Give Yourself
To The Lord
Second Corinthians Eight
Paul wrote
about churches in
Titus was to be sure that these brethren did
in fact follow through on what they had promised to do earlier. It was time for
the Corinthians to act on what they had promised concerning giving to help the
poor. Paul spoke of giving as "a grace." By giving we prove the
sincerity of our love. We should be like Jesus in our giving. He gave and we
should give also. God judges our giving based on what resources we have.
Paul wanted to be sure that there was no
question about honesty in handling this money. He avoided any gossip
about his role
in the collection by sending
Titus and his companion to collect it, and accompany Paul in carrying it to
First gave themselves to the Lord 2 Corinthians
8:1-6: Paul
made known to these brethren that he considered both the opportunity to give
and their willingness to give to be of the grace of God.
The Macedonian Christians
did not have much to give, but they did have a very
generous spirit. They gave far beyond what Paul was hoping for. They
gave what they could afford and even more and they did this willing of
themselves. Paul said they, "first gave themselves to the Lord, and then
to us by the will of God." They first trusted God and also trusted Paul
and his companions. The Corinthians had likewise promised to give. Now Paul
urged Titus to collect the gifts they had promised.
There must be a willing mind 2 Corinthians 8:7-12: The Corinthian brethren seemed to
have thought of themselves as abounding in faith, utterance, knowledge,
diligence, and in love. Paul now encouraged them to abound in the grace of
giving also. He said, "Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith,
and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see
that ye abound in this grace also." (2 Corinthians 8:7) The ability to
give and the heart to give come from God and from His grace. Grace shines in our
giving more than in others aspects of Christian living. You cannot love without
giving. God loved and He gave. (John 3:16) Our giving tests the sincerity of
our love. Do you loved like others loved? This is proven by your giving.
Jesus gave up heaven for
outward earthly poverty in order to save us from sin. We can have a share in Jesus'
heavenly wealth, because He came and took a share in our earthly poverty. A
year before, the Corinthians were the first ones
to
make a commitment to give to help the needy at
That there may be equality 2 Corinthians 8:13-18: The spiritual
abundance of
Paul recommended Titus to
them to collect their gifts. It was in his heart to glorify God and to do what
was right. There was also another brother that was to accompany Titus in this
matter. We do not know who the brother was. Possibly it was Luke, Barnabas, Silas, Timothy or
someone else. It really does not matter who the
brother was. He was a brother with a good reputation among the churches. This
would remove any suspicion that the funds might be misused.
Providing for honest things 2 Corinthians 8:19-24: The churches chose
this brother to help
administer
their gifts. It was Paul's goal to avoid any blame in
this matter. He did not want anyone to find fault with the way they
handle their generous gift.
Paul took the
necessary steps so that no one could blame him with financial impropriety. He said that he was, "Providing for honest
things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men." (2 Corinthians 8:21)
Paul
even sent a third brother with Titus and the other brother. This brother had
shown many times that he was helpful in the Lord's work. He wanted to help now
even more than ever because he trusted the Corinthians so much. He knew they
would do what they promised.
Paul said that Titus was his partner that
worked with him to serve the church at
Jesus died
so that you can go to heaven. Will you obey Him NOW? To become a Christian you
must hear the gospel (John