God's Grace to Give Generously
Notes
Transcript
2 Corinthians 8:1-24
We want you to know about the grace of God
Given to the churches of Macedonia
Macedonia is a region in northern Greece
This would have included the churches in Thessalonica, Philippi, and Berea
What is the grace of God?
The standard answer is “God’s unmerited/undeserved favor” with an emphasis on His forgiveness
This is absolutely true, but it is used in several specific ways throughout the Bible
One of the ways that grace is used is for the empowering and transforming work of God in the lives of His people
It is important to see the grace of God given to His people
It serves as an example, reminder, and motivator
It begs the question: do we live in such a way that others could point at us and say “I want you to know about the grace of God given to SMGBC?
They gave themselves generously as an act of grace
An impossible equation
They had an abundance of joy
Where did that joy come from?
Paul does not explicitly say, but we can have a great deal of confidence
Galatians 5:22- But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
They were experiencing extreme poverty
They were not simply poor or experiencing a tough year financially
They were living in deep poverty
They were poor well beyond anything that any of us have ever known
These two things seem counter-intuitive
But Paul has set us up nicely to understand what he means
We have already seen the paradoxical reality of being “sorrowful yet always rejoicing”
They begged for the grace of taking part
In the relief of the saints
The church in Jerusalem is experiencing extreme hardship, so the churches each took up a collection to send financial support to them
Romans 15:25-26- At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.
They gave themselves
Not as we expected
First to God
Then to us
“Their financial giving was only the outward manifestation of a deeper giving”
This order is essential
If the order is flipped, then their giving was either from compulsion or legalism
Complete this act of grace among you
Titus started it and must finish it
Titus began inviting the Corinthians to participate in the collection a year prior to this letter
It seems that it is time for the sending of the money to come, so they must finish the work of collecting their gift
He is coming back to Corinth to complete what they started
Every act of grace needs a start and completion
It is not enough to simply have good intentions
It is not enough to express those good intentions with words
It is not enough to begin the work and leave it fall flat
It is essential for an act, inspired by God’s leading, to be completed as an act of God’s grace
This means that the way that it will be completed in Corinth, and among us, is by the grace of God
Abounding in grace
God’s grace has abounded to them
In faith
In speech
In knowledge
In love
literally “in the love from us in you.”
1 Corinthians 1:4-9- I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Abound in this act of grace also
As the grace of God is seen in the Macedonians’ generosity, it flows into the hearts of the Corinthians
And as it flows into their hearts, it ought to flow richly from them
People who abound in grace
Shouldn’t the same thing be said to us?
Don’t we want to be people who abound in the grace of God?
Grace abounding to us
To this end we must faithfully pray daily
Grace abounding through us
To this end we must faithfully pray
