2 Corinthians 8 - Be Careful Not to Over Promise and Under Deliver!
The Collection for the Lord’s People
8 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. 6 So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7 But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
The Macedonian churches, which includes the church of Philippi, are a paradigm of the New Testament principle of "radical generosity". They were extremely poor but extremely rich in their act of giving to the needs of the larger church. They gave above and beyond what anyone would have expected them to give. Finally, Paul didn't have to wrangle or coerce them to give. He says, "They pleaded with him enable to have the privilege of giving to greater cause of the church."
Wow, that is generosity is not often seen. They gave themselves first to the Lord. This could mean their tithe to the local church. And then they gave above and beyond to the larger church. We often call this a special offering. The other way of looking this is that they first of all gave themselves and their hearts to the Lord. Then, their generosity flowed out of their trust in Him. I favor the latter.
The Macedonian Christians gave far beyond what Paul hoped for. What made their giving so spectacular? It wasn’t the dollar amount. It was that they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. Why were the Macedonians such good examples of giving? Because they first gave themselves to the Lord; then they gave their trust to Paul and the other apostles.
In giving, the real issue isn’t giving money. It is giving ourselves to the Lord. If we really give ourselves to the Lord, then the right kind of material giving will naturally follow. - Guzik
8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
Paul reminds them of the ultimate motivation for giving. Jesus, the richest man in the world, gave up all the comforts of heaven to come to earth, become a man, and save us. Jesus emptied himself of pride and became obedient even to death on the cross.
And what riches! Jesus, as the eternal Second Member of the Trinity, as God the Son, living in the riches and splendor of the ivory palaces of heaven (Psalm 45:8), surrounded constantly by the glory, power, and majesty of God. The riches Jesus enjoyed before adding humanity to His deity make any amount of wealth on earth seem poor.
10 And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. 11 Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. 12 For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.
The Corinthians had pledged their support but had not completed it yet, as they did the year before. They were eager to sign their pledge card but now it was time to honor their commitment. Paul urges them to have as much excitement in completing their gift, as they did when they started it.
In all of our commitments not to over promise and then under deliver.
The Devil will let you resolve as much as you like – the more the better – just as long as you never carry it out. “The tragedy of life so often is, not that we have no high impulses, but that we fail to turn them into actions.” (Barclay)
13 Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14 At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, 15 as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”
Paul relays that one of the principles in giving is that there is a time when you are amply supplied that you might help out the someone in else in need. But then there might be a time when you are need and someone else can afford you the same help. The goal is that everybody would have enough. In the Lord's Prayer we pray, "Give us this day our daily bread."
Paul quotes a verse from Exodus 16:18 and reminds them of the manna God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness. He provided just enough for each day. If everyone lived practicing this kind of generosity, I wonder how much less of gap there would be between the rich and the poor. But we know that the gap between the rich and the poor is only growing.
Christians need to be examples in the world of true generosity, which flows out of generosity for what Jesus has done for us. One of my favorite sayings is, "You can't outgive God!"
Again, God does not expect us to give what we do not have. True Christian giving cannot be measured by the amount. One might give a million dollars and yet not give enough; another may give one dollar and give with tremendous sacrifice and generosity. True giving is measured by obedience, proportion, and need, not by amount. - Guzik
Titus Sent to Receive the Collection
16 Thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you. 17 For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative. 18 And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel. 19 What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help. 20 We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. 21 For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man. 22 In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is my partner and co-worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ. 24 Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.
Paul realizes how important it is for them to have someone trustworthy to give their gift to deliver to the saints in Jerusalem. He commends Titus to them. We see Titus' resume of faithfulness in the things Paul entrusted to him and Paul realizes how important this is when a large is given to do it right. Financial malfeasance in the church has caused a lot of trouble over the years. People see money handled poorly in the world, but they expect when they give to a church they have higher standards. After all this is money that has been given to God!
Paul frequently entrusted Titus with difficult missions. He sent Titus to the troubled church in Corinth to deliver a stern letter, mediate a reconciliation, and organize a collection for the poor Christians in Jerusalem. Titus handled the difficult situation with great success. (Google AI)
Does your giving to God look like the Philippians giving? How does your trust in God correlate to your ability to trust God with your money?
If you have a roof over your house, a car to drive, enough food, money in savings, and are able to enjoy a vacation every year, you have been blessed. There are many who would not be able to check off these boxes.
Most importantly we are rich in grace. We, who could offer nothing to God were given everything in Jesus, including eternal life.
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