John Calvin Commentary 2 Corinthians 8:10

"And herein I give [my] judgment: for this is expedient for you, who were the first to make a beginning a year ago, not only to do, but also to will." — 2 Corinthians 8:10 (ASV)

And in this I give my advice. The advice he places in contrast with the commandment of which he had spoken a little earlier (2 Corinthians 8:8). “I merely point out what is expedient by advising or admonishing.”

Now, this advantage is not perceived by the judgment of the flesh. For who can be found that is persuaded it is an advantage to deprive himself of something in order to help others?

It is, indeed, the saying of a pagan: “What you have given away is the only riches that you will always have.” But the reason given is that whatever is given to friends is placed beyond all risk.

The Lord, on the other hand, does not want us to be influenced by the hope of a reward or any payment in return. On the contrary, even if people are ungrateful, so that it may seem we have lost what we have given away, He wants us, nevertheless, to persevere in doing good. The advantage, however, arises from this:

“He that giveth to the poor (as Solomon says in Proverbs 19:17) lendeth to the Lord,”

whose blessing, in itself, should be regarded as a hundredfold more precious than all the treasures of the world.

The word useful, however, is understood here to mean honorable, or at least Paul measures what is useful by what is honorable. This is because it would have been disgraceful for the Corinthians to draw back or stop short in the middle of their course, when they had already advanced so far.

At the same time, it would also have been useless, since everything they had attempted to do would have fallen short of acceptance in God’s sight.

Who had begun not only to do. Since doing is more than willing, the expression might seem improper. But willing here is not understood simply (as we commonly say) but conveys the idea of spontaneous eagerness that needs no prompting.

For there are, so to speak, three gradations in acting:

1. We sometimes act unwillingly, but out of shame or fear.
2. We act willingly, but at the same time, we are either impelled or induced by external influence, not by our own minds.
3. We act from the prompting of our own minds, when we, of our own accord, set ourselves to do what is proper.

Such cheerfulness in anticipation is better than the actual performance of the deed.