Like most Christians of with an inclination towards social justice, in the early stages of my faith life, I didn’t like the apostle Paul. Paul institutionalized Christianity; he watered down Jesus’ social radicalism–or so I thought.

In graduate school, I took a class on Paul’s Letters to the Corinthians taught by Larry Welborn. This class made a bigger impact on my faith than any other formal religious or theological education I have received. Reading his letters closely made me love Paul.

I love Paul for a few reasons. I love and relate to his difficult personality–his anxiety, his obsessiveness, his dramatics (see: 2 Corinthians: 16-33), his certainty in being right. He writes about the evil powers in this word, the resulting suffering, and the resurrection that will redeem our suffering in a way that’s simpler and truer to me than anything I’ve read.

More than that, I think that people have gotten Paul’s supposed lack of interest in social justice wrong.

Paul was obsessed with administering a collection for the poorer members of the church. He wrote about it more than he wrote about the status of women, the Lord’s supper, and other topics that we tend to give more attention to. Even after the church in Corinth rejected his proposal for a collection, and other men were jockeying for position to be the church’s “apostle,” he kept appealing to them to contribute. He told them that not giving to the collection would make him doubt that they’ve ever received Christ’s grace at all. Why would something that most readers characterize simply as a poor box at church–a few extra bucks sent to the needy– be so urgent to Paul?

Paul’s collection was so important to him because it went beyond charity; rather, he called for a complete redistribution of wealth that would result in material and spiritual equality. His plan was indeed socially radical.

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul calls for the more comfortable in Corinth to contribute to the poor saints in Jerusalem “as a matter of equality” (2 Cor 8:13). Not charity, not almsgiving, not patronage–equality.

As an example for this sort of material equality, he quotes from the manna miracle in Exodus: “Whoever had much did not have more, and whoever had little did not have less” (15). This verse refers to a phenomenon that occurred in Exodus 16. After the manna rained down from heaven, some gathered more manna, and some gathered less. However, after it all was gathered, they took an inventory of the manna, and the amount that each person had was equal. That is, those who originally had gathered more manna no longer had more, and those who had originally gathered less no longer had less.

(Another translation is, “The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.” Marx, is that you?)

The manna miracle is a particularly apt image for what Paul is trying to achieve with the collection. According to Paul, the wealthier Corinthians are those who originally gathered excess manna; if it remains this way, it will be at the expense of the poor in Jerusalem. Those who gathered less in Exodus represent poor in Jerusalem. If the collection goes according to Paul’s plans (and God’s will), the poor in Jerusalem will no longer have less, and the wealthy in Corinth will no longer have more.

I think that this comparison makes clear that Paul is not just describing charity–he calls for material equality.

For Paul, material quality is not just a moral ideal; it is a a requirement of wealthier Christians if they want to be on the same spiritual level as the poor. He wants spiritual equality within the Church, and because the Corinthians are resisting the collection, he’s unsure if they have the love of God that they claim to have. On the other hand, the poor in Jerusalem and the poor in Macedonia who have contributed to collection have clearly received God’s grace. For Paul, the wealth of the privileged people weighs down their spiritual riches; the only way to increase in spiritual gifts is to release their excess wealth.

Paul uses the word “grace” to describe the gift of Christ’s life and death and also to describe the giving to the collection (1). Through this wordplay, Paul bonds generosity with Christ’s mission on earth. Paul believes that God’s grace manifests itself in material actions performed by the faithful. In 2 Corinthians 8, since the Corinthians hesitate to contribute to the collection, Paul is uncertain if they have received grace. Giving to the collection would “show these men the proof of your love” (24).

Paul frames the “test” of the Corinthians love with the example of Christ:

I say this not by way of command, but to test the genuineness of your love by your concern for others. For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake he became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich. (2 Cor 8:8-9)





He describes Christ’s death and life in economic terms. While he has previously described Jesus’ mission in terms of life and death, or sin and righteousness, here he characterizes it in terms of poverty and wealth. In other words, the paradox of richness found in poverty contains the same logic found in Paul’s paradox of strength through weakness and life through death found elsewhere in Paul’s letters to the Corinthians.

The Corinthians ended up contributing to the collection. In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote, “For Macedonia and Achaia [which Corinth was a part of] have decided to make some contribution for the poor among the holy ones in Jerusalem; they decided to do it, and in fact they are indebted to them, for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to serve them in material blessings.” (Rom 15:26-27) The Corinthians were convinced by Paul’s appeal. They, like Christ, gave of themselves so that others could become rich.

Today, under capitalism, the 8 richest people on earth own as much wealth as the poorest 50% combined. Understanding Paul’s emphasis on economic equality, what letters do you think he’d be writing to churches today? Do you think he’d advocate for small donations here and there? I don’t—he’d call for a total redistribution of wealth–so that “Whoever had much did not have more, and whoever had little did not have less.”

If you are someone who tends to think Paul watered down the social radicalism of the Gospel, I hope that this has made you think a bit differently about him. I pray that more Christians will support social systems that allow for economic equality.

The rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God. Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others, while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:12-15