Overflowing Generosity 2

(2 Corinthians 8.1-15Giving fromRiver of GraceStewardship 2014 - #1Overflowing Generosity[ 10 March 2014 2:25 PM ] 03.02.2014 – First UMC St. Cloud)

(NRSV) 2 Corinthians 8.1-15 – 1 We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia; 2for during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means, and even beyond their means, 4begging us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in this ministry to the saints— 5and this, not merely as we expected; they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by the will of God, to us, 6so that we might urge Titus that, as he had already made a beginning, so he should also complete this generous undertaking among you. 7Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.

8 I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. 9For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. 10And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something— 11now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means. 12For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to what one does not have. 13I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between 14your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. 15As it is written,

‘The one who had much did not have too much,   and the one who had little did not have too little.’

Introduction: Rivers of Grace

1. Jesus unashamedly proclaim that (NRSV) Matthew 6.21 – 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So, this morning I want to talk together about our hearts. The Greek word kardia (καρδία) used here points to the heart as the center and source of our whole inner life.

2. Giving, tithing, begins from God’s grace flooding our hearts; Giving from the River of Grace.

The “Big Idea” – Giving is about God’s grace (God’s freely given love, forgiveness, power and more) flowing into our lives.

A. The Earnest Privilege

1. The background to this part of Paul’s letter to the Christians in the church in Corinth is a financial offering Paul is asking this local church to undertake. This offering is most likely in response to a bad harvest and/or a persecution in Jerusalem that is severely affecting the Christians there. Paul writes about this to the church in Rome in (NRSV) Romans 15.25-26 – 25At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem in a ministry to the saints [saints = “set apart” for God; Christians]; 26for Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to share their resources with the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. Paul then focuses our attention on the experience of the Christians in the churches in Macedonia (most likely the churches in Philippi and Thesalonica. See map.) as an example to the believers in Corinth. He writes (NRSV) 2 Corinthians 8.1-2 – 1 We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia; 2for during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.

2. It seems that these churches in Macedonia have also had their share of tough times and lack of resources; that is a “sever ordeal of affliction” and “their extreme poverty.” So, even though they too are suffering, they still are willing to give generously to this offering and to fellow Christians in Jerusalem.

3. The letter continues (NRSV) 2 Corinthians 8.3-5 – 3For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means, and even beyond their means, 4begging us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in this ministry to the saints— 5and this, not merely as we expected; they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by the will of God, to us…. The Christians in the Macedonian churches give based on what they have, according to their means, but also give beyond their means. The fact is that the Macedonians begged to be able to share in this ministry, that is, they are eager and intentional about participating in the work God is doing in the Jerusalem church through the money they are offering.

a. Most important, though, the Macedonians give their lives first to God. Giving is primarily about our commitment and faith in God.

b. We then read they give their lives to Paul. Now Paul is the foremost leader of their church. So, in effect, they are dedicating their lives to their local church as part of their dedication to God. The Scriptures assume that we live out our faith in God in a specific community and not as mere individuals.

4. At some point in the past, the Corinthian Christians committed to this offering for Jerusalem yet failed to act on their good intentions. In view or because of what the Macedonians have done the intended result is (NRSV) 2 Corinthians 8.6 – 6so that we might urge Titus that, as he had already made a beginning, so he should also complete this generous undertaking among you. The Corinthians are now invited to join the earnest privilege of living out their dedication to God through generous giving.

B. Testing the Genuineness

1. The letter now turns to praise for the spiritual life of the Christians in the Corinthian church. (NRSV) 2 Corinthians 8.7-8 – 7Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking. From Paul’s letter of 1st Corinthians, we have a sense that the Corinthian Christians are so concerned about “excelling” that they often are in a battle to outdo each other; to be one up on their Christian friends. Paul turns this negative tendency into a potential for a positive outcome. As the Corinthians Christians are strong in faith, speech, knowledge, eagerness and love for their leaders, so too can they “excel” in generous giving.

2. Now, verse 8 might have been more clearly translated as say, “this is not a direct command from God.” But, don’t read this as indicating that generous giving is a suggestion we can chose to ignore if we desire. (NRSV) 2 Corinthians 8.8 – 8 I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. So, Paul sees the Corinthians generosity as dokimazo ( δοκιμάζων ), the Greek verb indicating an examination, testing the genuineness, of something, in this case, to discover and approve of the Corinthians love for God as producing genuine action in their lives.

3. Now, there are numerous reasons people give. I assume no one here in our church gives so to make themselves look good or for a tax wright off or even as some veiled means to earn God’s favor. We are deeper people than that. I do know that research shows many people give for two reasons. Older Christian generations because, well, you just give to your church because it is the right thing to do. Younger Christian generations, on the other hand, may attend and be active in a church yet make to choice to give based on the church’s effectiveness in its mission; that is, does my money make a difference?

a. If you give because it is the right thing to do, way to go, God wants us to be obedient to give to the church. Yet, there is a deeper experience of giving beyond the general Christian (and other world views for that matter) morality of giving.

b. If you give based on effective outcomes, way to go, God wants us to use our money wisely. Yet, there is a deeper experience of giving that goes way beyond “Will my money make a difference?”

4. Giving flows from the river of God’s grace. Giving is not “Do what Christ did” or even “Do for other what Christ has done for you.” Giving from the River of Grace is a theology; Giving from the River of Grace is how we understand God in Jesus.

C. Generous Act

1. Paul then arrives at the source of his appeal to the Corinthians to make good their intention to give to the offering. The Macedonians have set the example but there is an even deeper reason for the generous act of giving. We are told

2. (NRSV) 2 Corinthians 8.9 – 9For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.

3. Paul says this is a different way in (NRSV) Philippians 2. – 4Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

6 who, though he was in the form of God,   did not regard equality with God   as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself,   taking the form of a slave,   being born in human likeness.And being found in human form, 8   he humbled himself   and became obedient to the point of death—   even death on a cross.

9 Therefore God also highly exalted him   and gave him the name   that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus   every knee should bend,

   in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue should confess   that Jesus Christ is Lord,   to the glory of God the Father.

4. This is not “planting a seed of faith” to gain favor or material wealth in return. Giving from the River of Grace flows from the eternal spring of God’s grace, God’s undeserved love, forgiveness, provisions and power flowing into our lives because of Jesus the Christ. Giving from the River of Grace runs from Jesus to joy to generous giving! The joy is not that we gave but, that in Jesus, God gave God’s-self to defeat our sin and evil and finally death.

5. Our generous act of giving, giving in a way that seeks the best for others and for the church, giving that overcomes our human and our sinful nature to use others for our own ends, can only take place when we find our sanctuary in The River of Grace where we trust that our security is in Jesus the Christ, God the Son, who gave up the rich privileges of heaven to become poor in a human body so that you would know the riches of a life connected to the life of God.

D. If the Eagerness is There

1. Our section of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians concludes beginning in (NRSV) 2 Corinthians 8.10-12 – 10And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something— 11now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means. 12For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to what one does not have. Paul’s and our concern is not the “budget” but the life, the attitudes and the actions which flow from The River of Grace in our lives because of Jesus the Christ. “Your eagerness” is the translation of the Greek verb prothumia (προθυμία ) which has the sense of goodwill, willingness and readiness.

2. The assumption here is that the power of Christ through the Holy Spirit will transform our world view to be people who are willing and ready to give because of we now are children of God the Father.

3. Giving becomes a deeper act of our faith, an act of willful obedience freely given when we come to know and experience:

a. First, the priority that the grace (free and undeserved love and forgiveness and power) of God in Jesus Christ, God the Son is the only basis for our reconciliation and right relationship with God.

b. Second, the power of God the Holy Spirit makes our obedience possible.

c. Finally, the promise of God the Father’s forgiveness as the beginning and the means to an increasingly holy or set apart life entwined with the life-of-God-the-Trinity.

4. The final lines of our Scripture offer a prophetic critique on the greed that we have allowed clogging the flow of God’s provisions that have stream into culture and society.

(NRSV) 2 Corinthians 8.13-15 – 13I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between 14your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. 15As it is written,

‘The one who had much did not have too much,   and the one who had little did not have too little.’

5. This is a prophetic view of God’s Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven and of participation in the transformation of this world tricking towards death and God’s new creation flowing from the grace of God in Jesus. A prophetic view of a time when there is enough and where we participate with God, Giving from the River of Grace.

6. What are we revealing to our children about Jesus and the church? Do we reveal God as the great “supporter of my goals” or as the mighty power over sin and evil and death delivering us from this life into God’s abundant and eternal life?

7. Giving from the River of Grace:

a. Overflowing Generosity from the priority of God’s grace.

b. Overflowing Generosity from the power of God’s grace.

c. Overflowing Generosity from the promise of God’s grace.

“Action Point” – Know that overflowing generosity flows out of the amazing grace (love, forgiveness, power and more) that is in our lives because of Jesus.

Scott J. Hafemann, 2 Corinthians: The NIV Application Commentary from Biblical Text -- to Contemporary Life (Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan Pub. House, 2000).