Biblion Bible Commentary
Read the introduction to 1 Corinthians · About this commentary
Now Concerning the Collection
1 Corinthians 16:1-4
1 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I commanded the assemblies of Galatia, you do likewise. · WEB
The last question is answered with a procedure — weekly, proportioned, and audited by men the Corinthians choose themselves.
Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I commanded the assemblies of Galatia, you do likewise 1 Corinthians 16:1.
The last of the six now concerning sections 1 Corinthians 7:1 1 Corinthians 12:1, and the subject is money for the poor believers in Jerusalem — a project Paul pursued across several provinces and years 2 Corinthians 8:1–5 Romans 15:26. The instruction begins by noting that other churches are already doing it, which quietly places Corinth among peers rather than at the center.
On the first day of every week, let each one of you save as he may prosper, that no collections are made when I come 1 Corinthians 16:2.
Four features, and each is practical. It is weekly — regular rather than occasional, and the reference to the first day of the week is incidental evidence that the congregation reckoned by it. It is each one of you, so nobody is excused by the smallness of their means. It is proportioned — as he may prosper — which asks the same percentage of unequal incomes rather than the same sum. And it is in advance, that no collections are made when I come, sparing everyone the pressure of an appeal made in person by an apostle.
When I arrive, I will send whoever you approve with letters to carry your gracious gift to Jerusalem 1 Corinthians 16:3.
The safeguards are as careful as the collection. The couriers are men you approve — chosen by the donors, not appointed by Paul — and they travel with letters of accreditation. He kept the same distance from the money elsewhere, taking pains that no one could blame him in the handling of it and arranging that the gift travel in other men's hands 2 Corinthians 8:20–21.
That caution belongs to this letter's larger argument. Paul had refused support from this congregation so that nothing about him would slow the gospel down 1 Corinthians 9:12 1 Corinthians 9:18, and the same instinct governs here: a man who would not take their money for himself does not touch their money for others either. If it is appropriate for me to go also, they will go with me 1 Corinthians 16:4 — even his own travel is left conditional.
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