Monday, February 15, 2016

2 Corinthians 8:1–7

1 Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: 2 that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. 3 For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, 4 imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. 5 And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. 6 So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. 7 But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also.

Preamble
Though this section begins a new chapter, it is continuing the Apostles thoughts from the previous chapter. And so here the Apostle Paul is wanting to encourage and inspire the Corinthians to excel in their sharing with, and caring for, all those brethren in need. 

Commentary
Vs. 1-2 1 Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: 2 that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality.

The Macedonian churches refers to the churches in Philipi, Thessalonica, and Berea. These congregations were born out of the Apostle Pauls' preaching the Gospel, recorded for us in Acts 16:12-40 (Philipi); Acts 17:1-9 (Thessalonica); Acts 17:10-15 (Berea). Now these believers were not unlike many other early believers in that they too would suffer for their faith; enduring not only hostility and persecution; but also material poverty as well. And yet it was in while in the midst of all these things that their joy and giving abounded. For they sought not only to obey the Gospel of God, but also to provide relief for other believers who were in greater need even then themselves. Now the Apostle Paul attributes this generosity and joy of spirit in them to the grace of God, something which they themselves had first received with their own reception of and belief in the Truth, which is the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6), and thus salvation by faith in His Person alone (Acts 4:12). 

Vs. 3-5 3 For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, 4 imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. 5 And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. 

And so here the Apostle Paul commends their liberal giving and sharing as a godly example for the Corinthians (and us all) to follow. Notice then the manner in which they gave when they heard of the dire straits of those churches who were in deep need, they implored the Apostle Paul to receive their gift to try to bring relief to them. Thus rather than focusing on their own plight and poverty, their hearts were concerned for those brethren who they felt were in a greater need even then themselves. Now by their doing so they became partakers of "the fellowship of the ministering to the saints." That is they themselves willingly joined with all those believers everywhere who were also providing material aid and support to those churches and congregations in need. And so Godly giving is never based upon how much you can give, it's that in giving, you show yourselves to care (1 John 3:17).  Now Macedonian believers generosity even exceeded Paul's own hope's for this; that is that they could contribute some much needed material relief for the suffering brethren in Jerusalem (vs. 5), which again exceeded even what he could have hoped for. Now the Apostle Paul attributes this generosity of theirs to their first having giving themselves to the Lord, then their also giving themselves to the Apostle Paul, which as Paul says here was "by the will of God." That is by their doing so they were obeying the will of God for them. And so their mention here is not only for their own commendation, but also to serve as an example for the Corinthians to follow as well. 

Vs. 6-7 6 So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. 7 But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also.

Having had a such a positive experience with the Macedonian churches, the Apostle Paul therefore urged Titus to instruct the Corinthians to exemplify the same spirit of generosity and giving. Thus as Titus had begun to do so on his first visit with them, encouraging then to give support to those brethren in need, now with his bringing this second epistle to them Paul wants the Corinthians to know that he has instructed Titus to encourage them to complete this grace as well. For feelings of empathy for others must be accompanied by deeds and actions to be genuine. And so the Apostle Paul says in verse seven, But (ἀλλά) as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also. The grace of giving then is something which we all must practice and hopefully excel in as well. 

Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Additional Resources Consulted
Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985.

MacDonald, William. Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. Edited by Arthur Farstad. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995.

Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains. New York: United Bible Societies, 1996.

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