On Christian Giving
2 Corinthians 8:7-15
One major themes of Paul’s second epistle to the Corinthian church, at least the second of which we have record and assuming that it is one letter and not several, deals with the topic of giving. The Old Testament prescribed several tithes that the people of Israel we to give which amounted to 23% of their income. On top of this, freewill offerings above the tithe were to be given. Taken together, a significant portion of the family’s income went to the running of the nation and to relief of the poor and needy.
The early church also had needs. Even though Paul did not receive a salary and worked for a living, he did acknowledge that the ministers of the church were entitled to be paid for their services, and that not grudgingly. Paul was also concerned about Christian believers who were in abject poverty and needed material sustenance. There were other needs of the church as well. Jesus did not drop the church money out of heaven for the ministry. In fact, Jesus when he walked on earth did not make His own bread. Luke 8 shows that in was the women who were the primary financial backers of Jesus’ ministry including Mary Magdalene, Susanna, and others. Even though the Gospel was to be freely offered, it was not free to offer it. Missionaries, ministers and ministries needed to be funded. And they were to be funded by members of the church itself and not the state. Nor was it to be financed by yard sales and begging from the world. God wants holy money sanctified by holy men and women who were called by God into His church.
One of the major projects which Paul advocated was the relief of the brethren in Palestine, many of whom were Jewish. He was collecting offerings from his churches with the intent of personally delivering it to the church in Jerusalem. Beyond the sheer compassion of the act, Paul hoped that it would help cement the bonds between Jewish and Gentile Christians. Paul had a high view of the unity of the Church. Whereas he did acknowledge diversity by using binaries like rich and poor, Jew and Gentile, wise and unwise, and male and female, Paul held to a unity to this diversity in the Church. This was a demonstration of the power of God and the truth of the Gospel. God was able to unite binaries which separated people from each other. The Greek philosophers tried this but failed. For them, unity could only be forged at the expense of individual distinctions. This is what we see in globalism today. Distinctions between gender need to go, and so must national boundaries. All cultures must be replaced by this new culture. It claims individual sovereignty and distinctions, but if there are infiniste genders, then there are really one at all.
The other approach is to emphasize diversity at the expense of unity which leads to anarchy. It also leads to things like ethnic cleansing fo groups unlike one’s own. The world has no solution for the problem of unity and diversity. But what is impossible with men is possible with God and His church. This is central to understanding Paul in particular and the Bible in General. A man is still a man and a woman a woman. But they are one in Christ. Christ becomes the common denominator qhich transcends binaries without blanking out diversity.
As far as the particulars are concerned here, Paul is enlisting the Corinthians to join him in this relief offering. Even though Paul had earlier that not many wise and noble were among the membership of the Corinthian Church, we get the idea that they were relatively well off in comparison to other churches. This was not just true of the churches of Palestine, but the churches in Macedonia as well. Paul uses the generosity of these Macedonian churches who had contributed to the relief of Palestine, even though they were economically struggling. This is how Paul frames what he is about to say to the Corinthians on this matter.
Paul begins this passage by commending several virtuous things about the Corinthian church. They were knowledgeable and able to communicate Christian knowledge. They were diligent in doing Christian ministry, faithful and loving. When one reads Paul’s writings to the Corinthians, one gets the idea that he is somewhat generous in these praiseworthy attributes. But it is always good to praise before offering correction so as not to discourage the hearers. Paul is about to ask them to go the extra mile, and because of the way Paul approaches the subject, they seemed to be somewhat tight with the money. Either they were generous in spending upon themselves and did not have a heart for mission to other churches, especially those who were struggling, or they were just plain stingy. Paul asks them to add generosity to their resume. It was necessary for their sense of connection to a church which was larger than themselves.
Paul had already commended them for their love toward him, but also says that they need to demonstrate the same love and concern for the church as a whole. Unlike the prescription of the Law which commanded giving, Paul saw giving as being voluntary, and to be done in the bonds of love and not Law. He says elsewhere that “God loves a cheerful giver.” The Macedonian churches had exceeded Paul’s expectations. They gave more than money; they gave themselves.
Paul reminds the Corinthians that Jesus is the ultimate example of giving which was seen in the Incarnation. Even though He was rich in heaven, he became poor on Earth for our sakes. He did not give money, but Himself. He laid His life down for us to pay our sin debt. The Macedonians had understood this and acted accordingly. He hoped the Corinthians would follow suit.
Paul continues his exhortation on giving by reinforcing the idea of voluntary giving motivated by love. They had heard about the offering Paul was taking up, and it appears that they were not diligent concerning it. Paul was coming soon and expected the offering to be complete before he got there. He did not this to be a burden to the church at the last moment, so he instructs them to save it up week by week. He wasn’t asking them to give what they did not have. But he expected them to share their financial surplus with those who were in need. By doing so, they would be gaining something they needed spiritually. Paul demonstrates that the saving gospel had come from Jerusalem. They had been made spiritually rich. Now they needed to equal things out.
Financial giving then is a spiritual gift. Sometimes we see money as dirty, but when it is used properly in the church it is holy and a spiritual gift. Paul’s theology of spiritual gifts is to forge a unity within the diversity as we have noted. No Christian is complete within herself of himself. Each Christian abounds in one particular gift and shares it with one who lacks it. On the other hand, each person’s lack is to be supplied by another’s abundance. The same works within individual churches and the church as a whole. Our lack keeps us from spiritual pride, and our abundance allows us to make another thankful and joyful. This is how we can have a unity in the church while keeping our individual identity. What the philosophers could not do, God has done.
In the Old Testament, the principle of depending on God was seen in the collection of manna. They could only collect each day what they needed. Anything more than that spoiled except on the Sabbath. But the new manna came the next morning. Paul uses this principle to say that the excess goods of one Christian will not grant him or her extra benefit and will go to waste. So why not share your gift with someone who is hungry? In this case, we are talking about material goods in this passage, but it is generally true with the sharing of all spiritual gifts. It is important that the one who lacks be provided for by the excess given to others. The person who receives what he or she lacks is to give the excess of what they have. This is to be done voluntarily out of love.
How much greater the witness of the church today would be if only we would open ourselves to this truth. How much easier it is to spend the money of the church to add on to the church building than to build a building for a poor church which is meeting in a tent. We have lost the sense of connection. Our highly individual nature of our churches today are telling. How many people leave churches today because they feel that they are not being fed. If they are not being fed, whatever that need is, material of spiritual, shame on that church! But if that person who leaves does so out of selfishness in that they did not see the ministry there as a means of feeding others, shame on the member who left. God knows we have needs that need to be met. He made things that way from the beginning. It is not good for us to be alone. We all need that help meet. We stand complete in Him in the body of Christ, the Church. We must be willing to have others feed us what we need, and love implores us to do likewise. A church that does this is a testimony to the power of God. The individual member who practices this does likewise.
