The Theological Significance of the Collection for the Poor in 1 Corinthians 16
Floyd Schneider, THEO 997
Abstract
The pillars of leadership in Jerusalem—James, Peter, and John—told Paul to remember the poor, and Paul stated that he was already eager to do that (Gal 2:10). This paper will attempt to answer the following questions about this exchange between those leaders and Paul. Who are “the poor” in Gal 2:10? Why did the leaders and Paul believe that this ministry was important? What are the theological ramifications of this command during the Church age?
Keywords
Poor, collection, wealth, money, grace, giving
[[Good discussion. Good work examining this topic and your bibliography is well done.]]
Introduction
Since Paul agreed with the leaders in Jerusalem on the importance of their wish that he remember the poor, we can assume that this request to “remember” meant more to both parties than just simple cognitive recognition or adding to an area-wide prayer list. The leaders were asking Paul to do something that would help the poor in some way. Paul’s subsequent actions demonstrated that both parties understood this “remembering” as some form of material help.
I. Who were the “poor” in Jerusalem?
First, who were “the poor”? Did Paul equate the “poor” with a group who were lower on the economy ladder or was Paul referring to all the Jewish believers in Jerusalem who had self-designated themselves “poor” as an enhanced spiritual status before God?
Paul had already carried out a previous mission to help the believers in Judea. This first collection had been initiated by the church in Antioch based on Agabus’ prophecy of a coming famine that would consume the entire world. The saints in Antioch took this coming event as an opportunity to help out the believers in Judea (Acts 11:27-30). Luke states that Paul and Barnabas completed this mission in Jerusalem (Acts 12:25).
Galatians 2:10 mentions a second collection, initiated by the Jerusalem church, asking Antioch to help the poor. When Paul received this mission, he had already planted a number of churches and had needed to defend his apostleship to the leaders in Jerusalem (Gal. 2:1-9). As Paul began to pull this collection together, he circumvented Antioch, involving only those churches he had personally planted. What was Paul’s motivation for this decision?
Clearly, Paul was not sure how the Jerusalem church would respond to receiving help from Gentile churches. He even felt the need to request prayer for his safety from those “who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints […]”[1] Mark Laing suggests that Paul’s collection was “pregnant with symbolic significance: of the Gentiles’ spiritual indebtedness to the Jerusalem church […].”[2] This possibility demands that we determine who the “poor” were in Jerusalem.
Karl Holl presented the idea that the poor did not refer to physical poverty but to the Jerusalem church as a whole.[3] He believed that Paul was using a technical term for the church, which referred to those who felt themselves especially close to God. Holl further stated that Romans 15:26 agreed with his view because the quote “the poor among the saints in Jerusalem” referred to equivalent self-designations among the Jewish believers in Jerusalem.
A few commentators have offered various pieces of evidence in support of Holl’s position. Millar Burrows believes that the similar terms for poverty and spirituality were used in Matthew in the same way by the Qumran sect. He wrote, “Both groups call themselves the poor, the elect, and the Saints or holy ones.”[4] Once this door was opened, it was easy to connect the Essenes with the Ebionites, who promoted poverty as a lifestyle, and with the early church in Jerusalem.[5]
In refutation of the view that these terms were synonymous, commentators have pointed out the following objections. The word “poor” does not occur in Acts anywhere as a designation for the entire Christian community, in Jerusalem or anywhere else. Luke never uses the “poor” to designate a spiritually superior group. Leander Keck states that the emphasis on poverty within the Christian community in Jerusalem “does not fall on holy poverty as a mark of the community but on a sharing of wealth for the sake of the needy and for the sake of ‘eschatological egalitarianism.’”[6] The wealthy were to use their resources to take care of the poor, not to raise them to a higher consciousness of God.
Holl believed that the offering for the Saints in Jerusalem was required by Gentile congregations to support the Jerusalem church. Although this offering was extremely important to Paul, no mention is made of this offering in the book of Acts. Keck makes it clear that neither the wording in Acts, nor any self-designation of the earliest church, nor the treatment of Paul's final visit to Jerusalem support the view that the term “the poor” referred to the entire community of believers in Jerusalem.[7] Quite to the contrary, Luke used the term “the poor” to describe people who were actually poor. Luke is dealing with actual, not ideological, poverty. He did not regard poverty per se as the ideal state.
Leander presents six points from the Gospel of Luke that clearly do not support the use of this term in this way.[8] The Gospel of Matthew also presents no evidence for this view. Matthew uses the technical term “church” or “gathering,” not “the poor,” to describe the Christian community. The Sermon on the Mount, which has a lot to say about material possessions, does not teach the need to be poor in order to receive God's blessings. W. D. Davies states that “nowhere does Matthew reveal any emphasis on poverty and ascetic rejection of wealth.”[9] Although the apostle James identifies himself with the poor, there is no indication in his letter that the term “the poor” is used to identify the entire Christian community.
Paul mentions the words “the poor” in Galatians 2:10 and Romans 15:26. Most translate this phrase in Romans 15:26 as “for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.” Holl attempts to claim that “among the saints” is a so-called “appositional genitive” and should be translated “the poor who are the saints,” but Keck notes in a footnote that the appositional genitive “is a rather elusive phenomenon (if it exists at all!), largely because it is difficult to distinguish it from it an exegetical genitive.”[10]
Keck also notes that the Corinthians, who were being asked to give money to the saints in Jerusalem, would probably have rejected the request if the believers in Jerusalem had considered themselves “the poor” for ideological reasons.[11]
Paul rejects the view that poverty results in a higher spiritual status. In the Thessalonians letters he condemns those who are poor because they are lazy and tells them to find work (1 Thess. 4:11-12; 2 Thess. 3:6-12). He also praises the Macedonians for their generosity, even though they were poor (2 Cor. 8:2).
If Paul did not feel obligated to carry out this collection because the Jewish believers were spiritually superior due to their poverty, why did Paul place so much emphasis on completing this mission, and why did he take so long to do it?
II. Paul’s Motivation for Remembering the Poor
The apostle Paul states quite clearly that it is part of his commission to “remember” the poor (Gal. 2:10). He gives Timothy instructions about taking care of widows (1 Tim. 5:3-16). Laing lists six viable reasons why the saints in Jerusalem found themselves in a state of extreme poverty.[12]
Laing proposes a number of possible reasons for why Paul handled the collection in the way that he did.[13] Perhaps the collection fit the concept of the temple tax. Paul might have had political reasons along the lines of the patron-client concept that was prevalent at that time. Laing refutes both of these ideas later in his paper. Perhaps, Paul was succumbing to the reciprocal pressure of the culture of his day.[14] Maybe Paul wanted to provoke the Jews to jealousy and bring them to their Savior. More probably, Paul was using the collection as a peace offering to heal the division between the Gentile and Jewish churches. Ian Elmer wrote, “Paul most likely hoped that, despite the reservations the Christian Jews at Jerusalem had concerning the Gentiles, the collection would serve as tangible evidence of Christian solidarity […] [and] as irrefutable proof of the genuineness of the Gentile faith.”[15]
In this case, Paul’s collection would serve to convince the Jewish believers that his ministry and his Gospel were equal to theirs (Rom 15:31). This collection would also demonstrate that the Gentile faith was genuine (2 Cor. 8:11f). Paul’s ministry focused on the one and only Gospel for everyone and the resulting genuineness of the faith of both Jews and Gentiles.
Laing believes that Paul’s main motivation focused on the eschatological aspect of the event. Paul wanted to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost (Acts 20:16). Laing states that Paul eagerly wanted to “to offer up the first-fruits of the Gentile mission to Jerusalem before he expands his mission westward. Pentecost was the festival of first-fruits.”[16] Laing notes that although a favorite word for the collection was “fellowship,” a word that was not defined as “sacrifice,” Paul nevertheless used sacrificial language (“service,” “acceptable”) when he spoke of the collection in Romans 15:31. We could draw the conclusion that Paul saw the collection as an “offering” intended to be presented to the church in Jerusalem, as well as to Jerusalem.
III. Theological Significance of Paul’s Collection
First, the major theological significance of Paul’s collection surfaces through numerous word studies. (“liberality,” “fellowship,” “service,” “grace”), in which Keith Nickle [17] demonstrates the theology of love that motivated Paul to fulfill his mission to remember the poor. C. W. Barrett views Paul’s main motivation as humanitarian aid. He writes, “By far the most important point to Paul, and the only one that he himself makes explicitly, is that the collection was an act of love for the benefit of those who were in material need.”[18]
Second, this love forms the basis of the unity among the Jewish and Gentile believers. Barnett sees the theological significance as focusing on a message to the Gentiles. He remarks, “The powerful appeal to complete the collections (chaps. 8-9) will not allow the Corinthians to regard themselves as the only island in the sea [. . .]. It is, indeed, a test of their grasp of the gospel that they recognize the need for ‘equality’ in material things among the far–flung people of God [. . .].”[19] Nickle examines the various aspects that refer to this theological point: the Gentile indebtedness, but not subordination,[20] to the Jerusalem church, and the exercise of the Gentile freewill in their desire to support fellow Jewish believers.[21]
Third, in 1 Cor. 9:6-15, the theological significance of God’s grace is revealed when God blesses the generous giver and unites the givers and the recipients in spiritual fellowship. The collection underscores the theological significance of God’s grace in three ways. First, Paul refers to “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ” in his generous sacrifice (2 Cor. 8:9). Second, Paul uses it to describe the experience the Corinthians have of that grace. They could, in fact, recall (8:1; 9:14) and expect it in the future (9:8). Third, Paul labels the gift itself as “grace,” a “gracious work” or “gift” (16:3). The actual character of grace reveals itself in generous action. “Grace [. . .] had only been truly experienced when it produced gracious people.”[22] The Macedonians had recognized the grace they had received from the Lord Jesus. This motivated them to give beyond their means. They also received grace by accepting the privilege of taking part in the collection. Giving beyond their means gave them a greater experience of grace. They completed the circle by thanking God for His prompting in their hearts (2 Cor. 8:16) and for His “inexpressible gift” (2 Cor. 9:15)—“from God as grace, to humans and through humans as gracious action, and back to God as thanks.”[23] God wants believers to receive His grace, thank Him for it, and then give grace to others.
Fourth, Dieter Georgi believed that remembering the poor was a direct outworking of Paul's doctrine of justification.[24] Jerusalem had a special dignity because of its eschatological importance and direct persecution from the unbelieving Jews. This collection represented Paul's theology of money, which was grounded in his understanding of God's grace. Georgi states it well, “This justifying grace creates wise and reasonable [. . .] praxis in which [. . .] the identity of persons is formed through [. . .] concern for others. This praxis avoids the power that grows out of fear and leads to exploitation and violence [. . .]. [It] affirms the power of [. . .] poverty [. . .] [and] will instigate and invigorate” closer personal relationships.[25]
And fifth, if Laing’s theory is correct, then Paul’s collection would have been the “fruit” of his Aegean mission. Laing writes, “This needed to be ‘sealed’ in Jerusalem by its presentation.”[26] Old Testament eschatological prophecies would support this thesis of the Gentiles bringing their offerings to Jerusalem (e.g. Isa. 2:2f, Micah 4:1f). Paul is connecting the salvation of the Gentiles with God’s plan to save Israel (Rom. 11:15). Isaiah 66:18-21 prophecies a detailed missionary outreach to the Gentiles sent out by Jerusalem.
Conclusion
Paul spent a large part of his ministry eagerly fulfilling the commission of the Jerusalem leaders to remember the poor. The reference to the “poor” in Gal 2:10 spoke to the material position of the saints, not to their spiritual condition before God. The theological ramifications of this commission encompasses the love that believers have for other believers from different social strata, the unity of all believers regardless of their social status, the cycle of blessing that comes from giving to the poor, the outworking of the believer’s justification through sanctification, and the fulfillment of those prophecies connecting the salvation of the Gentiles with God’s plan to save Israel. Paul’s fulfillment of this commission was not a side-show within his ministry. This collection served as the culmination of it.[27]
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Annotated Bibliography for the Collection
THEO 997
Floyd Schneider
The following limited annotated bibliography contains material consulted and focuses on the subject of “The Theological Significance of the Collection for the Poor in 1 Cor 16,” for the purpose of supporting the research carried out and presented in the paper of the same title.
Adams, Edward and Horrell, David G. Christianity at Corinth: The Quest for the Pauline Church. Louisville: John Knox Press, 2004. Good book on all aspects of the culture and religion at Corinth during Paul’s time. Especially useful sections on social stratification and the rhetorical situation and historical reconstruction. Part Two focuses on methodological reflections.
Barnett, Paul. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians. Grand Rapids: Erdmann’s Publishing Co., 1997. Excellent detailed commentary of 2nd Corinthians in the NICNT series. His introduction encompasses the history of Corinth in the time of Paul, Paul’s relationship with the Christians in the city, his relationship with the Corinthians after he wrote the letter, and all of the major issues in the book: literary, historical and theological.
Barrett, C. W. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians. London: A & C Black, 1973. C. K. Barrett is emeritus professor of Divinity at the University of Durham, England, and Vice President of the British and Foreign Bible Society. His commentary is one of the "standards" on 2 Corinthians. Should be consulted on every part of the epistle.
Davies, W. D. The Setting of the Sermon on the Mount. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1964. Places the sermon in its historical setting within the context of the world from which it originated. Davies examines it in five settings: 1) how Matthew himself intended the Sermon to be understood, 2) within the Gospel as a whole, 3) Matthew presented Jesus as a second Moses and lawgiver, 4) Jewish messianic expectation, and 5) contemporary Judaism. He asks whether contemporary Judaism or the early church determined Matthew’s interpretation, and whether Matthew was departing from the mind of Jesus Himself.
Dunn, James D. G. The Theology of Paul the Apostle. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998. Seems to present Paul as a 'victim' of the process of Judaization. Did Paul ever teach that Jesus was God? Little technical jargon, but doesn't quote in full the passages he is analysing. Very practical and comprehensive “systematic theology” of all the major themes of Pauline theology. Ends with a chapter on motivating principles and ethics in practice. Lots of primary literature.
Engels, Donald. Roman Corinth: An Alternative Model for the Classical City. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 1 edition, May 29, 1990. Follows and adds to Meggitt’s work. Very thorough and detailed viewpoint. Other commentators quote this work often. Seems to be one of the standards in the field.
Fee, Gordon D. God’s Empowering Presence: the Holy Spirit in the letters of Paul. Peabody: Hendrickson publishers, Inc., 1994. One of the most comprehensive treatments of Paul’s understanding of the Holy Spirit. Fee analyzes Paul’s statements about the holy spirit in each of the New Testament letters and then synthesizes Paul’s theology on the subject.
Fee, Gordon D. Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1996. Fee’s book, God’s empowering presence, is a comprehensive treatment on the topic of the Holy Spirit from a Pentecostal perspective. In Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God, he eliminates the exegetical basis of the large textbook for the purpose of making the material more accessible to a wider audience. Should be consulted first, if sermon preparation time is short.
Fee, Gordon D. The First Epistle to the Corinthians (NICNT). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1987. Thoroughly evangelical point of view. An in-depth understanding of the text while not bogging down in scholarly elements that are confusing. Clearly Charismatic in his interpretation of chapters 12-14. Considers verses 14:34-35 to be a scribal addition instead of part of the text. Regardless of one’s presuppositions, Fee is the ONLY Pentecostal theologian writing excellent, exegetical commentaries today.
Furnish, Victor Paul. New Testament Theology: The Theology of the First Letter to the Corinthians. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. I enjoyed this book. One of the first books I’ve read that gives such a concise, yet detailed, description of the systematic theology of a New Testament Epistle. Want to read Furnish’s commentary on Second Corinthians.
Georgi, Dieter. Remembering the Poor: The History of Paul’s Collection for Jerusalem. English translation. Nashville: Abingdon, 1992. A very important and thorough text on the subject. It begins with the Jerusalem Council as the initial setting for the collection. Gives the start and temporary cessation of the collection. Demonstrates the unity of Jewish and Gentile believers as the eschatological people of God. Covers in detail the entire chronological process of the collection, including everything about anybody who had to do with the collection, and all of their motivations, along with the spiritual significance as the collection related to justification, worship, God's sovereignty and eschatology. Closes with detailed discussions of the financial and spiritual ramifications of the study. May not agree with every conclusion, but thought-provoking. Murphy-O’Connor lists this book as one of the two main writings on this subject.
Harris, Murray J. The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Second Epistle to the Corinthians. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2005. I will use this commentary as my primary one when I begin a sermon series on Second Corinthians. Deep, yet very understandable. Does not avoid the difficult issues, and has very credible conclusions that often disagree with some mainstream viewpoints.
Keck, Leander E. “The Poor Among the Saints in the New Testament.” Zeitschrift fuer die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kinde des Urchristentums 56 (1965): 100-159. Journal article encompassing the entire range of viewpoints on who the ‘poor’ were in Jerusalem during Paul’s time. Excellent and thorough.
Kidd, Reggie M. Wealth and Beneficence in the Pastoral Epistles. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990. Asks and attempts to answer the question, Was there a middle class Christianity during Paul’s time? Describes the rich and shape of the community. Closes out with a thorough discussion of the beneficence in the pastoral epistles.
Laing, Mark. “The Pauline Collection for the ‘poor’ in Jerusalem.” Bangalore Theological Forum” 34 (June 2002): 83-92. Excellent, thorough treatment of the collection. Includes potential reasons for Jerusalem's poverty, a chronology of the collections, Paul's potential motivations for the collection, which include political, Jewish temple tax, humanitarian, ecclesiological, and especially an eschatological motivation.
Longenecker, Bruce. Remember the Poor: Paul, Poverty, and the Greco-Roman World. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, November 12, 2010. Previously, scholars have suggested that Paul's request in Galatians to remember the poor "was peripheral and secondary to the main issues of the Jerusalem" (p 157) council. Yet what does Paul mean in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 when he passionately talks about Christians being one body? He insists we are all one body in Christ. It was "essential to the core identity of Jesus-followers" (p284) to be generous and loving towards one another.
Marshall, Peter. Enmity in Corinth: Social Convention in Paul’s Relations with the Corinthians. Tuebinger: Mohr [Siebeck], Coronet Books, Inc., October, 1987. Marshall uses social analysis to discover the social conventions of friendship. He wants to determine if some current theological answers to unclear passages might better be answered with social responses, i.e., Paul’s refusal to accept money in some situations of ministry. A modern-day how-to-make-friends-and-keep-them book during the time of Paul in Corinth. Gives more than plausible social answers to shaky current theological ones. An original work with some material appearing for the first time. Some speculation cannot be avoided. In-depth and thorough study of friendship and patronage during Paul’s time. A necessary contribution for insights into Paul’s actions and relationships with the people in the church in Corinth.
Meeks, Wayne A. The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the Apostle Paul. New Haven: Yale University Press. 2nd Edition. 2003. Handles the question what was it like to become and be an ordinary Christian in the first century. The approach is that of "social history" applied to the New Testament, a cooperative movement across several academic disciplines. Meeks also justifies his studies because of the potential rejection by theologians. Deals with the urban environment, the social level of believers, forming and governing of the church, rituals and patterns of belief and life. Moves from external issues of group formation, urban environment, and status level to internal issues such as dealing with church conflicts. Bought the book.
Meggitt, J. J. Paul, Poverty and Survival. Studies Of The New Testament And Its World (SNTW). Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, Nov. 14, 2000. This social history of earliest Christianity radically re-evaluates both the methods and models of other studies. Justin Meggitt draws on the most recent research in classical studies on the economy and society of the Roman Empire. He examines the economic experiences of the Pauline churches, and locates Paul and the members of his communities within the context of the first century Roman economy. He explores their experiences of employment, nutrition and housing. He uncovers and describes the unique responses that they made to such a harsh environment. And he questions whether, from the outset, Christianity included a number of affluent individuals. A thoroughly researched and ground-breaking study.
Mott, S. C. “The power of giving and receiving: reciprocity in Hellenistic benevolence.” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation (1975): 60. Journal. Good support material for the concept of reciprocity in Paul’s time. Could be compared with other cultures in anthropology research.
Murphy-O’Connor, Jerome, OP. New Testament Theology: The Theology of the Second Letter to the Corinthians. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. Interesting. Loved his use of English to express his views. Begins with the supposition that two opposite groups, the Judaisers and the “Spirit-People,” came together to oppose Paul. Attempts to be consistent in interpreting every text within the framework of his assumptions. Not sure I agree with his assumptions, but thought-provoking. Seems to have a very low view of verbal, plenary inspiration.
Nickle, Keith F. The Collection: A Study in Paul’s Strategy. London: W & J MacKay, 1966. Older, but thorough treatment of the subject. Begins with the chronological history of the collection. Covers the analogies to contemporary Judaism: temple tax, charity, Qumran sources. Excellent chapter on the theological significance of the collection. Closes with the history of events after the collection. Murphy-O’Connor lists this book as one of the two main writings on this subject.
Witherington, Ben. Conflict and Commentary in Corinth: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995. Examines the social and Greco-Roman rhetorical contexts of the Corinthian correspondence. Witherington defines rhetoric as the "art of persuasion" and believes that "particular literary devices and forms were used in antiquity to persuade a hearer or reader to some position regarding the issue that the speaker or writer was addressing" (xii). Takes advantage of the extensive social science research of New Testament times that has emerged in recent years. Applies rhetorical criticism to New Testament study. He abandons the ‘traditional’ methods of exegesis such as form and redaction criticism and believes that First and Second Corinthians must be studied in their final forms. He rejects the view that 1 Corinthians 14:33b-36 are a post-Pauline interpolation and believes they were part of the original letter. Witherington breaks new ground by applying a rhetorical critical analysis to both 1 and 2 Corinthians. Liked the book so much, I bought it.
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[1] Rom. 15:31
[2] Mark Laing, “The Pauline Collection for the ‘poor’ in Jerusalem,” Bangalore Theological Forum” 34 (June 2002): 84.
[3] Karl Holl, “Der Kirchenbegriff des Paulus in seinem Verhaeltnis zu dem der Urgemeinde”, Stizungsbericht der Berliner Akademie 1921, 920-47, reprinted in Gesammelte Aufsaetze zur Kirchengeschichte II, Tuebinger (1928): 44-67.
[4]Millar Burrows, More Light on the Dead Sea Scrolls, New York: The Viking Press (1958): 112.
[5] Hans Joachim Schoeps, “Ebionite Christianity”, JTS IV (1953): p223f.
[6] Leander Keck, “The Poor Among the Saints in the New Testament,” Zeitschrift fuer die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kinde des Urchristentums 56 (1965): 105.
[7] Leander Keck, 108.
[8] Leander Keck, 111. 1) In those sections that deal with wealth and poverty, the church does not call itself “the poor”, but is actually a church composed of people of lower income whose economic level will be improved with the second coming. 2) The church did not deliberately make itself poor in order to qualify for God's blessings. 3) There are no signs in Luke that “holy poverty” was normal for the believers as a sign of their Christianity. 4) The believers were never reprimanded for not becoming poor. 5) The warning against loving money was never followed by the command to sell everything and become poor. 6) When the Lord Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell everything, he followed up that story by stating that the reward for sacrifice in following him would result in material blessings in this present time.
[9] W. D. Davies, The Setting of the Sermon on the Mount, 213.
[10] Leander Keck, 119, footnote 66.
[11] Leander Keck, 121.
[12] Mark Laing, 84.
[13] Mark Laing, 84.
[14] S. C. Mott, “The power of giving and receiving: reciprocity in Hellenistic benevolence,” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation (1975): 60.
[15] Ian J. Elmer, “More than charity,” Prayer and spirituality in the early church 5 (2009): 64.
[16] Mark Laing, 89.
[17] Keith F. Nickle, The Collection: A Study in Paul’s Strategy, London: W & J MacKay (1966): 103-108.
[18] C. W. Barrett, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, London: A & C Black (1973): 26.
[19] Paul Barnett, The 2nd Epistle to the Corinthians, Grand Rapids: Erdmann’s Publishing Co. (1997): 48.
[20] Although Paul stated in Romans 15:26-27 that the Gentile believers were “indebted” to the saints in Jerusalem, he made it clear that this was not a legal or contractual request, but a moral one. He used the same word “obligation” in referring to his own debt toward the Greeks and barbarians Romans 1:14.
[21] Nickle, 119-135.
[22] James G. Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle, (2006): 707.
[23] Dunn, 708.
[24] Dieter Georgi, Remembering the Poor: The History of Paul’s Collection for Jerusalem, English translation, Nashville: Abingdon Press, (1992).
[25] Dieter Georgi, 160.
[26] Mark Laing, 89.
[27] Mark Laing, 90.