1 Corinthians 16:1-4

¹ Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: ² On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. ³ And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem. ⁴ But if it is fitting that I go also, they will go with me.

Commentary 

Vs. 1 "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also"

As the Apostle Paul frequently does after a theological discourse he now gives some instructions regarding our conduct, or a pressing need. Here the urgent need was the brethren in Jerusalem who were not only suffering ongoing persecution for their faith, but were also suffering because of a lack of personal resources. For most believers there were being ostracized from the majority Jewish community from which they came. And so life was very difficult for them. On the one hand having to endure the alienation and indignation of their Jewish countrymen, while on the other being eyed with growing suspicion and intolerance by the governing Romans. Not to mention the famine which precipitated some of the earliest relief efforts to them (see Acts 11:27-30). And so an ongoing collection for them is commanded by the Apostle Paul. For it was the Christians in Jerusalem who in the beginning sold all their possessions, and held all things in common, so as to grow the early church and magnify the Lord's name everywhere. Indeed if it were not for their early sacrifices, the church would've not been able to sustain itself. And so the collection for the saints commanded here is a most fitting and honorable request (see Rom 15:25-27). Now Paul had already given orders to the churches in Galatia to do the same; this likely being born out of a personal exhortation that he received from the other Apostles when he first began his "official" Gentile ministry (see Gal 2:9-10). And so the Apostle Paul mentions it here so the Corinthians would know that this pressing need was going to be met not just by them, but by all the Gentile churches to which the Gospel had come. 

Vs. 2-4 "On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come."

The first day of the week, (the Lord's Day), was when each individual believer was to bring a special offering for the believers in Jerusalem. This offering then was to be distinct from what they would've given in support of their own assemblies and people. Now this offering was to be proportionate, that is, "as he may prosper", and thus it was to be according to what one had, not according what one did not have (see 2 Cor 8:12-15). Thus no one was to go into debt, or impoverish themselves, or their families in seeking to meet this need, or any other need as this pertains to the Lord's Work. The same principal then applies to us all. For we are all to give generously yes, recklessly no (consider 2 Cor 9:6-9). Now the Apostle Paul wanted all collections to be completed before he arrived. Likely this was to prevent a schism within the assembly where some would give while he was present, while others who did not have the means to give at that moment could not give. Thus if all the collection was gathered before hand, then it would truly be a church gift, gathered from amongst them all, as the Lord prospered them, and as they all had opportunity to lay something aside for His ministry to the saints. 

Vs. 3-4 ³ And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem. ⁴ But if it is fitting that I go also, they will go with me.

This offering then was to be laid up until the Apostle Paul could arrive and was to be delivered by people of integrity chosen by the Corinthians from amongst themselves. Thus whomever they approved by their letters. The Apostle Paul then would send them (with his own commendation) to bear their gift to the brethren in need in Jerusalem. The Apostle Paul also states that if the Corinthians desired, Paul himself would also go with their chosen representatives to Jerusalem. Thus we see in these verses a very tactful and orderly approach to giving, collecting, and bearing ministry gifts that would be above reproach, and truly be a blessing to both the giver and the recipient of the gift. 

Scripture Quotations

The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.