GRACE IS THE KEY

GIVING IS AN EXPRESSION OF WORSHIP that commemorates God’s grace.1 Giving looks back to the greatest gift of all, the Lord Jesus Christ. Through Christ, God freely provides the way of salvation for all humanity.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten [uniquely born] Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, italics added)2


Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (2 Cor. 9:15)

God’s gracious gift of salvation and the sustenance for our Christian life (Phil. 4:19) requires a response. Giving is one response by which we may express our grace orientation and gratitude for what God has done in our behalf.

    Giving is much more than simply donating money. Giving is a function of worship by the believer. Worship depends on our use of the divine assets God has furnished for learning Bible doctrine, resulting in spiritual growth.3 Giving involves the condition of the soul and mental attitude, as well as material possessions.

    Misconceptions concerning giving constantly plague believers. Many people give because they think that God is a ‘genie.’ If they drop enough into the collection plate, God will bestow on them what they desire. Others may contribute to assuage a guilt complex for possessing wealth while so many live in poverty. Donating some portion of this money to ‘religion’ eases the conscience. There is a fine line between false motivation and grace-oriented giving. In order to fully conform to the pattern of grace-oriented giving, the believer must understand the uniqueness of the age in which he lives.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHURCH AGE BELIEVER

    The Church Age is the current dispensation which began when the disciples received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:8; cf. 2:1-4) and will culminate with the Rapture of the Church (1 Thess. 4:15-17).4 Never in any previous dispensation has God provided the assets that He gives to every Christian. These unique characteristics encompass both the means and the motivation for commemorating grace through giving.

    Giving, as a function of the royal priesthood, is a privilege for believers. As a result of union with Christ, believers have received all the spiritual assets to worship God. True worship originates from the power (filling) of the Holy Spirit and consists primarily of learning, meditating upon, and applying Bible doctrine. Worship also includes expressing Bible doctrine in the soul through praying, singing, observing the Lord’s Table, and giving.

GIVING IS NOT TITHING

    Failure to distinguish between giving and tithing indicates a misunderstanding of the differences between the Church Age and the Age of Israel. Giving functions in every dispensation, but tithing was bona fide only in Old Testament Israel.

    God commanded Israel to bring tithes (Lev. 27:30-34), a form of national taxation. The word “tithe” means “a tenth.” Old Testament tithes were levied upon Jewish believers and unbelievers alike. The amount was ten percent of what one owned or received for one’s labors.

    There were several tithes: a tax for the maintenance of the Levites (Num. 18:21, 24); a tax for the national feasts and sacrifices (Deut. 14:22-27); and a tax every third year used for the poor and destitute of the land (Deut. 14:28-29). Three taxes or three tithes!

    Old Testament tithing was not synonymous with giving. Giving went beyond the requirement to pay taxes for the maintenance of client-nation Israel.8 Only a free choice with a correct motive can bring about true giving. That motive, in any dispensation, centers on a willingness to honor what God has provided. The principle for giving in the Old Testament is found in Proverbs.

There is one who scatters [gives liberally], yet increases all the more [materially],

And there is one who withholds [money] what is justly due, but it results only in want [in poverty].

The generous man will be prosperous,

And he who waters will himself be watered.

    (Prov. 11:24-25)

    Malachi also indicates that tithing is not related to giving.

“Will a man rob God? Yet you [Israel] are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed Thee?’ In tithes [obligatory] and offerings [a matter of choice]. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.” (Mal. 3:8-10)

Tithes brought “into the storehouse,” or treasury, of Israel were obligatory. Failure to pay was a violation of the Law. The Mosaic Law combined both spiritual and civil functions. As a theocracy, ruled by God personally, Israel was the unique union of true religion and state. Every citizen, believer and unbeliever, was responsible for supporting the nation through tithing. But only the believer could be properly motivated to freely give as a function of worship over and above tithing.

    The principle of giving found in 2 Corinthians 9:7 explains that the believer gives “as he has purposed in his heart [not as a tithe]; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful [properly motivated] giver.” Mental attitude is the issue.9 The believer’s attitude in giving should reflect God’s graciousness toward him.

PRINCIPLES OF GIVING

    Second Corinthians 8—9 is the most extensive section in Scripture on giving. Beginning with the last verse of chapter 7, Paul states he has “confidence” that the Corinthian believers would continue to respond to his teaching of doctrine. But the first word of the Greek text in chapter 8 indicates Paul did not have confidence in the Corinthians’ ability to give as unto the Lord. Therefore, he sets forth fifteen principles of grace giving that apply not only to the Corinthians, but to all believers who give to a church or seminary, evangelist or missionary, a Christian service organization, charity, family member, friend, or as a function of the spiritual gift of giving (Rom. 12:8).10

Grace Mental Attitude

    Paul begins by establishing an example. The Corinthians had much to learn from the magnificent generosity of the impoverished and persecuted Macedonians.

Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. (2 Cor. 8:1-2)

    According to the historian Livy, the Romans at this time had devastated all Macedonia.11 Yet despite poverty and great affliction at the hands of the Romans, the Macedonians gave generously to the needy Jewish believers in Jerusalem and set an example from which the Corinthians could profit. The impoverished Christians in Jerusalem needed assistance to survive, and this letter from Paul concerned a collection to provide relief for them.

    Since there existed a traditional racial prejudice between the Jews and the Gentiles, Paul had to discourage any antagonism between Corinth and Jerusalem. He related to the Corinthians the example of Macedonia. Many Macedonians held no bias toward Jewish believers. These Macedonians were in fellowship with God and were exhibiting a spiritually mature viewpoint of “joy” amidst a “great ordeal of affliction.” They had the right perspective for giving. They gave from their love for the Lord so that the destitute Jews in Jerusalem might survive. Moreover, they gave generously to this collection when they themselves were in “deep poverty.”

    The Macedonians gave with the confidence that the grace of God would provide for their future. The gift was not a bribe for the blessing of God, but emanated from a genuine desire to memorialize His grace and to help other believers in need. The Macedonians were grace oriented, a prerequisite for true giving. Only through grace orientation can any believer give as unto the Lord.

    The collection from the Macedonians was so remarkable that Paul mentions it repeatedly (Acts 24:17; Rom. 15:25-28; 1 Cor. 16:1-5; Gal. 2:10). Though poverty-stricken, the Macedonians gave liberally and with the proper mental attitude of grace, while the prosperous Corinthians balked. The Corinthians began to collect an offering but never finished (2 Cor. 8:6). Chapters 8—9 were designed to stimulate the Corinthians to resume the collection from an attitude of grace orientation and set a precedent for future generations of Christians. By his exhortation, Paul establishes a critical relationship between the grace of God and the believer’s mental attitude.

    The mature believer with Bible doctrine resident in his soul has a sustained “joy” or happiness. Genuine happiness is built on truth (Jer. 15:16; John 13:17; 1 John 1:4). Truth from the Word of God produces the capacity for happiness and gratitude, a motive for giving (John 17:13, 17). Unless understanding and applying the Word of God becomes the believer’s first priority, happiness is momentary, the concept of grace eludes comprehension, and giving reflects vanity.

    The Macedonians’ happiness despite adversity was one blessing that arose from their understanding of God’s grace. Their application of grace brought them to the aid of their needy brethren. The significance of giving resides in the giver’s mental attitude, rather than in the actual gift. It is giving of yourself. When you give with a gracious mental attitude, you reflect the grace God gives to you.

Freewill Giving

For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability they gave [willingly and voluntarily] of their own accord. (2 Cor. 8:3)

    Grace giving is a function of the believer’s free will and is never coerced or pressured. Neither is emotionalism a motive in grace giving. In other words, grace giving excludes gimmicks that incite a momentary passion, foster guilt, compete for human recognition, or presume to bribe God for divine blessing. One does not give to earn points with God or anyone else. The only proper motive for Christian giving comes from applying doctrine from one’s own soul.

    The royal priesthood of the individual believer must operate from volition and privacy. These are essential elements of freedom. Giving should be accomplished privately as unto the Lord and as a personal commemoration of God’s grace.

    In verse 3 Paul confirms that the Macedonians had the right motivation in giving. They were grace oriented. Their mental attitude was the basis for their sacrificial gift to the church in Jerusalem. This gift came from their God-given volition, in spite of deprivation and persecution. No pressure. No coercion. No desire for anything in return.

Grace Privilege

Begging us with much entreaty for the favor [privilege] of participation in the support [giving] of the saints. (2 Cor. 8:4)

    Giving is a privilege. “Favor,” the key word in this third principle of giving, refers to a privilege extended to the believer by God’s grace. Christians have been granted the favor of reflecting God’s grace and, thereby, of glorifying Him.

    The legalist cannot understand this principle. He tries to glorify God through his own righteous deeds, which I call human good.12 His attitude reflects self-righteousness, not grace. Hence, the legalistic believer gives from an ulterior motive: to enhance personal prestige, to gain reward or advantage, to assuage guilt, or to alleviate peer pressure. The privilege of giving—a function of the royal priesthood—is derived from two Greek nouns in this passage: χάρις (charis), meaning “favor” or “grace,” and διακονία (diakonia), from which comes the word “deacon.” Diakonia usually refers to local church administration, but here it refers to general “support” by believers in Macedonia. This privilege belongs to believers only.

Soul Activity

And this, not as we had expected [anticipated], but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will [purpose, design] of God. (2 Cor. 8:5)

    Although the Macedonians were destitute, their offering far exceeded Paul’s expectations. Why? Because “they first gave themselves to the Lord.” For the believer, giving oneself to the Lord means to grow spiritually. Growth results in a grace mental attitude. “First” emphasizes the primary importance of grace orientation, the soul activity of the Macedonians, rather than the gift. When a believer simply gives money,13 he is doing what any unbeliever can do. The deed has no spiritual value.

    Giving must be accomplished as unto the Lord. Such giving acquires the status of divine good. Divine good, in contrast to human good, is the work of a Christian which has intrinsic and eternal value. Only divine good is acceptable to the perfect standards of God. God provides what is necessary to meet divine standards. His grace provisions are the filling of the Holy Spirit and the reality of Bible doctrine in one’s soul which results in spiritual growth. By utilizing these provisions, the believer produces divine good when he gives. This is giving as unto the Lord.

    Bible doctrine resident in the soul motivates all true giving. Doctrinally motivated giving is free from mental attitude sins, such as approbation lust, power lust, guilt, fear, or arrogance.

    Giving as unto the Lord is not a one-shot, emotional dedication. Rather it requires a continual process, a way of life. This inner activity extends to the overt activity of giving. The actual gift is not most important; the condition of the soul counts most.

    You are probably familiar with the emotional stories some evangelists tell about the dramatic conversion of a conspicuous sinner. While everyone is rejoicing and weeping, the offering plate is immediately passed. A pastor may even say to a guest speaker, “We need a big offering, brother, can you tell some inspiring stories?” This is coercion and manipulation. This is emotional giving. When believers give under this type of pressure, the motivation is false. Their giving cannot count for the Lord.

    The Macedonian believers were truly magnificent. Their giving was divine good because they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Bible doctrine resident in their souls motivated their offering. Only the impact of Bible doctrine on the soul provides the proper impetus for giving. The Corinthians, on the other hand, previously gave money without orientation to grace or doctrine. Their giving was human good, the “wood, hay, [and] straw” (1 Cor. 3:12) which has no spiritual value and will be consumed by fire at the judgment seat of Christ (1 Cor. 3:13-15).

    Let us summarize:

Impersonal Love

    The Macedonians were Gentiles, but “they were pleased to [give]” (Rom. 15:27a) to Jews who lived in a distant city, most of whom they would never meet. Why were these northern Greeks so generous to total strangers? Their generosity reflects impersonal love.15 By “impersonal” I mean a love that does not even require acquaintance with the object of love, much less intimacy or friendship. Impersonal love emphasizes the character of the giver, not that of the recipient, and demonstrates the giver’s integrity. The mandate to “love one another” (John 13:34-35; 1 John 4:11) refers to this category of love.

    In contrast, personal love focuses on the attractiveness of the object of love. Personal love is reserved for a few special individuals—husband, wife, family, or friends. The ultimate expression of personal love is toward Jesus Christ.

    Many Jewish believers in Jerusalem had fallen away from the truth and had become reversionistic (Acts 15:5; 21:18-26; Gal. 2:1-4).16 But the Macedonians fulfilled the command to love them with impersonal love. Their offering commemorated God’s impersonal love in sending His Son to die for undeserving humanity (John 3:16).

    Furthermore, despite the current reversionism and evil among some believers in Jerusalem, the Macedonians displayed gratitude for the past contributions of client nation Israel. The Jews were the original custodians of the Word of God. God had selected Jewish prophets to receive and write the Scriptures. The greatest communicators of doctrine were Jews. Christ Himself is a Jew. The Gentiles had benefitted from the Jews through doctrine, and now these doctrinally oriented Greeks wanted to express their appreciation by contributing their money to destitute Jewish believers (Rom. 15:26-27).

FROM EXAMPLE TO APPLICATION

    We now leave the Macedonians and go to the Corinthians. The Corinthians were not paupers, but they had much to learn about giving.

Consequently we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well. (2 Cor. 8:6)

The Corinthians needed the filling of the Spirit, doctrine in the soul, and impersonal love. The word charis, repeated from verse 4, indicates grace. Giving is a “gracious work” accomplished without strings or gimmicks. Paul knew the Corinthians needed to apply the Macedonian lesson.

    Timothy was sent to Corinth to encourage grace orientation, but the Corinthians intimidated him. Timothy’s personality was too easygoing, and he failed. They drove him right out of town. So Paul sent his troubleshooter—Titus. Titus was direct and uncompromising, and the Corinthians responded favorably. They recovered from their arrogance and carnality described in the first epistle, and were advancing spiritually to the point that they wanted to express their grace orientation.

    Under Titus the Corinthians had begun an offering to support the believers in Jerusalem. When Titus departed, the Corinthians again fell into reversionism, and the offering was discontinued. With his return and the resumption of doctrinal inculcation and spiritual advance, the offering could be continued. But to make sure the Corinthians had no misconceptions or illusions and did not give under pressure, Paul purposely remained silent about the desperate situation of the Jerusalem believers. He simply related the illustration of the Macedonians.

    Although in material poverty, the Macedonians possessed great spiritual riches. Their offering was divine good that glorified the Lord. Now the Corinthians had the same opportunity. At the beginning of verse 6, “consequently” is used to make the transition from Macedonian giving to Corinthian giving. Why is this word here? It indicates a challenge. The Corinthians can make a similar offering motivated by grace orientation. Furthermore, the challenge pertains to every believer of the Church Age. Give with the same motivation as the Macedonians!

    You must disassociate money from the principle of giving. You give first of that which is invisible and immaterial—from Bible doctrine in your soul. Then, overt giving in its different forms may result. The act of giving becomes a reflection of the spiritual wealth of your soul. This was shown dramatically in the Macedonian example.

    The Corinthian church had an abundance of wealth (2 Cor. 8:14). But Paul was not interested in tapping their financial resources. He was not going to cater to them because of their wealth. He was, however, concerned for their spiritual state. Therefore, Paul dealt with them firmly by sending Titus, the most hard-nosed man on his team. Paul desired to make clear the spiritual principles of giving already fulfilled by the Macedonians. The Corinthians must follow the same principles.

    It is also apparent from the transitional word “consequently” that grace orientation is tested in giving. Giving presents an occasion to evaluate your personal grace orientation. Believers are tested every time there is an offering, even as there are grace tests at the communion table and when the Word of God is taught. A grace test means that God has provided everything, and, therefore, your response depends upon nonmeritorious positive volition to doctrine—not upon your human ability. The issue: Do you pass the test from the reality of doctrinal resources in your soul, or do you lose concentration and perspective?

Extension of the Grace Apparatus for Perception

But just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work [of giving] also. (2 Cor. 8:7)

    The fifth principle reveals giving to be an extension of the grace apparatus for perception (GAP). The Corinthians abounded in doctrine and in money. God had materially prospered the Corinthians as He had prospered few of the early churches. They had both spiritual (1 Cor. 1:5) and material wealth—a great combination with the spiritual wealth being far more valuable. The three prepositional phrases of 2 Corinthians 8:7 emphasize the superior value of their spiritual blessings.

    “In faith,” πίστις, pistis in the Greek, refers to the method of learning doctrine from the Word of God. Faith describes a nonmeritorious system of perception. The only requirement for the believer is positive volition to hear Bible doctrine taught by a pastor. The Holy Spirit actually teaches spiritual truths to the believer’s human spirit.

Now we have received, not the spirit [frame of reference] of the world, but the [human] Spirit [which is] who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by [from the source of] the [Holy] Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts [truths] with spiritual words [apparatus of the human spirit]. (1 Cor. 2:12-13)

God as the object of faith receives the merit. He provides every believer with a human spirit, the Holy Spirit, and spiritual truth which is Bible doctrine taught by a pastor. In combination with positive volition these resources are the means of spiritual growth.

    “Utterance and knowledge” in 2 Corinthians 8:7 are the Greek words λόγος (logos) and γνῶσις (gnosis), respectively. These words focus on the function of GAP. Logos is Bible doctrine found in Scripture. Doctrine is initially understood academically through the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit and becomes gnosis, “knowledge.” By means of faith, pistis in the first phrase, gnosis converts to ἐπίγνωσις (epignosis), “true knowledge or understanding” (Eph. 3:19; cf. 2 Tim. 3:7; 2 Pet. 1:3).17 In other words, epignosis doctrine is reality.

    Epignosis equips the believer with a thorough, practical understanding of God’s truth. The Holy Spirit circulates this understanding into the conscience, vocabulary, norms and standards, and viewpoint of the soul. Application of doctrine to the circumstances of life comes only from epignosis.