by Hugh DeLong<\/p>\n
Because of political, economic, and worldly circumstances in Judea, the church there was struggling to survive physically. They banded together in Jerusalem and shared among themselves to care for those saints in need. This has continued for some time, and now things have become even more difficult. HOW will God provide for them? Through their fellowship of other saints.<\/p>\n
I find it instructive that while we usually refer to it as ‘the collection’, Paul used many different words in speaking of this. “Elsewhere Paul speaks of this collection in terms that are full of theological content: “fellowship,” “service,” “grace,” “blessing,” and “divine service.” (Gordon Fee, Commentary on I Corinthians). Let me quote from his commentary on this section and add my own comments:<\/p>\n
“2 Cor. 8:4; 9:13; Rom. 15:26. This usage probably indicates Paul’s basic hope for this ministry in terms of Jew-Gentile relationships. Cf. Panikulam, Koin\u014dnia, pp. 49-57.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Fellowship is a joint participation, a sharing together. While they were separated not only by distance, they were culturally ‘miles apart’. Here, the Corinthian church, made up mostly of Gentiles, would be sending to their Jewish brethren. There is one body<\/strong>. Though of many backgrounds, they are one in Christ.<\/p>\n
Service<\/h2>\n
“Gk. \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03ba\u03bf\u03bd\u03af\u03b1 (2 Cor. 8:4; 9:1, 12, 13; Rom. 15:31; cf. v. 25). See the discussion of this word in 12:5. The implication is that loving service in behalf of others is an essential feature of Christian \u03ba\u03bf\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd\u03af\u03b1.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Jesus taught that the greatest among us is he who serves! Paul exhorted\u00a0us to\u00a0serve one another<\/strong> in love\u00a0(Galatians 5:13).<\/p>\n
Grace<\/h2>\n
‘Gk. \u03c7\u03ac\u03c1\u03b9\u03c2; this is the most common term (see on v. 3); cf. 2 Cor. 8:4, 6, 7, 19. The most vivid commentary on its usage in this regard is 2 Cor. 8:9; they are to respond to the benefits of God both exemplified and made available to them in Christ in this tangible way.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich<\/em>” (II Corinthians 8:9). God’s blessings are meant for us to share and use to help others. Keeping worldly blessings for yourself misunderstands God’s purposes and gifts.<\/p>\n
Blessing<\/h2>\n
“Gk. \u03b5\u1f50\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03af\u03b1; see 2 Cor. 9:5, where there is something of a play on the word. Their “bounty” becomes a “blessing” to others, who in turn offer the “blessing” of thanksgiving to God.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
“So I thought it necessary to urge the brethren that they would go on ahead to you and arrange beforehand your previously promised bountiful gift, so that the same would be ready as a bountiful gift and not affected by covetousness<\/em>” (II Corinthians 9:5).<\/p>\n
Divine Service<\/h2>\n
“Gk. \u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c1\u03b3\u03af\u03b1; 2 Cor. 9:12 (cf. Rom. 15:27). The monetary gift is seen as an act of service to God. Since this is often a technical term for “divine service” (cf. our derivative, “liturgy”), many think there is a link between this word and an actual collection taken during the service of worship. But this is extremely doubtful, especially in light of the very private nature of the setting aside of the money in v. 2.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
We serve God by serving others. As Jesus said about helping or not <\/strong>helping our brethren: you did it unto me! (cp. Matthew 25:41-45).<\/p>\n
How Do You View the Collection?<\/h2>\n
It is\u00a0not<\/strong> just “putting money in the basket”; it involves the whole of our relationship with God, brethren, and the world with its ‘things’.\u00a0Paul stated: “Therefore openly before the churches, show them the proof of your love and of our reason for boasting about you<\/em>” (II Corinthians 8:24). Out of our pockets, the heart speaks!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Hugh DeLong Because of political, economic, and worldly circumstances in Judea, the church there was struggling to survive physically. They banded together in Jerusalem and shared among themselves to care for those saints in need. This has continued for some time, and now things have become even more difficult. HOW will God provide for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[679,159],"class_list":["post-97982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-collections","tag-giving"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24655,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/fellowship-a-word-study\/","url_meta":{"origin":97982,"position":0},"title":"Fellowship: A Word Study","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 13, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Becky Rene It is essential at this point that we understand how our spiritual fellowship is expressed. So we will take the time to examine the noun \u201cfellowship\u201d (koinonia) in all the contexts in which it appears. Some of the verses are difficult to understand because the translators have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/fellowship.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":31132,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-church-treasury-only-in-an-emergency\/","url_meta":{"origin":97982,"position":1},"title":"A Church Treasury, Only in an Emergency?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 24, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Gordon J. Pennock via\u00a0Truth Magazine\u00a0- January 1961 It seems that considerable controversy has arisen regarding what we call the church treasury, meaning of course the funds contributed by the members of local churches. This controversy seems to be a by-product of the discussion of scriptural and unscriptural ways in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54389,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-the-collection-in-i-corinthians-161-2-really-worship\/","url_meta":{"origin":97982,"position":2},"title":"Was the collection in I Corinthians 16:1-2 really worship?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: The church I attend teaches that the collection in I Corinthians 16:1-2 is not part of the worship service. They say Paul commanded that to help the church in Jerusalem, not to worship by giving. What is your comment about that? Answer: The same giving is discussed in II\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36222,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-benefited-greatly-from-the-lessons-about-the-collection-for-the-saints\/","url_meta":{"origin":97982,"position":3},"title":"I benefited greatly from the lessons about the collection for the saints","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I benefited greatly from the lessons about the collection for the saints (I Corinthians16:1-2). This has helped me prepare for Sunday school teaching! Thanks, Jeffrey. Answer: I'm glad they were useful to you in your studies.","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":58366,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/now-concerning-the-collection-i-corinthians-161-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":97982,"position":4},"title":"Now Concerning the Collection: I Corinthians 16:1-2","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 23, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"by Wayne S. Walker Through the years some have been heard to ridicule the idea of \"five acts of worship.\" When we understand that the Biblical concept of \"worship\" involves \"an act of homage or reverence to God\" (see W. E. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Vol. IV,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2004\/01\/collection-plate-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":84011,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/collection-for-the-saints-or-collection-for-preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":97982,"position":5},"title":"Collection for the Saints or Collection for Preachers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Sewell Hall via Biblical Insights, Vol. 15, No. 1, January 2015 A very respected and perceptive brother expressed the following in a note to the elders where he worships: \"I am concerned that the collection for the saints' is becoming 'the collection for the preachers.'\" Since others may have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97982\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}