Lesson #31

2CORINTHIANS 8
Lesson #31
EXAMPLE, EXHORTATION, AND EXPLANATION OF CHRISTIAN GIVING

• Memory Verse: Luke 6:38

• Paul changes the theme of 2Corinthians beginning in chapter 8.
• Paul had discussed theme of living the Christian life in the comfort of God in the midst of sorrows, troubles, and suffering.
• Now Paul changes the theme from Christian living to Christian giving.
• The reason for this change of theme was because of the offering that the Gentile churches were raising for the benefit of the poor Jewish Christians in Jerusalem.
• In 1Corinthians Paul had told the Corinthian Church to participate in the offering. When Titus delivered his report, that church had not begun to participate.
• Therefore, this change of theme to Christian giving is to encourage them to participate.
• These two chapters of 2Cor 8 and 9 are the most extensive passages concerning Christian giving in the Bible.
• God’s Perspective:
• Money is not important to God, but it is to you. God can accomplish his plan with or without money. However, God knows that money is important to you. Therefore, how you use your money is part of God’s plan for your life.

• Read 2Cor 8:1-6 The Christian Attitude for Giving
• In this extensive section of scripture on Christian giving, there are no rules for giving, but there are principles.
• In the Old Testament under a period of Law, the rule was the tithe, but the Christian in this New Testament age of grace is to be guided by scriptural principles instead of Law.
• Grace

• “…the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia…”

(1)

• The word, grace, is used 10 times in these two chapters of 2Corinthians. Therefore, the concept of grace is very important in relation to giving to God.
• The definition of the word grace:
• Usually the Christian word, grace, is defined as = God’s unmerited favor. However, there is more richness to the meaning of this word than that definition displays.
• The Greek word, grace (charis) indicates an outward characteristic like beauty, charm, kindness, goodwill, gratitude, delight, or pleasure.
• Therefore, the Grace of God is = the passion of God to share all His goodness with others.
• As Christians, we are familiar with the concept that we are saved by the grace of God. (Eph 2:8-9) Yes, it is His unmerited favor because we do not deserve salvation, but it is more than that. In that unmerited favor God poured out all His passionate desire to share with believers an eternal salvation of ultimate blessings and love.
• With an understanding of this definition, we see that the Christian does not give offerings to God because God needs them. God is the creator of this entire universe. He not only owns it all, He controls all of it. God does not lack anything.
• The grace of giving is the overwhelming desire or passion to share the things of God with others. It is a gracious privilege.
• Why is giving to God called a grace?
• Paul calls giving a grace because it calls our attention to the purpose and attitude with which the Christian should have when he gives money to God. The Christian should have a passion to share the blessings of God with others.
• With what attitude did the Christians in Macedonia give for the Jerusalem famine?
• The Gentile churches in Macedonia obeyed Paul’s request to give offerings by grace for the Jerusalem church.
• Paul was in Macedonia when he wrote 2Corinthians. He personally experienced their giving.
• In Greek history there was always a rivalry between northern Greece, called Macedonia, and southern Greece, the location of Corinth, which was called Achaia. Paul’s praise for the Macedonians would surely get the attention of those in Corinth.
• The Macedonians had the proper attitude toward money and giving to God:
• They were obedient to Paul’s petition.
• They had an overwhelming passion to share the blessings of God with the poor Christians in Jerusalem.
• Special Note:

Usually in today’s world of Christian churches, we see a mother church send out missionaries to spread the gospel and plant small churches in new geographic areas. Usually the mother church financially supports the new churches until they grow to a size where they can be self-supporting.

• We see just the opposite in Paul’s day. It is the small mission churches that collect money to send back to the mother church.
• The direction of the flow of funds is not important. What is important is the attitude of sharing the blessings of God with whoever needs it.
• They gave according to their own free will.
• Luk 6:38 (your memory verse) is the New Testament principle for giving money to God.
• Paul told this church that he did not want to come to Corinth and beg for money. There was to be no big money raising campaigns that pressured people to give. The purpose for Paul’s next visit was not to raise money. They should raise the money before he arrived.
• The Principle:

Giving to God should be accomplished by making the need known and then permitting the Holy Spirit to convict hearts to give according to a person’s free will.

• The example of the Macedonian churches:

• “…in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.”

(2)

• Paul tells us that the people in the Macedonian churches were not wealthy people. They also were poor. However, they gave freely and abundantly out of their poverty.
• In other words, they did not have excess money to give. They also had needs and could have used the money for their own needs. Instead of doing that, in love they considered the needs of the Jerusalem church greater than their own needs.
• This is the heart of the grace of giving…a love that considers another’s need before it considers its own need. Then, even after considering one’s own needs, the grace of giving makes a determination that it is more important to share the blessings of God with others than to heap them upon oneself.
• The amount the Macedonian churches gave was so large for such a poor people that it was beyond expectation that they prayed Paul would be willing to accept it. (3-4)
• Those Christians first gave their hearts and lives to Christ and also to Paul to help him preach the gospel. (5)
• When the believer gives his life totally to the Lord and commits every area of his life to the control of the Holy Spirit, his money will follow.
• The extent of their zeal and dedication to God and the ministry surprised Paul.
• Notice the word, fellowship, in verse 4.

• “…the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.”

(4)

• The Principle:

Sharing in the blessings of God by sharing in giving with passion to the ministries that extend God’s kingdom is a blessed fellowship.

• Read 2Cor 8:7-15 The Exhortation to Christian Giving
• Paul congratulated this church for its abundance of faith, the gift of prophecy, knowledge, diligence, and love. Now he wanted them to abound in the grace of giving.

• “I speak not by commandment…”

(8)

• Paul was telling the church that giving is not by a commandment of the Old Testament Law. For that reason he did not command them to give, but he exhorted them to give. The basis of Paul’s exhortation:

• “…by the forwardness of others…”

(8)

• Because the other churches in Macedonia gave, he was sure they would want to be part of the fellowship of giving.
• “…to prove the sincerity of your love.”

(8)

• The Principle

: Giving to God is a proof of one’s love:

• We prove our love to God by how we give.
• We prove our love to the church by how we give.
• We prove our love for the ministry by how we give.
• We prove our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ by how we give.
• Jesus is the example of giving that proves His love. (9)
• Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, became poor to come to the earth to live in poverty so that he could identify himself with us. In his poverty he gave up his life for our eternal salvation so that we could have the wealth of God’s eternal blessings.
• The pledge to give:
• What did the Corinthian Christians promise Paul the previous year?
• A year previous to Paul’s writing of 2Corinthians, the church in Corinth had made a pledge or a promise to give to the Jerusalem church. (10) They had never fulfilled their promise or pledge.
• The Principle:

Christian giving should be consistent as a part of a believer’s worship of God.

• The Christian should decide how much he will give to God and the frequency of his giving. In other words, he should decide if he will give every week, every month, or whatever time period works for him.
• Then he should be faithful to fulfill his promise, whether he promised it silently in his heart to God or whether he wrote his promise on a piece of paper as a written pledge.
• Jesus said that the Christian should fulfill the promises he makes. “But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” (Mat 5:37)
• Paul told the Corinthian church that it was important for them to fulfill their promise. (10-11)
• In other words, for the benefit of their spiritual walk with the Lord, they should fulfill their promise.
• Based on Luc 6:38, your memory verse, the abundant blessings of God in the life of a Christian are initiated by Christian giving.
• A Christian should give according to how God has prospered him.
• The Principle

: God prospers the Christian, and from that which he has received, the Christian should give.

• Paul said, “…it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.” (12)
• The equality of giving:
• All believers are encouraged to give, not just the wealthy ones, and not only those that are fully committed to the Lord. All should bear the burden of the fellowship. (13)
• Paul gives us the reason in verse 14:
• The needs of people are met in the body of Christ. You may have a job now and when you give it can help someone that does not currently have a job. Later he may have a job and you may not. Then his giving will help you. This is the equality of love in the body of Christ.
• The Principle

: Consistent giving in the body of Christ brings an equality of love, and fellowship to the church.

• Paul’s example of the principle:
• God’s giving of the manna in the wilderness is the example. (15)
• The Israelites were to gather the manna they could eat in one day with nothing left over. Each person had what he needed, but nothing could be saved for the next day.
• This is the equality of fellowship about which Paul tells us.

• Read 2Cor 8:16-24 The Explanation of Christian Giving
• Titus’ concern: (16-17)
• Along with Paul Titus was equally concerned about the Christians in Corinth that promised to give but did not. He worried over their spiritual welfare.
• Titus was also concerned about the poverty in Jerusalem.
• Titus and his companion gave money for this purpose.
• Because of his own worry about the matter, Titus volunteered to go to Corinth so see that they collected the offering.
• Titus’ companion was from another church that had collected money for the Jerusalem church and appointed him to accompany the offering.
• Because Titus had given his own money for this cause, he was going to make sure it arrived in Jerusalem. Paul reassures the Corinthian church that the money will be handled honestly and with integrity. (20)
• The Principle

: Money collected for the Lord’s work should be handled with accountability so that the people that gave the money can see the evidence of how the money was used.

• What does giving money to God prove?
• Paul closes the chapter with the thought that giving money to God is a proof of a Christian’s love.

• Summary and Application:
• We began this lesson with the thought that money is not important to God, but it is to us. God pays more attention to the amount of money we have left than to the amount of money we give.
• The example is the widow that gave all she had. (Luc 21:2-4)
• What is the principle of giving in this chapter?
• We have examined various principles concerning giving money to God. However, there is one dominant principle: Giving to God is a grace that causes the blessings of God to be shared and extended to others.

HOMEWORK
2CORINTHIANS 9
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application of 2Cor 8
• What changes do you need to make in your giving to God to conform it to the principles in this chapter?
• Pray and ask God to help you make these changes.

• Preparation for 2Cor 9
• Read 2Cor 9:1-15
• What principles do you find in this chapter for giving money to God?
• With so many valuable ministries that need help, how should the Christian decide to which ministry he should give?

Memory Verse: 2Cor 9:6