to collect the money; it was to be committed to men of their own selection ; but Paul, as the author of the collection, was to send it to Jerusalem. If the apostle deemed it wise to place himself above suspicion, and to avoid giving even the most malicious the opportunity of calling his integrity in ques- tion, as is intimated here, and expressly stated in 2 Cor. 8, 19. 20, it must be wise for other men and ministers to act with equal caution. If called to disburse the money of others or of the church, let that money, if possible, be in some other custody than their own, that others may know what is done with it. Thus at least Paul acted.
4. And if it be meet that I go also, they shall go with me.
And if it is deserving of my going ; that is, if the collec- tion be of an amount to make it proper for me also to go with it to Jerusalem, your messengers shall go with me. According to Acts 19, 21, Paul purposed, after visiting Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem. But whether he would go at the time the contribution of the Corinthians was sent, depended on its amount. He would not modify his plans for the sake of having charge of the distribution of an inconsiderable sum.
5. Now I wiU come unto you, when I shall pass through Macedonia : for I do pass through Macedonia.
It appears from 2 Cor. 1, 15. 16, that Paul's original plan was to go directly from Ephesus to Corinth, and from there into Macedonia, and then back again to Corinth, and thence to Jerusalem. He now informs them that he would go to Macedonia before going to Corinth. So eager were the false teachers in Corinth to find grounds of complaint against him, that they made this change of plan a grievous offence, and a proof that he was not to be depended upon either as to his purposes or his doctrine. This is apparent from the vindica- tion of himself in the second Epistle. For I do pass through Macedonia ; not, I am passing ; the present tense expresses the purpose of the apostle as settled. The mistake as to the force of the tense here, probably led transcribers to date this epistle from Philippi ; whereas, it is clear from v. 8, that it was written from Ephesus.