People Who Are an Honor to Christ (2 Corinthians 8:20-24)
Today’s Word
[An Honor to Christ] (NIV)
8:20 We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift.
8:21 For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.
8:22 In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you.
8:23 As for Titus, he is my partner and co-worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ.
8:24 Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.
Background
Chapter 8 of 2 Corinthians is all about the collection for the church in Jerusalem. Paul opened the chapter with the Macedonian churches, who gave generously out of extreme poverty (They Gave Themselves First to the Lord, 2 Corinthians 8:1-7), and he rooted all giving in the gospel of Christ, who was rich yet became poor for our sake (He Became Poor So We Could Be Rich, 2 Corinthians 8:8-11). In yesterday’s passage he began introducing the people who would carry this work to Corinth: Titus, into whose heart God had put the same concern, and an unnamed brother praised by all the churches (God Puts the Same Concern in Another Heart, 2 Corinthians 8:16-19).
Today’s passage finishes that introduction. Paul first explains why he is sending several people together. This was a “liberal gift,” a large sum. Money gathered over a long time by churches in several regions had to travel over land and sea all the way to Jerusalem. The bigger the money, the bigger the room for suspicion. Paul took care from the outset not to give anyone a reason to criticize him.
This was not an abstract worry. There really were people in Corinth who suspected Paul. Some found it strange that he had refused financial support from them (2 Corinthians 11:7-9). In chapter 12 Paul openly mentions the charge that he had caught them “by trickery,” and he asks whether Titus ever exploited them (2 Corinthians 12:16-18). In that atmosphere, a single careless step in handling the collection could have cast doubt on the gospel itself.
So in verse 22 Paul introduces yet another person. He is a different brother from the one mentioned yesterday, and he too goes unnamed. Paul says two things about him: Paul’s team has tested his zeal many times and in many ways, and he is now even more eager because of his great confidence in the Corinthians. That makes at least three people heading to Corinth: Titus and two brothers.
In verse 23 Paul sums them all up. Titus is his partner and his co-worker for their sake. The brothers are “representatives of the churches,” literally “apostles,” people formally sent by the congregations as their delegates. Then Paul adds one more phrase: they are “an honor to Christ,” or more literally, “the glory of Christ.” People carrying an offering on a long road, two of whom are not even named, are called the glory of Christ.
Verse 24 is Paul’s request to the Corinthians. When these men arrive, show them the proof of your love; show that my boasting about you was not empty. And do it “so that the churches can see it.” Because these brothers represented many churches, the way Corinth welcomed them would be watched by the wider church. The request flows naturally into chapter 9 and the collection prepared in advance.
The language of verse 21 has deep roots. The Greek Old Testament that Paul and his readers knew rendered Proverbs 3:4 as an exhortation to “take thought for what is good before the Lord and before people.” Paul borrows that wisdom almost word for word and makes it a principle for his ministry. The old teaching that a person who fears God should also be trustworthy among people comes alive again in something as concrete as an offering.
For the flow of the whole letter, see the Introduction to 2 Corinthians.
Key Words Made Simple
- Avoid (stellomai): Originally to trim the sails or to take precautions in advance. It is not damage control after trouble, but setting a course before trouble comes.
- Criticism (mōmaomai): To find fault, to pick holes in something. In 2 Corinthians 6:3 Paul uses the same word: “so that our ministry will not be discredited.”
- Liberal gift (hadrotēs): Abundance, richness. It points to the size of the sum, but also to the generosity with which it was given.
- Taking pains to do what is right: Literally “planning ahead for what is good.” It is not choosing the right thing on the spot, but keeping it in view from the start. The phrase echoes the Greek version of Proverbs 3:4.
- Proved (dokimazō): To test metal in fire and approve it as genuine. This brother’s zeal was not a first impression but something confirmed over time.
- Confidence (pepoithēsis): Trust, the kind of confidence that lets you entrust something to someone. This brother trusted the Corinthians, and that trust made him more eager.
- Partner (koinōnos): Someone who shares, who carries the same portion. It comes from the same root as the “sharing” (koinōnia) earlier in chapter 8.
- Co-worker (synergos): One who works alongside. Paul does not call Titus his subordinate but someone who labors with him.
- Representatives (apostoloi): Literally “those who are sent.” Here it does not mean the Twelve or an office like Paul’s, but official delegates sent by the churches.
- Honor / glory (doxa): Weight, radiance, display. To be someone’s glory is to show who that person really is.
- Proof (endeixis): A visible demonstration, evidence you can see. It is confirmed in action, not in words.
Expressions Worth Noting
- “We want to avoid any criticism” (8:20)
- Paul did not explain himself after the accusations came. He closed the gaps where misunderstanding could arise before the work began.
- Taking care with money is not a sign of suspicion toward others. It is a sign that you take the trust placed in you seriously.
- “Not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man” (8:21)
- Paul does not say a clear conscience before God is enough. He wants to do what looks right to people as well.
- “God knows my heart” can sometimes become an excuse for carelessness before others. Paul refused that path.
- “Because of his great confidence in you” (8:22)
- This brother believed in the Corinthian church, and that belief made him even more diligent.
- To a church full of suspicion, Paul sends someone who trusts them. He offers trust before asking for it.
- “Representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ” (8:23)
- Paul calls people on an ordinary errand, delivering an offering, the glory of Christ.
- Glory is not only found in high positions or great achievements. A life that serves faithfully, shaped like Christ’s, displays Christ.
- “Show these men the proof of your love … so that the churches can see it” (8:24)
- Love cannot stay hidden in the heart. It has to show up as evidence, and Paul asks the Corinthians for that evidence.
- The way one church welcomes guests becomes a testimony of its love before the wider church.
What the Passage Says
- Integrity that takes care in advance (8:20). Handling a large gift, Paul took care from the start that no one could criticize him. Integrity is not an explanation after a problem but preparation before one.
- Right before God and right before people (8:21). Paul sought to do what was right not only in the Lord’s eyes but also in people’s eyes, so that nothing in his conduct would hide the gospel.
- Tested zeal and trust offered first (8:22). The brother Paul sent had proven his zeal many times and in many ways, and his great confidence in the Corinthians made him even more eager.
- People who are the glory of Christ (8:23). Paul introduces Titus as his partner and co-worker, and the brothers as the churches’ delegates and the glory of Christ. Faithful service itself is the glory that reveals Christ.
- Show the proof of your love (8:24). Paul urges the Corinthians to welcome these men and show the proof of their love before the churches. Love is confirmed in visible action.
Standing Before This Word Today
The phrase that holds us longest in today’s passage comes at the end of verse 23: “an honor to Christ,” literally, “the glory of Christ.” The people Paul describes this way are not the ones we usually think of as glorious. They did not perform miracles, plant famous churches, or leave their names in history. They were people who would carry an offering down a long road, and two of them were not even named. Yet Paul calls them the glory of Christ. Standing before this word, we have to relearn what glory means.
We usually look for glory up high: in places where many people notice us, in visible results, in moments of applause. But the glory of Christ that Paul speaks of points in another direction. Earlier in the same chapter, in verse 9, Paul confessed that Christ was rich, yet for our sake became poor. Christ’s glory was revealed in his coming down. So it is not strange that people who follow him into low places and labor for others become his glory. Their lives show who he is.
That leaves us with a question. What does my life display? When people look at me, whom do they think of? We often care a great deal about how we come across. This passage takes us to a deeper question: how does Christ come across through me? The brothers carrying the offering probably never thought of themselves as the glory of Christ. They simply did their task faithfully. Glory is not something we grab for ourselves. It follows when Christ is seen through a faithful life.
Right before this glorious phrase, though, comes something very down-to-earth. In verses 20 and 21, Paul says he took care that no one could criticize the way he handled the gift, and that he aimed to do what was right before the Lord and before people. It can feel odd at first to find the glory of Christ and financial transparency in the same paragraph. For Paul they were never separate. The glory of Christ shows up not only in holy words but in a receipt, a promise kept, an honest account. And it can be hidden there too.
“As long as I am right before God” sounds spiritual. But sometimes those words cover carelessness before people. When we are tempted to say that God knows our heart, so it does not matter how things look to others, Paul quietly shows another way. He was an apostle, yet he chose to stand where others could watch him. He traveled with people the churches had appointed and kept everything open from beginning to end. That protected him, but above all it kept the gospel from being doubted because of him. When honesty before God and transparency before people go together, our lives become a window that shows Christ rather than a wall that hides him.
In the brother of verse 22 we see something else. Paul says his zeal had been “proved.” This was not a good first impression. It was confirmed many times, in many kinds of work, until it was clearly genuine. That is how trust is built. It does not appear overnight; it rests on faithfulness tested over time in small things. The same is true for us. We do not become trustworthy through one big moment, but through a long stretch of keeping small commitments that no one else may notice.
And this brother was even more eager “because of his great confidence” in the Corinthians. That detail stays with us. Corinth was the church that had suspected Paul, a church whose relationship with him had been deeply wounded. Paul sends to them someone who believes in them. The natural human response to suspicion is more suspicion. Paul offered trust before he asked for it. In our own wounded relationships, it is worth asking what kind of person we are sending and what we are offering first.
Finally, we stand before the request of verse 24. Paul asks the Corinthians to show the proof of their love. He has been boasting about them to other churches; now it is time to show that his boasting was true. Love begins with words, but it does not end there. How we welcome those who come to us, how we keep what we have promised: that is where invisible love becomes visible proof.
The same request comes to us today. We say we love God, and we say we love our neighbors. That does not mean our words are false. It simply asks whether our love is showing up as evidence. The people who come to us, the people placed in our care, the people who have trusted us with something: what does our love look like to them? And what does it show them about the Christ we serve?
So we pray before this word today. Lord, make us like you, who showed your glory not from above but from below. Help us live honestly not only before you but before people, so that our carelessness never hides the gospel. Make us faithful in small things over a long time, people others can trust, and give us courage to offer trust first, even in wounded relationships. Let our love not stop at words but become visible proof, so that our lives may be an honor to Christ.
Living It Out
- Head off one possible misunderstanding. Look at the areas of your life that involve money, promises, or responsibility. Is there anything someone could easily misread? Take one small step now, like keeping a record or asking someone to check it with you, before a problem appears.
- Look at both “before God” and “before people.” Think of something you have let slide because “God knows my heart.” How might it look to others? Consider what you could set right so that it is also right in people’s eyes.
- Build faithfulness in small things. Choose one small promise this week that no one will check, and keep it to the end. Trust is made of small things like this.
- Offer trust first. If there is someone with whom things feel strained or hurt, think of a way to express trust toward them first. A warm word, a small request, or sincere recognition can be a beginning.
- Leave one piece of evidence of love. Think of someone you have said you love but have not shown it in action. Do one thing today that makes your love visible to them.
Questions to Sit With
- How does the glory I usually imagine differ from Paul calling the brothers who carried the offering “the glory of Christ”?
- When people look at my life, what kind of person would they say Christ is?
- Have I ever neglected honesty before people because I felt “right before God”?
- Am I someone whose trustworthiness has been proven over time? What small things built it?
- Of all the love I have professed, what love has not yet shown up as evidence?
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