BOOK
BY BOOK BIBLE STUDY
larrydalexanderbiblestudies.blogspot.com
BIBLE
STUDY LESSON
For
the week beginning Sunday April 8, 2018
A
CALL TO GENEROUS GIVING
2
Corinthians 8:1-15
In the biblical Greek, the word used for “grace” is “charis” and it
is “the divine influence upon one’s heart, and its reflection on life”. In 2
Corinthians, chapters 8 and 9, the Apostle Paul turns to the subject of “gracious
giving” by the saints of the newly formed Christian Churches. The main purpose
of Paul’s third missionary journey was to raise money for the central church at
Jerusalem, who had fallen on hard times.
Paul had actually been planning and organizing
this tour to aid the needy in the Christian network for a number of years,
after being urged to do so by Peter, James, and John (Acts 9:27-29 (also see Galatians
2:9-10). From the time the Corinthians first heard about this collection, they
had been, seemingly, very eager to participate, and Paul had previously laid
out a plan that would make it possible for them to do so without putting a
strain on their personal budgets (1 Corinthians 16:1-4). Each church in the
Christian network would set aside funds weekly that would be earmarked as a
benevolent offering for those who were in need in the Christian Churches.
According to Paul’s wording in this
passage, however, it seems that the previous good intentions of the church at
Corinth had since dissipated, and so Paul asked his trusted aid, Titus, to go
and look into the situation at Corinth. Paul wanted to find out what factors,
or, issues had come up to interrupt, or derail, the church’s previous intended
benevolence (2 Corinthians 8:6).
Here in 2 Corinthians 8, verses 1-5, Paul
sought to motivate the Corinthians spirit of generosity, by first, giving the great
example of the benevolence of the Church at Macedonia. Here he told of how,
even though, the Macedonians were going through much hardship themselves, they
were able to “turn the concern for their own deep poverty, into an overflowing
of rich generosity for others”. They gave, not only what they could afford, but
through their joyful spirit, they even went beyond the call of Christian duty.
In fact, Paul says that they even pleaded for him to allow them the privilege
of doing even more, and they dedicated themselves to the LORD, and to Paul and
his aides for whatever directions and instructions GOD would give them.
Then, in verse 9, Paul uses the greatest
example of all times to motivate this young Church at Corinth. Here he steers
their attentions to the very “personification of benevolence”, our LORD and
SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST. Here Paul reminds the Church of how full of love and
kindness CHRIST was when HE came to us, though HE was very rich, HE made HIMSELF
poor so that, by HIS poverty, HE could make us rich.
Paul’s advice to the Corinthians in verses
10-11 is that the young church finishes what they had started a year earlier
when they were so enthusiastic about wanting to give and help with the benevolent
project that had been initiated for Jerusalem. Their church had been the first
to act upon this idea, and now, it was the time to go forward towards its
completion.
In verses 12-13, Paul reasons that “each
individual’s giving need only be commensurate with their ability to give”.
Beyond an individual’s tithes, GOD does not want us to give what you can’t
afford to give. HE does not want us to give so much that we suffer from having
too little for ourselves. Such could, in time, cause us to have ill feelings about
giving, or cause one to feel as though they have put the church in their debt,
or, put GOD in their debt. And so we can see that, even in giving, one must use
GODLY wisdom.
Finally, in verses 14-15, Paul expounds
upon the guiding principal regarding the material exchange between Christian
churches. It is the “principle of equality” which involves the “checks” and
“balances” that are contained in “GOD’s system of justice for the regulation of
human existence”:
“When one has plenty,
he should share with others,
and when one does not have enough,
others should share with him”.
When we apply that principle
to real life, the needs of every individual will always be met, and there would
never be a need for worldly government sponsored welfare programs.
Paul then reminds the church of the very
source of this “guiding principle”, which GOD exposed to the Israelites one day
in the wilderness of the Negev, following their divine exodus from Egypt. It is
with the miracle of “manna from Heaven”, as it is recorded by Moses in Exodus
16:14-18:
“When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance, as fine as
frost, blanketed the ground. The
Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. “What is it?” they asked each other.
They had no idea what it was. And Moses told them, “It
is the food the Lord has given you to eat. These are the Lord’s instructions: Each household should gather as much as it needs.
Pick up two quarts for each
person in your tent. So the people of Israel did as
they were told. Some gathered a lot, some only a little. But when they
measured it out, everyone had just enough. Those who gathered a lot had nothing
left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough. Each family had
just what it needed”. (NLT)
There we see that, by the Israelites
gathering two quarts for each person, everyone had just enough. Those who
gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had plenty
enough. Each family had just what it needed”. Let those who have ears to hear,
take heed, and those who can read this lesson, understand.
TITUS AND
HIS COMPANIONS
2
Corinthians 8:16-24
In verses 1-15 of this chapter we saw four New Testament giving
principals that should be considered by everyone who wishes to follow the examples
and teachings of JESUS CHRIST, our LORD. There we learned that we should;
·
Give ourselves
(v.5)
·
Remember CHRIST’
example (v.9)
·
Give as we are able
(Vs.10-12)
·
Give to meet needs
(v.14)
Here in verses 16-24 we’ll see how
important it is to have faithful, trusted men in the church who can be used to
handle money that is given by the members of the church for benevolent causes
that will surely crop up along the Christian network of believers. Paul was
very thankful that young Titus was gifted with the same enthusiasm for ministry
that he himself had. He had wholeheartedly welcomed the opportunity that Paul
gave him to visit and minister to the church at Corinth.
Paul also sent along with Titus, a highly
respected unnamed companion. He was a man who was highly praised by all of the
churches along the Christian network. Together they were to deliver the monies
that had been donated by the various churches on Paul’s third missionary
journey, to help relieve the effects of the famine that had devastated
Jerusalem, and the members of the central Church.
In addition Paul also appointed a third
brother who he says had been thoroughly tested, and had shown his earnestness
on many separate occasions over the years (v.22). All of these men were
splendid examples of what representatives of GOD should be like, and they were
very enthusiastic about bringing glory to GOD by way of their mission. No one
would be able to accuse Paul of profiting from the collection of these funds, and
the Corinthian Church, through this project, would gain invaluable experience
in regards to how Christian work is carried out, and at one and the same time, they’ll
be able to demonstrate their love and respect for those who toiled endlessly
for the good of the Christian movement.
A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander
LARRY D. ALEXANDER- Official Website
No comments:
Post a Comment