The topic of giving is addressed throughout the Bible. Jesus Himself said that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Here’s a question for you: In which of the four Gospels did Jesus make this statement? See the bottom of this email for the answer. It might not be what you expected.) Without doing an exhaustive study of this topic, I would guess that the passage from II Corinthians 8:1 to 9:15 is the longest single passage on giving in the Bible. Paul is exhorting the Corinthians to be generous givers, specifically to the poor saints in Jerusalem. They had made some type of commitment, they had a readiness to give, but they hadn’t followed through yet.
Paul begins by noting the giving by the churches in Macedonia. Why were they able to be such great givers? Because they were so wealthy? Read for yourself: Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: “that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.“ (II Cor. 8:1-5) What seemingly contradictory statements! How could they give with such abundant joy and liberality, freely beyond their ability, in the midst of their great trial of affliction and deep poverty? They could give in this manner because of the grace of God! (8:1) But before they did any financial giving, they first gave themselves to the Lord and to others.
Paul proceeded to give a set of reasons why the Corinthians needed to follow through on their giving. Here is a short list of the many:
– It is to their advantage to not just begin, but to finish this task of giving. (8:10-11)
– As folks give to others in their time of need, then it will be others’ turn to give in their time of need. There is an equality in giving. (8:13-15)
– This is a way to show the proof of your love. (8:24)
– He doesn’t want his boasting of them to be in vain. (9:3)
– He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly; he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully. (9:6)
– God’s grace superabounds to enable them to fulfill every good work, including giving. (9:8)
– Their giving not only meets needs, but brings many thanks to God as a result. (9:12)
This whole section begins and ends with the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s ultimate example of giving!
– “For 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.” (8:9)
– “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (9:15)
God desires us to follow in His example of giving. He loves a cheerful (‘hilarious’ from the Greek) giver! We actually greeted folks at the Rockwall Christmas Parade with the usual greeting “Merry Christmas!” but it would have been very Scriptural to use the greeting “Have a hilarious Christmas!” You should try this statement out on a friend! More importantly, by the grace of God, we should all become greater givers, ministering to the Lord and others.
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor Keith Neds
Answer to question above: NONE
In Acts 20:35, just before Paul left Miletus on his third missionary journey, while he was speaking with the elders of the church at Ephesus, he encouraged them to support the weak. It is the last recorded statement he made to them before this very emotional departure. Here is the full statement: “I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.‘ ”