Aoyos is the Chiistian truth as preached, yvujo-is that truth as apprehended or understood. In diligence^ (o-ttovS?;,) earnest- ness^ a general term for the energy or vigour of their spiritual life, of which their love was one manifestation. In your love to us. The expression in Greek is peculiar, r^ i$ vfxujv iu rjfjuv dya7i77, the love ichich is of you in us^ i. e. your love (to us) which we cherish in our hearts. That is, which we so highly estimate. Or, simply, amore a vohis profecto et in me collato. That ye may ahound. The tW Trepttrcr. is most naturally ex- 23lained by supplying some word as in our version, >See that ye abound. Compare Gal. 2, 10. In this grace also^ i. e. the grace of hberality. Others here as in the precedmg verse make x°-P^^ mean good icorTc. But this is not so consistent with the context. Faith, knowledge, and love are not good works so much as divine gifts, and so also is liberality.
8. I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of yom- love.
The apostle, agreeably to his usual manner, states first negatively, and then affirmatively, his object in what he had said. It was not of the nature of a command. It was not obedience, but spontaneous liberality he desired. The latter may be excited by the exhibition of appropriate motives, but it cannot be yielded to authority. Almsgiving in obedience to a command, or to satisfy conscience, is not an act of liber- ality. What is not spontaneous is not liberal. Paul, there- fore, would not coerce them by a command. His object was to put the genuineness of their love to the test. The nature of the test was suggested by the zeal of the Macedonians. So it was by the occasion of the forwardness of others he was led to put their love to that trial. The real test of the genuineness of any inward affection is not so much the charac- ter of the feeling as it reveals itself in our consciousness, as the course of action to which it leads. Many persons, if they judged themselves by their feelings, would regard themselves as truly compassionate ; but a judgment founded on their acts would lead to the opposite conclusion. So many suppose they really love God because they are conscious of feelings which they dignify with that name ; yet they do not obey him. It is thereby by the fruits of feeling we must judge of its genu- ineness both in ourselves and others.