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Scripture Reading: 2 Cor. 8:16-24
In 8:16-24 we have a section of this Epistle showing us what kind of persons the apostles were. In the first half of this chapter, Paul had fellowship with the saints at Corinth concerning the ministry to the needy saints in Judea. As we read this chapter, it may seem to us that this fellowship is finished by verse 15, that it is perfect and complete. Paul not only had fellowship with the saints in Corinth concerning this matter, but he also presented to them the description of a situation that assured them that what he was doing was being carried out in a very proper way.
Second Corinthians 8:16-24 can help us a great deal in our behavior with respect to money. A large proportion of the problems in society are related to money. Therefore, we all must learn to be careful in handling it.
It is beyond our ability to imagine the different kind of problems that can arise in relation to the handling of money. Money is a source of temptation. We should not consider ourselves so spiritual that we could never have a problem concerning the handling of money. Certainly none of us is more faithful or spiritual than the Apostle Paul. Nevertheless, he was cautious and careful regarding money. I believe that he was quite thoughtful concerning money matters. For this reason, after having fellowship with the saints in Corinth concerning the ministry to the needy saints in Judea, he added verses 16 through 24 to point out some important matters related to the handling of money.
In these verses we see that Paul recommended certain brothers to the Corinthian believers with respect to the ministry to the needy saints. First he recommended Titus. Verses 16 and 17 say, “But thanks be to God Who is giving the same earnestness on your behalf in the heart of Titus. Because he indeed received the entreaty, but being more earnest he went forth of his own accord to you.” The Greek word rendered earnestness in verse 16 also means diligence. It refers to Paul’s diligence, earnestness, for the believers. The entreaty mentioned in verse 17 is the entreaty of the apostle.
Verse 18 says, “And we sent together with him the brother, whose praise in the gospel is throughout all the churches.” In verse 22, Paul refers to yet another brother: “And we sent with them our brother, whom we have proved to be diligent in many things many times, yet now much more diligent through the great confidence he has in you.” These verses indicate that in addition to Titus, two other brothers were recommended to the Corinthians.
Money is very much used by the Devil to seduce man into dishonesty, but it is also involved in the ministry of material things to the saints. In order to avoid blame through man’s suspicion in this matter, the apostles sent a reputable brother to go with Titus as a witness. In verse 22 we see that another faithful brother was sent with these two, that by the mouth of three witnesses a strong testimony might be established (Matt. 18:16). Of these three brothers, only the name of Titus is given. However, the other brothers were known in the churches, and Paul even spoke of them as apostles of the churches (v. 23).
In this section of 2 Corinthians there is no doctrine or theology, no mention of spiritual gift or power. What, then, do we have here that is worthy of an entire message? We have a picture of the kind of life Paul lived. The book of 2 Corinthians is a book on Paul’s life. However, most Christians today pay much more attention to work than to life. Second Corinthians portrays Paul’s life; it does not emphasize his work. Here we have a picture of Paul’s behavior in his ministry.
No doubt Paul was commissioned with the highest portion of this ministry. Therefore, in this book he spontaneously gives us a picture showing how he behaved himself in carrying out his ministry. This does not mean that in 2 Corinthians Paul is telling us how or by what way he carried out his ministry. Rather, he is revealing how he behaved himself. His emphasis is not on the way he ministered; it is on how he conducted himself.
The ministry of the New Testament is altogether a matter of life, not a matter merely of gifts or of working in a particular way. The crucial question is not how we are doing things or how we are working; it is how we are living and conducting ourselves. In the ministry of Christ for the church, the emphasis should be on how we live, not on how we work. I have a strong burden that we all would see that in the Lord’s recovery what matters is not how we do things, but how we live. In these verses Paul’s main emphasis is on how he behaved himself.
According to verse 20, an abundance of material gifts had been committed to Paul’s care. He had received a large sum of money from saints in different localities for the needy ones in Judea. Realizing that having the responsibility for a large amount of money could cause problems, he behaved in a very careful way. First, he selected Titus to go with him. By reading this book we can see that Titus was a reputable brother, reputable among the co-workers and also among the churches. Therefore, Paul selected such a one to take the lead in ministering the material supply to the needy saints. Yet, according to verse 18, another brother was sent with Titus, one whose praise in the gospel was throughout all the churches and who had been appointed by the churches as a fellow-traveler in this grace (v. 19). This brother was sent by the churches and not only by Paul. By this we see that Paul must have asked the churches purposely to select such a brother. Concerning that one, verses 19 and 20 say, “And not only this, but who has also been appointed by the churches as our fellow-traveler in this grace which is being ministered by us to the glory of the Lord Himself, and to show our readiness, avoiding this, that anyone should blame us in this abundance which is being ministered by us.” Paul deliberately acted in a careful way to avoid blame concerning the abundance of material gifts.
In verse 21 Paul says, “For we provide for what is honorable, not only before the Lord, but also before men.” The Greek word for “provide for” may also be rendered take forethought for, consider in advance. This is the meaning of the word in Romans 12:17. It must have been quoted from Proverbs 3:4, where the Septuagint reads, “Take thought for honorable things in the sight of the Lord, and of men.”
Paul realized that a large sum of money was involved in the ministering to the needy saints. He knew that handling that amount of money was not an easy matter. Therefore, he took forethought for what was honorable both before the Lord and before men. We may think that the saints would not have any evil thoughts regarding that money. Perhaps the saints themselves would not have evil thoughts, but the Devil is full of evil thoughts, and he is in them. For this reason, Paul thought about the matter beforehand to avoid blame.
Here we see the principle of taking forethought. Whenever we are about to do something or behave in a certain way, we should take forethought for the way others may think about the matter. Yes, the saints are holy. But within them there is someone who is not holy, that is, the Devil. What evil thoughts may come from the Devil about a particular matter? We need to consider this. We need to consider it even in relation to our husband or wife. Our husband or wife may not have a problem with a certain matter, but what about the Devil? What kind of thoughts about it will come from him? We need to realize that the Devil is crouching, waiting for an opportunity to destroy us. If we realize this, we shall be careful and take forethought concerning things.
Our motive regarding a particular matter may be pure, but we still need to be careful concerning our behavior. Even though our motive is pure, our behavior may cause others to be suspicious. Paul, for example, was responsible for a large sum of money. Therefore, he was careful and took some witnesses to remove any ground for suspicion. According to the law, two or three witnesses were necessary. In taking care to have the proper witnesses, Paul was taking forethought.
I appreciate this word forethought. It means to consider a matter beforehand. If we take forethought, we shall not do things in a way that gives an opening for the enemy to come in.
From experience we have learned that regarding money matters we need to take forethought. Whenever you come to the matter of money, you must take forethought in order to avoid blame. We should never deal with money in a careless way. If we are not careful in the handling of money, blame will come upon us.
In verse 20 Paul said, “Avoiding this, that anyone should blame us in this abundance which is being ministered by us.” We also should take forethought whenever we are responsible for a large sum of money in order to avoid blame. Therefore, with respect to the finances of the church or of the work, or of gifts to the church or the work, we need two or three witnesses. If we take care of money matters without witnesses, we shall have problems, for money is a temptation.
We should not think that our situation is different from Paul’s and that we do not need to take the same forethought concerning money. As long as we are on this earth, we cannot avoid matters related to money. You may try to stay away from money, but it will come to you. Money is very much used by the Devil, and the Bible speaks of it as the mammon of unrighteousness. Praise the Lord that in the New Jerusalem there will be no more concern about money! But for the present we cannot live or work without it. Therefore, in handling money we must learn to avoid blame by taking forethought for what is honorable before God and man.
We also need to take forethought regarding relationships between males and females. Elsewhere I have pointed out that a brother should not have a long talk with a sister in private. Consider the example of the Lord Jesus. He spoke with Nicodemus alone at night in a house. But when it came to talking with the Samaritan woman, he spoke with her in the open air during the daytime. The Lord Jesus was still a rather young man, not much over thirty years of age. If He had spoken to that Samaritan woman in a room alone at night, the disciples probably would have wondered what was going on. The Lord Jesus could have explained the situation to them, but the explanation would have been too late, for the disciples would have already had thoughts regarding the matter. Therefore, the Lord Jesus took forethought in the way He had contact with the Samaritan woman.
In the church life we have contact with many people and are involved with many things. The principle regarding all this contact and involvement is to take forethought about what others may think of us. It is wise always to take forethought, for this will guard and protect us. In particular, we should take forethought to make things honorable in the sight of God and man. If a brother has a long talk with a sister alone in private, that is not honorable in the sight of man. Such behavior may not be sinful; however, it is not honorable. What we do should be honorable both before the Lord and before man. Because the Lord knows everything, it is more important to take forethought for what is honorable before man than for what is honorable before the Lord. Others, of course, do not know all that the Lord knows. It is not sufficient that others think that we have no problem. We need to do what is honorable before them. If we behave ourselves in a way that is not honorable, others will not honor us. The elders, the deacons, and the deaconesses especially need to take forethought for what is honorable. In handling money, in our relationships with those of the opposite sex, and in all other things the principle is the same: take forethought for what is honorable in the sight of God and man.
We may know that in a particular matter we are right, innocent, and pure. Nevertheless, we may not be honorable in the sight of others. We need to behave in a way that will be regarded as honorable by others. Then there will be no ground for blame. This is a lesson we all need to learn.
The case in 8:16-24 may not seem important, but the principle here is of great importance. Otherwise, Paul would not have written anything about it. The very fact that he wrote concerning taking forethought for what is honorable indicates its importance. We all must pay attention to this matter. Regarding money, sex, and all other things we need to behave ourselves in a way to show that we take forethought for what is honorable before the Lord and before man. Please receive this word and act on it. If you do this, you will be preserved and protected. Otherwise, you will have troubles.
The Apostle Paul was not only gifted, knowledgeable, and powerful; he was also cautious, careful, and considerate. In no way was he careless. As we read 2 Corinthians, we see a number of virtues and excellent characteristics in the person and life of Paul. It is no wonder, then, that Paul was so greatly used by the Lord. Paul was used by Him mainly because of his living. He lived in a way that was not only holy, spiritual, and victorious, but also in a way that was careful, cautious, and considerate. When we see the virtues of Paul described in the various chapters of 2 Corinthians as a whole, we shall understand that his usefulness came from his virtues.
In this message my main burden is to impress you with the need to be cautious, careful, and considerate, always behaving in such a way as to take forethought for what is honorable. You may be innocent and pure, but you still need to take forethought for what is honorable. Instead of having confidence in yourself, do things in a manner that is careful, cautious, and considerate.
In chapters six, seven, and eight of 2 Corinthians we have covered four major points: first, the work of reconciliation to bring others fully back to God; second, the all-fitting life; third, being enlarged; and fourth, having an intimate, tender concern for others. Now in the second half of chapter eight we see a fifth important matter — taking thought beforehand for things honorable in the sight of God and man. We all need to be fully reconciled to God, live an all-fitting life, be enlarged, have an intimate concern for others, and take forethought for what is honorable. These principles apply not only in the church life, but also in our family life and in our life at school, at work, or wherever we may be.
