Galatians 8

13 Paul doesn’t want the Corinthians to give so much that they themselves become hard pressed. They should not go into debt in order to contribute to the collection.

14 For Christians, giving to those in need is a natural and reasonable thing to do. Today we supply someone else’s need; tomorrow he will supply our need. This is what Paul means by equality.

This is not the same as the communist system, in which the government takes from one and gives to another. In Christianity, it is love that causes us to give to others, not the government. We give freely, not by law. And, relative to our means, how much we give will depend on the needs of others (see Acts 2:44-45; 4:34-35).

Paul doesn’t say that all Christians must have exactly the same amount of money and possessions. God has assigned to Christians different ranks, different jobs, and different gifts. Some are rich, some are poor. But there must always be generous sharing between those who have enough and those who don’t. No Christian should ever remain in need. Those who have enough should give according to their means, and those who don’t have enough should receive according to their needs. All that we have has come from God (see 1 Corinthians 4:2). Whatever we have is God’s, not ours.

15 Paul here quotes from Exodus 16:18. This verse describes how the ancient Jews gathered manna from the desert. “Manna” was a kind of bread, which God sent down from heaven to the Jews so that they wouldn’t starve in the desert. Each day the Jews gathered the “manna.” Those Jews who were younger and stronger gathered more than those who were old and weak. But when all the “manna” had been gathered, it was distributed equally to all. Therefore, he that gathered little did not have too little. If any Jew tried to keep for himself more than his share of “manna,” it quickly spoiled and could not be eaten (Exodus 16:14-20,32).

16-17 Titus volunteered to return to Corinth to help make the final arrangements for completing the collection.

18 In this verse, Paul mentions a brother who was praised by all the churches. It is not certain what brother Paul is referring to here. Some think it is Luke; others think it is Tychicus (Acts 20:4; Ephesians 6:21).

19 Whoever this brother was who accompanied Titus to Corinth, he was chosen, not by Paul, but by the churches who were taking part in the collection.

20  It was important for the churches themselves to choose their own representatives to join in taking the collection to Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 16:3). Otherwise, people could falsely accuse Paul and his colleagues of taking the collection for themselves, and they would have no witnesses to deny the charges. Satan is always looking for an opportunity to bring evil out of a good work.

21 Concerning the collection, Paul wanted to do what was right, not only in the eyes of the Lord d but also in the eyes of men. Paul doesn’t mean here that he was looking for praise from men. Paul sought praise only from God. Whatever Paul did, he did it for the Lord alone (see Romans 14:7-8; Ephesians 6:5-8).

But Paul knew that if he brought dishonor upon himself, this would also bring dishonor upon Christ. Therefore, he wanted to avoid anything that would appear dishonorable in men’s eyes. He wasn’t worried about his own reputation, but about Christ’s reputation.

In the same way, every Christian, insofar as possible, must protect his reputation from dishonor—even the appearance of dishonor. This doesn’t mean that we should avoid being dishonored for Christ’s sake; all believers can expect to be dishonored because of their faith in Christ. But it means that we should avoid the dishonor that comes from wrongdoing, or the appearance of wrongdoing. Paul wrote: Avoid every kind of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22). We must not give people any unnecessary opportunity to speak against Christ and His Gospel²¹ (see 1 Corinthians 9:12).

22 Here Paul mentions another brother—our brother—who also accompanied Titus to Corinth. It is not known who this brother was.

23-24 Paul tells the Corinthians that Titus and these two brothers are worthy of their love and respect. Titus himself was Paul’s partner and fellow worker (verse 23). These two brothers who accompanied Titus to Corinth were representatives of the churches. But more than that, they were an honor to Christ.

If Paul were here today, would he be able to say about us that we were an honor to Christ?