Useful Bible Studies > 2 Corinthians Commentary > chapter 11
Jesus said that God will provide for his people*. Paul also believed that*; he trusted God to provide what he needed. Here, he gives an actual example of how that happened in his own experience.
Paul worked in Corinth for a period of 18 months*. During that time, he made tents to earn his money*. However, the work was clearly not constant. On this particular occasion, Paul did not have enough money to buy what he needed.
We do not know how desperate Paul’s situation was. Paul knew what it means to be poor*. It seems that sometimes he could not even afford to buy food*.
There were new Christians in Corinth who could have helped Paul. Paul was careful not to tell them about his situation. He was trusting God to help him.
Then a group of Christians arrived in Corinth with a gift for Paul. They had come from Philippi in Macedonia, as Philippians 4:15 shows. They could not have known how much Paul needed their help at that time. Philippi was about 300 miles (500 kilometres) from Corinth, and there was no easy way to send a message. Probably, Paul did not even expect them to come.
So, by means of those Christians and their kind gift, God provided for Paul. Paul did not need to demand money from anyone. In fact, he did not even need to accept gifts from Corinth’s Christians. It is not wrong for a church leader to accept gifts or wages from the people that he teaches*. However, God had not guided Paul to do that*. So instead, God provided for Paul in other ways.
Next part: Paul boasts about how God provided for him (11:10)
* See complete article for these Bible references.
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© 2016, Keith Simons.