had snaked their way into the Corinthians’ affections and captured their minds. It is not difficult to deceive those who wish to be deceived, and their desires already primed their own hearts to be disobedient. The Corinthians’ fondness for error and illusions of grandeur, believing themselves to be kings who already reigned (First Corinthians 4:8), made them easy prey for the pompous opponents to inject their poisonous doctrine.²³⁶

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for always loving Your children and wanting the very best for them. Thank You for the Word of God which guides us into all truth and helps us discern truth from deception. Thank you for Your Spirit who lives in believers, and who teaches us to understand Your Word. Yeshua answered and said to him: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him . . . But the Helper, the Ruach Ha’Kodesh whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and remind you of everything that I said to you (John 14:23, 26).

2. Paul’s preaching of the true Gospel (11:4): The false apostles preached some other Yeshua than the one Paul preached. The apostle warned the Corinthians to be on guard if someone comes and tells you about some other Yeshua than the one he told them about (see the commentary on Galatians Aj – No Other Gospel). A counterfeit Gospel has always been the hallmark of false religions and cults. Instead of viewing Messiah as the Second Person of the Trinity, who became a man and died an atoning sacrifice for sin, they see Him as a prophet, guru, avatar, social or political revolutionary, Michael the archangel, an emanation from God – anything but the true God in the flesh. While the false apostles seemingly identified with Yeshua, the Yeshua they preached was not the Yeshua of Scripture. Not only that, the false apostles came in the power of a different spirit, a demonic spirit, not the Ruach Ha’Kodesh whom the Corinthians had received salvation from. All false doctrine denies that salvation is by faith alone and adds human works. Incredibly, instead of rejecting that damning heresy, the Corinthians accepted it way to easily, thus justifying Paul’s fear for their purity (11:4).²³⁷

3. Paul’s superior knowledge (11:5-6): Paul’s hesitancy to boast (10:12) caused him to sarcastically claim that he didn’t consider himself in any way inferior to the false apostles (11:5). He was not acknowledging them as equals, but for the sake of argument he called on the Corinthians to at least grant the obvious reality that he wasn’t inferior to them. However, this statement implies that some at Corinth thought he was inferior in some way. Paul rejected that assumption with irony and parody and the plain statement of facts. At the conclusion of his fool’s speech in 12:11, he will repeat the phrase: For I am in no way inferior to the false apostles. No true follower of Messiah shouts, “I am number one” like the imposters did. It was specifically that attitude that exposed them as counterfeits. All followers of Messiah are second to One, and all are servants of His Church, not overlords.²³⁸

As mentioned earlier, the false apostles ridiculed Paul as being a crude, amateurish, unrefined speaker (10:10). The apostle acknowledged that he wasn’t interested in the rhetorical and oratorical skills that so impressed the Greeks, because he wasn’t concerned with technique, but with the Gospel. He declared: I may not be a skilled speaker, but I do have the knowledge of the Good News . . . clear and simple (11:5). Although his communication skills might have been deficient by their standards, the false apostles claimed to have secret knowledge not available to the uninitiated. But Paul knew that human eloquence draws people to the preacher, but not the cross; faithful preaching, on the other hand, results spiritual fruit for the Gospel itself is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16).²³⁹

Consequently, Paul was unfazed by his supposed failing in speech because his knowledge of the Good News more than made up for it. Anyhow, he declared, I have made this clear to you in every way and in every circumstance (11:6). The kind of speech that characterized his rivals was, in fact, a sign of their foolishness and the absence of any kind of knowledge of God. Sophisticated speech that comes from showmen who are puffed-up with pride and interested only in making a splash and grabbing the limelight and honor for themselves. From Paul’s perspective such methods only served to conceal their gaping ignorance of ADONAI. Knowledge of God refers to spiritual insight that shines from an intimate relationship of Messiah crucified. Paul was full of the Spirit of God, and his humble speech matched his spiritual wisdom and power. And it bore fruit. By it, he engaged the Corinthians with Messiah. The flashy rivals, however, lead them astray with clever eloquence in the same way that the serpent deceived Eve.²⁴⁰

Angels of Light and Darkness
11:1-15 and 20

Paul declared: For if someone comes and tells you about some other Yeshua than the one we told you about, or if you receive a spirit different from the one you received or accept some so-called “good news” different from the Good News you already accepted, you bear with him well enough (11:4)! There it is. The truth exposed. The simple-minded Corinthians who lacked discernment, were easy prey for the smooth-talking, slick packaging of Satan’s henchmen. In light of the Corinthians’ coming under the sway of those evil men, Paul will now draw an even starker contrast between himself and them, more so than at any other point in either First or Second Corinthians.²³²

A Misplaced Standard
10: 12-18

A misplaced standard DIG: How did the Corinthian church measure ministry? What were Paul’s credentials? Why did the Corinthians have a hard time accepting them? How is Paul’s exercise of authority different from his usurpers, the false apostles?

REFLECT: Do we evaluate how others are doing by comparing the fruit of their ministries to ours? Or do we actually have an audience of One? How skilled are you at spiritual discernment? How do you know when you’re in God’s will and when you’re fighting against it?

We must not use the world’s standards of measurement for ourselves or our ministries.

The misplaced standard (10:12): The Pharisee who proudly and arrogantly prayed: God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector (Luke 18:11) illustrated the attitude of the false apostles (to see link click Af – The Problem of the False Apostles). In their zeal to elevate themselves, they would heartlessly tear down anyone who would get in their way. The proud, vain false apostles at Corinth sought to make themselves look good by slandering and degrading the apostle.²²² But Paul, injecting a little humor, disparages their boasting with mock self-deprecation. Oh, don’t worry; we wouldn’t dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are (10:12a NLT). Speaking tongue-in-cheek, Paul subtly raised the question whether his rivals were comparable to him at all. And the reality was that there was no comparison. None! Paul couldn’t make one if he tried. In all their boasting they presumed to be Paul’s superior, but in his view, they were merely false apostles. They claimed to be in a different league than Paul; and the apostle readily agreed – they were in league with Satan. They may have won status in the eyes of some of the Corinthians with their boastfulness, but they had only won the judgment of Ha’Shem in the process.²²³

We get a real insight into the thinking of truly evil people in this portion of Scripture. Speaking of the false prophets, Paul wrote: But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. Not wise (10:12b NLT)! In other words, they felt no sense of guilt or shame about their destructive actions because they only compared their behavior with one another’s. They dared not compare themselves with Paul and the other true believers of Messiah. The differences would have been too stark. But because they only compared themselves with themselves, they felt justified in their actions and reinforced in their teaching. They set standards for their own behavior and established their own code of conduct. And the standard that they chose was their own evil behavior.²²⁴

The true standard (10:13-18): False apostles, no matter what time in history, tend to be tyrants, who become enraged at those who would limit their ambitious designs. They continually seek to widen their sphere of influence and gain even greater prestige, fame, and wealth. To that end, they often overstate or even falsify their qualifications and gifts. The false apostles presented the Corinthians with a rather amazing resume. They claimed even greater power, knowledge, oratory skills and influence than Paul. And they used their phony credentials to gain influence in the church at Corinth.

But Paul refused to boast about what lay outside the boundaries which God had given him. He refused to trade lies and exaggerations with the false apostles; his assessment of his ministry was honest and accurate. In contrast to them, he was content to remain within his assigned area of ministry (10:13). He planted the seed, and God made it grow (First Corinthians 3:6). Therefore, Paul appealed to the indisputable fact that he founded the church at Corinth. His rivals could not claim this. His only boast was in what Yeshua Messiah had accomplished in his life. The false apostles might point to their letters of recommendation and their rhetorical wizardry to corroborate their claims of divine authority. But Paul appealed to the Corinthian church itself, founded by his missionary preaching. Like chaff driven by the wind (Psalm 1:4), their boasts were merely based on the evidence that they manufactured from their own fantasies about themselves.²²⁵

Messiah has given each of us special abilities – whatever he wants us to have out of his rich storehouse of gifts (Romans 9:20-21 JB). Part of accepting these gifts is realizing our limitations. Nobody is good at everything; and no one is called to be everything. We all have defined roles. Paul understood that his call was not to accomplish everything or please everyone, but to focus only on the particular ministry that God had given him (Galatians 2:7-8). The word boundaries above in 10:13 refers to the fact that ADONAI assigns each of us a field or sphere of ministry. This is determined by our giftedness given to us at the moment of salvation by the Spirit of God. If we try to overextend our ministry and reach beyond the giftedness that God has given us, we experience failure and stress. Just as a runner in a race is given a different lane to run in, we must run with patience the particular race that God has set before you (Hebrews 12:1). Don’t be envious of the runner in the lane next to you, just focus on finishing your race.²²⁶

What follows in 10:14-15a basically repeats what Paul has said in 10:13 but takes it a step further by making it more specific, using a bit of sanctified sarcasm along the way. We are not overextending our boasting as if we had not reached as far as you; for we came to you with the Good News of the Messiah. We do not boast about the area in which others labor (10:14-15a). Paul had the God-given authority as the apostle to the Gentiles because he was called by ADONAI to carry out that ministry, unlike the false apostles whose only approval they received was their own. Having no legitimate accomplishments of their own, they were eager to take credit for those of others. But in reality, they had made no contribution to the Corinthians’ spiritual growth, because they were not true servants of God. By preaching a false gospel and another Yeshua (11:3-4), they were interfering with the work that Paul had accomplished. They were nothing more than parasites, sucking the spiritual life out of the church in contrast to the true apostle, who built it up.

Paul’s plan and hope was that as the Corinthians’ trust grew, his sphere of ministry would be enlarged even more by them. His goal was, with their assistance, to proclaim the Good News in regions beyond Corinth. Our hope is not to boast about the work already done by someone else (10:15b-16). That was not possible at the time, however, because of the Corinthians’ sin, immaturity, and rebellion. It would have to wait until they had completely rejected the false apostles and returned to sound doctrine and holy living. Paul was never one to rest on his laurels. His relentless spirit continually drove him to preach the Good News where it had never been proclaimed. In Acts 19:21 he expressed his desire to preach the Gospel in Rome, but he did not mean to stop there. He planned, with the Roman believers’ aid, to reach Spain (Romans 15:24 and 28). When the Corinthians became strong enough in their faith, the apostle wanted them to launch him into the next mission field. But no matter where he went, Paul always wanted to stay in his lane. He humbly refused to follow the footsteps of other godly believers or to take credit for their labors.²²⁷

So, let anyone who wants to boast, boast about ADONAI (10:17). As this quotation from Jeremiah 9:24 implies, if a figure like Paul was going to boast about anything, its central focus was going to be the Lord and the work of the Lord. This is notably not the first time Jeremiah 24 had been quoted to the Corinthians (First Corinthians 1:31).²²⁸ Boasting in ADONAI is the true principle. And Paul followed it in all of his apostolic ministry. But it also applies to every one of us wherever the Lord has placed us, and whatever He gives us to do. Therefore, Paul brings his discussion to a focus and a resting point. It was the pattern that he followed.²²⁹

After Martin Luther’s death (1483-1546), his friends found a scrap of paper in his pocket on which the great Reformer had written, which said, “We are all beggars. Humble men of God realize that they have nothing to boast about. If they preach the Gospel, it is because God’s Word is a fire in their bones (Jeremiah 20:9) and they are compelled to preach (First Corinthians 9:16). They serve the Church only because Christ puts them into service (First Timothy 1:12), and any success they have is attributable solely to the grace of God at work in them (First Corinthians 15:10). They cry out with the psalmist: Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory (Psalm 115:1).

The false apostles were totally focused on the here and now, as they pursued fame, compliments, notoriety, prestige, wealth and power. But when they died their praise would die with them. True servants of Messiah, on the other hand, look toward their heavenly reward (Matthew 5:12; Luke 6:23; Colossians 3:24; Hebrews 11:26). They understand that worldly self-praise is meaningless, because it is not the one who praises himself who is worthy of approval. They are not trying to please everyone, whether the world condemns them or praises them is of no particular significance in the long run. What matters is whom the Lord praises (10:18); to whom He says: Well done, good and faithful servant . . . enter into the joy of Your Master (Matthew 25:21).²³⁰ That is the only evaluation that counts. In the last analysis, we have an audience of One.

If you’re going to be a servant, you must settle your identity in Yeshua. Only secure people can serve. Insecure people are always worrying about how they appear to others. They fear exposure of their weaknesses and hide beneath layers of protective pride and pretensions. The more insecure you are, the more you will want people to serve you, and the more you will need their approval. But when you anchor your worth and identity to Messiah, you are freed from the expectations of others, and that allows you to really serve them best.²³¹

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for the joy of serving You! Praise You that we can focus on doing our best in our service for You, without being bothered by criticism and put-downs from selfish on-lookers. It is a comfort that You wisely and carefully examine the love in our hearts (First Corinthians 3:11-15). When we serve humbly and kindly yet get put down, it does not discourage us for we remember that happened to You and You always do everything perfectly. You are our loving Savior (Second Timothy 1:10) and the King of kings (Revelation 19:16) yet You were unjustly criticized.

We choose to look away from earthly trials and problems and to focus on the eternal joy of pleasing You (Romans 8:18).Though it’s nice to hear praise for our work, it is so much better to know that when we follow You with all our heart, then we will receive an eternal reward – a reward far better than momentary earthly praise. We long to hear Your praise of our works done lovingly: Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful with a little, so I’ll put you in charge of much. Enter into your master’s joy (Matthew 25:21 and 23)! It is a joy to serve You, even in hard times. In Your holy Son’s name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Paul and the False Apostles
10:12 to 12:13

Chapters 10-13 are Paul’s emotionally charged warning to the Corinthians to set certain matters right so he wouldn’t have to do it when the apostle made his final visit to them. In these chapters the false apostles (to see link click Af – The Problem of the False Apostles) and their duped followers come more clearly into view, though Paul had made reference to them briefly in earlier parts of the letter. This is especially true of the outsiders, the false apostles, who like wolves in sheep’s clothing had infiltrated the flock. He had already briefly referred to their arrival, but he now deals with them at considerable length, pointing out their damaging influence in the church at Corinth.

In this section Paul declares, with heavy irony, that he will not dare compare himself with those who praise themselves. Because Paul is outside their circle and cannot be compared with them, their comparison of him reveals their lack of understanding. The result of his ministry among the Corinthians would speak for itself. He had founded the church and they had not. Paul hoped that as the faith of the Corinthians grew, his ministry among them would increase and overflow so that he would be able to evangelize in regions beyond them, not in another person’s field, being grateful for what the Lord had allowed him to do.

This section, while appearing to be about Paul, is indirectly about those who thought they were so spiritually superior and compared themselves to him. Only once does the apostle refer to them, and then only in an impersonal manner (10:12). It should be noted that he does not address them directly or prod them even indirectly. They were simply there, offstage, as it were, not worthy of even a minor comment. Their method of attack was to brag about themselves as polished speakers compared with him, thus seeking to undermine Paul’s position in Corinth. This forced Paul to respond to them over and over again.²²⁰

Paul had rejected self-praise and comparison as worthless. But now he asked the Corinthians to bear with a little foolishness of his own. The circumstances had driven him to that extreme. Boasting was clearly unwise; but if he ignored the slurs of his rivals the church might be persuaded that they were right all along. If he stooped down to their level, he would be a fool. Forced into a corner, Paul felt he must play the fool (12:11) and introduce his own so-called boasting. It was more than a case of fighting fire with fire. In the process, he turned his foolish boasting into a sly and devastating attack on his opponents. By repeatedly insisting that he was playing the fool by boasting (mirroring his rivals), he led the Corinthians to recognize how foolish and boastful his rivals were, and how foolish the Corinthians themselves had been for being taken in by them.

The difference between Paul and his rivals was that Paul admitted that what he did was foolish. They did not. The apostle undercut his rivals’ continual boasting with the use of irony. He didn’t boast about his glorious accomplishments, as they had, but lists a string of humiliating experiences and boldly contends that he is a better servant of Messiah because of them (11:23). The battle lines were drawn between Paul, the meek but true apostle authorized by ADONAI, and the false apostles working under the influence of Satan.²²¹

Building Up, Not Tearing Down
10: 7-11

Building up, not tearing down DIG: Why did the Corinthians miss what Paul was doing? Why were they so taken by the false apostles? What did the Corinthians accuse Paul of? How did it backfire on them? What were Paul’s credentials? How was Paul’s presumed lack of speaking ability and personal appearance exactly what the Corinthians needed?

REFLECT: How can you tell that you have grown in your spiritual discernment? In the past, when were you fooled by someone who appeared to have authority? Was there ever a time in your life when you were spiritually blinded? What did you learn? Have you ever accused someone of something only to have it backfire on you? Who can you build up this week?

Paul used his authority to build up the church,
while the false apostles used the church to build up their authority.

One of the most difficult lessons Messiah’s disciples have to learn is that, in the Kingdom of God, position and power are no evidence of authority. Yeshua warned His followers not to pattern their leadership after that of the Gentiles who “lord it over” others and to act important. The example that Paul followed was that of Yeshua Messiah, who came as a servant and ministered to others (Mark 10:35-45). But the Corinthians were not spiritually minded enough to discern what Paul was doing. They contrasted his meekness with the swagger of the false apostles (to see link click Af – The Problem of the False Apostles), and they concluded that Paul had no authority at all. To be sure, he wrote powerful letters; but his physical appearance was meek, and his speech unimpressive. They were judging a book by its cover, and thus, Paul suffered greatly as a result.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for being the perfect example of total power and absolute authority – yet also being a gracious ruler. You are the Almighty Great Ruler of the Universe! Yeshua, the Word of God, will return to earth as conqueror with a sharp sword to strike down the nations. . . On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “King of kings, and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:13c, 15a, 16). You show amazing patience even when You are full of wrath and judging the world for its horrific crimes. You still have your arms outstretched in love to welcome all who will turn from their sins to follow You in love. And then I saw another angel flying high in the sky, having a timeless message of good news to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth- to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.  He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the One who made heaven and earth and sea and springs of water” (Revelation 14:6-7). May we use our leadership positions wisely following Your example. Sometimes discipline is needed, but always even correction is done in love and with the hand of forgiveness outstretched to the one who turns from their wrong to follow You. We love to walk following in Your footsteps. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Here Paul addresses one of the Corinthians who was especially impressed by his opponents. He represents a number of such foolish Corinthians, all of whom do not see what should be so plain to them, which was lying, as it were, on the very surface. The apostle declared: You are looking at the surface of things. If anyone is convinced that he belongs to the Messiah, he should remind himself that I belong to the Messiah as much as he does (10:7). Paul points to this misled church member what is right before his eyes, and lets the simple, obvious, undeniable facts tell him what he should have seen all along.

Paul’s opponents in the church were accusing him of not being a true apostle; for, if he were a true apostle, he would show it by using his apostolic authority. On the other hand, if Paul had thrown his weight around, so to speak, they would have found fault with that. No matter what Paul did, they were bound to condemn him. This is what happens when church members are spiritually blinded and evaluate ministry from a worldly perspective. But their accusation backfired. If Paul was not an apostle, then he was a counterfeit . . . and not even a believer. But if that were true, then the church at Corinth was not a true church. Paul had already made it clear that no one could separate his ministry from his personal life (see Am – A Time to Boast). If he was a deceiver, then the Corinthians were themselves deceived!²¹⁷

The best way to avoid being fooled by a counterfeit is to study what is genuine. Banks don’t train their tellers to recognize counterfeit money; they teach them to recognize genuine money, so when they see a counterfeit bill, they can recognize it easily. Therefore, Paul defended his authenticity in these verses by urging this misguided church member to take the blinders off and really take a look at his life and ministry.

Paul did not deny that he had authority, but he did refuse to exercise that authority in an unspiritual manner. The purpose of his authority was to build them up, not tear them down; and it required much more skill to build than to destroy. For even if I boast a little too much about the authority the Lord has given us – authority to build you up, not tear you down – I am not ashamed (10:8). Paul used his authority to build up the church, while the false apostles used the church to build up their authority. Furthermore, it takes love to build up (1 Corinthians 8:1), but the Corinthians interpreted Paul’s love and meekness as a sign of weakness.

Paul also pointed out that there was no contradiction between his preaching and his writing. The apostle did have the capacity to be a firm disciplinarian, who would not avoid controversy or confrontation if necessary – but it was hardly his preferred demeanor. He was bold in his letters because that’s what was needed at the time. How much more he would have enjoyed being able to write with gentleness. But it would not achieve his desired purpose. My object is not to seem as if I were trying to frighten you with these letters (10:9). Even when he wrote his weighty and powerful letters, he wrote from a heart of love. It’s as if Paul were saying, “You’d better prepare for my next visit, because if necessary, I’ll show you how powerful I can be.”

How a believer uses authority is evidence of his spiritual maturity and character. An immature person is quick to use their authority, but a mature person grows in the use of authority, and lets others grow along with him. The wise leader, like a wise parent, knows when to wait in loving patience and when to act with determined power. It takes more true leadership and spiritual maturity to wait than to strike. A mature person does not use authority to demand respect, but uses servant leadership (Mark 10:45), modeled after the Master. The false apostles depended on letters of recommendation for their authority, but Paul had a divine commission from heaven. The life that he lived and the ministry that he did were “credentials” enough, for it was evident that the hand of God was on his life and on his body. The apostle could dare to write: From now on, I don’t want anyone to give me any more trouble, because I have scars on my body to prove that I belong to Yeshua (Galatians 6:17).²¹⁸

Paul’s opponents had leveled the accusation against him that he lacked integrity since he presented himself as a ferocious lion who would only roar when he was far off in the woods, but was a timid lamb who would turn tail whenever he was confronted face-to-face. They said his letters are weighty and powerful, but when he appears in person he is weak, and as a speaker he is nothing (10:10). It was true that Paul had been meek when he was attacked during his second visit (see Ao – Paul’s Painful Visit), but bold when he subsequently wrote his severe letter (1:13, 2:3-4 and 9, 7:8 and 12). His rivals criticized him for this apparent contradiction because they didn’t understand the difference between meekness and weakness. The quality of meekness is actually one of careful self-control, composure, and in being able to handle difficulties in a fair way while maintaining one’s cool.

Such a person, like the spokesman within the group of detractors (10:7), should have realized that what Paul said in his letters when absent, he would do when present (10:11). It seems as though his opponents were professional speakers. Paul’s communication style, in stark contrast, was much more plain speaking, straightforward, and concentrated on preaching the gospel (see the commentary on First Corinthians Ao – The Cross and the Good News). What the false apostles questioned was his physical appearance and what they considered his crude public speaking style. He seemed to make an unfavorable impression on them as one who was physically unattractive and less than articulate. An unpolished and halting oral performance would have given the impression that he was uneducated. Either some in the church would have liked him to be more the other golden-tongued orators who were idolized in Corinth so that their association with him would boost their own prestige; or his opponents latched on to this weakness to advance their bid for influence in the church.

It is important to understand that Paul’s presumed lack of speaking ability and personal appearance were exactly what the Corinthians needed to see beyond many of their limited human values, and for them to consider the example of Yeshua the Messiah who suffered and died for them. Of the Savior, Isaiah had written: He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him (Isaiah 53:2). The powerful Corinthians, who imagined the Kingdom had arrived for them (1 Cor 4:8), desperately needed a weak apostle who resembled the Messiah in his body of death (4:10), and yet lived by faith (5:7) in things yet unseen. Like the crucified Messiah, whom Paul followed, the apostle was like a mirror to the Corinthians, in which they could see themselves as they truly were. At the moment, however, some of them were blind to that truth, preferring heroes who matched their own imagination.²¹⁹

Winning the Spiritual War
10: 1-6

DIG: What is the basic argument or conflict taking place in Corinth? Paul asserts that beneath the surface, the enemy (the Adversary) has a foothold in the church at Corinth. What does this mean? How could such a thing happen? Critics had evidently claimed that Paul was bold in his writings but meek and uncertain when he was with the Corinthians in person. How did Paul refute that charge? How does Paul advocate dealing with wrong thinking and wrong behavior in the Church? Paul was not eager to confront those Corinthians who continued to oppose his God-given authority, but he was willing to do whatever was necessary to preserve the church. Why is this kind of bold leadership important even today?

REFLECT: How should you be warned by this incident, in which believable suggestions were being made by seemingly spiritual people using lots of religious language? How would it change your life if you consistently developed this discipline of arresting and examining every thought? What can you learn here in this passage about the character and resolve of the enemy? Why were Paul’s ideas about how and what to think more valid than the ideas of the false apostles in Corinth? What concrete steps can you take to submit every thought to the authority of Messiah (see Acts 17:10-12)? Can you think of a time when wrong thinking resulted in wrong choices in your life? How about when right thinking led to wise choices?

There is a war taking place, and the primary battleground is in our minds.

As the word now (10:1) indicates, this passage begins a new section of Paul’s letter (to see link click Br – Paul Defends His Apostolic Authority). Even though he had acknowledged the repentance in the church at Corinth (see Bl – The Effects of the Severe Letter), the apostle was wise enough to know that his rivals (see Af – The Problem of the False Apostles) were still a force to be reckoned with. The general repentance of the congregation had likely only driven their poisonous revolt underground. There, some bided their time, hoping to rekindle the rebellion against Paul. In the meantime, they surely conducted more subtle warfare against him. To stamp out the last traces of rebellion, Paul launched a search-and-destroy mission to root out the remaining pockets of resistance at Corinth. His attack was two pronged. The preliminary bombardment, as it were, came in the last four chapters of this letter; the final assault would come when the apostle visited Corinth a couple of months later (12:14 and 13:1). This last section of Paul’s letter, then, was addressed to the disobedient minority; namely, the false apostles and their remaining deluded followers. As the battle continued against the forces of evil at Corinth, Paul appeared in his soldier’s uniform to set an example for all to follow. He reveals four traits of a soldier who can triumph in the spiritual war.

He is compassionate, courageous, competent and calculating.

He is compassionate (10:1): Before beginning his assault of the false apostles and their followers, the apostle expressed his unwillingness to engage in combat. Good soldiers take no pleasure in using deadly force and do so only with great reluctance. A noble warrior’s power is constrained by his compassion and exercised only when there is no other option. This is the spirit in which Paul fought his spiritual war. That did not mean, of course, that Paul doubted the authority delegated to him by Yeshua Messiah. In fact, he boldly asserted: Now it is I myself, Paul, making an appeal to you. Unlike the false apostles, Paul did not depend on any human source for his authority (3:1). His words revealed divine authority, and so would his power, if necessary, when he visited Corinth (see Cg – A Fond Farwell). Instead of seeking personal vengeance on his enemies, Paul showed them the same patience that the Lord had shown him (First Timothy 1:16).

But before wielding his apostolic might, Paul first displayed his compassion. He appealed to the rebellious minority with the meekness (Greek: prautes, meaning a humble and gentle attitude that results in patient endurance of offenses) and gentleness (Greek: epieikeia, is translated kindness in its only other appearance) that can only come from Messiah, to end their attack on him and be reconciled to the truth. However, Paul’s enemies put a negative spin on his compassion, scornfully condemning it as cowardly weakness. They accused him of being timid when face-to-face with them but intimidating from a distance (see 10:10).²⁰⁵

How ignorant the Corinthians were, even after all that Paul had taught them. They failed to realize that the true spiritual power is meekness and gentleness, not in “throwing his spiritual weight around.” Paul’s very attitude in these opening verses disarmed his opponents. In fact, the use of his own name is significant, for Paul means little. If he was a spiritual weakling, then so was Messiah, for Yeshua demonstrated meekness and gentleness when He said: Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart (Matthew 11:29).²⁰⁶

He is courageous (10:2): Those who mistook Paul for a weakling were drastically mistaken. When all attempts at compassion were exhausted, he would not shrink from using his authority as Messiah’s apostle. It would not be good for those enemies when Paul comes and gives them a dose of his courage face-to-face, the courage of which they were mocking. He certainly intended to demolish them completely. He literally begged the Corinthians not to become involved with the rebels, not to listen to them or associate with them so that, when he comes and makes short work of his enemies, he will not have to also deal with any of them.²⁰⁷

If necessary, Paul was going to deal directly with those who were slandering him, saying: I beg you not to force me to be intimidating when I am with you, and a new element enters the tone of his letter. From here on, he makes use of irony, even sarcasm, as he ridicules his opponents, especially the false apostles (11:5 and 12:11), and he indicates with increasing sharpness that he will not spare those who continue to sin. He has shown how gentle he can be; but now he shows another side of himself, as he does his utmost to turn the divisive troublemakers into faithful followers of Messiah and His appointed apostle (1:1).²⁰⁸

Paul would wage his war toward some who regard us as living in a worldly way. The false apostles and their duped followers slandered Paul by accusing him of walking according his old sin nature (see the commentary on Romans Cd – The Reason for the Inner Conflict). According to them, he was motivated by evil self-interest, the lustful pursuit of money, and illicit desires. This was the height of projection.

Throughout his letter, Paul courageously defended himself against those outrageous charges, which were at the heart of the conspiracy against him. In 1:12 he wrote: For we take pride in this: that our conscience assures us that in our dealings with the world, and especially with you, we have conducted ourselves with frankness and godly pureness of motive – not by worldly wisdom but by God-given grace. Unlike the false apostles, Paul handled the Word accurately: For we are not like a lot of folks who go around huckstering God’s message for a fee; on the contrary, we speak out of a sincere heart, as people sent by God, standing in His presence, living in union with the Messiah (3:17). Nor did he have a secret life of sin, having renounced the hidden things because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the Word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending [myself] to every man’s conscience in the sight of God (4:2 NASB). “Make room for us in your hearts,” he begged the Corinthians, “we haven’t wronged anyone, we haven’t corrupted anyone, and we haven’t exploited anyone” (7:2). Paul had given the rebels fair warning. If they did not repent, it would mean spiritual war – the kind of war that the apostle was fully equipped to win.²⁰⁹

He is competent (10:3-5): In addition to being compassionate and courageous, the believer in Messiah’s spiritual army must also be properly armed for the battle. If any of his adversaries imagined that Paul was not a competent soldier, they were in for a rude awakening. The apostle gave his opponents fair warning that he was armed with the weapons of righteousness (6:7b). Here, once more, is an expression of the power-in-weakness paradox of apostolic ministry. While acknowledging that he walks in the flesh (Greek: sarx, meaning original sin nature), Paul denies that he wages war according to the flesh (10:3). Like all other human beings who walk in the flesh, Paul is a mere jar of clay (4:7), who was outwardly wasting away (4:16), a thorn-afflicted man (12:7). Yet, even in the midst of such weakness, he was an effective bearer of the Word (2:17, 3:2-3, 4:1-6, 5:11-12, 11:2, 12:19, 13:3-4). But because he was a fallen human being in the flesh it was only by the Word of God, the treasure itself (4:7), along with the aid of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, not its frail, ever debilitating, human bearer, that was powerful enough to achieve the purposes of ADONAI.²¹⁰

And that was exactly where the false apostles and their followers made their mistake. They regarded Paul as being only a man like themselves, and thus thought that in a fight they would be more than a match for the apostle and his little crew. Those opponents imagined that they could outdistance Paul in trickery and underhanded work. To this point, their heavy artillery had been lies and slander. They were sure they would win the battle with that kind of bombardment. However, He told the Corinthians not to get involved in that fight because Paul, the great general and his lieutenants, operated with surprisingly different armament.₂₁₁

To successfully fight the spiritual war, it requires weapons from the heavenly arsenal (10:4a). Continuing with the siege metaphor, Paul declares that the weapons we use to wage war are not fleshly; on the contrary, they have God’s power for the destruction of fortresses, meaning false biblical teachings and false ideas that oppose the gospel (see the commentary on First Corinthians An – The Foolishness of Worldly Wisdom). Paul liked to use word pictures drawn from the image of a soldier (Romans 13:12; First Corinthians 9:7; Philippians 2:25; 1 Thessalonians 5:8; First Timothy 1:18 and 6:12; 2 Timothy 2:3-4 and 4:7; Philemon 2), and with Roman soldiers ever present in the Mediterranean world, use of such language would have been very effective with Paul’s audience.²¹² Paul suggests a variety of both offensive and defensive weapons (see the commentary on Ephesians Cb – The Armor of God).

Get the picture that’s in Paul’s mind with all its crushing irony. We demolish arguments and every arrogance that raises itself up against the knowledge of God (10:4b). He paints his opponents as a handful of hostiles who, by harassing the Corinthians, imagine that they can defeat ADONAI Elohei-Tzva’ot, the LORD God of heaven’s angelic armies, and whole great campaign of God which had been entrusted to Paul. Psalm 2:4 shows how ridiculous that is: He who sits in heaven laughs; ADONAI looks at them with contempt. Paul wants his Corinthians to see all of it in that light; then none of them would ever listen to those foolish opponents again. This war could not lead to anything but victory.²¹³

Spiritually, your mind is your most vulnerable organ. To reduce temptation, keep your mind occupied with God’s Word and other good thoughts. You defeat bad thoughts by thinking of something better. This is the principle of replacement. You overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). The Adversary can’t get your attention when your mind is preoccupied with something else. That’s why the Bible repeatedly tells us to keep our thoughts on Yeshua (Hebrews 3:1 NIV), always think about Yeshua (Second Timothy 2:8 GWT), and fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely and honorable (Philippians 4:8 TEV).

If you’re serious about defeating temptation you must manage your mind and monitor your media intake. The wisest man who ever lived warned: Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts (Proverbs 4:23 TEV). Don’t allow trash into your mind indiscriminately. Be selective. Choose carefully what you think about. Follow Paul’s model: We take every thought captive and make it obey the Messiah (10:5). This takes a lifetime of practice, but with the help of the Spirit of God you can reprogram the way you think.²¹⁴

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for Your great military mind power! Though we have built fortresses around bad thoughts, You can destroy those fortresses as we open the gates of our mind to Your cleansing. No habit or repeated thought is ever too powerful for You. Your cleansing of our thoughts is like a load of bricks taken off our backs. What a joy it is to take every thought captive as we think on Your great mercy and power. It is such a comfort to meditate on the stories in the Bible and your many wonderful characteristics. It brings peace to go to sleep thinking: Praise you God! You are Holy, Almighty, All Powerful, All Wise, Forgiving Savior and Loving Father! Thank you for being such a wonderful Heavenly Father! In Yeshua’s Holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

He is calculating (10:6): The competent soldier understands the crucial importance of timing. Rather than fire blindly and risk killing friendly troops, he waits until the enemy is clearly in sight. Paul had the courage and the competence to punish all disobedience at Corinth. He would not allow the false apostles to destroy the church. But he also had the discipline to wait until the church’s obedience was complete (10:6 NASB). Paul would not unleash his formidable apostolic power on anyone until each had taken their stand. That way, it would be clear who accepted the truth and who had rejected it. Paul would be compassionate to the former, but the latter would find him to be a courageous and highly competent opponent.²¹⁵

The universe is not a neutral place. There is a war going on, and the primary battleground is in our minds. All day, every day, we are bombarded with words, ideas, images, and suggestions. From advertisements to blogs, from scientists to internet preachers, we face continual exposure to various perspectives and values. Not all of the information to which we are exposed is true. Much of it is unhealthy and opposed to what ADONAI says. And since ideas always have consequences, and what we believe ultimately does determine how we will behave, we must take radical action. What can we do? Wake up. Put on God’s armor. Pray for wisdom. Think critically. Practice discernment. Renew our minds daily.²¹⁶

The Exercise of Apostolic Authority
10: 1-11

The Corinthians’ regard for Paul had been steadily undermined both by actions on his part that they had misinterpreted, and by the invasion of rivals (to see link click Af – The Problem of the False Apostles) who made inroads by mockingly comparing Paul to themselves. Because those mischief makers had met with an embarrassing measure of success, Paul found himself in the uncomfortable position of having to defend himself against their annoying smear campaign and to explain his behavior as an apostle.²⁰³

Paul’s opponents had leveled the accusation against him that he lacked integrity since he presented himself as a ferocious lion who would only roar when he was far off in the woods, but was a timid lamb and would turn tail whenever he was confronted face-to-face (10:1-2, 9-11). Paul points out that his enemies, who judge him on the basis of human standards (10:2-3), have misread him and his ministry, seeing as “weakness” what should have been understood as Messiah’s powerful “meekness.” Evidently, some of the Corinthians themselves had joined in this misstep by judging him according to outward appearances (10:7a). Yet, using warfare language, Paul assures them that the boldness with which he writes will match the power of God, displayed in action when he sees the Corinthians face-to-face (10:2 and 11). Those who stand against him will be punished (10:6). But he is not trying to intimidate the church; rather, his boldness is meant for their spiritual good (10:8-9). Nevertheless, they will only be built up as they submit themselves in full obedience to his leadership (10:6).²⁰⁴

Paul Defends His Apostolic Authority
10:1 to 13:14

An abrupt change in tone occurs in Chapters 10-13. It becomes so dramatically different that a debate has raged for years over how the last four chapters of Second Corinthians relate to the first nine. Some go so far as to say that Chapters 10-13 form the nucleus of a totally separate letter, one that was circulated independently of Chapters 1-9. Others suggest that the final four chapters were actually taken from Paul’s severe letter (to see link click Af – The Problem of False Apostles) and were added later to the end of Second Corinthians.¹⁹⁸ However, nothing in the text suggests anything other than that these last four chapters form a response to the first nine. Let me make four points in that regard.

First, the first nine chapters involve what the last four contain to such an extent that the nine cannot be properly understood without the four. The reverse is also true: the last four rest upon the preceding nine to such a degree that these four cannot be understood without the nine. All of the hints found in the first seven chapters in regard to opposition and opponents in Corinth leave us thirsty for answers until the last four chapters bring the complete answers to the questions raised by those hints. In addition, the last four chapters reveal why the collection for the poor in Jerusalem began to lag, and why Paul wrote Chapters 8 and 9 to advance the matter of the collection.

All this shows us why the three main parts of the letter are arranged as they are. Chapters 1 through 7 must come first; then Chapters 8 and 9 must come regarding the collection; and not until Chapters 10 through 13 regarding the false apostles, and their personal attacks on Paul, can we see the rationale for the order.¹⁹⁹

Second, the first nine chapters were written to the repentant majority in the church who turned away from the false apostles and submitted to Paul’s apostolic authority. He purposely put this first and did not interject it into what he had to say in answer to the personal attacks directed toward him by the outsiders. The final four chapters, however, were written to the sinful minority who continued to be held hostage to the teachings of the false apostles, and who were still trying to shake the confidence of others in Paul and stage a coup by assuming positions of power within it.²⁰⁰ There, he annihilates the last arguments and beliefs of the false apostles and thus destroys the last hold which they sought to maintain upon some of the Corinthians.

If we separate the first nine and the last four chapters, and eliminate the vital connection between the two, both sections become fragments, buildings unfinished, curiosities. This is especially true regarding the last four chapters. If they are severed from the first nine, what are we to do with them? Where shall we place them? They are not an independent unit; they must have had a connection with some other good-sized section. And if that section is not the first nine chapters of this letter, what has become of it? Whatever preceded the last four chapters must have been more important, more fundamental than these last four. If the first nine chapters had been lost, would only the last four be preserved? And how were these supposedly secondary chapters attached to Second Corinthians if it originally consisted of only nine chapters? How does it happen that every text has 13 Chapters?

Third, the correlation between the first nine and the last four chapters are significant for both literary and historical criticism. The identical situation is reflected in both sections of the letter. What the first nine chapters reveal comes fully into view in the last four. If the letter originally consisted of only nine chapters, why did Paul not go to Corinth at once on receiving the report from Titus? The last four chapters show why he delayed going. Without those chapters Paul owed it to the Corinthians to explain his continued delay; yet no explanation would have been offered. All is clear if his letter contained 13 Chapters.

In the last four chapters Paul’s defense is made to the Corinthians, and against the false apostles with complete confidence. But we only know that because of what we have read in the first nine chapters. Without the nine, the four, taken by themselves, we would have to figure out what had happened previously on our own. And that would have been something like what happened in the first nine chapters. Leading words in the first nine are repeated in the second four just as they would naturally occur in two parts of the same letter.

Fourth, But the great difference is in Paul’s tone! Brief doctrinal and ethical discussions of a general nature are scattered throughout the nine chapters. But no such discussions can be seen in the four chapters. More than that, there is irony and satire. His defense centers around personal issues. In the nine chapters we can see nothing of this nature. The very restraint that is evident in the nine chapters shows that Paul reserved the demolition of the false apostles for the final part of his letter. It was wise to do that. When he came to the demolition, he did a complete job of it. Those false apostles were not only presumptuous, they were outsiders. The Corinthians were to reject them completely. They attacked Paul with slanderous lies. Should Paul sugar-coat his disdain. No! He annihilated them. He broke the last hold which those wolves-in-sheeps’ clothing had in Corinth.

But note how Paul distances those false apostles from the congregation. He was saving the Corinthian congregation from those dangerous invaders who had already done so much damage, damage that, fortunately, Titus had already largely repaired. Actually, the purpose of the entire thirteen chapters is one and the same. Because the four chapters attack the enemies outright, they correctly form just one part of the whole. Must the entire thirteen chapters attack in order to make up one letter? We think not.²⁰¹

As we are about to see, this is spiritual warfare of the most blatant nature. Paul is literally fighting for the soul of this church, a battle that is fiercely being waged with the future of the church and the eternal destinies of people hanging in the balance. The apostle wrote: The weapons we use to wage war are not worldly. On the contrary, they have God’s power for demolishing strongholds (10:4). Up to this point, Paul had been talking around the issue of the spiritual warfare taking place in the church. But now he will address it head on.²⁰²

The Path to Prosperity
9: 6-15

The path to prosperity DIG: Does Paul specify an amount or percentage of income that believers should give? What does he say about this in terms of “plants” and “harvesting?” What does Paul say is more important in giving than just the amount? In what ways does giving demonstrate faith and trust in God? How do these verses support the idea that you can’t out-give God? What does Paul say is the result of generous giving? Who does it affect?

REFLECT: How do you move from greediness to generosity? How would you describe your current giving habits? How do you determine what churches, ministries, or missions to support? How do you determine how much you will give? Why is it possible to give too much or to an unwise degree? Why do some believers get unexpected money and automatically think of giving, while others get unanticipated windfalls and immediately think of spending?

The more one gives, the more God gives back in return.

Think for just a moment about the things you own. Think about the house you have, the car you drive, the money you’ve saved. Think about the jewelry you’ve inherited and the stocks you’ve traded and the clothes you’ve purchased. Envision all your stuff, and let me remind you of two biblical truths. First, your stuff isn’t yours. Ask any coroner. Ask an embalmer. Ask any funeral-director. No one takes anything with them. You don’t see U-haul’s behind the hearses. The wisest man who ever lived declared: Naked we come from our mother’s womb, and naked we will depart. We take nothing from our labor that we can carry with us (Ecclesiastes 5:15).

All that stuff – it’s not yours. And you know what else about that stuff? It’s not you. Who you are has nothing to do with the clothes you wear or the car you drive. Yeshua said: Life is not defined by what you have, even if you have a lot (Luke 12:15 The Message). Heaven does not know you as the fellow with the nice suit or the woman with the big house or the kid with the new bike. Heaven knows your heart. ADONAI doesn’t see the way humans see – humans look at the outward appearance, but ADONAI looks at the heart (1 Sam 16:7).

When God thinks of you, he may see your compassion, your devotion, your tenderness or quick mind, but he doesn’t think of your things. And when you think of you, you shouldn’t either. Define yourself by your stuff, and you’ll feel good when you have a lot and bad when you don’t. Contentment comes when we can honestly say with Paul, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty” (Philippians 4:11-12). You have a God who hears you, the power to love behind you, the Ruach Ha’Kodesh inside of you, and all of heaven ahead of you. If you have the Shepherd, you have grace for every sin, direction for every turn, a candle for every corner, and an anchor for every storm. You have everything you need.¹⁹²

Here’s the point: the one who plants sparingly also harvests sparingly, but the one who plants bountifully will also harvest bountifully (9:6). Every farmer recognizes that the size of the harvest is directly proportional to the amount of the seed planted. The farmer who plants sparingly will only see a meager harvest; but the one who plants bountifully will harvest a great crop. In the spiritual realm, the principle is that giving to God results in blessing from God. Generous givers will harvest generous blessings from ADONAI, while those who hold back selfishly fearing loss will forfeit gain. To motivate the Corinthians to give, Paul gave a fivefold description of the harvest that would result.

1. Love from God (9:7): While Paul was not passive in expecting the Corinthians to give to the Jerusalem collection, the provision was something which they ultimately had to decide to contribute individually.¹⁹³ Each should give according to what he has decided in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful (Greek: hilaros, from which we get the English word hilarious) giver (2 Cor 9:7; Prov 22:9 from the Septuagint). It’s hard to imagine a more precious promise than to be the personal object of God’s love. Yet that is what He promises the cheerful giver. Cheerful giving is an internal thing. It comes from the heart; not from external coercion. But though it is not forced, neither is it casual, careless, or a mere afterthought. Though there is a spontaneous joy in giving, it is still to be planned and systematic (1 Cor 16:2), not impulsive or sporadic. And it is certainly not done to impress others (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Do – When You Give to the Needy, Do Not Do It to be Honored by Others).

2. Generosity from God (9:8-11a): While it is possible to give without loving, it is not possible to love without giving. Moreover, God has the power to provide you with every gracious gift in abundance, so that always in every way you will have all you need yourselves and be able to provide abundantly for every good cause (9:8) – as the TaNaKh says: He gave generously to the poor; his tzedakah (meaning both righteousness and charity) lasts forever (2 Cor 9:9; Psalm 112:9). Human wisdom teaches that prosperity comes from grasping for wealth, not from giving it away. But faith trusts in God’s promise to bless the giver and to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think (Eph 3:20). The reason God gives back to those who give is not, as prosperity teachers falsely imply, so that people can buy bigger cars, homes, and jewels. God supplies them so that they will be able to provide abundantly for every good cause, in other words, for the Lord’s work.¹⁹⁴

Paul reinforced his point that generous giving will impoverish no one is evident since He who provides both seed for the planter and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness. God is the one who provides, scatters, and multiplies. He is the source of the seed (Isaiah 55:10-11), which is likened to righteousness (Hosea 10:12), and God produces the crop. The principle Paul lays out is similar to the crass economic principle that the rich get richer and poor get poorer. The generous get richer; the miserly poor grow poorer. The problem with being tight-fisted is that the closed fist prevents us from receiving anything more from God. When we are open handed with others, our hands are also open to receive more from God. He will provide the means for us to be generous, “You will be enriched in every way, so that you can be generous in everything” (9:10-11a). We will not be enriched so that we can become like the rich fool who sits back in comfort and says to himself: You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry (Luke 12:19). We are enriched so that we have the opportunity to be generous with others. In other words, what we do with our money becomes a litmus test for our relationship with ADONAI.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for Your great generosity in Your gift of love! It is a joy to receive a gift from a loved one, but sometimes we forget that Your wonderful gift is an offer of love that requires us to give a response back. The best response that we can give back to You is to love You with all our heart, soul and mind (Matthew 22:37-38). That means we make time in our busy schedule to read Your Word and meditate on what it says so we can be conformed into Your image (Romans 8:29b).

Doing good deeds to others is OK, but what is also good is to give our money to those who are in need. We cannot just take in Your love for ourselves and withhold it from others. Your love cost you so much to come from heaven to earth to rescue us from the penalty for our sins (Philippians 2:5-11). Giving love back to You thru giving our money is a joy as we look at it as an opportunity to present to You a treasure from our heart. Thank you for the joy of Your love and for the joy of returning love back to You! In Your holy Son Yeshua’s name and power of His resurrection. Amen

3. Glory to God (9:11b-13): Giving to others becomes a kind of thank-offering to God that multiplies itself. We thank God for what we have received; others thank God for what they have received from us. And through us your generosity will cause people to thank God because rendering this holy service (Greek: leitourgia) not only provides for the needs of God’s people, but it also produces an outpouring of gratitude to God (9:11-12 TEV). The word leitourgia was used in Paul’s day for public service, such as the contributions of money or services for a specific cause by the wealthy residents of Corinth. The rich were expected to spend a portion of their wealth to promote the common good. They received honors in return, such as public praise and inscriptions honoring their service on building and preserving their supposed honor after death. However, participating in the service that Paul commends is not something that only the very rich could do, but even the poorest could be, so to speak, public patrions. Therefore, the purpose of the collection was twofold, material and spiritual. It supplied the needs of the believers in Jerusalem and also offered thanksgiving to God. Their gift was not merely a service to the poor, it was a service to God because of the thanksgiving that would result in glory to God. The recipients of the gift could not help but lift their voices in thanksgiving to ADONAI.

In offering this service you prove to these people that you glorify God by actually doing what your acknowledgement of the Good News of the Messiah requires, namely, sharing generously with them and with everyone (9:13). This recalls Paul’s description of the Macedonians in 8:2. They proved themselves in severe affliction. However, God does not always test us through affliction. Some of the most difficult tests come when we must prove ourselves obedient to God in times of relative prosperity. If the Corinthians follow through generously on their commitment to the collection., they will have passed the test. Their obedience will also bring glory to God from the recipients as they praise God for it.¹⁹⁵

4. Friends from God (9:14): And in their prayers for you they will feel a strong affection for you because of how gracious God has been to you (9:14). Some people think that poor believers have nothing to offer rich ones, but nothing could be further from the truth. The prayers of the poor are the reward for the rich, and the believers in Jerusalem would repay the Corinthians generously by offering prayer on their behalf. And not only the poor in Jerusalem, but also other believers would hear of the Corinthians’ genuine faith and pray for them as well. Real unity in the Church is founded on sound doctrine and mutual prayer.

5. Likeness to God (9:15): The simple concluding benediction is one of the richest statements in the Bible. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift, which is, of course, His Son. Yeshua Messiah is the most magnanimous, glorious, wonderful gift ever given, the gift that inspires all other gifts.

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; dominion will rest on his shoulders, and he will be given the name Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but rather so that through him, the world might be saved (John 3:16-17).

He who did not spare even his own Son, but gave him up on behalf of us all – is it possible that, having given us his Son, he would not give us everything else too (Romans 8:32)?

But when the appointed time arrived, God sent forth his Son. He was born from a woman, born into a culture in which legalistic perversion of the Torah was the norm (Galatians 4:4).

Here is how God showed his love among us: God sent his only Son into the world, so that through him we might have life. Here is what love is: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the sacrifice for our sins (First John 4:9-10).

God’s gift of the Lord Yeshua Messiah is the basis for all giving as believers. Yeshua is the grain of wheat that falls to the ground and dies . . . but if it dies, it produces a big harvest (John 12:24). ADONAI, as it were, planted Him as a seed and reaped a harvest of redeemed people. We are called to be imitators of God, as beloved children (Ephesians 5:1 NASB), and we are never more like Him than when we give.

Subsequent history reveals how the Corinthians responded to Paul’s plea in Chapters 8 and 9 regarding the collection. Sometime after writing Second Corinthians, Paul visited Corinth as he had planned (12:14 and 13:1-2). He remained there about three months (Acts 20:1-3), during which time he wrote Romans. In that letter, Paul revealed that the Corinthians had responded positively concerning the collection:

But now I am going to Jerusalem with aid for God’s people there. For Macedonia and Achaia thought it would be good to make some contribution to the poor among God’s people in Jerusalem. They were pleased to do it, but the fact is that they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared with the Jews in spiritual matters, then the Gentiles clearly have a duty to help the Jews in material matters (Romans 15:25-27).¹⁹⁶

When it comes to money, most folks tend to think, “Woohoo! What can I buy?” Then, if there’s anything left over (which is rare), they save or give a little bit. There’s a more biblical model: give first, save second, buy third. Imagine the long-term implications of such a plan. In the here-and-now, your life would be much less stressful if you embarked on a disciplined plan of saving for upcoming expenses, emergencies, and retirement. But curtailing your spending, you would eliminate the likelihood of piling up consumer debt. And when you arrive in heaven you would find hundreds, if not thousands, are there because you had the ability to use earthly wealth to help people grasp eternal truth. It’s not rocket science. Mishandling money will rob your joy. But managing it well can enable you to be more generous, which will lead you on a path to prosperity.¹⁹⁷

Stewardship with Integrity
8:10 to 9:5

Stewardship with integrity DIG: Why is this collection for the Jerusalem congregation so important? What dangers or suspicions accompany Paul? How does Paul attempt to diminish those criticisms? What commends Titus for his role of ensuring stewardship with integrity in the relief work? What qualifications should a person have to handle money for God’s work? What benefits do believers receive when they practice grace giving?

REFLECT: How might the equality principle help you decide which needs your immediate attention? How do the ministries or people you contribute to practice Paul’s principle in 8:20-21? Why is it especially critical for Messianic congregations and churches? Are you generous with money? To become more generous, what would need to change? What discourages you about giving? What have you learned that encourages you to give?

Giving is not something we do, but something we are.

There are few topics in the congregations of God more sensitive than that of money. Any mention of giving, tithing, or fund-raising campaigns is sure to be perceived by some as inappropriate, intrusive, and even offensive. Critics accuse spiritual leaders of constantly appealing for money and often of mishandling what they receive. Unfortunately, there is some truth in those accusations. Nevertheless, every believer must understand the divine will with regard to money, its use by believers and in the congregations of ADONAI. Giving in particular is a significant element in God’s design for the life of a believer. Giving advances His Kingdom, glorifies His name, meets the needs of others, and lays up treasure in heaven, bringing God’s blessing in this life and the next.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Your great love that cost You so much. Thank You that no cost was too high for You to pay. You ransom Your children from the kingdom of darkness (Colossians 1:13) and then bless us with Your righteousness (Second Corinthians 5:21) so we may live forever with You in heaven! This causes me to want to give back to you all I can. Sometimes problems and suffering on earth seem very big, but they can never match the shame and pain (Hebrews 12:2) that You endured. For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18).  Thank You for such great love and for the joy of giving back to You! In Your holy Son’s name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Believers are to be careful stewards of the resources that the Lord has entrusted to us. We must be wise about earning, saving, investing, and spending money. And just as we are careful in those areas, so we must also be in how we give our money. This passage is a rich contribution to Scripture’s teaching about the privilege of giving. On the surface, this passage appears to be nothing more than some passing notes about an event that took place over two thousand years ago. Yet, it contains timeless and practical principles that define stewardship for all believers.¹⁸⁹

Paul gives nine examples of stewardship with integrity.

1. Stewardship with integrity calls for giving that is voluntary (8:10a): As I say, in regard to this matter of the collection for the poor believers in Jerusalem, I am only giving an opinion. Paul did not pressure the Macedonians to give a specific percent, but rather commended them because they gave of their own free will (8:3). Giving does not involve a fixed amount or percentage, but is entirely voluntary (to see link click Bn – A Biblical Model for Giving: Giving is voluntary). Any kind of compulsory giving to the Lord is not the biblical way. Stewardship with integrity involves people giving not from outward coercion, but from inward devotion. A year ago, you were not only the first to take action but the first to want to do so, which again reveals that they gave freely, not under compulsion.

2. Stewardship with integrity calls for faithfulness to complete the commitment (8:10b-11a): It is not easy to carry things through to completion; it takes discipline, devotion, and faithfulness. All the Corinthians’ good intentions would have meant little had they failed to complete the collection. Therefore, Paul urged them, “Now it would be to your advantage to finish what you started, so that your eagerness in wanting to commence the project may be matched by your eagerness to complete it. The project had been halted because lies of the false apostles (see Af – The Problem of the False Apostles) against Paul had raised doubts about his integrity. Nothing cripples people’s willingness to give as much as a loss of confidence in their leaders. But since the relationship between the apostle and the Corinthians had been restored, it was time for them to complete what they had started.

3. Stewardship with integrity calls for amounts that are proportionate to what one has (8:11:b-12): Although Paul expected the Corinthians to give generously, he did not expect them to give beyond their means. As you contribute from what you have. For if the eagerness to give is there, the acceptability of the gift will be measured by what you have, not by what you don’t have. Some of the Corinthians may have been using their lack of resources as an excuse not to give. It is true that those who, like the poor widow (Mark 12:43-44), have minimal resources can only give a little, while those with substantial resources can give larger amounts. But with ADONAI, the amount is not the issue. The issue is an attitude of the heart. He expects believers to give in proportion to their resources, not more, but certainly not less.

4. Stewardship with integrity calls for giving that balances resources in the body of Messiah (8:13-15): Some of the Corinthians may also have been reluctant to give because of a charge of favoritism leveled against Paul by the false apostles. They accused him of being prejudiced in favor of the predominantly Jewish believers in Jerusalem, since he was also Jewish. Anticipating that charge, Paul assured the Corinthians that the collection was not for the relief of others. He was not out to make the rich poor and the poor rich. This does not mean, of course, that the church should support those who refuse to work (Second Thessalonians 3:10). His goal was to bring about a balancing of resources, a kind of mutual benefit: at present your abundance can help the Jewish believers, but that might not always be the case. The fortunes of life might change, and a time may come when persecution or disaster could impoverish the Corinthians. Should that happen, the Jerusalem believers’ abundance would then help the Corinthians’ need.

Paul illustrated his point with a quote from Isra’el’s wilderness wanderings from the TaNaKh. In response to the people’s grumbling (Exodus 16:2-3), ADONAI promised to send them bread from heaven (Exodus 16:4). When they gathered manna, some gathered much and some gathered little. Yet, he who gathered much had nothing extra, and he who gathered little had nothing lacking (Second Corinthians 8:15; Exodus 16:18). Apparently, they shared what they had gathered, so each person and family had enough to eat. So it is with the body of Messiah; those who have an abundance share with those who are in need.

5. Stewardship with integrity calls for submission to godly leadership (8:16-17): Paul anticipated and answered another potential objection to the offering; namely, that the project was his alone. Now I thank God for making Titus as devoted to you as we are. But it was not just Paul’s passion. ADONAI had put the same devotion for the collection in the heart of Titus. That God had so united the hearts of Paul and Titus further confirmed that the collection was His will. Nor could the false apostles accuse Titus of having a Jewish bias since he was a Gentile. Lest anyone think that Paul coerced Titus into being involved with the collection, the apostle noted that he not only responded to our urging, but, being so devoted, he is coming to you on his own initiative. Forceful, strong-willed leaders can often ram through their projects. But biblically sound stewardship should be led by a plurality of godly leadership. Believers are to be overseen by wise, theologically sound, spiritually mature, godly leadership, who agree to seek the mind of ADONAI.

6. Stewardship with integrity calls for accountability (8:18-23): Not only was Titus, whom the Corinthians knew well and highly respected, involved in the collection, but also was an unnamed brother whose work for the Good News was praised in all the congregations (8:18). Paul had sent him along with Titus to Corinth to help with the collection. The inclusion of this man signaled Paul’s intention to handle matters with absolute honesty and accountability. It further deflected any possible criticism that he might misuse the money.

Not only had Paul and Titus chosen the unnamed brother to help oversee the collection, but he had also been appointed by other churches to travel with us. He was not merely one of Paul’s proteges who would be under his thumb. His appointment by other churches protected from any false accusation that they were in collusion to mishandle the money. The reason for the apostle’s concern was not that he and Titus could not be trusted, but rather that Paul’s enemies could not be trusted. They could not be allowed to make an accusation that would further confuse the already unsettled Corinthians. So that the way we administer this charitable work will bring honor to the Lord and show our eagerness to help the poor (8:19).

So, anticipating his enemies’ attacks on his credibility, Paul took the precaution of involving the unnamed brother who would accompany them to show that their conduct in dealing with these substantial sums of money was above reproach (8:20). It was a wise safeguard, since his enemies at Corinth had accused him of being in ministry for the money. Though Paul had every right to receive support from the Corinthians, he did not take it (see the commentary on First Corinthians Bo – Laying Aside Rights). He wanted to avoid lending credence to the false accusations that he was in the ministry for the money.

For we take pains to do what is right not only in the sight of God but also in the sight of other people (Second Corinthians 8:21; Proverbs 3:4 from the Septuagint). Some might wonder why Paul would care what other people thought, as long as he did right in the sight of the Lord. He didn’t set out to please others, but neither was he unconcerned about what they thought. After all, they were the ones he was trying to reach with the Good News. He could not allow his enemies to make false accusations that might discredit and bring suspicion on him before the watching world and hinder his preaching of the Gospel.

Paul summarized the members of what amounted to his financial committee, reemphasizing their noble, unimpeachable character. Further underscoring his concern to handle the collection with integrity, Paul sent a second unknown brother, one whose diligence we have tested many times in many ways, but who is now all the more diligent because of his great confidence in you. As for Titus, he is my partner who works with me on your behalf; and the two unknown brothers with him are emissaries of the congregations and bring honor to the Messiah (8:22-33). Those two faithful brothers were sent by the Macedonians to help with the collection. This showed the high quality of men the early Church entrusted money to.

7. Stewardship with integrity calls for giving that is an expression of love (8:24): Paul had instructed the Corinthians about the importance and procedure of making their contribution. He had taken every reasonable precaution to avoid any appearance of impropriety. Now it was time for the Corinthians to openly give so that all would clearly see their generosity. So the love you show these men will justify our pride in you to them, and through them to the congregations that sent them (8:24). A loving church is a generous church, and the Corinthians’ generous love would justify Paul’s pride about the work of Messiah in them.

8. Stewardship with integrity calls for giving that sets an example (9:1-4): So confident was Paul in the Corinthians that he felt it was really no need for me to write you about this offering for God’s people in Jerusalem – I know how eager you are, and I boast about you to the Macedonians. I tell them, “Corinth has been ready since last year,” and it was your zeal that stirred up most of them. But the rebellion against Paul incited by the false apostles had apparently halted their giving. So he sent Titus and the two unnamed brothers so that his boast about them in this regard would not prove hollow, so that they would be ready and have the offering prepared, as Paul said they would be. Paul was concerned that if some Macedonians were to come with me and find you unprepared, we would be humiliated at having been so confident – to say nothing of how you would feel. To avoid such embarrassment, Paul called upon the Corinthians to finish what they had started, so the completion of their giving would be a positive example to others.

9. Stewardship with integrity calls for giving that has overcome the sin of covetousness (9:5): For the reasons listed above, Paul thought it necessary to urge Titus and the two unnamed brothers to go on ahead to Corinth and prepare their promised gift in plenty of time. Evidently, the Corinthians had promised a specific, large amount, and Paul wanted to make sure it would be ready when he came so it would be a genuine gift, not something extracted by pressure (9:5).¹⁹⁰

Our greatest encouragement for giving is that it pleases the Lord, but there is nothing wrong with practicing that kind of giving that provokes others to give. This does not mean that we should advertise what we do as individuals, because that kind of practice would violate one of the basic principles of giving: to give discreetly to the Lord (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Do – When You Give to the Needy, Do Not Do It to be Honored by Others). However, Paul was writing to churches, and it is not wrong for congregations to announce what they have given collectively. If our motive is to boast, then we are not practicing grace giving. But if our desire is to provoke others to give, then God’s grace can work through us to help others.¹⁹¹

The Poverty That Made Us Rich
8: 9

The poverty that made us rich DIG: In what ways did Yeshua become poor? In what ways has He made us rich? What does Messiah’s eternity have to do with our eternity?

REFLECT: What about Yeshua’s example motivates you to be generous with your money, time, and energy? What inhibits you? How are you rich spiritually? Impoverished?

Messiah did not make us materially rich, but gave us all the blessings of salvation.

In encouraging the Corinthians to bring their contribution to the collection for the poor believers in Jerusalem to a satisfactory completion (8:6a), Paul has thus far appealed to the example of the Macedonians (8:1-5), to the Corinthians’ own promising beginning (8:6b), to their desire for spiritual excellence (8:7), and again to the eagerness of the Macedonians (8:8b). Now he turns to the supreme example of Yeshua Messiah. The transition from 8:8 to 8:9, expressed by the word for, is revealing because it suggests that Paul saw in Messiah the finest example of One who showed eagerness and generosity in giving as a demonstration of His love (8:8a). If the sacrificial giving of the Macedonians did not stimulate the Corinthians to give to the collection, surely the example of Messiah’s selflessness would. For you know how generous our Lord Yeshua the Messiah was (8:9a).¹⁸⁷

The poverty of Messiah (8:9b): Although Yeshua possessed all the riches of ADONAI from all eternity, yet for our sakes He became poor. Some have understood that statement as a reference to Messiah’s financial poverty during His earthly life. However, the Lord’s true impoverishment did not consist of the lowly circumstances in which He lived, but in the reality that though He was in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God something to be possessed by force. On the contrary, He emptied Himself, in that He took on the form of a slave by becoming like human beings are (Phil 2:6-7). In other words, the Lord Yeshua Messiah became poor in His incarnation, when He was born of woman (Gal 4:4), as a human being with a nature like our own sinful one, but without sin (Romans 8:3), a descendant of David according to the flesh (Romans 1:3), and made . . . for a little while lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:7 and 9). He left heaven’s glory (John 17:5) and laid aside the free use of His divine prerogatives.

Though He existed in the form of God, possessing all the riches of deity, Yehsua emptied Himself by become poor by taking the form of a slave. He suffered human weakness and limitations, becoming hungry (Matthew 4:2, 21:18), thirsty (John 4:7, 19:28), and tired (Mark 4:38, John 4:6). In addition, He was tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). So completely did Yeshua identify with His people as their faithful High Priest (see the commentary on Hebrews, to see link click Ay – Messiah’s Qualifications as our Great High Priest), that He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on the cross. By doing so, He defeated the powers of hell, accomplished the work of redemption that God the Father had assigned to Him, and gave His people the priceless riches of salvation.

The riches of Messiah (8:9c): Though as God, Yeshua owns everything in heaven and on earth (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 10:14; Job 41:11; Psalm 24:1, 50:12; First Corinthians 10:26), His riches do not primarily consist of what is material. The riches in view here are those of Messiah’s supernatural glory, His position as God the Son, and His eternal attributes. Our eternal life (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer) is tied to His eternal life. If He is not eternal, He must have had a beginning, and would therefore be a created being. The fact that Messiah is eternal offers clear, powerful, and irrefutable proof of His deity, for it is an attribute that only God can possess.

Despite the false claims of heretics throughout history, the Bible teaches that Yeshua Messiah is not merely preexistent to human history, but eternal. He does not depend on anything outside of Himself for His existence, nor was there ever a time when the Second Person of the Trinity came into being. Yeshua is not an emanation, a demigod, Michael the archangel, a spirit created by God, or an exalted man; He is the Creator (John 1:3 and 10; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2), not a creature.

As the Second Person of the Trinity, Yeshua is as rich as God the Father. To the Colossians Paul wrote: For in Yeshua all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9), and He is the radiance of the Sh’khinah glory and the exact representation of His nature (Hebrews 1:3). Arguments for Messiah’s eternity and deity are inseparable. Since the Scriptures reveal Him to be eternal, and only God can be eternal; thus, Yeshua must be God. As a result, He owns the universe and everything in it, possessing all power and authority (Matthew 28:18), and is to be glorified and honored (John 5:23; Philippians 2:9-11).

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for how great and deep Your love is! You willingly wrapped Your arms around the limitations of a human body (Phil 2:5-11). You focused on the eternal joy of bringing many into heaven by humbly enduring a shameful death, for the joy set before You, You endured the cross, disregarding its shame (Heb 12:2b). Your loving arms welcome into Your family all who receive You as their Lord and Savior. But whoever does receive You, those trusting in Your name, to these You gave the right to become Your children (John 1:12). It would have been fair if You made us Your servants, but You gave those who love You the privilege of being Your children.

The gift of Messiah (8:9d): The purpose of Messiah’s taking on human flesh was so that by means of His poverty, poor sinners might become rich. He did not make us materially rich, but gave us all the blessings of salvation – forgiveness, joy, peace, eternal life, light, and glory. Peter described those riches as an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for us (First Peter 1:4). This was not the first time Paul had described the riches in Messiah to the Corinthians. In First Corinthians 1:4-5a he wrote: I thank my God always for you because of God’s love and kindness given to you through the Messiah Yeshua, in that you have been enriched by Him.

The glorious truth that believers have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Messiah (Ephesians 1:3) through His self-emptying, self-sacrificial love should cause us to be grateful. More than that, however, it should motivate us to give freely, sacrificially, and generously to others. We must follow the example of our Lord who became poor to make others rich. How can we receive all the riches of Messiah and yet be unwilling to meet the needs of others (James 2:15-16)? John wrote: If someone has worldly possessions and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how can he be loving God (First John 3:17). Some may view Paul’s inclusion of this verse, with its profound theological truth, in the context of giving as odd. But that loses sight that theological truth does not exist in isolation from every life. The seemingly mundane issue of the collection was, in reality, connected to the central truth of our faith, namely, that Yeshua Messiah’s voluntary poverty makes the spiritually destitute rich.¹⁸⁸

A Biblical Model for Giving
8: 1-8

A biblical model for giving DIG: From First Corinthians 16:1, written about a year earlier, and Romans 15:25-27, written shortly after Paul had revisited Corinth, what is this collection all about? What do you learn about the Macedonians from their giving? In light of some of the struggles in Corinth, why would Paul call their attention to the Macedonian example?

REFLECT: What motivates you to give money? What motivates you not to give? What does it mean to give ourselves to God? Does the Bible say that you should tithe ten percent? How do you determine the difference between your “wants” and your “needs?” Were you taught about giving to the Lord when you were growing up? How can you teach your children now?

It is impossible to outgive God.

How people view money is an effective barometer of their spirituality. Money is neither good nor bad in itself; corrupt people can put it to evil uses, while godly people can put it to righteous uses. Though it is morally neutral, what people do with their money reflects their internal morality. In the words of Yeshua: Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Luke 12:34). So, while the Bible doesn’t forbid possessing money, it does forbid loving it, warning that the love of money is a root of all evils (First Timothy 6:10). Loving money makes people forget God (Deuteronomy 8:11-14; Proverbs 30:9), trust in their riches rather than Him (Job 31:24-28; Psalm 52:7; Proverbs 11:28), steal from God (Malachi 3:8), and ignore the needs of others (First John 3:17; Proverbs 3:27).

The Bible also gives guidelines on how to spend money. It is to be used to provide for the needs of one’s household (First Timothy 5:8), pay debts (Romans 13:8), and save for the future (Proverbs 21:20 and 30:25). Having met those basic obligations, believers are ready to give money to further the Kingdom, which results in greater giving from God. It is impossible to outgive Him. The promises associated with giving should stimulate believers to be sacrificially generous givers. Sadly, the powerful lure of the world’s advertising, slick appeals from purportedly godly ministries, self-indulgence, and lack of faith all hinder believers from experiencing the full blessing of giving.¹⁸²

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for not only giving us the wonderful gift of salvation, but also giving us joy on earth as we lovingly give back to You! Two wonderful gifts that you have given to us are prayer and giving. In prayer we enjoy the pleasure of fellowship with You, and in giving we enjoy pleasing You. It is true that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). Giving takes our eyes off our own circumstances and it reaches out with a helping hand to love and to comfort someone. What a great example, giving of Yourself to rescue mankind! You left heaven’s glory, humbled Yourself, took on the form of a servant and became obedient, even to death on a cross (Philippians 2:5-11). What great love and mercy You showed!

Giving is a pleasure as we offer our love back to You. It is a blessing to give; yet when we give, You return a greater blessing back on us, by Your loving approval. Thank You that it is not the size of the gift that gets your biggest approval; rather it is the size of the love from our heart that gets Your biggest approval. It is always a great joy to please You! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

In these verses Paul used the example of the Macedonian’s remarkably generous response to the collection appeal to motivate the Corinthians to carry out what they had previously shown themselves ready to do. In doing so, Paul gives thirteen examples of godly giving.

1. Giving is motivated by God’s grace (8:1): Now, transitioning to a new subject, brothers, their relationship restored, we must tell you about the grace God has given the congregations in Macedonia, whom we use as an example of giving (8:1). The three churches Paul had in mind here were Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. Macedonia was a terribly poor region, ravaged by wars and plundered by the Romans. But despite their deep poverty, the Macedonian believers were amazingly generous (2 Corinthians 11:9; Philippians 2:25, 4:15 and 18). The Corinthians were apparently unaware of the magnitude of the Macedonians’ generosity, prompting Paul to tell them about it. Their giving was not motivated primarily by philanthropy or human kindness, but by the grace of God at work in their hearts. One of the effects of saving, transforming, sanctifying grace is a longing to give generously and sacrificially to those in need, especially to other believers.

2. Giving transcends difficult circumstances (8:2a): Paul’s strong language vividly depicts the Macedonians’ great ordeal (Greek: dokime, referring to a trial) of affliction (Greek: thlipsis, literally, it refers to pressure, as in crushing grapes; figuratively, it describes the spiritual pressure the Macedonians endured from their poverty and persecution). Scripture repeatedly describes the suffering endured by the Macedonian churches (Acts 17:5-8; First Thessalonians 2:14-15; Second Thessalonians 1:4; Philippians 1:29). But the Macedonians rose above their difficult circumstances. They did not allow their situation to have a negative effect on their giving. In the midst of their trials, they put the needs of others, whom they had never met, ahead of their own. Though their poverty may have limited the amount they could give, it did not diminish their love. Devout believers give no matter what the situation, because the worst circumstances cannot hinder their devotion to Yeshua Messiah.

3. Giving is not hindered by poverty (8:2b): To express how little the Macedonians actually had, Paul described their impoverishment in strong language. Even though they were desperately (Greek: bathos, meaning extremely deep) poor. Or you could say, “They had hit rock bottom.” The poverty (Greek: ptocheia, meaning having almost nothing, or being forced to beg to survive) they experienced is likened to Messiah’s poverty when He emptied Himself, taking on the form of a bond-servant (Philippians 2:7). A related word, ptochos, is used to describe the blind and the lame (Luke 14:13 and 21), a destitute widow (Mark 12:42), and Lazarus the beggar (Luke 16:20). The Macedonians’ confidence that God would supply all their needs freed them to give generously. Devout believers do not wait until they have more money; they give despite their poverty (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Je – The Widow’s Offering). Giving is not a matter of how much one possesses, but is an expression of an unselfish and loving heart. The Macedonians’ refusal to allow their poverty to stifle their generosity made them models for biblical giving.

4. Giving is with abundant joy (8:2c): The Macedonians did not give grudgingly, reluctantly, out of a sense of duty of duress. They gave out of an abundance (Greek: perisseia, meaning a surplus or an overflow) of joy. They were never motivated by fear of divine punishment or of Paul’s displeasure. They gave gladly, freely, and joyfully, knowing that God loves a cheerful giver (9:7). In other words, the Macedonians’s joy transcended their pain, sorrow, and suffering. Paul wrote the Thessalonians, “You, indeed, became imitators of us and of the Lord; so that even though you were going through severe troubles, you received the Word with joy from the Ruach Ha’Kodesh” (First Thessalonians 1:6, and also see Acts 5:41). Their giving reflected that reality, as they joyfully gave of what little they had. They rejoiced at storing up wealth in heaven (Matthew 6:20, 19:21; Luke 12:33), knowing that the greater blessing is to the giver, not the receiver (Acts 20:35), and that ADONAI will give back in greater measure, give and it will be given to you (Luke 6:38).

5. Giving is generous (8:2d): Paul now explicitly states what has been implied throughout the passage, piling up words to express the profound generosity of the Macedonians. They overflowed in a wealth of generosity. Overflowed translates perisseuo, the verb form of the noun translated abundance above. Scripture uses it to describe the surplus goods of the rich (Mark 12:44), an abundance of material possessions (Luke 12:15), God’s saving grace that abounds in sinners (Romans 15:15; Ephesians 1:7-8), the abundant hope produced by the Ruach Ha’Kodesh (Romans 15:13), the abundant comfort that believers have in Messiah (1:5), and God’s abundant grace toward believers (9:8). Though they were not rich in material possessions, the Macedonians did possess a wealth of generosity (Greek: haplotes, meaning liberally, but can also be translated simply or sincerely). It is the opposite of being double-minded whose ability to give is crippled because of selfishness. But the Macedonians were rich in single-mindedness, giving no thought to themselves or to the world.¹⁸³

6. Giving is proportionate (8:3a): Paul had first hand experience of the Macedonians’ generosity (Philippians 4:15-18). I tell you they have not merely given according to their means. The Bible sets no fixed amount or percentage for giving (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Do – When You Give to the Needy, Do Not Do It to be Honored by Others). That would prove sacrificial for some but inconsequential for others. However, many churches can get pretty legalistic about giving ten percent. Taken from the TaNaKh (the Old Testament) they declare that it is the “biblical mandate for giving.” But if they really want to follow the biblical mandate of the “Old Testament,” they should encourage their members to give much more. In the Torah there are three main tithes, which equaled about twenty-five percent (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Cx – Do Not Neglect the Levite)!

7. Giving is voluntary (8:3b): The Macedonians giving was on their own initiative and of their own free will. They were not coerced, manipulated, or intimidated. It is possible that Paul, aware of their deep poverty, had not even asked them to contribute to the destitute Jews in Jerusalem. It is evident from 8:10 and 9:2 that about a year had passed since he first told the Corinthians about the collection. When Paul told the Macedonians about the zeal of the Corinthians to contribute, the Macedonians were also moved to give (9:2). Events had then come full circle. The Corinthians’ zeal had initially prompted the Macedonians to give, now Paul held them up as an example of sacrificial giving for the lagging Corinthians to imitate.

8. Giving is sacrificial (8:3c): The Macedonians gave according to what they had, but in proportions that were sacrificial. In other words, they have given beyond their means; beyond what could reasonably be expected of such poor congregations. Life was difficult for them. They faced extreme poverty and persecution. Yet, despite their desperate circumstances, they joyfull gave with no regard for themselves, compelled by the needs of the poor Jewish believers in Jerusalem. They believed God’s promise to supply all their needs (Philippians 4:19), and refused to worry about them (Matthew 6:25-34), gladly placing themselves in deeper dependence on Him. Like David, who would not give the Lord something that cost him nothing (see the commentary on the Life of David El – David Builds an Altar), and the poor widow who gave all she had (Mark 12:42-44), the Macedonians gave with selfless abandon.

9. Giving is a privilege, not an obligation (8:4): Paul once again stressed that he in no way pressured the Macedonians to give. Instead, they begged and pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service for God’s people. The Greek word begged is deomai, and is a strong word meaning to implore. It is used in Luke 5:12 of a leper who implored Yeshua to heal him, in Luke 9:38 of a father’s desperate plea for Messiah to cast a demon out of his son, and in Second Corinthians 5:20 begging sinners to be reconciled to ADONAI. The Greek word for privilege is charis, which is commonly translated grace. They literally begged for the blessing of helping to meet the needs of believers they had never met. They did so, not out of a sense of obligation, but out of the generosity of their transformed lives.

10. Giving is an act of worship (8:5a): Also introduces the next feature of the Macedonians’ giving. They didn’t do this in the way Paul had expected. He had hoped for an offering, which they did give freely, but they first gave themselves to the Lord. The Greek word for first (protos) has the meaning here not of first in time, but of first priority (Mark 6:21; Luke 19:47; Acts 13:50, 16:12, 17:4, 25:2, 28:7 and 17). The Macedonians’ first priority was to give themselves wholeheartedly to the Lord, and giving financially to the church followed. The supreme act of worship is not giving money, attending services, or singing worship songs, but giving oneself (Romans 12:1-2). As a holy priesthood, believers are to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Yeshua Messiah (First Peter 2:5), the most important of which is themselves. Only when a devout life, given to Messiah wholly, does financial giving become an acceptable act of worship.

11. Giving is submitting to biblical authority (8:5b-6): Having given themselves to the Lord, the Macedonians also gave themselves to Paul, Titus, and Timothy. In fact, it was their devotion to the Lord which led them to submit to the leadership of their pastors. It is God’s will (8:5) that believers submit to those over them in the Lord. Hebrews 13:17 instructs believers, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your lives, as people who will have to render an account. So make it a task of joy for them, not one of groaning; for that is of no advantage to you. Confident that the Corinthians would follow the example of the Macedonians and submit to their pastors’ direction, Paul urged Titus to bring this same gracious gift to completion among you, since he has already made a beginning of it about a year earlier (First Corinthians 16:2) when he brought the severe letter to them. So, Paul through his letters and Titus through his visit had both informed the Corinthians about what they encouraged them to do.¹⁸⁴

12. Giving is closely tied to other godly virtues (8:7): Giving does not take place in a vacuum, isolated from other godly virtues. It cannot be done contrary to what is in the heart, for that would be hypocrisy. Paul’s encouragement to the Corinthians, “Just as you excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in diligence of every kind, and in your love for us – see that you excel in this gift too (8:7). The Macedonians had shown by their astonishingly generous response to Paul’s appeal for the collection. When he likewise urged the Corinthians participate, it was an opportunity for them to demonstrate the genuineness of their own godly virtues. True love never leaves us content merely to talk; it has to be expressed through our actions (Luke 19:1-10; First John 3:16-18).¹⁸⁵

13. Giving is proof of love (8:8): As he concluded his discussion of a biblical model for giving, Paul reminded the Corinthians that he was not issuing an order. That emphasized yet again the fundamental principle that giving in the church is voluntary, freewill giving. Had Paul prescribed an amount or a fixed percentage, the Corinthians’ giving would have been in obedience to an order. Rather, Paul challenged the Corinthians to prove the genuineness of their love against the diligence of the Macedonians. The true test of love is not feelings, but actions: If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar. For if a person does not love his brother, whom he has seen, then he cannot love God, whom he has not seen. Yes, this is the command we have from Him: whoever loves God must love his brother too (First John 4:20-21). The voluntary, generous, sacrificial giving modeled by the Macedonians was an example not only for the Corinthians, but also for all believers. It is the path to experiencing the rich blessings of ADONAI in this lifetime and for eternity.¹⁸⁶