The Motivation Of Giving

INTRO

Second Corinthians 8—9 are an ongoing thought with themes Paul has carried throughout the entire letter. Our one word for 2 Corinthians has been Treasure: “Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us”(2 Corinthians 4:7). Jesus, the Treasure of believers, lives inside of us. In chapters 8—9 , Paul talked about real treasure. Paul took up an offering of money from the churches to take back to poor believers in Jerusalem who were experiencing a famine. Paul collected this earthly treasure because of the Treasure, in Jesus, the churches possessed. “Yes, they were pleased and indeed are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual benefits, then they are obligated to minister to Jews in material needs”(Romans 15:27). This continued a pattern in Paul’s ministry: “In every way I’ve shown you that by laboring like this, it is necessary to help the weak and to keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, for He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’”(Acts 20:35). Wiersbe highlighted four reasons Paul wanted to take up this collection for the Jerusalem church:¹

1. To strengthen the unity of the church.
2. The Gentiles were debtors to the Jewish people.
3. Paul wanted to show he wasn’t an enemy to the Jews.
4. Paul promised to remember the poor. “They asked only that we would remember the poor, which I made every effort to do” (Galatians 2:10).

Paul had to remind the Corinthians of this offering because the Corinthian church had not lived up to their end of the commitment: “Now I am giving an opinion on this because it is profitable for you, who a year ago began not only to do something but also to desire it. But now finish the task as well, that just as there was eagerness to desire it, so there may also be a completion from what you have” (2 Corinthians 8:10–11).

TEACHING

2 Corinthians 8:1-2: Wiersbe noted that when giving is motivated by grace, we give in spite of our circumstances.² Paul mentioned the churches in Macedonia gave in spite of less than ideal circumstances. Paul specifically mentioned these churches gave in abundance in spite of “their deep poverty,” which Wiersbe defined as “rock-bottom destitution.”³ They even gave with an “abundance of joy” (v. 2), not begrudgingly. Nelson’s Commentarypointed out the Macedonian churches’ giving went “beyond their means.”⁴

2 Corinthians 8:3–4: The Macedonian churches gave enthusiastically.⁵ They “begged” (v. 4) for the opportunity to give to the Jewish believers because of the Treasure inside them.

2 Corinthians 8:5–9: Because of the treasure inside them, the Macedonian churches gave as Jesus gave.⁶ Paul observed the abundance of spiritual gifts and graces the Corinthian church possessed: faith, speech, knowledge, diligence, and love (v. 7). Now, as a test to the genuineness of their love, Paul encouraged them to follow through on their commitment to help the Jerusalem believers. Their generosity ought to overflow from their love for Christ. Paul reminded the Corinthians of the example of Christ who, “Though He was rich, for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich” (v. 10).

The riches to which Paul referred were not earthly riches. Jesus didn’t die so we could get a bonus or lake house. Instead, the riches we receive from our faith in Jesus are spiritual riches, namely salvation. Nelson’s Commentarylists: “justification, regeneration, eternal life, glorification, Jesus purchases us from slavery to sin and makes us children of God”⁷ as the riches that believers receive from Christ.

2 Corinthians 8:10–12: Wiersbe wrote we know giving is motivated by grace when we give willingly.⁸ The Corinthians’ giving was an investment. It would help them before the Lord in the same way the physical gifts would help the Jerusalem believers.

2 Corinthians 8:13–24: Grace-motivated giving is done by faith.⁹ Paul encouraged the Corinthians to give out of their abundance into the poverty of others, with the idea in mind that others would sow out of their abundance, in the Corinthians’ time of poverty. Verse 15 is a reference to the experience of the Israelites in the wilderness when they gathered manna:

“When they measured it by quarts, the person who gathered a lot had no surplus, and the person who gathered a little had no shortage. Each gathered as much as he needed to eat . . . But they didn’t listen to Moses; some people left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and smelled. Therefore, Moses was angry with them” (Exodus 16:18, 20). The Israelites hoarded the manna in spite of God’s commandment to only gather enough for one day. They kept the abundance thinking they would provide for themselves for the next day. We sometimes hoard giving to the kingdom out of concern for holding on for the next day. We don’t always see giving as an investment into the kingdom of God. We don’t always value the spiritual blessing we will receive from the Lord in our giving over the physical wealth that we choose to hold onto.

Titus went out with an unnamed brother to gather the funds for the collection. This brother had a desire to honor the Lord. This group of people was responsible for the collection as an act of accountability before the churches for the money they would receive. They were characterized by a “cooperative spirit” in their desire to see all the churches rally around this collection to benefit the Jerusalem church.¹⁰

CLOSING

The Treasure, Christ inside the Corinthians was meant to motivate them to contribute to the needs of the church in Jerusalem. Paul reminded them of the blessings of giving and encouraged them to participate as Titus and the brother came to receive their gifts.