Daily Scripture
2 Corinthians 8:1-15
1 Brothers and sisters, we want to let you know about the grace of God that was given to the churches of Macedonia. 2 While they were being tested by many problems, their extra amount of happiness and their extreme poverty resulted in a surplus of rich generosity. 3 I assure you that they gave what they could afford and even more than they could afford, and they did it voluntarily. 4 They urgently begged us for the privilege [or grace] of sharing in this service for the saints. 5 They even exceeded our expectations, because they gave themselves to the Lord first and to us, consistent with God’s will. 6 As a result, we challenged Titus to finish this work of grace with you the way he had started it.
7 Be the best in this work of grace in the same way that you are the best in everything, such as faith, speech, knowledge, total commitment, and the love we inspired in you. 8 I’m not giving an order, but by mentioning the commitment of others, I’m trying to prove the authenticity of your love also. 9 You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Although he was rich, he became poor for your sakes, so that you could become rich through his poverty.
10 I’m giving you my opinion about this. It’s to your advantage to do this, since you not only started to do it last year but you wanted to do it too. 11 Now finish the job as well so that you finish it with as much enthusiasm as you started, given what you can afford. 12 A gift is appreciated because of what a person can afford, not because of what that person can’t afford, if it’s apparent that it’s done willingly. 13 It isn’t that we want others to have financial ease and you financial difficulties, but it’s a matter of equality. 14 At the present moment, your surplus can fill their deficit so that in the future their surplus can fill your deficit. In this way there is equality. 15 As it is written, The one who gathered more didn’t have too much, and the one who gathered less didn’t have too little [Exodus 16:18].
Reflection Questions
Due to persecution (and probably local conditions like drought), Christians in Jerusalem faced severe poverty. Paul had invited the Christians in the cities of Greece to give to an offering he would deliver to the Jerusalem Christians (cf. 1 Corinthians 16:1-4, Romans 15:25-26). Clearly the specific “work of grace” Paul urged the Corinthian Christians to “be the best in” was generous giving to the offering for Christians in Jerusalem. “The Greek word translated as ‘grace’ …is used with a variety of meanings in 2 Corinthians 8-9.”* So Paul ultimately focused on Jesus, who gave us a transcendent model of self-giving to bless others. He reported that believers in other places found it a “privilege” to join in giving. He was confident the Corinthians would feel the same way.
- Few of Paul’s readers could just take their offerings from “petty cash.” “Although the financial position of the Corinthians (at least some of them) appears to have been relatively more secure than that of the believers in Jerusalem… according to some estimates, more than 90% of the general population of the Roman Empire lived at, near, or below subsistence level.”** Paul saw having more than others as a reason to share, not as cause for hoarding. Whatever your situation, do you see giving as a privilege that moves you to be as generous as possible? Scholar William Barclay wrote, “The New Testament is extremely practical…. It never forgets that something new and wonderful enters the life of the [person] who accepts God’s command as his law. But the rewards the New Testament envisages are… not the wealth of things, but the wealth of the heart and the spirit.”*** When has being generous enriched your heart and spirit?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you gave yourself to change me for the better. I want that change to include counting it a privilege to join in giving for others, echoing your work of grace. Amen.
* David J. Downs, study note on 2 Corinthians 8:1-6 in The CEB Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013, p. 345NT.
** David J. Downs, study note on 2 Corinthians 8:2 in The CEB Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013, p. 345NT.
*** William Barclay, The Letters to the Corinthians (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1975, p. 234.
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“Rich generosity” = “a work of grace” - Leawood - Church of the Resurrection
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