2 Corinthians - Lesson 8E

• Good morning, guys and welcome back to our journey through 2 Corinthians.

  • Last week we finished verses 1-9, which (in my opinion) turned out to be maybe some of the most insightful verses in all of scripture, at least as it relates to giving. I would also say they have been some of the most insightful verses that I have ever taught.

    • If you weren’t here, I would encourage you to go back to our website and listen to last week’s teaching, because Paul’s story behind the story was really powerful. So, this morning let’s move on and pick back up with one of four letters that Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, and that is 2 Corinthians.

    • And we will begin our journey by backing up to Chapter 8 and re-reading the end of last week’s verses for context, and here’s what Paul wrote:

2 Cor. 8:7 But just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also.
2 Cor. 8:8 I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also.
2 Cor. 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. 

• One more time, I realize we have read these verses several times over the last few weeks, and I won’t rehash them other than to highlight a couple things. First, remember Paul is urging the church at Corinth to give with the same fervor and zeal that the churches in Macedonia have given.

  • And they were doing this despite the fact they were experiencing deep poverty. Which means they didn’t have anything to give, yet they gave anyway. And they gave for reasons that most Christians never even think about. And what was that? They gave so that they themselves could participate in the work of ministry.

  • Meaning, they didn’t give out of tradition or obligation. They gave with intent. As a matter of fact, they went as far as to ask Paul for the “favor” of giving, so they too could support saints.

    • You see, as I said last week, it was all about the heart, or you would say the intent of their giving. That’s what made all the difference in the world. And don’t forget the scripture never says how much they gave. We have no clue because it wasn’t about the amount. It was about the magnitude of the sacrifice, which Paul contrasts with the sacrifice God gave to us through His sacrifice - Jesus Christ.

    • And that takes me to my second point, which shows up in verse 9 when he says:

2 Cor. 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. 

• Now, when we think of the power of God’s word, this verse says it all. It says, “Though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor”. Now, the reference to rich and poor here is not speaking about money, but rather it’s speaking to the fact that He lowered Himself into His creation (the thing He created), and then allowed His creation to put Him death, to crucify Him, and all for the sake of the ones He created.

  • The corollary here would be like you giving up your life for your children. This is just one way I can imagine us being able to comprehend what Christ did for us. But there is also another way for us to look at it, and that would be for us to think about the reality of what was actually happening.

  • You see, we are God’s children - “Adopted Children” - grafted into His family, and because sin entered the world and contaminated us, caused us to become stained and damaged goods, God stepped in and provided a solution to clean us up, and He did so by redeeming us back to Himself. The only way to do that was through a blood sacrifice, through death.

    • It couldn’t just be any ole sacrifice, it had to be a suitable sacrifice, one that would allow you and I to enter into Heaven’s gates, and the only sacrifice that would suffice was that of the Son. But not just any Son, it was God’s only begotten Son, which we would all agree would be by all accounts the ultimate sacrifice. But why?

    • Why such a sacrifice? That’s the question. And really, the best way to answer that question is to understand the magnitude of sin; what it did to humanity. No other sacrifice would work, and so, simply put, there was no other way.

  • And what’s interesting is Jesus Himself, the One being sacrificed, knew this to be the case, which was highlighted by His own words when He said this in Matthew 26:39:

Matt. 26:39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”

• And then skipping forward in the same chapter, Jesus said this in verses 51-54:

Matt. 26:51 And behold, one of those who were with Jesus (speaking of Peter) reached and drew his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear.
Matt. 26:52 Then Jesus *said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword.
Matt. 26:52 Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
Matt. 26:54 How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”

• I won’t get into all of what we just read this morning, because obviously there’s a lot to unpack with Jesus’s words. My point is, there was no other way, no other suitable sacrifice, that could provide a covering for the sin of man.

  • Nothing but for God to send a perfect, spotless, and innocent lamb to stand in as the ultimate sacrifice because of what sin did to the world. And to put this act of God into its rightful and proper perspective, think about it like this.

    • Imagine you had one biological child. But you also had several adopted children. And then imagine all those adopted children were in grave danger of being destroyed or killed by some enemy or predator of some sort, and the only way to save them would be for you to make a choice or decision, a choice or decision to sacrifice your one and only biological child.

    • What would you do? Would you do it? Obviously, no one would want to think about such a thing but that’s what God did for you and me when He sent His only Son to earth to be killed at the hands of the creation that He created.

  • And so, this is what Paul is saying when he says, Jesus became poor (spiritually speaking- like one of us) so that we, through His sacrificial death, might become rich. That is the sense here, and that is corollary between what those in Macedonia did through their giving and what Christ did for us on the Cross of Calvary.

  • And when you think about it that way, that means their sacrifice was immense. Once again, not because of how much they gave, but due to the magnitude of what they gave. They gave of what they had, and they gave of what they didn’t have, and for that reason something supernatural was activated in their lives. Which was what?

    • They received God’s grace in the form of an abundance of joy, all in a really dark time of humanity I might add. Which means they received peace in the midst of the storm. A peace like no man could ever imagine, which is what led Paul to include this account in his letter.

    • He wanted the Church at Corinth to get in on what God was doing. And by the way, this same still holds true today. This was not something special and set aside for just those in Macedonia. When we too sacrifice all that we have, and then go a little bit further, it activates something supernatural in the life of the believer.

  • And the primary thing that it activates is abundance of joy that comes by way of knowing Jesus in a deeper way, which, when that takes place brings you more and more peace. I won’t harp on this too much longer, but I will say, sacrifice comes in many forms and fashions, it’s not just financial. I’ll digress on this point. You should understand what I mean by now.

• Moving on, picking up with verse 10, where Paul continues to urge the Church at Corinth to get it on what God is doing with the Churches at Macedonia. Follow me here. Let’s read verses 10-15, and then back up and break down each verse one by one. Verses 10-15, here’s what he wrote:

2 Cor. 8:10 I give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. 
2 Cor. 8:11 But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the willingness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability.
2 Cor. 8:12 For if the willingness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.
2 Cor. 8:13 For this is not for the relief of others and for your hardship, but by way of equality—
2 Cor. 8:14 at this present time your abundance will serve as assistance for their need, so that their abundance also may serve as assistance for your need, so that there may be equality;
2 Cor. 8:15 as it is written: “THE ONE WHO HAD GATHERED MUCH DID NOT HAVE TOO MUCH, AND THE ONE WHO HAD GATHERED LITTLE DID NOT HAVE TOO LITTLE.”

• Man, oh man, here we go again. Such weighty and powerful words. Let’s begin with verse 10, where Paul says:

2 Cor. 8:10 I give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. 

• Paul begins by saying, I give my opinion on this matter. First of all, I want you to take note of what he didn’t say. He didn’t say do this or do that. In other words, he didn’t command them to do something. He simply said, let me give my opinion. Another way to say it might be, in my opinion, or the way I see it.

  • So, he says, in my opinion, this is to your advantage. What’s to their advantage? To do what the Churches of Macedonia are doing. For them to give, not just from their ability, but beyond their ability, beyond what they had. And then he says, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it.

• Now the end of verse 10 ties directly into verses 11 & 12, so let me address the first part of what I just quoted. He says, who were the first to begin a year ago. Paraphrasing here, he is saying you guys started gathering money for the poorer churches a year ago, and so I urge you to complete it.

  • We know from the study of scripture that the Church at Corinth did in fact begin gathering monies at least one year prior to the Churches in Macedonia. They were gathering up money and awaiting Paul’s return, at which time- they would give him the offering and he would then carry the gift to the poorer church in Jerusalem.

  • And so that kind of gives you the background to his statement. He was saying finish what you started and do it in the same way the Churches of Macedonia did it. And then from there he says not only would I ask you to finish it, I also ask you to desire to do it.

    • Which is so interesting, and it ties into verses 11&12, which I’ll re-read for context, all in an effort to tie it all together. One more time, verses 10-12:

2 Cor. 8:10 I give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. 
2 Cor. 8:11 But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the willingness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability.
2 Cor. 8:12 For if the willingness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. 

• You know, Paul’s words have often been compared to poetry, and that’s really the truth. Just look at how he writes, but more specifically, look at what he writes. He says in verse 11, “but now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the willingness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability”.

  • The poetic part of his writings shows up when he says, “so that just as there was the willingness to desire it”. Think about what he’s saying here one more time, “so that just as there was the willingness to desire it”.

    • Here’s the sense of what he is saying. Hang in here with me for just a moment. He is saying, even if you don’t desire it, if you are willing to desire it, that is good enough. God will accept that.

  • One more time, “So that just as there was the willingness to desire it”. It would be like a boss, or a teacher, or a judge, or someone in authority over you, saying, “I know you don’t want to do it, but would you be willing to desire to do it”?

  • In other words, would you consider or try desiring it, and if you said yes, then that alone would be good enough. Isn’t that interesting? It is to me. And, once again, it’s another one of those statements from Paul that liberates us. But what do I mean? What do I mean when I say his words liberate us?

    • I mean, because God will accept our willingness to desire something even if we don’t desire it. God accepts that; therefore, we are liberated by knowing that we don’t have to desire it, meaning we don’t have to feel guilty about it. That’s where liberation comes in.

    • Another way to say it is, if I am willing to try and desire it, that alone will suffice. But, as always, the question is why? Why in the world would God allow us simply to be willing, rather than actually desiring to do something? Because if we are willing to try, God will do the rest.

• One more time, if we will trust God and take a few steps toward him in faith, He will in turn take that many more steps toward us. Wow. All we have to do is take a few steps toward Him and He will do the rest. Yes, that’s what Paul is saying. He is saying if we try, God will handle the desire part. But why? Well, once again, we are back to obedience. When we obey (even when we don’t want to), God honors our effort and obedience, and replaces the willingness with desire, and that’s why Paul says what he says in the way that he says it.

  • If they were willing to try and obey through their giving, regardless of whether they want to or not, God would put the desire in the heart to continue on, and their willingness to participate is acceptable because it’s a sign of obedience, which is highlighted in verse 12 when he says this:

2 Cor. 8:12 For if the willingness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. 

• The overarching theme of Paul’s words are this, if they are willing to obey in their giving, God will accept their giving as an acceptable sacrifice based on what they have, not what they don’t have. Meaning, based not on the amount they gave, but rather the percentage of what they gave as it relates to what they have. You get the point, so let’s press on.

2 Cor. 8:13 For this is not for the relief of others and for your hardship, but by way of equality—
2 Cor. 8:14 at this present time your abundance will serve as assistance for their need, so that their abundance also may serve as assistance for your need, so that there may be equality;
2 Cor. 8:15 as it is written: “THE ONE WHO HAD GATHERED MUCH DID NOT HAVE TOO MUCH, AND THE ONE WHO HAD GATHERED LITTLE DID NOT HAVE TOO LITTLE.”

• In verse 13, to be honest, Paul’s words could be construed as socialism, primarily because of the words “by way of equality”. Socialism is a system, and one facet of that system is the redistribution of wealth, and although I am 100% against that concept, mainly because it doesn’t work because you can’t lift another person out of the depths of poverty by taking from one person who has and giving to another person who does not have. It won’t work.

  • Each man must work and save and be frugal with what he has if he wants to rise above his financial situation. So let me be clear on this topic. This is not what Paul is talking about here. Paul is talking about equality in two ways here, one of which does include financial, but not equality as it relates to those who truly don’t have. He’s not speaking about those who won’t work.

  • Let me explain what I mean. You see, it really boils down to what I call true poverty. When I think of these poorer churches’ situation, I think of their culture and the environment in which they lived. And this is really hard for us to understand, because employment opportunity for us is everywhere.

    • That was not the case for the majority of the people living in those days. Everyone worked in those days, they had no choice, but the opportunities to make money were limited, so it didn’t matter how hard someone worked, they would still be poor.

  • This is very different from today’s socialist ideals. Today, socialism says we should redistribute wealth because when we all succeed it makes everything better. The socialist of today says it even makes it better for those who are wealthy. In other words, if I take a portion of what a wealthy person has and give it to a poorer person, then theoretically speaking we will all do better (including the wealthy person).

    • And by the way, this can be true, but the problem is this concept assumes the poorer person, the one who receives a portion of the wealthier person’s wealth, is a worker. It also assumes they are frugal.

    • You know, when I think about this Covid and that wasn’t a bad idea, in and of itself, especially seeing how people were unable to work. And honestly, it didn’t bother me due to the fact that the government is so irresponsible when it comes to the money they receive from taxes.

  • My theory was, instead of blowing it on ridiculous and frivolous items and agendas, which pander to lobbyists, help people! Quit blowing money on research and things that don’t matter, and in turn, return a portion of it back to the people who were unemployed and struggling.

• Now having said that, the reason I said I thought about the Covid money as it related to wealth redistribution, and more specifically why wealth redistribution doesn’t work, at least in our society, is because statistically speaking there were many people who, when they received their checks, didn’t hold on to them, save it or even use it to meet their basic needs, instead they spent it on things like TVs and other non-essential items.

  • This is a fact, and companies like Wal-Mart and Amazon confirmed it with their sales reports. Wal-Mart and Amazon reported a dramatic increase in non-essential item sales, items such as TV’s, cell phones, toys, and video game consoles, etc., right after the stimulus checks were released.

  • And let me say, although this was part of the government’s plan to keep the economy going, the core purpose of the money was for meeting essential needs, not non-essential. You see, if Covid would have hit in Paul’s day and age, and the Roman government would have handed out checks, I assure you the money wouldn’t have been spent on non-essential items.

    • And so, just remember this when reading Paul’s words, these people weren’t poor because they didn’t work, they were poor because the wages they earned from working extremely hard weren’t enough to sustain their basic needs. Basic needs being food, clothing, housing, etc.

• So having said that, Paul was proposing a system of redistributing wealth. But not for the purposes of equality as it related to prosperity or fairness of wealth, but rather for the purposes of meeting the basic needs of believers in the poorer churches. Which by the way, goes back to what I said a few weeks ago.

  • Specifically, about the purpose of the church, which was that “we take care of our own first”. We as a body are to take care of the needs of our fellowship first, and then, and only then, do we look to give outside the church. And one more time, when the church helps another believer in need, it assumes that brother or sister is putting forth effort. They aren’t just sitting around doing nothing, expecting the church to take care of them.

    • And this also falls right in line with the testimony of scripture, just in case you are wondering. Redistributing wealth in God’s dichotomy assumes those who are receiving the wealth redistribution are working hard and responsibly trying to resolve their situation.

    • This is a Biblical concept and keeps in line with what God’s word says. For further insight into this topic, let’s look at 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13. Listen to what Paul wrote:

2 Thess. 3:6 Now we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother or sister who leads a disorderly life and not one in accordance with the tradition which you received from us.
2 Thess. 3:7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined way among you,
2 Thess. 3:8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you;
2 Thess. 3:9 not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a role model for you, so that you would follow our example.
2 Thess. 3:10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.
2 Thess. 3:11 For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies.
2 Thess. 3:12 Now we command and exhort such persons in the Lord Jesus Christ to work peacefully and eat their own bread.
2 Thess. 3:13 But as for you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary of doing good.

• So based on Paul’s own words, we clearly see he is not a proponent of socialism, at least in the sense of redistributing wealth from one person to another, if that person is not willing to work. You see, when Paul speaks in terms of wealth equality, yes, he is speaking in terms of moving wealth from one group to the other, but as I said, this concept assumes the other group is working hard; the poorer churches are working hard, they just aren’t receiving enough compensation from their work to meet their basic needs.

  • And one more thing in terms of the church and this “act” of wealth redistribution. As I previously stated, it has a few purposes, but ultimately it is all for the purpose of bringing Glory to God. Meaning, when we help lift up our fellow brothers and sisters, the outside world will see it and that in turn becomes a “living testimony” to the power and glory of our God.

  • Which then creates curiosity inside the life of the unbeliever. It causes them to say, what’s the deal with those folks? Which then in turn causes them to lean in and look and inquire about this Christianity thing. And of course, curiosity to the unbeliever is just a biproduct of taking care of our own.

    • The primary purpose of wealth redistribution inside the church is to help one another and to help meet the needs of our fellow brothers and sisters (meet the needs of our church family). I’ll digress. You should get the point by now, so moving on, I got us sidetracked for a minute, so let’s read it again to bring us back on track, verses 13-15:

2 Cor. 8:13 For this is not for the relief of others and for your hardship, but by way of equality—
2 Cor. 8:14 at this present time your abundance will serve as assistance for their need, so that their abundance also may serve as assistance for your need, so that there may be equality;
2 Cor. 8:15 as it is written: “THE ONE WHO HAD GATHERED MUCH DID NOT HAVE TOO MUCH, AND THE ONE WHO HAD GATHERED LITTLE DID NOT HAVE TOO LITTLE.”

• In verse 14, Paul points out another biproduct of taking care of our own, and that is, it not only helps the one who receives, but it also helps the one who gives. Look at it again,

2 Cor. 8:14 at this present time your abundance will serve as assistance for their need, so that their abundance also may serve as assistance for your need, so that there may be equality; 

• So, we get it how our giving could help a brother or sister in need, but how does that help us? Well, to answer that question, you must return to our teaching that began this whole thing a few weeks ago. Which was what? That the Churches in Macedonia received God’s grace through an abundance of joy because they gave, not just from what they had, but from what they didn’t have.

• And so, this entire thing is cyclical. They gave and God blessed them with an abundance of joy. That’s what Paul means when he says,

2 Cor. 8:14 at this present time your abundance will serve as assistance for their need, so that their abundance also may serve as assistance for your need, so that there may be equality; 

• This concept of equality denotes balance and harmony within the fellowship, and not just financially. Yes, financial is part of it, but not all of it. Follow me here. Paul is saying to the wealthier Corinthian Church, you guys have something the poorer churches need.

  • Which is what? Money, right? But they have something you need, something you can’t buy, something intangible. And if it weren’t for the poorer churches, who because of their poverty provided for you the opportunity to give, you couldn’t receive what it is God wants to give you. And so, what is it?

    • An abundance of joy brought by way of God’s Grace. Because they gave!

• Guys, lean in here for just a moment and listen to what I am saying. This is so fascinating. It’s as if God purposely set this whole thing up with poorer churches and wealthier churches, all so they would each feed one another. Something that each one of them needed, and neither could receive what they needed without the other, which created equality.

  • You see, the equality Paul is speaking about isn’t just a redistribution of wealth, it’s also a redistribution of joy. And so, the wealthier churches have money, but if it weren’t for the poorer churches being poor, the wealthier churches would have no means of receiving an abundance of joy by using their wealth to help the poorer churches.

• Now I don’t know about you, but this literally gives me cold chills people. This is the Sovereignty of God on full display, and it tells us something. And what does it tell us? It tells us that yes, money is something, but it isn’t everything. It tells us that money fulfills some of our needs, but not all of them.

  • It tells us that money is nothing more than a tool, an instrument that is to be used to support the work of ministry, which includes supporting those in need. But it’s also a tool for the giver to receive something they may not have, which is to experience God’s Grace at a whole different level though an abundance of joy!

    • Amen

• Now, I’m going to pause here this morning and leave verse 15 for next week. But let me say this, think about what all this means. This stuff is so rich and life-changing, and all we have to do is connect with it, and then of course let it guide our lives. So, my prayer this morning is that you go throughout the rest of your week and consider all that Paul is teaching us in these verses, because inside God’s word, inside God’s Holy Manuscript, is the power to literally transform your life.