We make known to you, brethren, the grace of God which hath been given in the churches of Macedonia.
[They were] beseeching us with much entreaty in regard of this grace and of the fellowship in the ministering to the saints.
So we urged Titus that, as he had made a beginning before, so he would also complete in you this grace also.
But as ye abound in everything, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all earnestness, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might become rich.
But thanks be to God, who putteth the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus.
We know that, in the original, the word translated “thanks” is grace. Thus, “Grace be to God, who giveth the same diligent zeal for you in the heart of Titus.”
And not only so, but he was also chosen by the churches to travel with us in this grace, which is ministered by us to the glory of the Lord Himself, and to show our readiness.
And God is able to make all grace abound unto you; that ye, having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto every good work.
Again, in the original, the word is grace: “God is able to make every grace abound toward you.”
While they themselves also, with supplication on your behalf, long after you by reason of the exceeding grace of God in you.
Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift.
That is, “Grace be to God for His unspeakable free gift.”
Now, you will notice that, of all the verses we have read, there is one word common to them all: the word grace. The word grace is used in these chapters ten times—seven times in 2 Corinthians 8 and three times in 2 Corinthians 9. This is the word we would like to consider this afternoon.
O Father, how we praise and thank Thee for Thy precious Word. We ask Thee now to give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation, that we may truly know Thy will. We ask Thee to enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know.
O Lord, we ask that, as Thy Word is given, Thy Holy Spirit may do Thy work. May it all be unto the praise of Thy glory. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
If you want to write one word over the second letter to the Corinthians, what word would you use? As I think, if you want to write one word over Corinthians, what word would you use? Anybody?
No, 1 Corinthians—over the whole letter, not just 1 Corinthians 13. Well, if you read the whole letter of 1 Corinthians and want to use one word to sum it up, that word is carnality. But if you read 2 Corinthians and want to sum it up in one word, that word is spirituality.
Second Corinthians speaks to us of spirituality. It tells us what spiritual life is, what spiritual ministry is, what spiritual authority is, what spiritual warfare is, and what the spiritual man is. Among these matters, it also tells us what spiritual giving is.
So, what we would like to share this afternoon is the grace of giving.
You know, we often shy away from the subject of giving. I think the first reason is that we consider it a subject below our dignity. We see it as something small, something not worth mentioning.
The second reason is that giving is such a delicate subject. Because it is delicate, we think it is better not to touch it. Probably it will touch some weak spot. Probably it will be embarrassing. That is another reason why we shy away from this subject.
Third, there is so much abuse in Christianity in the matter of giving. We find that it is almost like begging for money. Nothing brings such disgrace to God. We feel it is better not even to touch the matter.
But, dear brothers and sisters, you will find that this second letter to the Corinthians is a letter of spirituality, and yet Paul uses two chapters—about one-sixth of the whole letter—on this matter of giving. So, for Paul, giving is a spiritual matter.
Not only that, but if you read the Gospels, you will find that our Lord Jesus does not avoid this subject. If you read the Sermon on the Mount, which we all like very much, you find that our Lord speaks of money, finances, giving, and laying up treasure in heaven.
Neither our Lord nor the Apostle Paul avoided this subject of giving. Why? Because They had a right attitude toward giving and a right understanding of giving.
So, dear brothers and sisters, the Lord has laid it upon my heart to share with you concerning the grace of giving. Giving is a spiritual thing. It is not merely that you have given something. God does not require you to give in that way. But there is a giving which is deeply spiritual.
We often think that if something is spiritual, it should be vague and abstract, floating in the air. It should never touch your pocket; it should never touch the earth. Then, we think, it is spiritual. Not so.
Anything that is spiritual must be very practical. If it is spiritual, it must be heaven touching earth. If heaven does not touch earth, it is not spiritual at all.
So, brothers and sisters, let us remember one thing: there is such a thing as the grace of giving. Giving is a grace.
The Bible does not connect giving with law. In Old Testament times, giving was under law. The children of Israel had to tithe one-tenth of all that God had given them. They had to tithe of their sheep, their herds, their fruits, and all the produce of the land.
With the children of Israel, giving was according to law. If they did not give one-tenth according to the law, they violated the law of God.
But, brothers and sisters, how often we have a misconception of giving today. We still connect giving with law. Have you heard people ask whether Christians should tithe? Whether we should give one-tenth, as the children of Israel did in the old days?
How often you hear Christians ask, “How much should we give?” That is to say, “How little can we give?” We are thinking of the minimum. We want to give just enough to meet the requirement of the law, and then our conscience can be at peace.
You see, with God’s people today, even under the dispensation of grace, our concept of giving is still an old concept of law. That is a misunderstanding. Because we think of giving in terms of law, we do it with fear and trembling. There is no joy in it.
We are under accusation, fear, trembling, and obligation, as though we were under the law. Dear brothers and sisters, we misunderstand the whole matter of giving. This is not New Testament giving. This is not giving under the gospel—not at all.
According to the Word of God, giving today is related to grace.
If you read these two chapters—and I hope you will read them after you return home—you will find that this whole matter of giving is placed among chapters dealing with spiritual life, spiritual ministry, spiritual warfare, and the spiritual man. These are the subjects we like to hear about. Yet giving is listed among all these spiritual subjects.
If you read these two chapters, you will find that they begin with grace and conclude with grace. The whole matter of giving begins with grace.
Here in 2 Corinthians 8, we read:
We make known to you, brethren, the grace of God which hath been given in the churches of Macedonia.
That is the grace of God. When you come to the end of 2 Corinthians 9, you find:
Grace be to God for His unspeakable free gift.
From the very beginning to the very end, it is a matter of grace.
So, brothers and sisters, before we proceed, there is one thing I would very much like the Lord to show us this afternoon: this whole matter of giving is a matter of grace. It is not a matter of law.
First of all, Paul said, “We make known to you, brethren, the grace of God bestowed in the churches of Macedonia.”
Now, we know the churches of Macedonia. Why the churches of Macedonia? Because Macedonia was a Roman province, and in that province God had raised up a number of assemblies, or churches. For instance, the church at Philippi was in Macedonia. The church at Thessalonica was in Macedonia. The church at Berea was in Macedonia.
So, in Scripture we are told of several local assemblies in Macedonia. Upon these churches God bestowed His abundant grace. The grace of God bestowed—that is the beginning of everything.
If the grace of God is not bestowed upon you, then there is nothing to begin with in your whole spiritual life. There is no spiritual life, no spiritual ministry, no spiritual authority, no spiritual man, and no spiritual giving. There is nothing.
Everything begins with the grace of God. When the grace of God comes upon you, that is the beginning of anything spiritual.
If you go back to the book of Acts, you find how Paul and his companions came to Troas. They were confronted by the Spirit and did not know where to go. That night, a Macedonian appeared to Paul in a vision, saying, “Come over into Macedonia, and help us.”
The next morning, as Paul shared his vision with his fellow laborers, they realized that it was the Lord calling them to cross from Asia into Europe. That was the first time the gospel was preached in Europe.
After they crossed over and came into Europe, the first city they entered was Philippi. There you find how Paul suffered in bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to that city. He and Silas were beaten, imprisoned, and put into the inner prison. At midnight, they sang and praised the Lord. The prison doors opened, and the jailer and his household came to the Lord.
The grace of God came to the churches of Macedonia. It came to the church at Philippi.
There was Lydia and her household. There was the demon-possessed girl, set free by the power of the gospel. There was the jailer and his family. They came to Christ. That was the beginning of the grace of God bestowed upon the church at Philippi.
The grace of God was so great upon that assembly. There was love in that assembly. Oh, how they loved one another, served one another, and ministered unto Paul. Even after Paul had left them, once and again they ministered to Paul in material needs. They sent people to minister to him.
The grace of God was bestowed upon the church at Philippi. The church at Thessalonica likewise received the gospel amid great conflict. Paul had just come out of prison in Philippi, and when he came into Thessalonica there was spiritual conflict. Not only the Jews, but even their own people began to persecute the Christians in Thessalonica.
But the grace of God was upon them. You find that their faith and love spread abroad through all Macedonia, and not only Macedonia but also Achaia.
That is grace. Oh, God! Dear brothers and sisters, has the grace of God come upon us? Thank God, it has.
Oh, how gracious is our God! How He is gracious to us. He has not only forgiven all our sins, but He has given us His own very life. How He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. How He has not withheld any good thing from us.
The grace of God is beyond description. The grace of God has been bestowed upon us.
Because of the grace of God, what happens? Of course, when the grace of God comes upon an assembly or a person, there will be an expression of love—no doubt about that. There will be an expression of faith. There will be an abundance of hope. There will be joy and rejoicing. There will be manifestations of spiritual life and spiritual ministry.
But among all these manifestations of grace, there is also this manifestation of giving. Giving is one of the manifestations of the grace of God upon His people.
[In] a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
We often think that if people live a life of ease and comfort, they certainly will have an abundance of joy. Not so. Where can you find abundance of joy? In affliction.
Here you find a great trial of affliction and an abundance of joy. Do you believe that? Our life is too easy; therefore, we have no joy. Everything is so smooth. There is no abundance of joy.
But suppose we have trials. Suppose we are in affliction. Yes, outwardly we are shedding tears. That is right. We are shedding tears outwardly, but inwardly there is joy—an abundance of joy. Why? Because joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Joy is not joking, jesting, and laughing every day. That is not joy. The saddest person in the world is a clown.
Joy is the fruit of the Spirit. Oftentimes, in the depth of affliction, the Holy Spirit brings forth joy in our hearts.
Do not try to find joy among people who live in ease and luxury. They have no joy. You find joy among those who are afflicted. Oh, the joy of the Lord is their strength.
Their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their wholehearted liberality. We might think that surely the rich will give liberally. But where can you find liberality of heart?
We are not talking about the amount of money given. No. We are talking about liberality of heart—a large heart, a liberal heart, a generous heart. Where can you find it? You find it in the depth of poverty.
People who do not know poverty, people who are rich, often have no sympathy for it. They do not understand. But people who are in the depth of poverty—oh, how the Lord enlarges their hearts! A liberal heart is found among the poor.
You remember the widow with two mites. When the rich people came into the temple and dropped money into the offering boxes, our Lord Jesus was standing by and watching. According to Jewish tradition, in the court of the women there were trumpet-shaped collection boxes standing around.
The rich people came and dropped their money in. The Lord said nothing. One after another they came and dropped their offerings, and He said nothing.
But when the widow entered that place and quietly dropped in two mites, she was ashamed to be seen by anybody. Two mites were only one penny. Immediately the Lord said:
This poor widow cast in more than all they that are casting into the treasury:
For they all did cast in of their superfluity; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
Liberality is found in the depth of poverty. The Macedonian believers were persecuted by their fellow men. Perhaps some of their possessions were plundered. They were poor, reduced to deep poverty. Yet, out of the depth of their poverty, the grace of God was so great that they had the grace of giving. Praise God!
For according to their power, I bear witness, yea and beyond their power, they gave of their own accord, beseeching us with much entreaty in regard of this grace and of the fellowship in the ministering to the saints.
So, first of all, let us see that giving comes from grace. Because it comes from grace, it is spiritual. Giving is never a mechanical thing.
We can give mechanically. We can give without our heart being in it. When you are walking along the street and someone is begging, you may put a nickel in his hand simply to get rid of him. We can give like that. That is mechanical.
God never wants mechanical giving. Giving in Scripture is spiritual. It must be the result of grace.
It is not a mechanical thing, and it is not a legal thing. We may give legally, but the Lord wants spiritual giving. We give as we are touched by the grace of God.
You remember that one day the Lord Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees:
Ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers.
We are told that in those days, when a woman became a widow, these Pharisees and scribes would go to her and try to stir up her heart: “If you love God, you should devote your house to God. Give your house to God to show your love to God.”
When the house was sold and the proceeds went to the temple, these scribes and Pharisees got something out of it. In order to cover their wrong, they made long prayers, as though they were very pious and religious.
I wonder whether this was one of the widows devoured by these scribes. This widow had everything taken away. All that was left to her were two mites.
Did her heart become bitter, sour, small, and pressed in? No. Even though she was deprived of everything, her heart was enlarged under pressure. In pressure, the heart is enlarged.
People may take away all that we have. Yet, though all that was left to her were two mites, she said, “I will not keep the two mites with me. I will give them to God.” Willingness came from her heart. Wonderful! That is giving. That is spiritual giving.
God does not want mechanical giving. The Lord is silent concerning legalistic giving. But the Lord cannot keep quiet when there is spiritual giving from a liberal heart—a heart touched by the grace of God.
Number two: 2 Corinthians 8:4.
Beseeching us with much entreaty in regard of this grace and of the fellowship in the ministering to the saints.
The word grace in this chapter is used in different ways. The first time it is used, it is the grace of God—that is, how God gives graciously, liberally, and abundantly, everything to us. But here, the second time the word is used, it is connected with fellowship: “the grace and fellowship of the service.”
What is the meaning of grace here? If you have a Darby Bible, you will find a footnote explaining it. The grace here is the favor shown to the poor in the gift. Instead of Paul having to press this grace upon the Macedonians, they begged him for the grace and fellowship of this ministry.
The grace and fellowship is the active exercise of grace toward the Jewish saints. So, the grace of God, having been received, begins to work in a person and makes that person gracious.
In other words, the character of God begins to characterize the recipient of God’s grace.
Brothers and sisters, our God is the God of grace, and He has been gracious to us. We have received much grace—grace upon grace. But after we have received such grace from God, should not that grace transform us? Should not grace change our character? Should not grace make us gracious people?
If, after we have received the grace of God, we remain ungracious, then we waste the grace of God.
You remember the servant who owed his master so much that it was impossible to repay. We do not know how he came to owe his master so much; we only know that we all owe. It was impossible for that servant to pay.
When the master said, “If you cannot pay, you, your wife, your children, and all that you have must be sold,” the servant fell down and begged for mercy. “Give me time, and I will pay.” Of course, he could not pay. He was only asking for time. But the master was filled with compassion and forgave him.
Then he left the master’s house and met a fellow servant who owed him only a little. He caught him by the throat and said, “Pay now, or you will go to jail.” He put him in prison.
When the matter was made known to the master, the master called him back and said, “I forgave you much. Ought you not to have forgiven your fellow servant?” Because he was not gracious, he was cast into prison until the last penny was paid.
Brothers and sisters, what is the meaning of that parable? The grace bestowed upon us ought to transform us, so that we become gracious. Should we not be characterized by the spirit of grace?
Oh, brothers and sisters, if we have received so much grace and yet are not characterized by grace, who are we?
If we have received so much grace from the Lord, how can we hold it back? We have to share it in fellowship with those who are in need. This, of course, is not merely in material things; it includes everything.
Suppose God has been gracious to you and given you an uplifting experience of His grace. Can you hold it back and not share it with your brothers and sisters, that they too may be uplifted? If the Lord has given you words that bring comfort to you, can you hide them for yourself? Oh, no. You must share them with your brothers and sisters, that they too may be comforted.
Nothing is given to us merely for ourselves. When the grace of God comes upon us, it makes us gracious people. We want to fellowship. We want to share.
Brothers and sisters, people who are selfish, who want to keep things for themselves, who do not want to share—we wonder how much of the grace of God is there. We wonder how much of the grace of God is wasted.
The more we share, the more is given. Otherwise, we will be stagnant.
So, the second thing is grace and fellowship. But this fellowship is not merely fellowship in something that does not touch our pocket. Oh, we like to fellowship in something that never touches our purse! But, brothers and sisters, it is all included.
Whether the things we receive are spiritual things or material things, all are the grace of God. If they are all the grace of God, then we should have the grace to fellowship with the poor. We should.
How did the Macedonians share? They gave not only according to their power, but even beyond their power.
In other words, they gave as much as they could, and even beyond their power. That is to say, they gave sacrificially.
How did they give? When they shared, they first gave themselves to God.
Therefore, we say there is no such thing as mechanical giving in the Scripture that is approved by God. Giving is intrinsically spiritual. Why? Because before there can be giving out of your pocket, there must first be the giving of yourself to God.
God does not need your money. The cattle on a thousand hills belong to God. If He has any need, He does not need to ask you.
What God needs is that we, who are the recipients of His grace, give ourselves first to God. Brothers and sisters, we are not our own. We are bought with a price, with the precious blood of our Lord Jesus.
How can we keep ourselves in our own hands? We have no right to do so. We have to give ourselves to the Lord—not merely what we have, but what we are. Not the thing, but ourselves.
If we do not give ourselves to the Lord, we may give of our things, but there is no spiritual value. Yes, it may help some people, but there is no spiritual value.
In giving, we must give ourselves to the Lord. After the Macedonian believers had given themselves to the Lord, they gave themselves to the apostles according to the will of God.
What does that mean? It does not mean that they gave themselves to the apostles as though they belonged to the apostles. No, they belonged to God. How can you belong to two persons at the same time? You cannot.
Brothers and sisters, we belong to God. Having given ourselves to God, we do not give ourselves to any man—not even an apostle.
But they gave themselves to the apostles according to the will of God. What does that mean? At that time, God used the Apostle Paul to speak concerning the poor saints in Jerusalem. God gave this burden to Paul. Paul was moved by God to think of the poor saints in Jerusalem and to collect funds to help them.
In other words, Paul was the instrument in God’s hand for the will of God. Because he was carrying out the will of God, those who wanted to do the will of God gave themselves to the apostle according to God’s will. That is, they cooperated with him.
They said, “All right, you are doing the will of God, so we want to have a share in it.” This was their giving themselves to the apostle.
You find here that it was not done mechanically. They knew the will of God. Knowing the will of God, they were willing to cooperate with the apostles in that will. Then, the third thing: they gave money to the poor.
Dear brothers and sisters, how do we give? Do we just give? Or do we give ourselves to God and seek to know His will, so that when we give, it is given according to His will? Even though it is given to support the poor, it is given unto Him.
You find the apostle moving from the grace of God, to grace and fellowship, and then to “this grace.” In 2 Corinthians 8:6, the word grace is used in still another way.
First, it is the grace of God. God is the God of grace, and because He is the God of grace, He is gracious to us. He gives freely and liberally to us in all things. Because He has given so abundantly, we are touched by His grace. In turn, we become gracious and have the grace and fellowship of service.
Then Paul comes to “this grace.” What is this grace? Here, it refers to the collection. This grace is giving itself.
So, you see, brothers and sisters, giving is grace. It is even called “this grace.” Do not ever connect giving with law.
If you go back to Old Testament law, you live in slavery. You come under bondage. You will be in constant fear and trembling. Oh, brothers and sisters, do not go back to that. Remember that this is called grace.
It is grace. Why do we not thank God that He is so gracious to us that we can have a share in giving? If He does not give to us, if His grace does not come upon us abundantly, we do not even have the privilege of giving.
Is that not grace? This whole matter of giving is grace. Oh, thank God if He allows us to have a share in this grace.
Today, you find that in Christianity people will try every means—salesmanship, pressure, promises, and all kinds of things—to squeeze money out of your pocket. All this begging—what is it?
Once upon a time there was a very strong man who demonstrated his strength by squeezing an orange. He could take an orange in his fist and squeeze out all the juice. Then he challenged anyone in the audience to come and try to squeeze one more drop from it. Nobody could.
One day, as he was making this challenge, a little man got up and said, “I can.” Everyone was surprised. The man came to the platform, took that squeezed orange in his hand, and squeezed out another drop.
The strong man and everyone else were surprised. They asked, “Who are you? How can you do that?” He said, “I am a deacon of a church.”
Well, that is a joke, of course. I am not trying to reflect upon the deacons, because the story was told by a deacon minister.
But you see, the matter of giving is so abused. Everywhere in Christianity you find begging, begging, begging—begging for money, begging for God. Oh, how God’s face must be red. Does He want us to do such a thing? Never.
How should we do? We should not beg people to give. The Macedonians begged Paul, “Let us have a part in this.” Paul said, “No, no, you are too poor. You yourselves do not have enough. How can you give?”
But the Macedonians said, “No, we want to have a share.” They begged Paul until Paul could not refuse them any longer. Then he said, “All right, if you really want to do that, you can do it.”
That is giving. Dear brothers and sisters, remember this always: we never give because we are begged. That is the grace of giving.
Number three: 2 Corinthians 8:9.
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might become rich.
Number one is the grace of God. Number two is grace in fellowship. Number three is the grace in the Scripture: the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dear brothers and sisters, we need to understand the basic principle of giving. The basic principle of giving is the grace of our Lord, because everything must go back to Him.
The Lord Jesus is our example of giving. He is the exemplar of the grace of giving. Notice how He gave. He was rich. He gave all for your sake, in order that you, through His poverty, might become rich.
This matter of giving reaches to the third heaven.
You have to connect this with Philippians 2. He, existing in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped. Yet He emptied Himself—of His glory, His position, and all His honor. He took upon Himself the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. He humbled Himself and became obedient to the Father, even unto death, yea, the death of the cross.
Brothers and sisters, with whom can we compare our Lord Jesus in this matter? He, being rich, is the richest Person in the whole universe. He owns creation. He owns the universe. He owns everything. Our Lord Jesus is the richest.
Yet He made Himself poor for us. How poor!
Not only did He empty Himself of His glory upon the throne, where He was worshipped and adored by the hosts of heaven; not only did He lay aside His honor, His might, and His dignity as God; He was born in a manger. There was no place for Him, no house, not even an inn.
He fled to Egypt. There was no place for Him. He returned and was reared in Nazareth, that poor, hilly country place. He was called Jesus of Nazareth.
The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head.
Can you think of anyone poorer than our Lord Jesus? He who made everything asked a Samaritan woman for a little water, and it was not given to Him.
He who had everything was supported by a few women. There was no home for Him. He was crucified on the cross, and when He died, He was buried in a borrowed tomb. There was not even a burial ground for Him.
He who was richest became the poorest. He, being rich, became poor. Why? For your sake. For you. Through His poverty, He made us rich.
Our Lord Jesus was really poor—literally poor. Have you ever thought of our Lord Jesus as being a poor man? Poor not only in the sense that He laid down all His glory, honor, and power as God, but poor in the sense of a man.
He impoverished Himself so that His poverty might become our riches. Oh, how true that is.
Brothers and sisters, this is the spirit of giving. He gave until He made Himself poor. He gave until He could give no more. He not only gave His glory; He gave His life. When He gave His life, He gave all.
That is the reason giving is called grace. It is the grace of giving.
Oh, brothers and sisters, in giving we should always think of our Lord. If we think of our Lord Jesus, then we know we have never really given as He gave.
May the Spirit of Christ come upon us, that we may have an entirely new concept of giving; that we may see that giving is gracious.
Are you afraid of receiving more grace? Are you afraid to impoverish yourself, if only you can enrich your brethren? Thank God. We need to understand that we should have the grace of giving.
I think I will close with just one more matter. I have more to say, but the whole thing is grace. How do you receive the grace of God? Having that experience of grace, seeing Christ as the example of grace, there are practical principles by which we give.
And herein I give my judgment: for this is expedient for you, who were the first to make a beginning a year ago, not only to do, but also to will.
But now complete the doing also; that as there was the readiness to will, so there may be the completion also out of your ability.
For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according as a man hath, not according as he hath not.
Number one: when we give, there should be readiness of heart. Therefore, we say that giving is not mechanical; it is spiritual.
If anyone has readiness within, willingness within, he is accepted. God accepts our hearts more than our power. That is the first thing. If it does not touch our hearts, it cannot touch God.
Brothers and sisters, if giving does not touch your heart, it can never touch God. No. Our hearts must be exercised in this matter. Our hearts must be willing. Our hearts must be ready. If there is that readiness of heart, you are accepted.
Number two: according to what you have, not according to what you do not have.
Is there any contradiction between giving beyond your power and giving according to what you have? No contradiction.
When you give beyond your power, you still have it, but you deprive yourself of something in order to give. That is sacrificial for you. But it is still according to what you have, not according to what you do not have.
Number three: the principle of equality—or, if you like, the principle of balance.
For I say not this that others may be eased and ye distressed;
But by equality: your abundance being a supply at this present time for their want, that their abundance also may become a supply for your want; that there may be equality:
As it is written, He that gathered much had nothing over; and he that gathered little had no lack.
It is not that Paul was impoverishing the Macedonians in order to make the Jewish saints in Jerusalem comfortable. Not at all. It was according to the principle of equality.
Are we not members of one body? If we are members of one body, then when the Lord gives abundance to one member, it is for the sake of supplying the lack of another member—and vice versa.
Suppose God gives an abundance of grace to your hand. You hold a great deal in your hand. But if you hold it tightly and will not share it with the body, what will happen? The body will starve. When the body is starved, even if you hold everything in your hand, you have no nourishment. Your hand will wither too.
But if you hold it in your hand and give it to the body, then one day, when you have nothing in your hand, you will be supplied by the abundance of others. That is the principle of balance—the principle of the body.
Do you not understand that if you have abundance today, it is because God wants to use you to supply the lack of someone else? Do you not understand that earthly things can change overnight? Do you not understand that one day you may be in lack, and that brother or sister may then have abundance and be able to supply you?
That is the principle of balance in His body.
Not only that, of course, Paul said that when you give, you should give in a manner that glorifies God and is honest before men.
They collected the money to supply the needs of the poor in Jerusalem, and it was to glorify God. But because of the abundance of the funds, lest anyone should think Paul had put something in his own pocket, Paul said, “You choose someone to go with us.”
The churches sent brethren to go with Titus and Paul, so that everything might be done honestly before God and honestly before men. How practical it should be.
So, dear brothers and sisters, without going on further, I hope you will go back and read these chapters again. Let us seek the meaning not only of these two chapters, but the whole spirit of giving.
Thank God, giving is a grace. Giving is very spiritual. If we give, that is grace; that is good.
Lord, as we think of how Thou, being rich, voluntarily became poor for us—the richest becoming the poorest—in order that we, through Thy poverty, might be enriched, O Lord, ever keep before us Thy example, the grace of giving, in Thy presence.