2 Corinthians 8:23 - Ellicott's Commentary On The Whole Bible

Whether any do enquire of Titus. — There is no verb in the Greek, and its insertion is not required for the English. Our common phrase, As to Titus... as to our brethren, exactly expresses St. Paul’s meaning. In the “messengers” of the churches we find in the Greek the word “Apostles” used, as in Philippians 2:25, and possibly Romans 16:7, in a lower sense (the Greek has no article), for “delegates of the churches,” as the Twelve and Paul and Barnabas were delegates of Christ. The other epithet — “the glory of Christ” — is an unusual one. To say that they were working only to that glory, though true, seems hardly adequate, and we gain a deeper thought by connecting it with the language of 2 Corinthians 3:18. “These messengers,” he says, “are like Christ in character: they reflect His glory. You may see that glory in them.”