Read 2 Corinthians 8.
The effects of the grace of God are many. For example: There is saving
grace; that one time act of God when we place our eternal faith in Jesus.
Then, there is sustaining grace as the Lord strengthens us through
trials. Here, in this chapter the Holy Spirit reveals to Paul giving
grace.
Contextually, during this time believers in Jerusalem were in great need.
The Apostle Paul let the need be known and was in the process of
collecting funds for this project. Note that the instructions and the
principles in chapters 8 and 9 are not referring to tithing but to giving over
and above regular offerings to the church. Four times in chapter 8, Paul
attaches the word grace to this type of giving.
Too often grace is left as a theological concept. The Greek word is
Charis and is defined in Strong's Greek Dictionary of the New Testament as
"the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the
life." In other words, when God does a work of grace in a believer,
there will be noticeable evidence. Grace is active!
1. It was the grace of God that moved the Macedonians to contribute to this
project when they had great needs of their own. "in a severe test of
affliction," "their extreme poverty," "beyond their
means." (vv.1-3)
2. It is the grace of God that motivates believers to respond to the needs of
others. Twice (vv.7 and 19) such
generosity giving is called "this act of grace."
3. It is the grace of God that is inseparably links true love to giving.
It was love that caused God the Father to give His one and only Son to
die on the cross for us (John 3:16). In the case of the Macedonians,
"they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to
us" (v.5). In verses 8 and 24, Paul urged the Corinthians "to
prove...your love is genuine" by financially fulfilling their promise to
give.
The quote is attributed to several and Biblically holds true. "You
can give without loving, but you can never love without giving."
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