The Churches of Macedonia Are Giving

Grace comes first. Paul began, “we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia” (8:1). Bestowed means given as a gift. Before Paul says one word about money, he talks about what God gave. Who they were. Macedonia was the northern part of Greece. Paul had started churches there in cities like Philippi and Thessalonica. Hard times. These churches were in “a great trial of affliction” (8:2). Affliction means suffering. Many of them were treated badly because they followed Jesus. Very poor. They also lived in “deep poverty” (8:2). They did not have much at all. Full of joy. Yet joy filled them so full that it spilled over. The Children's Bible says, “they gave much because of their great joy” (8:2). Rich in a new way. Paul says their poverty “abounded in the riches of their liberality” (8:2). Liberality means being generous with an open hand. What we learn. Joy does not come from having lots of things. It comes from knowing God's grace. When a heart is full of God's kindness, it wants to share. You can be a joyful giver whether you have a little or a lot.

Grace before giving (8:1). The Greek word for grace is charis (say: KAH-rees), God's kindness given freely to people who have not earned it. Paul keeps coming back to this word all through chapters 8 and 9. In 8:4 the NKJV translates it “the gift,” and in 8:6-7 the offering itself is called “this grace.” The money was real, but Paul saw it as God's grace moving through His people. The churches. Macedonia was the Roman province of northern Greece. Paul planted churches there on his second missionary journey, in Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea (Acts 16-17). When he wrote this letter, he was in Macedonia himself (2 Corinthians 7:5). Pressure and poverty (8:2). “A great trial of affliction” describes heavy pressure from outside. The believers in Thessalonica had welcomed the gospel while suffering for it (1 Thessalonians 1:6). Their “deep poverty” means poverty all the way down, with nothing to spare. Open-handed (8:2). The word translated liberality is haplotes (say: hap-LOH-tace). It describes single-hearted, simple generosity: giving with no hidden motive and no holding back. Why it matters. Joy and poverty mixed together and produced generosity. That only makes sense if their treasure was somewhere else. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Their treasure was Christ, so they could hold money loosely.

Paul did not begin by talking about money. He began with God's grace. Grace is God's kindness that we do not deserve. God gave His grace to the churches in Macedonia. That grace changed their hearts from the inside. These believers were very poor. They had many hard troubles too. Some people treated them badly for following Jesus. Yet their hearts were full of joy. Their joy came from Jesus, not from things. A poor person can still be a happy giver. Giving does not start in our pockets. It starts when we see how kind God has been to us.

Giving starts with God's grace. Grace is God's kindness to us. God was kind to them. So they gave with joy!

All they could. Paul wrote, “according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing” (8:3). They gave what they could, and then more. Nobody pushed. Freely willing means they chose it themselves. The Children's Bible says, “No one told them to do it” (8:3). They begged. They were “imploring us with much urgency” (8:4). Imploring means begging. Usually people beg to get something. These believers begged to give! A share in the work. They asked for “the fellowship of the ministering to the saints” (8:4). Fellowship means sharing together. The saints were God's people in Jerusalem, many of whom were poor. Joy, not a job. In the next chapter Paul wrote, “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Grudgingly means unhappily, as if someone made you. Others who gave gladly. Jesus taught, “So store your treasure in heaven” (Matthew 6:20). King David paid for a threshing floor because he would not give God an offering that cost him nothing (2 Samuel 24:24). When Israel built the Holy Tent, the skilled workers said the people were bringing more than enough, so Moses told everyone to stop giving (Exodus 36:5-6). What we learn. Giving is a privilege, not a punishment. We do not give so that God will love us. He already does. We give because we love Him, and we want to share in what He is doing.

Beyond their ability (8:3). Paul was the eyewitness: “For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing.” Freely willing translates a single Greek word meaning self-chosen. No one had to ask them. A surprising request (8:4). They gave more than Paul had hoped (8:5). They pleaded with him, “imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.” Sharing together. Fellowship translates koinonia (say: koy-noh-NEE-ah), sharing in something together. The Macedonians saw giving as a partnership with believers they had never met. Gentile believers in Greece were caring for Jewish believers in Jerusalem, and the gospel was making them one family. Paul wrote that believers are “members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19). The collection. For several years Paul gathered an offering from the Gentile churches for the poor believers in Jerusalem (Romans 15:26; 1 Corinthians 16:1-3). The Corinthians had been the first to want to give, a year earlier (8:10). Givers in Scripture. The craftsmen told Moses the people brought “much more than enough” (Exodus 36:5). Peter gave a lame man what he had, healing in the name of Jesus (Acts 3:6). Zacchaeus gave half his goods to the poor after Jesus came to his house (Luke 19:8). Why it matters. A gift squeezed out by guilt is not what God is after. Paul later wrote that each one should give “not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver” (9:7). The Macedonians show what giving looks like when grace is at work: eager, glad and freely chosen.

The Macedonian believers gave as much as they could. Then they gave even more than that! Nobody forced them or pushed them. They chose to give because they wanted to. They even begged Paul to let them help. The gift was for God's people in Jerusalem. Those believers were poor and needed help. For the Macedonians, helping was a joy, not a chore. Long ago, God's people gave gifts for His special tent. The workers told Moses the people brought more than they needed! Jesus taught that we should give to the poor very secretly. Giving is not a way to make God love us. God already loves us! We give because we are glad to share. Sharing is one way to say thank you to God.

No one made the churches give. They wanted to share. They begged to help! Jesus said to give to the poor very secretly.

More than Paul hoped. “And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God” (8:5). Themselves first. Before they gave coins, they gave their own lives to Jesus. That is the most important gift anyone can give. Then to us. Next they gave themselves to Paul and his team, ready to help in God's work any way they could. By the will of God. This was what God wanted. The Children's Bible says, “This is what God wants” (8:5). A living sacrifice. Paul wrote to the Romans, “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God” (Romans 12:1). That means giving your whole life to God, every day. Not to earn. Giving yourself to the Lord does not buy His love. You give yourself because He has already given Himself for you. Paul wrote about Jesus, “who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). What we learn. God wants you more than anything you could hand Him. Give Him your heart first. Then giving to others will flow out of your love for Him.

Hearts before money (8:5). “They first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.” Their money followed their surrender. The gift was the fruit; the root was hearts already given to Christ. First in time and first in importance. Before they gave anything, and above everything they gave, they belonged to the Lord. Jesus taught the same order: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Then to us. Giving themselves to the Lord led them to give themselves to His servants and His work. Love for God always turns outward toward people, because “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). By the will of God. Their giving was not a clever fundraising success. It was God at work in them, which is why Paul keeps calling it grace. Romans 12:1. “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” In the Old Testament an offering died on the altar. A believer is a living offering who keeps on serving. Why it matters. God is not after a slice of your stuff. He wants you. Once He has your heart, your time, abilities and money become tools for loving people. A person who has given himself to the Lord does not need to be pushed to give.

Paul said the Macedonians did more than he hoped. First they gave themselves to the Lord. Then they gave themselves to Paul and his helpers. The order is important. God does not just want our money or our things. He wants us! He wants our whole hearts to belong to Him. When our hearts belong to Jesus, giving comes next. Jesus gave Himself for us first. So we give ourselves to Him. Then we love and help other people. Even a child can give a whole heart to Jesus.

First they gave their hearts to Jesus. Then they gave gifts. God wants our hearts most of all. Jesus said our hearts go where our treasure is.

Titus. “So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well” (8:6). Titus had started the offering in Corinth, and now he would help them finish it. Rich in many ways. “But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us” (8:7). Abound means to have more than enough. Diligence means working hard and caring a lot. One more thing. “See that you abound in this grace also” (8:7). Paul calls giving a grace, a gift from God that grows in us. Not an order. Paul said, “I speak not by commandment” (8:8). He wanted their giving to show that their love was real. The best reason. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor” (8:9). A willing heart. “For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have” (8:12). What we learn. God gives His children many gifts, and giving is one of them. It is not about how much you have. God looks for a willing, happy heart.

Titus (8:6). Titus was a Gentile believer and Paul's trusted partner (8:23). He had visited Corinth and brought Paul good news about the church (7:6-7). He had begun the collection there, and Paul sent him back to complete it. A gifted church (8:7). The Corinthians overflowed in faith, speech, knowledge and diligence. Paul had thanked God that they were “enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge” (1 Corinthians 1:5). Overflowing. Abound translates perisseuo (say: peh-ris-SYOO-oh), to overflow or be more than enough. It is the same word as abounded in 8:2. The poor Macedonians overflowed in generosity, and Paul wanted the gifted Corinthians to overflow in the same grace. Not by command (8:8). Paul refused to order a gift: “I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others.” A forced gift would prove nothing about love. The pattern (8:9). “Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” Jesus left the glory of heaven, was laid in a manger and died on a cross (Philippians 2:5-8). Every Christian gift is a small echo of His gift. Why it matters. Spiritual gifts without generosity leave a church lopsided. Grace that has reached us is meant to keep moving and reach others through us.

Paul asked his helper Titus to go to Corinth. Titus had started the giving work there a year before. Now he would help them finish it. The church in Corinth had many good gifts from God. They had strong faith. They could speak well, and they knew a lot. They worked hard, and they loved Paul. Paul wanted them to grow in giving too. But Paul did not order them to give. He wanted their love to be real. Jesus was rich, but He became poor for us. That is the best reason of all to give.

Paul sent his friend Titus to help. The church had faith and love. Paul wanted them to give too.