Now therefore perform ye it also in deed: that as your mind is forward to be willing, so it may be also to perform, out of that which you have.
νυνι δε και το ποιησαι επιτελεσατε οπως καθαπερ η προθυμια του θελειν ουτως και το επιτελεσαι εκ του εχειν
8 Church Fathers comment on this verse
"Now therefore complete the doing of it" (v. 11). He did not say, "Do it," but, "Bring it to completion." "So that, as there was a readiness to desire it, so there may also be a completion." That is, let this beautiful work not stop at zeal alone, but receive its reward by being truly fulfilled.
"Now therefore complete the doing of it." Therefore I advise you now to fulfill your work. "So that, as there was a readiness to desire it, so there may also be a completion according to what you have." Let the beautiful work not stop at zeal alone, but be truly fulfilled. As disposition and choice produce desire, so the deed proceeds from possession. Therefore let the one who has do the deed. The one who does not have has done the deed by his choice.
For as there is among you a readiness to desire, so also there should be completion from what you possess.
Then he turns to the perfect: "Now complete the doing of it, so that your eager desire may be matched by your completion, according to what you have. For if there is readiness, it is acceptable according to what a man has, not according to what he does not have."
"It is not required that others should have relief and you distress, but that there should be equality. At the present time your abundance should supply their lack, and their abundance should supply your lack, so that there may be equality. As it is written: 'He who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack'" (2 Cor 8:11-15; cf. Ex 16:18, concerning the manna).
152. In the Apostle's words we see goodwill, generosity, and measure in generosity. He also speaks of the results and of those who give. He mentions measure because he gives advice to imperfect people. Only the imperfect cannot bear burdens.
But if someone, having become a bishop or presbyter, does not wish to burden the Church and does not give away all that he has, yet acts worthily by giving alms as befits his rank, such a man does not seem imperfect to me.
Sacerdotium refers to a bishop or presbyter, and ministerium to a presbyter or deacon. Among Christian authors, operari means "to perform almsgiving" or "to do good works." I think that here the Apostle has in mind not spiritual burdens, but material ones.
Paul says this so that the will of the Corinthians may be manifested in deed, if it is true, according to their strength. Let each give as much as he can and as his soul desires. Then the conscience will be pure and free from hypocrisy, which pleases men but obtains no mercy from God.
I say this because I care for what is useful to you, and because I knew beforehand of your zeal, since you showed it to us long ago. Therefore the testimony of deeds must be added to zeal. By the word "to will," the Apostle expressed zeal, as he explains in the following words.
Then, passing to what forms the summit and crown of exhortation, the Apostle speaks as though saying: "Behold whom you must imitate: the Lord. He emptied Himself. You too should empty, if not yourselves, then your treasuries for His sake, through the needy.
By this you will prove that you sincerely love the Lord, for the Lord graciously accepts what is done for them as though it had been done to Himself.
In the words "I give advice," the Apostle confirms that this must indeed be fulfilled. It must be fulfilled for no other reason than that it is profitable. Fulfill your duty, become like the Lord, and at the decisive hour for you, you will hear: "As you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me."
Others might have been troubled by wondering how to undertake it or how to begin it. But you already have some habit in carrying it out. You began not only to act, but also to desire, before the Macedonians. You began, but the work went slowly among you. The Macedonians, however, succeeded in gathering both quickly and much.
Therefore take care that your collection of alms, as it stands first in its beginning, may also stand first in completion. Finish it with the same fervor with which you undertook the work.
Some, perhaps, made excuses, saying there was nothing to give: this year their own affairs were poor. Against this excuse the Apostle adds: let each contribute to the common collection from what he has.
"And to do this," kai toi poiesai, that is, "and to do," means: now complete the very work itself. The Apostle's thought is this: hasten now to act, and do not delay. Just as there was much zeal when you only planned this work, let it now be manifest in its fulfillment.
Finish it with the same fervor with which you undertook the work. "He did not say, 'Do it,' but, 'Complete it,' so that this good work might not stop at zeal alone, but, being actually fulfilled, might also receive its reward" (St. Chrysostom).
"To zeal one must add the testimony of deeds" (Theodoret). The Corinthians had certainly shown much fervor at first for this work, but then began to grow cold and stretch it out under various pretexts.
One such pretext could have been this: as some perhaps excused themselves, they had nothing to give, since this year their own affairs were poor. Against this excuse the Apostle adds: let each contribute to the common collection from what he has. Having hinted at this here in brief, he then explains his thought in several verses.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 19 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS