Verse 5
I thought necessary therefore to entreat the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your aforepromised bounty, that the same might be ready as a matter of bounty, and not of extortion.
Before ... beforehand ... aforepromised ... This repeated emphasis on the fact that they had already promised this collection more than a year ago had an element of sternness in it that should not be overlooked. The allegation that Paul was, in these first nine chapters, expressing his absolute and unreserved satisfaction with everyone at Corinth is founded upon a gross misinterpretation of a great many things contained in them, including the sharp dissatisfaction inherent in such a sentence as this.
Bounty ... not of extortion ... It is remarkable to read the comments designed to soften the force of the word "extortion." which by implication is here applied to all radical and high-pressure methods of fund raising. Such methods are here called by their true name. Paul was saying that, more than anything else, and certainly more than the money, he wanted the Corinthians to DESIRE the fulfillment of their promise.
Filson correctly read the implied criticism of Paul's words here, as indicating that "There had already been too much delay."[12] Macknight's paraphrase of this verse is:
For that reason I thought it necessary to entreat the brethren, that they would go before me to you, and excite you to complete, before my arrival, your formerly announced gift, that the same might be thus prepared at my coming to Corinth, as a gift willingly bestowed, and not as a thing extorted from you by my importunity, as from persons of a covetous disposition.[13]
Having thus disposed of the explanation of why he was sending messengers on ahead for the purpose of raising the collection, Paul devoted the balance of this chapter to extolling the joys and benefits of Christian giving.
[12] Floyd V. Filson, The Interpreter's Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1953), Vol. X, p. 375.
[13] James Macknight, Apostolical Epistles with Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1969), Vol. II, p. 411.
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