WWUTT 1691 For Your Sake He Became Poor (2 Corinthians 8:1-9)

Surely you know that we are told to love one another. And one of the ways we love each other is by giving charitably to those who are in need.

We do this in light of the gospel, for Christ gave much to us when we understand the text.

Many of the Bible stories and verses we think we know, we don't. When we understand the text is committed to teaching sound doctrine and rebuking those who contradict it.

Visit our website at www .utt .com. Here once again is Pastor Gabe.

Thank you, Becky. Well, we're back to our study in 2 Corinthians, almost said 1

Corinthians there. And we're starting a new section this week. I mentioned to you at the start of our study that you could break 2

Corinthians up this way. The first section is chapters 1 through 7. The second section is chapters 8 and 9.

And then the third section is chapters 10 through 13. There's 13 chapters in 2

Corinthians. So we're in that second section here, which we'll be looking at this week and the next. Chapters 8 and 9.

If you want to open up your Bible and join with me there, I'm going to begin by reading verses 1 through 9 out of chapter 8 in the

Legacy Standard Bible. This is the word of the Lord through the Apostle Paul writing to the church in Corinth.

Now brothers, we make known to you the grace of God, which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great testing by affliction, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the richness of their generosity.

For I testify that according to their ability and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the grace of sharing in the ministry to the saints.

And this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.

So we encourage Titus, that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well.

But just as you abound in everything, in faith and word and knowledge and in all earnestness, and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also.

I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though being rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Now I said that was as far as I was going to read. Let me go through verses 10 through 15, because that keeps all of this in context.

Going on to verse 10. And I give my opinion in this matter, for this is profitable for you who were the first to begin a year ago, not only to do this, but also to desire to do it, but now complete doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it from what you have.

For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.

For this is not for the relief of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality.

At this present time, your abundance being a supply for their need, so that their abundance also may become a supply for your need, that there may be equality.

As it is written, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little had no lack.

So obviously what we're talking about here is giving, and Paul is encouraging the

Corinthians to be generous in the giving to mainly the work that was being done in Jerusalem.

This actually goes back to something that Paul had said at the end of the previous letter. In 1

Corinthians 16 verses 1 through 4, let me go back and read that there, and you kind of understand the giving that Paul is encouraging the

Corinthians to do here in this next letter. So in 1 Corinthians 16, starting in verse 1, now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also.

On the first day of every week, each one of you is to set something aside, saving whatever he has prospered, so that no collections be made when

I come. And when I arrive, whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gracious gift to Jerusalem.

And if it is fitting for me to go also, they will go with me. But I will come to you after I go through Macedonia, for I'm going through Macedonia.

Okay, so anyway, going on from there. So he's talking about collecting an offering that's going to go to benefit the saints that are in Jerusalem.

There was a famine that had hit the land, and it was particularly tough in the area of Judah.

So Jerusalem, of course, being the capital city of that area, and there was a major church that was there.

That was the first church that we read about in Acts chapter 2. Peter and the apostles going into Jerusalem at Pentecost, they're given the gift of tongues they speak the gospel in multiple languages.

Everybody hears the gospel in their own language. On that first day that the gospel is proclaimed in Jerusalem, 3 ,000 souls were baptized that day and that becomes the first church.

The first church is, well, I guess you could argue that the first church was the 120 people that were gathered in the upper room.

But then after that, they go into Jerusalem preaching. And through the declaration of the gospel and the work of the

Holy Spirit, those that come to faith, there's 3 ,000 souls there at the first evangelism conference that was ever held.

And so you have a mega church that starts up right away, and more and more people are added to their ranks.

Thousands of people continue to come into this church that's there in Jerusalem. It's after Stephen is martyred that many of the

Christians were dispersed, and they kind of went back to their places or they went throughout different areas of the

Roman Empire. Those that had heard the gospel there in Jerusalem now go back to their previous lands of dwelling, and they take the gospel with them, and they proclaim it, and then many more come to faith as a result of this.

The church that was in Rome was already there by the time Paul got there because his letter that he was writing to the church in Rome, which is the letter to the

Romans that we have here in the New Testament, fifth or sixth book rather in the New Testament, that was a letter that he wrote before he had ever even come to Rome.

He had not been to Rome yet as an apostle to minister to the Christians that were there or to minister even to the pagans that were there, calling them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

And so that church was already there. That church was planted by those who would have returned to Rome after being at Pentecost and hearing

Peter preach the gospel and thus coming to faith. So there's a big church there in Jerusalem headed up by James.

There are other elders as well, but James is kind of the main overseer. And because of the famine that had hit the land, the church was affected particularly hard.

There was a lot of persecution that was going on at the church there in Jerusalem. And this was the first church.

The gospel of Christ proclaimed first to Jerusalem. That was what Jesus said to his disciples before he ascended into heaven at the start of the book of Acts.

You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

So the first declaration is there at Jerusalem. They are the first to receive the oracles of God.

They are those who have first beheld the mystery of God that is revealed in Jesus Christ.

They have the benefit of being the first. And so since this is the first church, it's almost like every church everywhere else has an obligation to help those brothers and sisters in the

Lord, because they've come to faith in other parts of the world due to the faith that began the work of the

Holy Spirit that had started there at Pentecost in Jerusalem. And so there were several churches in various territories that Paul had recruited to take up offerings so that he might take an offering to Jerusalem and bless the

Christians who were there. In Romans chapter 15, Paul talks about wanting to come and visit the church there in Rome.

But first he says, I need to go back to Jerusalem and give relief to the saints who are there.

So he's been taking up this offering and everywhere Paul goes, he takes a little bit of the offering. He's got it with him so that he can go and bless the church that is at Jerusalem.

And again, as what we read at the end of first Corinthians, he's saying to the Corinthians, if you want to send some people with me, that will go with me and make sure that money gets to where it needs to go.

Not so they would necessarily hold the apostle Paul accountable, although that was really good, but the more people that were with him, the safer that money was, right?

Less likely that Paul was going to be robbed and lose all of that money on the way back to Jerusalem.

And so he talks about here, as he has encouraged the Corinthians before to take up a collection to bless the

Christians there at Jerusalem. So he's doing that more here. He's coming back to that encouragement, take up an offering that it may bless the church that is at Jerusalem.

But he mentions here the churches of Macedonia, how they have also given and how generously they have given.

So let's come back to that here. Chapter eight, beginning in verse one. Now brothers, we make known to you the grace of God, which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great testing by affliction, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the richness of their generosity.

Now Macedonia is right next to Achaia. Macedonia is the territory where you find churches like the

Philippian church, the Thessalonian church, the Bereans. Achaia is where Corinth is located.

That's the Corinthian church. The Galatians, that might be the Galatian territory. So all the churches that are there in Galatia, that's the reference there.

So you have Galatia, you have Macedonia, you have Achaia. These are not mentions of cities, they're mentions of territories that contain cities where churches have been planted by the spread of the gospel.

So as he's talking here about the churches in Macedonia, he means like those churches that are in Thessalonica and Berea and in Philippi.

Now they wanted to be generous. They wanted to be included in this collection of the offering that was going to go to benefit the

Christians there at Jerusalem. So Paul goes on in verse three, for I testify that according to their ability and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord.

So as Paul is boasting about the Macedonians here, he's saying they did not have to be persuaded to become part of this.

They gave out of their generosity and even beyond their ability to give. So the people there that were in that church, another persecuted church, they didn't have a lot of money, but what they did have, they were going to give and they went beyond their ability, which probably means they took up collections.

So this was not just the money that we already had. We're going to take up a collection. We're going to try to raise the money from other people, get it by other means.

We're even going to sell our stuff and get money so that we can benefit the Christians in Jerusalem.

This just kind of speaks about going above and beyond, of course, beyond, because that's the word, beyond their ability.

They gave of their own accord, but they went even beyond what was expected of them.

For I testify that according to their ability and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, verse four, begging us with much urging for the grace of sharing in the ministry to the saints.

So it's almost like those churches there in Macedonia, because of the persecution that they were going through and because the

Christians there weren't terribly rich, Paul may have not put any pressure on them.

I don't want to use the word pressure, but you know what I mean? He didn't try to persuade them to become part of this collection for the offering that was going to be given to the church in Jerusalem.

He didn't even bring it up, really. And yet the Macedonians know about it, because Paul has talked about it, most likely.

So they urge, they begged us with much urging, let us be part of this too, that we might share in the ministry of the saints.

What's Paul going to say to that? No, no, no, no. You guys got your own problems. You take care of that. No, they really wanted to become part of this community, multi -church work, right?

To benefit brothers and sisters in the Lord who were in need. And verse five, and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the

Lord and to us by the will of God. So what that means is they gave of themselves to the

Lord spiritually. Their hearts, their minds were predisposed to Christ.

Lord, whatever you would have us do, let us do it and give us the ability to do it.

So they first give themselves to the Lord. And then Paul says, they give themselves to us by the will of God.

And that's a reference to money. They gave themselves to the Lord. Then they gave of themselves to us. They took up the offering.

They collected this money that would benefit the saints in Jerusalem, and they gave it to Paul and his missionary brothers and sisters.

So we encourage Titus. We go on into verse six. We encourage Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well.

Remember that we had read about Titus in the previous chapter. Titus' spirit was refreshed by you all.

Titus was the guy that had to go to Corinth to check on that church to see how they were receptive to the tearful letter that Paul had to write to them.

And he comes back to Paul boasting because the spirit of God was present in that church. They were convicted by the letter.

They repented of their sin. It was a godly sorrow that they experienced that led to repentance.

And so they are continuing to walk in the faith. So this is a work that Titus had started with the

Corinthians to see to it that they continued instead fastness in this faith that they have.

And so Paul says, we encourage Titus that as he previously made a beginning, Titus already has an inroad with you guys.

You were pleased to receive him to yourself. You were pleased to send him on his way.

And he was pleased to come to us and give us a report about everything that was going on in Corinth. So as he had previously made this work, accomplished this work with you, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well.

This collecting of the money that's going to go to the Christians that are at Jerusalem. But just as you abound in everything in faith and word and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love that we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also.

So all of the things that the Corinthians are abounding in, because once again, the report has come back from Titus about how the spirit of the

Lord is moving among them. So you are excelling, you are abounding in everything, in faith, growing in faith, maturing in faith, in word, understanding the word of God, preaching it and applying it.

And knowledge, and it really might even be understood as wisdom, how to apply that word and live according to it.

And in all earnestness and in the love that we inspired in you, in all earnestness with zeal, they love to do it.

This is not some religion that they are doing and checking a box, checking their religious box to make sure they've got their new religion handled, taken care of.

No, they have zealousness for Christ and for the faith of Christianity.

And so as they have this earnestness, they also have this love that is inspired in them by the way the

Apostle Paul has sacrificed himself for their sake, that they might hear the gospel and grow in it.

See that you abound in this gracious work also, Paul says. So if you have this love, if you have the knowledge of God, according to the gospel that was proclaimed to you, the grace of God is upon you.

You're growing in love for each other, abound in this work, that you might also show love for other saints in other places.

Verses eight and nine, Paul says here, I am not speaking this as a command, even though that was pretty imperative that he said there in verse seven, we inspired this love in you, so see that you abound in this gracious work also.

But he's not making it a command that they have to follow. In other words, he's not even setting an amount.

You guys have to give X number of dollars, give this much, put your little thermometer up in the church and make sure you meet that amount.

And if you do that, well, then you are sanctified. And if you don't meet that amount, well, then you're still in sin.

Paul's not doing anything like that. I'm not dogging on thermometers, by the way. Whenever a church has a fundraiser and they do that little thermometer to see that they, here's the progress that we're making on raising those funds.

I'm not ripping on that. I'm just saying that Paul is not making this church do that.

And if they achieve the goal of the money that they need to raise, then they're in holiness.

But if they don't achieve that, then they've done anything wrong. Paul is not exacting that upon this church.

He is saying as proving through the earnestness of others, the sincerity of your love also.

So this isn't a command, but prove your love for others by participating in this with all the others, other churches that are participating in it.

Verse nine, for, you know, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though being rich, yet for your sake, he became poor so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Jesus, who gave up his throne in heaven, who took on the likeness of sinful man, he dwelled with us, put on flesh and dwelt among us, lived a perfect life.

The only human being to have ever lived, who lived his life perfectly, kept the law of God as it should be kept.

But none of us can do that. You know, we're all sinful from our conception. It is only

Christ who was sinless from conception and live perfectly, keeping the will of God and fulfilling all that was written down in the law and the prophets.

Jesus becomes the spotless sacrifice, the pure sacrifice that can die on behalf of sinful man.

He gives his life. He dies on a cross for our sins. He rises again from the grave so that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

He ascends into heaven. He is seated at the right hand of the throne of God, where he intercedes for us on our behalf.

He is coming back again to judge the living and the dead. And it's in light of the fact of what Jesus gave up for us, how he took on poverty for us.

So should we also be willing to give up of what we have to benefit others?

And Paul says, this is not a command. I'm not telling you that you have to do this and it has to be this amount, but prove the love that you have that has been poured into your hearts by God as an example to follow according to the example of Christ that was given to us.

So Paul is saying here that the giving that we must be generous to give is in light of the fact of what

Jesus gave for us, because he gave everything. So we should be willing to give everything.

Though his being rich yet for our sake, he became poor so that you through his poverty might become rich.

And indeed, my friends, through Jesus Christ, we've become rich beyond our imagination.

We don't even understand the wealth that we have acquired in Christ, and we won't fully understand it until we cash in that investment on the day of glory when we'll be with Christ forever in his eternal kingdom.

And then we will see there in that kingdom exactly what we have been investing in exactly the way

I say investing in, in that we are continuing to serve Christ until that day.

But really, when it comes down to it, these are riches that have been given to us by the grace of God. We've done nothing to earn them, but God has given them to us through Christ, with whom we are fellow heirs of the kingdom of God.

So in light of this generosity, may we be willing to be generous to one another.

Let's finish there. We'll continue this lesson tomorrow, picking up in verse 10. Heavenly Father, I thank you for the gift of your son,

Jesus Christ, who put on flesh and dwelt among us. And we have come to see and know who you are through Jesus Christ.

Whoever believes in his name, you have given the right to become the children of God. And so as children of God, having been given so much, may we be willing to give much to others to benefit others.

Even in the midst of the struggles that we go through in this life, we consider the needs of others and we help to build them up.

For you considered our need and gave your son to die for us as an atoning sacrifice that by faith in him we will not perish, but have everlasting life.

In light of the gospel, help us to be generous to others. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Thank you for listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. If you'd like to support this ministry, visit our website www .wutt

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