2 Corinthians 8:5-9(NKJV) 5And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. 6So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. 7But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also. 8I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. 9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.
Yesterday we began looking at 2 Corinthians chapter 8. In this chapter, Paul is speaking to a church that has promised to participate in an offering for the church in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem church was undergoing a time of difficulty and needed support in the area of food and provisions. The thing that caught my attention in this account is the fact that Paul is writing to normal, everyday people. Some of them were going though their own difficulties, but they decided to give anyway.
Most people do not fall into the “mega-giver” class. They cannot give thousands of dollars. They also do not fall into the “desperate giver” class, those who give the last bit that they have needing a miracle for survival. Most people are just like this church. They have some pressures they are dealing with. They may be having trouble making ends meet, but they choose to give anyway. They pay tithes and give offerings to the local church and in other ways as well. This chapter speaks to some attitudes and principles that encourage growth in the area of giving as well as growth in our faith that God will take care of us as we give.
Yesterday we looked at two things from verses 1-4. The Macedonian church gave what they could and then gave a little more. I believe this is a good practice. Do not try to give beyond your means. Set what you believe you can comfortable give based upon what you have. Once you have determined what that amount is, go a little farther. Not so much that it will put you at risk, but enough so that it is a little uncomfortable. This will stretch your faith. The more you practice this principle the more you will learn to trust God and your giving will naturally grow.
Second, we saw that they gave willingly. It is important that you do not do anything by compulsion. If you do not want to give than you should not. If you do not give willingly, your giving comes with strings attached that make it impossible for it to be a blessing to anyone including you.
Today let us look at a few other attitudes that Paul encouraged the Corinthian church to cultivate. In verse 5, Paul points out that the Macedonian church did not just give what they had, but they gave themselves as well. He points out two areas in this “giving of themselves.” First, they gave themselves to God. Giving is a matter of trust.
The Macedonian church was in its own time of struggle. It seems to me that things might have been worse in Jerusalem, but Macedonia had enough hardship that Paul called them “poor.” Yet in the midst of this hardship, they gave anyway. Why would they do that? They did it because they trusted God. They gave themselves to his care. They trusted that if they gave to Jerusalem, people they did not know, then the Father would see to it that their needs were met as well.
If you are going to be a giver, you must trust God. There has been much criticism toward the “prosperity message” because of the perception that people are being taught to give just in order to get back. If this is taught, it is not right. However, you will never be a giver if you do not believe you can trust in God. Macedonia first gave themselves to the Lord, and then they gave to Jerusalem. We must do the same.
Paul said they also gave themselves to him. As a pastor I know that the people I am responsible for are generous givers. They need to know that when I ask them to give it is for a good reason. I never put a need before them on a whim. I consider what I have asked them to do recently and the severity of the need or the worthiness of the cause. The Macedonians knew they could trust Paul in this area. He would not have asked them to give if the need was not great. In this way, they also gave themselves to him.
I encourage you to give yourself in this way to the leaders over you. If they ask you to give, consider whether they have been trustworthy in the past. If you find yourself in a situation where you do not have that trust, I encourage you to consider respectfully expressing your concerns to the leadership. If you still do not feel comfortable with what they are asking of you, you should not give. If this becomes a chronic situation, you should consider finding leaders you can trust. Before you do that, however, you need to do all you can to understand.
In verses 6-8, Paul points out something else we need to understand. Giving is a grace just like faith and love. We all know we need to grow in faith and love. In this scripture, Paul points out how many ways the Corinthian church is strong. Corinth was a huge port city in Paul’s time. It was far richer than Macedonia. They had a bigger church. They had the best preachers. They had all the grace any church could want.
We might liken Corinth to a big city church of today. Macedonia was a smaller area with smaller churches. Often we can be caught up with all kinds of “graces.” We can see “spiritual” things, like faith and love, as important. We can focus on the “big” things like programs or quality preachers and judge a church by them. Paul wants us to know that our giving is an expression of all of these things. It is just as important as any other quality we can mention. It is just as spiritual as faith. It is an expression of love. It will have as much impact as programs or preaching.
We need to excel in the grace of giving. There is something about a giving church. They are usually full of love and faith. God blesses them with what they need to reach out. They are thankful because giving produces thankfulness and results in the Lord giving back in tangible ways.
Lastly, in verses 8 and 9, Paul tells them he is not giving them a commandment. He is encouraging them to consider the greatest givers of all. We need to consider Jesus. What did he hold back in his giving? He gave his life so that we could have life. He took our sin so he could give us his righteousness. How does our giving earthly wealth compare to that? It does not.
Though Paul does not point this out here, we cannot consider the giving of Jesus without considering the giving of the Father.
John 3:16(NKJV) 16For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
The Father’s love could only be expressed by giving. Paul tells Corinth that he is asking them to give as an example of their love for others. I believe giving will help us show our community and our world the Love of God. Open you heart before you open your wallet and see what the Lord will do.
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