3rd Missionary Trip - Lorin

had centered in large part over a very stinging letter he had written to the church prior to Second Corinthians
and following First Corinthians (vv. 8-13a). This is one of two missing letters of Paul to the Corinthian church not
included in the New Testament. He had evidently stung them quite hard over their waywardness that centered in
the wrong actions of one of their members toward Paul (v. 12). But the stinging rebuke of the Corinthians in this
letter evidently achieved its goal of leading them to repentance before God. In that Paul found great encouragement.
Also Titus’ arrival in Macedonia with good news about Corinth encouraged the apostle by confirming the
confidence Paul had placed in Titus to be able to help the Corinthians get straightened out before God (vv. 13b-
15). Titus got the job done and did so properly without resorting to manipulation and other questionable tactics
(v. 14). Several years before at the Jerusalem conference Paul had vigorously stood up for the integrity of Titus’
commitment to Christ in the face of vicious demands that he be forced to conform to the wishes of the Judaizers
in the Jerusalem church (Gal. 2:1-10). Now Titus was returning the favor by faithfully and skillfully carrying out
this difficult assignment in Paul’s behalf at Corinth. Paul’s confidence in this associate was so strong that Titus’
confidence in the sincerity of the Corinthians’ repentance became Paul’s confidence in it as well (v. 16).
What we don’t know is just where Paul was in Macedonia when he met Titus and then dictated this letter.
The general inclination is to think that the apostle had been in Macedonia for some time when they met up.
Paul’s frequent references to the churches of Thessalonica and their collective response to the relief offering
seem to imply his travels in Macedonia were close to being concluded. And this would probably mean at least
Thessalonica or perhaps more so Beroea. But this is only an educated guess.
2 Cor. 8:1-7
8 Γνωρίζομεν δὲ ὑμῖν, ἀδελφοί, τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν δεδομένην ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τῆς Μακεδονίας, 2 ὅτι ἐν
πολλῇ δοκιμῇ θλίψεως ἡ περισσεία τῆς χαρᾶς αὐτῶν καὶ ἡ κατὰ βάθους πτωχεία αὐτῶν ἐπερίσσευσεν εἰς τὸ πλοῦτος
τῆς ἁπλότητος αὐτῶν· 3 ὅτι κατὰ δύναμιν, μαρτυρῶ, καὶ παρὰ δύναμιν, αὐθαίρετοι 4 μετὰ πολλῆς παρακλήσεως
δεόμενοι ἡμῶν τὴν χάριν καὶ τὴν κοινωνίαν τῆς διακονίας τῆς εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους, 5 καὶ οὐ καθὼς ἠλπίσαμεν ἀλλὰ ἑαυτοὺς
ἔδωκαν πρῶτον τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ ἡμῖν διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ 6 εἰς τὸ παρακαλέσαι ἡμᾶς Τίτον, ἵνα καθὼς προενήρξατο
οὕτως καὶ ἐπιτελέσῃ εἰς ὑμᾶς καὶ τὴν χάριν ταύτην. 7 Ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ ἐν παντὶ περισσεύετε, πίστει καὶ λόγῳ καὶ γνώσει
καὶ πάσῃ σπουδῇ καὶ τῇ ἐξ ἡμῶν ἐν ὑμῖν ἀγάπῃ, ἵνα καὶ ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ χάριτι περισσεύητε.
8 We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of
Macedonia; 2 for during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed
in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means, and
even beyond their means, 4 begging us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in this ministry to the saints — 5 and
this, not merely as we expected; they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by the will of God, to us, 6 so that we
might urge Titus that, as he had already made a beginning, so he should also complete this generous undertaking
among you. 7 Now as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our
love for you — so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.
In this beginning section of the extensive discussion of the relief offering contained in chapters eight and
nine, Paul praises the sacrificial giving of all of the churches in Thessalonica to this offering. 163 Humanly speaking
the receiving of this offering wasn’t good timing because the churches were in the midst of πολλῇ δοκιμῇ
θλίψεως, a severe ordeal of affliction (v. 2). But this was God’s timing, rather than man’s timing (v. 1). What is not
spelled out precisely is the nature of the persecution (θλίψεως) being experienced by the Macedonian churches
during this period of time. That these communities experienced persecution is well documented in the NT. 164 And
Paul was caught up in this particular outbreak of persecution as he mentioned in 2 Cor. 7:5.
Yet in spite of these obstacles these churches gave generously and abundantly to the relief offering. This
was a big encouragement to the apostle and confirmed the genuiness of their spiritual commitment to Christ
when they insisted on having the opportunity to participate in this ministry (vv. 3-5). This in turn could be used by
Titus as he returned to Corinth with this letter in order to complete the arrangements for the offering in Corinth
(vv. 6-7).
The powerful insights about Christian giving and benevolent ministry to others here underscore impor-
163 “Paul’s aim in 2 Corinthians 8–9 is not simply to have the Christians in Corinth finalize their collection (8:6, 11), and do
so before he arrives (9:4–5), but also to have them contribute generously. Of the three sections in chs. 8–9 (namely 8:1–15; 8:16–9:5;
9:6–15), the first and third focus on this “generosity” (ἁπλότης, 8:2; 9:11, 13) — the need for it (8:1–15), and its results (9:6–15).12.”
[Murray J. Harris, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary
(Grand Rapids, MI; Milton Keynes, UK: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co.; Paternoster Press, 2005), 558.]
164Acts 17:5–8; Phil. 1:28–30; 1 Thess. 1:6; 2:14; 3:3–4; 2 Thess. 1:4–7.
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