Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 2 Corinthians 9:15

"Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift." — 2 Corinthians 9:15 (ASV)

This doxology is a final appeal to the lofty grandeur of divine giving (cf. 8:9; 9:8, 10–11). Since the gift here is said to be given by God and is beyond adequate human description, it can hardly refer to the Corinthian contribution or even the boon of Jewish-Gentile reconciliation in Christ alluded to in v.14a; rather, it must refer to the surpassing grace that God imparts (v.14b), especially the Father’s gift of the Son (cf. Romans 8:32).

Were Paul’s appeals to the Corinthians in these two chapters successful? The apostle paid his third visit to Corinth as planned (12:14; 13:1), spending three months (the winter of A. D. 56–57) in Greece (Acts 20:2–3), during which he wrote Romans (1 Corinthians 1:14). In Ro 15:26–27 he writes that the believers in Macedonia and Achaia eagerly made “a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.” Evidently in the five or so months between the writing of 2 Corinthians and Romans, the believers at Corinth had responded to Paul’s appeals. Why then does Acts not refer to any delegate from Achaia (see comment on Ac 20:4)? Perhaps Titus was their representative, a man who for some reason is nowhere mentioned in Acts. III. Paul’s Vindication of His Apostolic Authority (10:1–13:14)