What does Paul tell the Corinthians to do about their offerings in 2 Corinthians 8?
Paul admonishes the Corinthians to get their offerings in order and to give. These early churches met in homes and had no full-paid pastors or building complexes, so their local church economy was very limited. Even so, Paul encourages these Gentiles to bring their offerings.
Les explains that before going into II Corinthians 8, where Paul admonishes the Corinthians to get their offerings in order, it helps to see what prompted Paul to encourage Gentiles to bring offerings. The early churches met in homes, lacked full-paid pastors, and had no building complexes to maintain or loans to pay, so their local church economy was very limited. Even so, Paul admonishes them to give. The backdrop is Galatians 2 and the Jerusalem Council around 51 or 52 A.D., where Peter, James, John, and the Jerusalem congregation called Paul up to settle whether Gentiles could be saved without keeping the Law or practicing circumcision.