1 Corinthians 16:3

And when. arrive, whomsoever ye shall approve, them will. send with letters to carry your bounty unto Jerusalem:

'And when. arrive' -(1 Corinthians 4:19)

'whomsoever ye shall approve' -'to the persons you have selected' (Nor) Approve means more than "select" or "determine". (2 Corinthians 8:19) Evidently, this collection would contain. large sum of money. Those who would transport it, needed to be trustworthy.

Point to Note:

The Apostles allowed congregations to make their own decisions in area's of judgement. Paul refused to decide every single matter for the church in Corinth. Those in the disciplining movement need to pay attention to Paul's example.

'them will. send with letters' -Letters of introduction or commendation. (Acts 18:27) 'I will give letters of introduction to persons approved by you.' (NEB) 'Such letters of introduction, or commendation, were. regular part of business dealings in antiquity (Acts 15:23; Romans 16:1; 2 Corinthians 8:16)' (Fee p. 815)

Point to Note:

Someone might ask, 'why was each congregation to select it's own messengers?' In response we could point out: (1) This collection was probably. large sum and all in coin! (2) There is some safety in numbers. (3) Each congregation's offering remained it's own, the independence of each congregation was respected. Note: The sums weren't all sent to some "sponsoring church" or headquarters, and then distributed from that point onward. (4) This also told the various congregations, that their particular offering would be handled with the highest level of integrity.