“Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also.”
My Notes
What Does 2 Corinthians 8:6 Mean?
Paul describes the collection for Jerusalem as a "grace" (charis), not an obligation. The word choice is deliberate: generosity isn't a duty the Corinthians must perform. It's a grace they get to participate in. Titus is sent to help them complete (epiteleō, bring to a successful finish) what they started. The giving that began with enthusiasm needs someone to help bring it to completion.
The phrase "as he had begun" indicates that Titus had already started organizing the collection during a previous visit. The project was initiated but incomplete. Paul sends Titus back to finish what was started—because good intentions that don't reach completion aren't just incomplete. They're a reproach to the people who announced them.
The identification of giving as "grace" transforms the entire economy of the collection: it's not a burden to bear but a gift to experience. The grace isn't what the Jerusalem believers receive. It's what the Corinthian believers experience in giving. The giver receives grace through the act of generosity. The recipient receives the money. The giver receives the grace.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Have you started a generous commitment that stalled? What would 'Titus'—help to finish—look like for you?
- 2.If giving is a grace for the giver rather than just a loss, how does that reframe your experience of generosity?
- 3.What generous intention have you let fade that needs to be brought to completion?
- 4.Do you experience giving as loss or as grace? What would need to change for generosity to feel like receiving rather than losing?
Devotional
Paul calls the collection a "grace"—not a tax, not a duty, not an obligation. A grace. The Corinthians get to participate in generosity as a spiritual gift, not a financial burden. And Titus is sent to help them finish what they started—because starting to give without finishing is worse than not starting at all.
The reframing of giving as grace changes everything. Most people experience generosity as loss: I give, therefore I have less. Paul says: you give, therefore you experience more. The grace isn't the money leaving your account. The grace is what enters your soul when the money leaves. The giver is the primary beneficiary—not of the money (that goes to Jerusalem) but of the grace (that stays in the giver's heart).
Titus is sent to help them finish because starting without finishing is a particular kind of failure. The Corinthians had enthusiastically committed to the collection. Time passed. Enthusiasm faded. The commitment remained unfulfilled. Paul doesn't shame them. He sends help. Sometimes you need someone to come alongside and help you finish what you started with such good intentions.
If you've started something generous—a commitment, a promise, a project of giving—and it's stalled, Paul's response isn't condemnation. It's completion. He sends Titus. He sends help. The question isn't whether you're a bad person for not finishing. It's whether you'll let someone help you complete the grace you began.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Insomuch that we desired Titus,.... Observing the very great readiness, cheerfulness, and liberality of the poor…
Insomuch - The sense of this passage seems to be this, “We were encouraged by this unexpected success among the…
That we desired Titus - Titus had probably laid the plan of this contribution when he was before at Corinth, according…
Observe here,
I. The apostle takes occasion from the good example of the churches of Macedonia, that is, of Philippi,…
Insomuch that we desired Titus Titus, it seems clear by the words -as he had begun," went a secondtime to Corinth before…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture