2nd Corinthians Week 14: Small Stoop

  Thousands of books are written on the subject of leadership. I have ten in my office library, and more that I’ve read, but haven’t found important enough to keep. But out of all the books I’ve read, all the ones that I have heard synopsis of, and all the different leadership classes and trainings I’ve had over the years, it’s from a picture that I think sums up the whole idea of Christian leadership. 

The picture shows two scenes. The top scene shows three people pulling a box over logs, with the word “mission” across it. On top of the box is a person sitting in a chair behind a desk pointing ahead of the men pulling the box, and the word “boss” written next to the person, with an arrow pointing towards them. 

Underneath the first scene is the second. The second scene is similar in that there are three people pulling a box over logs, with the word “mission” across it. But there is no person sitting behind a desk on top of the box. Instead there is a fourth person at the front of the rope, pulling the box; the person is pointing forward, while looking back at the others. The word “leader” is written with an arrow pointing to this person. 

This is what true leadership is, the first in front, down in the work that the leader is helping others accomplish, while not adding to their burden.

And it’s this burdensome leadership that brings us back to 2nd Corinthians, where we’ll be picking it back up in chapter 11, starting in verse 1. And as we do, let’s look at where we are in our summer series.

Last week we began the third section of 2nd Corinthians, as Paul begins to deal with the false teachers that have entered into the congregation. Section one laid the ground work for what we saw at the beginning of section three. Paul wants people who read his letters to understand that he writes from a place that seeks to be both humble in correcting people, and bold enough to deal with the hard situations. In the accusations that are hurled against Paul, people look at his letters as bold, while when he physically shows up, he is meek, which they interpret as cowardly. But if we understand Paul’s writings as he intended them, then we would see a humble boldness within his letters, that he carries on with in person. And so we are called to a bold humbleness where we wield Christ’s authority, and apply it wisely. 

It’s from this humble boldness that Paul continues to address the false teachers. Now from chapter 11 verse 1 to the end of chapter 12, we have one large thought of Paul in how he deals with these false teachers. We can see this connective thought, because Paul uses the idea of “foolishness” to connect it all together. But because the thought is so big, we’re going to break it down into smaller thoughts and see how he connects them together. This is the same thing we did for Paul’s thought on giving. 

So let’s read together the first of Paul’s connective thoughts on the false teachers. 

1 I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! 2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 

4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. 5 Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. 6 Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.

7 Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached God's gospel to you free of charge? 8 I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. 9 And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way. 10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. 11 And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

12 And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

v.1-3

Paul wants to delve into a little foolish talk for a moment, and what he means by that is a little recklessness of thought in dealing with the situation. So Paul is going to use imagery, hyperbole, and sarcasm to get his point across. Paul begins by associating himself with a man who had introduced their friend to a future spouse, and now is jealous or concerned for that friend as their marriage falls apart. So as we read through Paul’s words, we’re seeing that guy who desperately wants his friend to have a healthy marriage.

It’s here that Paul draws from Genesis 3 and the fall of humanity. The Corinthians are beings deceived in a parallel way as Eve was. Just as the serpent drew Eve away from God, these false teachers are doing the same thing. It’s why, at the end of our reading, that Paul connects them to Satan directly as his servants. So the jealously that Paul is feeling towards the Corinthians is a divine jealously, because Paul knows where the deception leads. 

v.4-5

So it’s from this jealously of desiring that the Corinthians keep away from these false teachers that Paul writes about it. And he writes something that is extremely important for the Church in general. There will be other Jesus’ who are proclaimed. There will be other spirits that can be received. There will be other gospels that can be accepted. And those who will present these other Jesus’, spirits, and gospels, are super-apostles. The word translated as “super” is hyper, meaning these types of apostles consider themselves beyond the work of the first apostles. They are better than the twelve, and better than Paul. Super-apostles will denigrate the work of the first apostles to puff themselves up.

We see this today. We see it in the Progressive movement, where the words of the apostles are seen as misogynistic and outdated. It’s in the Prosperity movement, where the hard times, poverty, and death of the apostles are seen as separate from the will of God. It’s in the cult movements that make Jesus into a created being, and add on to his finished work through extra work on our part. It’s in the religion of Islam, who nullifies Jesus’ sacrifice and who disregards the apostles’ glorification of Jesus. 

All around us, there are other Jesus’ proclaimed, other spirits who desire to be received, and other gospels that call to be accepted.

v.6-12

But Paul gives us a few ways to see through these super-apostles. First, in verse 6, we see that super-apostles try to make things more complicated. They add rules, and do’s and don’ts that are not in the Scriptures. They use the big words without teaching what they mean, so that people feel stupid. A teacher of God’s word should be trying to make it less complicated for us to understand, not more complicated. A teacher should help us be able to understand God, so that we rely on the Holy Spirit for direction and not them. But false teachers do the opposite. They want us to rely on them, so that they take the place of God in our lives. 

Next, in verses 7-11, we see that false teachers seek to rob the Church. They seek bigger incomes than what is needed. They seek more lavish titles, even when Jesus teaches against them such titles (Matthew 23). They seek to burden the people of God, instead of humbling themselves and taking the heaviest load to reduce burden. Paul uses hyperbole to say he robbed the other churches as to not be a burden on the Corinthians. What he means is, he didn’t take anything from the Corinthians, even though he would have been justified in doing so, but instead wanted them to understand, it wasn’t their wealth that he was after, but their salvation. In our modern context, we see this in televangelists who fly around in private jets; who wear thousand dollar suits and stay in luxury hotels, while asking for more money, as they spend it unwisely. On a smaller scale, these false teachers heap hardships onto volunteers; making them do the work they are paid to do.

v.13-15

And we might think, they speak well, they’re people persons, they say all the right things, but so does Satan. False teachers, super-apostles, look good in public, but behind the scenes they are working for their own good and not for the good of the Church. This is a tight rope that is given to teachers and leaders in the Church. We are given enormous reasonability, and we can easily fall to self-deception, where we end up misusing that authority. There are stories after stories about people who sound good, who have a great multi-site, international ministry, who turn and fall, because their lives behind the scenes are corrupt. But it’s not just the big names that fall, it’s any leader who seeks their own will and desire apart from God.

All of us have our struggles with sin, that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about seeking the work of God above all else. We’re talking about unburdening people, not adding to their burdens. We’re talking about going the extra mile in serving, not requiring others to serve us. We’re talking about speaking plainly, and not over people’s heads. 

And no matter where we are, whether we serve as a volunteer over children, or the Lead Pastor of a congregation, or the president of a denomination, all of us have to be on our guard that we are serving, as the Lord intends for us to serve. 

From Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we’re told, “1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (v.2:1-8)”

We are to be humbly serving each other to the point where we would die for each other. Jesus said this in John 15:12-14, “12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.” We are not greater than Jesus; he laid down his life for us, and we are to lay our lives down for each other.

God desires us to both keep on the look out for false teachers, these “super-apostles,” and to make sure we do not fall into the same trap. We avoid the trap by seeking ever greater service. We carry the burden the extra mile, we give the coat and the shirt. As followers of Jesus, we look to him on how we serve, so what did he hold back in his service to us? Jesus’ service took him to the cross, what’s that mean of our service to each other?

Paul’s foolishness is that he served the Corinthians so that they would see Jesus on full display, God is calling us to such a foolishness as well.

My challenge for you this week is that you seek such a foolishness in your life. Take an inventory of all the people in your life that God has called you to serve, and ask the question, “How far am I willing to serve them?” Then ask the followup question, “Jesus, how far are you calling me to serve them?” Then finally, the request, “Empower me to serve them as you serve me.”

God serves us. From the heights above creation he stoops down to wash our feet. In comparison, we have a smaller stoop to serve. Let us be a people of service, so that we might avoid the falseness that comes from exalting ourselves.

2nd Corinthians Week 13: Bold Humbleness

  There are a lot of key moments in our nations history that I believe are great. The signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Declaration, and Reagan’s Tare Down this wall speech.

But there’s one moment in our nation’s history that is truly a small moment, with gigantic ramifications. After the British were defeated at Yorktown, and the U.S. military waited for the Treaty of Paris to be signed, a Colonel Lewis Nicola, wrote to General Washington, about how they could secure the fragile victory they had won. Nicola wrote, “…. the same abilities which have lead us, through difficulties apparently insurmountable by human power, to victory and glory, those qualities that have merited and obtained the universal esteem and veneration of an army, would be most likely to conduct & direct us in the smoother paths of peace …. Some people have so connected the ideas of tyranny & monarchy as to find it very difficult to separate them, it may therefore be requisite to give the head of such a constitution as I propose, some title apparently more moderate, but if all other things were once adjusted I believe strong arguments might be produced for admitting the title of king, which I conceive would be attended with some material advantages.” In other words, Nicola believed that, using the army, Washington could become king. Thereby securing the fledgling nation.

Washington replied with, “Be assured Sir, no occurrence in the course of the War, has given me more painful sensations than your information of there being such ideas existing in the Army as you have expressed, and I must view with abhorrence, and reprehend with severity …. I am much at a loss to conceive what part of my conduct could have given encouragement to an address which to me seems big with the greatest mischiefs that can befall my Country. If I am not deceived in the knowledge of myself, you could not have found a person to whom your schemes are more disagreeable.”

Nicola, and most likely a slew of others, desired that Washington take hold the new independence from Britain by taking control as a king. But Washington rejected this idea, and the key reason is because, as he states, “If I am not deceived in the knowledge of myself ….” George Washington had a humble view of himself, and a great view of what our country could become, and he was bold enough in both private, and in public, to denounce such a move on his part. Because of this, Washington did become our first president because the representatives and people trusted him, and after two terms he stepped down. 

It’s this idea of bold humbleness that brings us back to our summer series where we’re entering the last section of Paul’s letter, as we pick it back up in 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 verse 1. And as we open up to 2nd Corinthians 10, let’s look back at the two previous sections.

In the first section of the letter, Paul is letting the Corinthians know that he has to confront the bad situation that occurred in his last visit, because he desires the restoration of the Corinthians. Paul wrote a third lost letter that proceeds the one we’re reading. In that letter, Paul calls the Corinthian Church out for their sinful actions, and as we learn from this letter, the purpose was to get the Corinthians to repent. At hearing from Titus, who delivered that third lost letter, the Corinthians responded to it with repentance. Paul then writes the letter we’re reading, from a place of joy. This whole letter is one of joy and encouragement.

This joy and encouragement leads into the second section where Paul is trying to get the Corinthians to move forward in their faith. Paul does this by getting their eyes off power, wealth, and status, and onto Jesus. He wants them to realize that they can easily fall to sin, and so must stay vigilant by seeking to love God and love each other. Paul ends the last section with a focus on being prepared to give the gift they had promised, but to do so cheerful and heartfelt way that honors God. 

With these two sections done, Paul now turns his attention to the problem of false teachers that was one of the causes of the bad interaction at Corinth and that led to the third lost letter.

Let’s read chapter 10 together.

“1 I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— 2 I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

“7 Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that he is Christ's, let him remind himself that just as he is Christ's, so also are we. 8 For even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed. 9 I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters. 10 For they say, ‘His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.’ 11 Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present. 12 Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.

“13 But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you. 14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. 15 We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged, 16 so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another's area of influence. 17 ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’ 18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”

Just so you know, one thing you’re going to notice in the next section is that Paul is going to use sarcasm in what he writes. This is so that he can point out the absurdity of the situation. 

But here we see that Paul is trying to be meek, he is trying to be gentle, no matter if it’s in his face-to-face, or in his letters. And if we read Paul’s letters from that point of view, with that intention, they can get harsh, but the heart behind them is for restoration. This is what Paul explained at the beginning of this letter. 

So he gets a little sarcastic here, when he writes, “I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away. (v.1)” He writes this because this is the accusation. That Paul writes a big game, but when he’s in person, he’s a coward. But Paul isn’t trying to be bold in either case, he’s trying to love and correct the churches that God has allowed him to shepherd. 

The underlining idea that Paul is battling against here, is a Roman idea of strength. The Roman idea is, if you’re bold in a harsh way with people then you wield power. But the Christian message is the opposite. Boldness is standing firm in conviction, while humbleness is how the believer wield’s the authority of Christ. 

Jesus spoke about this in Matthew 20, “25 But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (v.25-28)’”

Humbleness by being bold in wielding Jesus’ authority, is not the same as being bold in harshness. The first one leads to restoration of relationships, the second leads to destruction. Boldness with harshness is waging war by the flesh. When our intent is to beat down the opponent, then we are not following Jesus. This is the exact opposite of what Jesus desires, because we want vengeance, we want to get people back, but Jesus calls us to love our enemies, and pray for the ones who hate us (Matthew 5:44-46). 

This is what Paul is showing the people. Now they might take his letters as harsh, but that’s not Paul’s intention. But we usually do take correction harshly, because who likes to be corrected? No one! So when taking correction, we must have a humbleness about us, so that correction doesn’t lead us to sin where we reject the correction and end up in a worse place. 

So if the Corinthians were to stop and think, they would see that Paul is consistent in how he treats them. It’s not that he is bold in his letters and meek in person. Paul is meek in both cases, because he is trying not to be harsh in letter or in person.

Instead of being this harsh boldness, Paul seeks to live under Christ’s authority in all things. So every argument, every opinion is brought before Christ. Paul states that he, “take[s] every thought captive to obey Christ… (v.5)” And when it says “punish every disobedience” it means to bring justice to the disobedient. In other words, not letting disobedience be swept under the rug. Ever been around a parent who just let’s their kid do whatever they want, and they never bring about discipline? Paul is stating that he doesn’t just let things go, and because of that he is accused of things he’s not.

No, instead, Paul is trying to build up the Corinthians through humble correction. He calls out their disobedience so that restoration can happen and so they can live under the freedom of Jesus.

It’s starting in verse 12, where Paul seeks to distance himself from the false teachers that he’ll address more in chapter 11. Here Paul simply talks about comparisons and boasting. It’s easy for people to compare themselves against others. We compare jobs, bank accounts, houses, cars, degrees, families. And through that comparison we puff ourselves up. But that’s not the way of the Christian. We don’t compare ourselves against others, we compare ourselves against God, and we find ourselves lacking, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)” 

And as Paul shows, we only work within the realm that God has appointed us. Paul writes it this way, “But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you. (v.13)” Paul isn’t talking about all the great things he is, which he’ll sarcastically do next week to show it’s ridiculousness. No, instead he sticks to his lane. Paul was the missionary who founded the Corinthian Church by the prompting of the Holy Spirit. He taught them, and struggled with them as they came to Christ. Christ has given Paul the authority to speak into this Church as recognized by the Corinthians’ own desire that he does address things. The Church itself has recognized Paul’s authority because they sought his authority, to which he responded by writing 1st Corinthians.

Yet here is the big kicker. Those who are exercising wrong authority that shows itself as harsh boldness, boast about themselves. Yet those who exercise correct authority that shows itself in humbles boldness, boast about Jesus. 

This idea is entrenched in Jesus’ teaching of the Wedding Feast in Luke 14, “7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 ‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, “Give your place to this person,” and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher.” Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (v.7-11)”

Paul is not seeking his own elevation, but the elevation that comes from serving Christ faithfully.

And it’s that elevation that God is seeking. It’s easy to try to elevate ourselves. To make ourselves seem bigger and badder than we are. But that quickly gets tiresome and people tend to not like to be around people like that. Instead, Christians are to seek the exaltation of Christ  which comes through humbleness. Now let’s be honest, this tends to not be what we want. It can be seen as weak. It can be seen as rolling over. But what people miss is that we are called to humble boldness. Humbleness doesn’t seek to elevate itself, while boldness stands firm on the Word of God. We can have humbleness that is weak, which means it doesn’t stand for anything and let’s people bulldoze us.  But we as Christians are called to humble boldness that stands against the evils of this world. This is shown in Jesus’ words to Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26:53)” True power is the ability to know you can do something, but understand the purpose of the situation and to hold back that power so to bring about the best outcome. 

It’s the commanding officer telling his troops, “Steady,” as they hold their rifle sights on the enemy, so that they wait for the perfect shot to take. 

God is calling us to humble boldness that seeks the restoration of people. 

My challenge for you this week is to go before the Lord and ask in what areas am I bold with harshness, and in what areas am I bold in humility? There’s really four ways here: we’re bold but weak, meaning we’re bold behind someone’s back; we’re bold and harsh, meaning we’re abrasive with people; there’s humble weak, we’re we become a doormat; and there’s humble bold, where we stand on the word of God with restoration purpose.

Washington showed himself to be humble bold in his letter to Nicola.

Take this week as an opportunity to look at how you interact with people, online, in the store, on the phone, or how you deal with friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors. Asking the question, “Am I harsh with them because I want to be in control, which means I’m actually out of control, or am I seeking their restoration, being steadfast in my devotion to Christ and yet humble in loving them?”

God is calling us to a bold humbleness, so let us be a people who live boldly, and humbly.

2nd Corinthians Week 12: The Treasure of the Faithful

  Does the name Jacob Waltz ring a bell? It might if you are an Arizonan history buff. Waltz was a German immigrant back in the late 1800s who is most commonly referred to as the “Dutchman.” He is the miner who supposedly found a treasure trove of gold in the Superstition Mountains southeast of Phoenix. The story goes that Waltz found an infamous Apache gold stash in the mountains, but was ambushed by the Apaches. He was able to escape, and survives long enough to tell a man named Dr. Walker about it and draw a map to the mine’s location for a woman named Julia. The mine, in it’s description, has never been found, though people have said they believe they have found it. However, the search continues, with about 9,000 people a year trying their luck to find the Dutchman’s mine. 

My Dad told me a story of how his friend and him went to the Superstition Mountains when they were younger. My Dad is a history buff and loves southwestern history so he wanted to find this piece of it. When they arrived to try their luck, they met a ranger in the area; he asked them what they were up to and they told him about their excursion. The ranger let them know that there were people in the hills that were also looking and would shoot them to make sure they wouldn’t get the gold. That ended my Dad’s desire to look for the mine. 

There are tales all over the world, of lost hordes of treasure, and mines that contain vast amounts of gold. And treasure seekers abound in looking for them. Some to be a part of the history, some just for the gold. It excites both the young and the old to adventure. 

And it’s this idea of treasure that brings us back to our summer series in 2nd Corinthians, where we’ll be picking it back up in chapter 9, starting in verse 6. And as we open up to 2nd Corinthians 9:6, let’s look at the how we got here.

Just looking at the two last weeks, we have been looking at Paul’s work on trying to move the Corinthians forward in their faith. In the last two weeks we’ve seen him use a monetary collection that was being taken up by several Gentile churches to help out believers in Jerusalem, as a means to move the Corinthians forward in their faith. Paul uses the idea of giving to help the Corinthians realize that giving of resources isn’t about the gift, but rather has both a theological and a character aspect to it. 

The theological aspect of giving, is rooted in God’s love for us, through the work of Jesus’ incarnation. Giving begins with what has been give to us in salvation. If we don’t start there, then we end up giving out of a religious mindset of rules and regulations and not out of desire to love God and love people.

The second aspect of giving, is to have faithful character, where giving becomes an extension of that character in physical means. If giving is done out of a theological desire to love God and love people, because we have been loved by God, then we are seeking to be faithful to God with the resources he has given us. When we give out of a desire to be faithful, then God is pleased, even with the smallest of gifts. In the end, it isn’t the greatness of the gift that matters but rather a life yielded to God.

With these two aspects in mind, we can then read Paul’s cheerful giver passage, where he tells us about the purpose of giving.  Let’s read together.

“6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 9 As it is written, ‘He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.’

“10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. 13 By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, 14 while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. 15 Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!”

When the theological and the faithful character of a person is established, then we move into a place of the actual giving of resources. In the case that Paul is using as his example, it is a monetary collection, but this could easily be talked about in terms of things like time and physicality. 

Notice, though that the amount isn’t the focus, rather it’s the gift that’s important, which has been the theme this entire time. Paul uses agricultural language here in the reaping and sowing to help us with this concept. Like a farmer who only plants a little, only a little will be harvested. You can’t plant a backyard garden of corn and expect 50 acres to be harvested. So it is with our giving. Therefore, we need to take that into account. If I want to see  more blessings of God, than my giving needs to match that.

Now, we need to put a pause on that, because this is where people get off track. When talking about sowing and reaping, planting and harvesting where giving is concerned, false teachers will often go off the rails and tell people, “You need to give more money to me, so that God will give more money to you.” That’s not what is being said. Remember it’s not the money that’s important, it’s the theological gift of God, producing faithfulness in his people. Let’s be clear, more giving of money does not equal God giving us more money.

Notice what Paul says in verse 7, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” If it was about money, then yes, it would be a more equals more equation, but its not. It’s a relationship based giving. We are called to spend time with God and come to a conclusion of cheerful giving. 

It might look like this: I sit before the Lord seeking what he would have me give, our example is monetarily. My bills and obligations are strewn about, and I ask, “Lord I want to give as you have given to me, this is what I think I can give, what I’m comfortable in giving, but I want it to be yours, guide and direct me.”

For some, that might look like 1%, some might be 10%, others, 20%. To the window we talked about last week, it was 100%. We’re not talking about set numbers, we’re talking about a relational number. The reason why we talk about 10%, is because it’s an Old Testament number, that groups, like Crown Financial Ministries, have found, is a good place to start, because it helps us better regulate the rest of our finances. Starting with 10% off the top is a first fruit way of giving, which proceeds the law in the case of Cain and Abel. But for our purposes as believers, we need to press into God for what that looks like for us. Remember it’s not about the amount, 10% or something else, it’s about the faithful character of the believer from a theological place. The cheerfulness of the gift is more important than the monetary amount.

But Paul, starting in verse 8, wants to make sure our eyes on the proper person. Remember all this stems from Jesus’ gift. So Paul points us to God’s grace when we give. If we’re concerned with the amount, every 1/8 of a penny is going to be hard to give up to God. But if we realize that God is seeking our cheerful giving, and at the same he desires to work through that giving with his grace yo bring about blessing, then every penny is God’s and we begin to see our finances in light of his work. 

So Paul quotes from Psalm 112:9, and talks about God’s giving. In theological terms, we talk about giving of God’s common grace, meaning that God gives grace to everything in some manner. If a person gets up this morning, doesn’t matter who they are, there is an element of grace. If you can take a breath, and then another one, there is an element of grace. This is the great distribution of God’s grace, and is found in it’s greatest version in the grace offering of salvation to a person. 

Finally, Paul moves into God’s specific care for us. In verses 10-12, we see Paul’s mirroring of Jesus’ words from Matthew 6:25-33, where Jesus states, “25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

For us, giving out of our limited resources can be nerve wrecking. It takes time for us to slowly give and see that God is faithful. Yet we can’t think of terms of 1-to-1 return, or even interest on our return. Paul seeks to squash that mentality with phrases like, “You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way… For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.”

Our return may never be monetary. Instead, it might be a teen hearing the Gospel. It might be, an alcoholic breaking free. It might be a visit in a hospital, or a widow with a new AC. Our giving might never put an 1/8 of a penny back into our pockets, but it will advance the kingdom of God and our brothers and sisters being taking care of.

And it’s the kingdom of God, that Paul brings this section back around to. The final words of Paul in this second section, where he is trying to move the Corinthians forward in there faith and is focused on their confession of the Gospel, Paul’s final line is both a prayer for God’s grace upon them, and exclamation of worship for what God has already done.

God is calling us, not to amounts of giving, but with the results of giving in mind. My gift, no matter how big or how small, when given out of a cheerful desire to respond to God’s gift of salvation, is used to advance the work of the Gospel; that people would come to know Jesus, and that they would have eternal life. That 2/8 of a penny the poor widow gave, is talked about as a mighty gift that echoes down through almost 2,000 years of Christian ministry. Why? Because she gave faithfully to God and he took that to bless others. 

So instead of looking at our giving as, “what must I give in my religious duty,” we must look at it as, “God who will come to know you through this gift?”

God gives salvation, we faithfully respond to that gift, by viewing our gifts in the light of another’s salvation. That is why we ask the question every so often here, “How much money is one soul coming to know Jesus worth?” The answer is, there is no amount. If all that we do here brings one person to the Lord, then every 1/8 of a penny was worth it. And yet, in the 40 years of this ministry, countless lives of been impacted, countless people of heard the Gospel, and countless souls from this small gathering believers will stand before the Lord of glory ready to enter into eternal life.

My challenge then for you this week, is to take the little half sheet paper in your bulletin that is divided into Monetary, Time, Physical, and write down all your expenses in the Monetary section, and the things that take of time, like TV and Phones and put them into the Time section, and all the activities that you do and list them in the Physical section. Then go before the Lord this week and and speak to him about what is being used for his kingdom and what isn’t. What is there because you like it, but doesn’t need to be. What can be excluded so you can give more to God’s work, and what needs to be held on to.

And if you’re thinking I mean, what more can I give to the church, you’ve missed the train. We’re talking abut kingdom work here. I’m not interested in trying to get anyone to give, here, but rather die to where God intends people to give. That money might need to go to a missionary God is calling you to, or another ministry that’s not this one. Your time, might be spent in God’s word more. Your physical might be in serving at a soup kitchen. It’s not about this small church ministry, it’s about the greater kingdom work that is before all of us.

But all of us needs to go before the Lord and have his desire become our own, that we may become cheerful in giving from all areas of our lives. If we get to that point, then we will see the work of God all around us, and we will rejoice ever greater on that day when we stand before the throne and our treasure of people saved will be shown to us.

Let us be a people who seek that treasure in heaven, rather than the treasures of earth. Amen.