Stu's Blog

The stingy church at Corinth became the model church for giving. This passage is a gift to us so that we might come to a robust understanding of the power of giving. We may feel moved to give simply because of a need. There is more at stake. The need creates an opportunity to put into motion an action that can blossom into thanksgiving (11). The action of giving can do something profound to the giver, it can change their character. Paul says the giver will be “enriched in every way to be generous in every way” and this will provoke others to “produce thanksgivings to God” (11). That blossom can grow into glory (13). Others will “approve,” notice an unusual willingness to give, and begin to see and connect generosity with the gospel (13). They may wonder why someone would give when so many choose selfishness. There really is no good explanation for generosity other than the grace of God. Even unbelievers will be moved to consider the possibility that God is good and God is real. It could even be that an unbeliever will begin to see the possibility that selfless giving is a reflection of God who gives himself because he loves (John 3:16). Giving may start with a need but can blossom into spiritual formation, character enrichment, thanksgiving, glory, validation of the gospel, and a powerful witness to the reality of God. See 2 Cor 9:10-15.

The Macedonians were not well off. The Corinthians were affluent. The Macedonians were free to be generous, even though poor, because “they gave themselves first to the Lord” (5). According to Paul, they experienced great joy, so much so that they were “begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints” (4). The Corinthians were in a much better position to contribute to the relief offering, but they struggled with stinginess. Paul didn’t confront their unwillingness with authority, command, and control (8), but with pastoral concern, teaching, and encouragement. Paul’s theology of giving is grounded in Christ’s self-giving, who “though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you bu his poverty might become rich” (9). His pastoral approach helped the Corinthians remember their past desire and willingness to cooperate (10), prompted their repentance and follow through (11), included motivational speech: “as you excel in everything-in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you-see that you excel in this act of grace also” (7), and reminded the Corinthians that they were part of the larger fellowship of humanity, any of whom may find themselves at any time either in need or with ability to supply the need of others (14-15). Paul brought to bear the witness of Scripture by citing Ex 16:18, the exemplary example of Christ, the reminder of the Corinthian’s past, the good example of the Macedonian brothers, the doctrinal truth that joy comes from giving rather than collecting, and the courage of a pastor cashing in some chips and speaking truth in love to confront a culture of stinginess that was taking root in the hearts of the Corinthians. What is the key to freedom in giving? Why was giving easy for the Macedonians and hard for the Corinthians? It is true that generosity results in joy but you will never become generous by seeking joy. The key is in verse 5: “they gave themselves first to the Lord.” See 2 Cor 8:1-15.

“Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:5-6

Eugene Peterson says: “The Jesus way wedded to the Jesus truth brings about the Jesus life… Jesus as the way is the most frequently evaded metaphor among the Christians with whom I have worked for fifty years as a North American pastor. The way comes first. We cannot skip the way of Jesus in our hurry to get to the truth of Jesus…” We evangelicals especially think that the truth is the way to the life. We don’t really even have to believe the truth as long as we can quote bits of it and agree to it. We can hold it at arms length, take it out and examine some of it on Sunday morning, and claim the benefits and blessings while not really living much differently than anyone else. In short, this is another way, a shortcut that avoids the spiritual formation that God would use to recreate our character in the image and likeness of his Son. This is the way of living Christianity in our heads, intellectualized, compartmentalized, cordoned off so as not to interfere with whatever else is important to the all important self. The Jesus way is something different. It is a call to follow, surrender, submit, join in on mission, be shaped and formed by the Spirit, to live in communion with God, to live in the light of God where there is no darkness, where sin is exposed and repented of, where we are recreated, the old has gone and the new has come. The Jesus way is the only way to new life and real truth.

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A grand is still a chunk of change, but you probably won’t find this cheaper ever again. Good till 9/12/2011.

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