2 Corinthians 8:1-24

God shows his Power when we are Weak

2 Corinthians

Philip Smith

Chapter 8

v1 Brothers, we want to tell you about the kindness that God showed to the churches in Macedonia. v2 Even when they were suffering a severe test of their belief, their joy was great. Although they were very poor, their gifts were very generous. v3 I can *assure you about this. They gave as much as they could. They gave even more than they could afford. Nobody forced them to do this. v4 In fact, they asked us many times. They wanted to serve other Christians by their gifts. And they asked that we would be good enough to allow them to join in with this task. v5 They did much more than we had hoped. First they gave themselves to the *Lord. Then, as God wanted, they gave themselves to us as well.

In Acts 11:27-30 a *prophet *prophesied a *famine. So the *disciples asked people for money for the churches in *Judea. In 1 Corinthians 16:1-4, Paul had told the Christians at Corinth how to do this. In 2 Corinthians 8:10, they had begun but not completed it. Here Paul reminds them. He encourages them to complete this work. He tells them what the Christians in *Macedonia did. The *Macedonians had many troubles at that time. They were also very poor. Perhaps Paul had not intended to ask them to give anything. But they asked him to allow them to give to the people in Jerusalem. They did even more than that. They gave themselves to the *Lord. They also gave themselves to the service of his people. God gave them ‘grace’ (that is, the free gift of his kindness). They asked for the grace that they could give to other people. The Christians at Corinth were not poor. Paul here encourages them to do what the *Macedonians did.

v6 So we asked *Titus, who began this work, to help you to complete this generous act. v7 Already you are successful in everything. You have belief, speech and knowledge. You very much want to help. You love us. Also, be successful as generous givers. v8 I am not ordering you to do this. I am showing you how eager other people are to help. This will prove that your love is real. v9 You know about the kindness of our *Lord Jesus Christ. He was rich, but he became poor. This was because he loved you. He became poor so that you could become rich. v10 This is what I advise you. Last year you started to collect your gifts. You deeply wanted to give. v11 Now finish the work. You wanted to do this. Show that you are equally eager to finish the work. Give what you are able to give. v12 If you want to give, then give what you can. You cannot give what you do not have. v13 You should not help other people so much that you do not have enough yourselves. I want everyone to be equal. v14 You have plenty this time. Therefore, you can assist those who need help. Some time, you will need help and they will have plenty. Then they will be able to help you. In that way, everyone will be equal. v15 The Bible says, ‘He who gathered plenty did not have too much food. He who gathered little did not have too little.’

Paul reminds the Christians at Corinth that God had given many skills to them. Then he makes a list of them. These were called ‘gifts’ in 1 Corinthians 12. The first was trust in God that helped people to do great things. The next was speech. Perhaps this means *tongues. Then there was knowledge. Knowledge helps us to understand what to do in a situation. There was also help and love. Then he suggests that they add to the list their opportunity to give to other people. He does not order them to do this. However, he suggests that they imitate the Christians in Macedonia. This would show the reality of their love.

Paul reminds them of what the *Lord Jesus Christ did. ‘He was rich’ refers to his *glory in heaven. This was before he came to earth. ‘He became poor.’ The great passage in Philippians 2:5-11 tells us that Jesus became like a servant. He obeyed God even in death – that is, his death on a *cross. He became poor when he suffered for us. Therefore we can be rich in the *righteousness that God gives us. If Jesus gave so much for us, we should give to other people.

Paul advises them to finish what they have begun. They should give as much as they were able. God did not care about the amount that they gave. But he did care about how willing they were to give. Paul wanted them to share the problem equally with other people. They would be equal in what they wanted to give. They would not be equal in how much they gave. The Christians at Corinth had plenty of money. They were able to help those who needed money. When the Christians at Corinth were in need, those with plenty of money would be able to help them. Then they would share the problems equally. He refers to Exodus 16:18. This showed two things. Those *Israelites who took more *manna than other people did not have too much. The *Israelites who did not take very much *manna still had enough.

v16 I thank God. He gave *Titus the same care for you as I have. v17 He gladly received my request. And he is so eager that he has freely chosen to come to you. v18 With him, we are sending the friend whom the Christians in all the churches praise. He has worked hard to teach the good news. v19 Moreover, the Christians chose him to travel with us. We will take your gift with us. We are organising this to give *glory to God. It also shows that we want to help. v20 We do not want people to say that we are handling this generous gift badly. v21 We are very careful to do what is right. We want to do what is right by God’s standards. We also want to do what is right by men’s standards. v22 Also, we are sending with them (Titus and the other Christian) another friend. We have often tested him, and he is very eager to help. He is even more eager now, because he has great confidence in you. v23 Titus is my partner and he works with me to help you. Our brothers represent the churches and they give honour to Christ. v24 Show these men the proof of your love. Show them the reason why we are proud of you. Then all the Christians will see it.

Paul now tells them how he would organise the gift. Titus was coming to receive it. He really cared for the Christians at Corinth. He was quite willing to go to them. Paul was also sending a friend whom the *Macedonian Christians had chosen. Paul does not say who this person was. Many people think that it was Luke. We think that Paul wrote this letter from Philippi. We know that Luke was with him there. (In Acts 16:12, ‘we’ includes the author of Acts, who was Luke.)

The Christians praised this friend because he taught the good news. They actually chose him to go with Paul. Paul organised this journey to bring *glory to God. He showed something of God’s *generosity. He also showed how eager they were to help other Christians.

Paul included in his group people whom other Christians had chosen. Then nobody could say that he was not honest with the money. He was careful to do things that were right. Both God and people would see this. He expected the gift to be a large and generous one. Paul also sent another friend whom the Christians recommended. This man also was very eager to help. Paul explained that Titus was acting on his behalf. He encouraged the Christians at Corinth to show these men the proof of their love. They would do this by the gifts that they gave. That would be the reason why he was proud of them. If they did that, then all the Christians would know about it too.

assure ~ tell someone definitely about something so that they do not doubt.
Lord ~ a name that we call God or Jesus; we call God or Jesus Lord when we obey them.
prophet ~ someone who tells people God’s messages, especially about the future.
prophesy ~ to tell people God’s messages, especially about the future.
famine ~ a time when there is little or no food in a region.
disciples ~ the students of Jesus. Especially, the 12 men who became apostles.
apostle ~ a person whom someone sends to do a special task. In the New Testament, an apostle was someone who had met the risen Jesus.

New Testament ~ the second part of the Bible with 27 books about the life of Jesus and the Christian message.

risen Jesus ~ Jesus, after he died and became alive again.
Judea ~ the southern part of the land of Israel.
Macedonia ~ the northern part of modern Greece.
Titus ~ one of Paul’s companions to whom he later wrote a letter. He tried to help the Christians at Corinth and he took some of Paul’s letters to them.'tongues, to speak in ~ to talk in other languages that the speaker does not know.
glory ~ honour or greatness. Especially, God’s greatness. Or, a special cause for pride in something or someone.
cross ~ two pieces of wood that someone has fixed together. The Romans killed people by fixing them to a cross to die. Jesus died on a cross.
Roman ~ Rome was the capital city of the rulers at that time. That which belonged to Rome was Roman.

'righteous, righteousness ~ behaviour that is morally right.
Israelites ~ the people of Israel (Jews).
Jews ~ people of the Hebrew people or religion.
Hebrew ~ a member of a group of families originally from Israel; or, the language of the Hebrew people.
manna ~ means ‘What is it?’ The substance that the Israelites used for food in the desert.
Israelites ~ the people of Israel (Jews).
Jews ~ people of the Hebrew people or religion.
Hebrew ~ a member of a group of families originally from Israel; or, the language of the Hebrew people.
generosity ~ when someone gives freely.