Titus had come back to Paul with good news. The church in Corinth was still true to the gospel, and still honoured the authority which Jesus had given to Paul as His apostle (Acts 26:16-18). The false teachers were still around but the majority of the church were firm in their faith, although they still had much to learn and still needed to put into practice what they already knew. Paul sent Titus to Corinth to encourage them to give money to support the needy church in Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 16:1-3). The principle of helping the poor was established at the Jerusalem conference (Galatians 2:10) because of a series of famines (Acts 11:28) and persecution (Acts 8:1-3).

Having spent more than eighteen months in Corinth (Acts 18:11), Paul knew the believers were generous and so he was confident in sending Titus to encourage them to give. However, he returned to Paul empty-handed. The focus of the church had been on dealing with their internal troubles. That achievement was more important than the money - dutiful giving without right hearts would have meant there was no fellowship – it was music to Paul's ears. Despite his fears for their spiritual wellbeing, the church had welcomed Titus as his assistant and responded warmly to his pastoral guidance.

And yet the aid money was important, as a fellowship offering to the Lord (Leviticus 7:11-12a), as well as for its practical benefits. And so Paul used his joy at the way the church treated Titus to introduce important teaching about giving, and to let them know that Titus would return to collect the money (2 Corinthians 8:6): Titus may well have carried this letter with him. The apostle's confidence in the church was strengthened by Titus' report and so Paul wanted to commend them, encouraging them to express their love for the Lord in generous giving.

If we commend a believer or church, will they live up to what we say about them, based on their past record? Regrettably, none of us ever does completely. In different ways, we become a disappointment to ourselves and other people. The same had proved true in Corinth. But in Philippians 3:16, Paul writes, "Only let us live up to what we have already attained." That does not mean that we should equal or exceed our 'previous best' behaviour record. It means that because we have attained Christ's righteousness through His grace alone, we must learn to let His character work out in our lives (Philippians 2:13). Paul's commendation of the Corinthians was based on his confidence that God was at work in their hearts (Philippians 1:6). When you look at other believers, instead of finding fault ask, "What is God doing in their lives, and how can I encourage them in that?"