The whole point of 2 Corinthians 8–9 is to galvanize the Corinthians to contribute to the collection. So how does Paul do it? He gives them the gospel. He gives them Christ—grace Himself (see Titus 2:11, 13), who “loved [us] and gave himself for [us]” (Gal. 2:20)—and anticipates the gospel’s powerfully transforming their apathy, greed, and self-preservation and advancing through their faith and their love for the saints (2 Cor. 8:7–8).
Jesus gathered his disciples on a mountain in Galilee and gave them the Great Commission (Matt. 28:16–20). They were to carry the light of the gospel throughout a sinfully dark world and call unbelievers to repentance and faith. But Christians often forget that this same gospel also advances within the church, and it does so through the care that we show for those of the household of faith: “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10, emphasis added). But what is the connection between the gospel of grace and the Christian obligation to care for others in the church? The best answer comes from considering the Jerusalem Collection.
The Jerusalem Collection was a focal point in the Apostle Paul’s ministry. He mentions it several times in his letters (Rom. 15:25–29; 1 Cor. 16:1–4; 2 Cor. 8–9; Gal. 2:10), and it involved the act of collecting money and resources from predominantly gentile churches to give to the poor saints in Jerusalem. At first glance, the collection appears to be a socially mundane act in the early church. But in reality, it was deeply theological and profoundly gospel-oriented. Everything in Paul’s life and ministry, from his leatherworking trade to his preaching ministry to the Jerusalem Collection, was undergirded by a robust theology rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Two facts about the Jerusalem Collection confirm this.
First, the collection was a concrete manifestation of the mystery of the gospel. The “mystery,” according to Ephesians 3:6, is that “the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (emphasis added). A common faith in the gospel of Christ makes Jews and gentiles one “in Christ” (Gal. 3:28; see also Col. 3:11). What better way to exemplify this union than by caring for one another as a single household?
Second, the collection was a concrete manifestation of grace. We see this in 2 Corinthians 8–9. The only other place where Paul mentions grace more than in these two chapters is Romans 5. (That’s saying something!) Yet what he’s saying often gets lost in translation.
Subscribe to Free “Top 10 Stories” Email
Get the top 10 stories from The Aquila Report in your inbox every Tuesday morning.