Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 01 March 2026, based on a sermon composed for First Presbyterian Church, Rome, GA, 8 Jan. 2006 and Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Carbondale, IL, 22 Jan. 2006. Underlined words in Scripture quotes indicate words that are in common with the Greek text of the sermon passage. Otherwise, underlining indicates words to emphasize when reading this transcript out loud. Omitting greyed-out text should reduce read-aloud time to about 40 minutes.
My translation of the passage:
Now brothers, let
us make known to y’all God’s grace which has been distributed
among the churches of Macedonia: that during much stressful testing,
the overflow of their joy, notwithstanding their low-down
poverty, overflowed into the wealth of their generosity. I bear
witness that they were determined for themselves that it should be
according to ability and even beyond ability, begging us with much
urging for the grace and the partnership of this service among the
saints, and not like we expected, but rather they gave themselves
first to the Lord and to us because it was God’s will, such that
we urged Titus that, just as he had previously started it, so he
might also bring to completion this grace among y’all as well.
Moreover, just as y’all abound in everything (in faith and in word
and in knowledge and in all diligence and in love that is from us
among yourselves), that y’all should abound also in this grace. It
is not exactly an order that I am dictating; it is rather giving
proof through the diligence of others and the genuineness of your
love for each other.
Money, Power, and Sex
There are three topics that you’re not supposed to talk about in church – money, power, and sex.
I propose that the modern evangelical church’s silence on these subjects is the reason that Christians get so quickly entangled in the devil’s traps in these three areas, and, since these three topics top the list of what men are naturally interested in, that probably also explains why the majority of churchgoers is women.
I realize this can be a minefield, but I want to tackle the topic of money.
Joke: Church Is Cheaper:
I
read a story about a woman who took her two small boys and a
daughter to see a
movie at the theater
one Saturday afternoon. The tickets were two dollars and fifty cents
each. The young daughter watched as the mother pushed ten one dollar
bills under the window and received four tickets. The next day the
same mother and daughter were at church.
There,
the
child saw her mother open her purse, take out a quarter, and put it
in the collection
basket.
The little girl looked up at her mother and said, just
loud enough for other people to hear,
“Mother, church is a lot cheaper
than a movie, isn't it?”
Goal: to think Biblically about wealth and giving:
Now, it’s not my intention to put anyone on a guilt trip for the amount of money you put into the church offerings, and I’m not raising money for any particular project.
What I want to do now is just study a passage of scripture and offer some solid, Biblical teaching about money and giving. It is my hope that you will come away edified by a stronger Biblical worldview about money.
I would like to look at nine principles of giving that the Apostle Paul gave in 2 Corinthians 8.
But before we step into those nine principles, let me start with some historical background. What was going on in Paul’s life when he wrote this?
Historical Context: Remember the Poor:
After he became a Christian and before he started his ministry, the Apostle Paul went to Jerusalem to meet with Jesus’ disciples. During that meeting, he laid out his calling to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles and asked for feedback from the disciples.
James, Peter, and John supported him fully and had only one exhortation for him in his ministry, and that was: “Remember the poor.” We read that in Galatians chapter 2. It’s rather striking that that the one thing which the disciples wanted to impress on Paul’s mind was to “Remember the poor.”
Psalm 109 and Peter:
Now that phrase is a direct quote from Psalm 109:16.
Oddly enough, it is an imprecatory psalm, calling down curses upon an ungodly man!
But Peter had apparently memorized this Psalm, because this isn’t the only place he quotes Psalm 109; he also quotes it in Acts 1:20 where he is speaking about Judas and the need for another man to take his place among the Twelve.
During the fierce persecution of Christians that Paul1 had carried out a decade or two previously, Peter may well have prayed that very imprecatory psalm against Paul himself! Perhaps Peter reminded Paul to “Remember the poor” so that the very imprecations he had prayed from Psalm 109 against him would not fall upon Paul after all!
Whatever the case, there were poor Christians in Jerusalem who needed help. Apparently there was a severe famine in Judea2.
Paul’s collections and letters:
So Paul made collections for the poor in Jerusalem an integral part of his gospel ministry. According to the book of Acts:
He was one of the couriers who brought financial aid to Jerusalem collected from the church in Antioch, Syria (Acts 11:30).
Later on, during his third missionary journey, Paul sent a letter from Ephesus ahead to the Corinthians giving them advance notice that he wanted to take up a collection for the poor from them. They responded with an indication that they would give a large sum of money toward this fund.
Paul related this news to the churches in Philippi and Thessalonica and Berea, and they decided to give a big gift to match the Corinthian church.
A year later, when he had left Ephesus and started traveling back to Corinth, he wrote the letter of Second Corinthians to make sure that all was in order when he arrived.
He then arrived in Corinth, and during his three months there, took up the collection and also wrote the book of Romans in which he wrote that, “...it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia [that’s Corinth] to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem.” (Rom. 15:26, NKJV), and he even suggested that the Roman Christians add to it! (Rom. 12:13)
He went back to Jerusalem before going to Rome, though, because he wanted to be there for the annual Pentecost celebration. It was this money collected from the churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, and Corinth that he was bringing into the temple in Jerusalem to give to the poor, when the Jews tried to kill him and he had to appeal to Caesar.
So, as you can see from a summary of Paul’s life, giving to the poor was an integral part of his gospel ministry.
The example of Macedonian church’s giving (8:1-6):
Now the stage is set to study the words of Paul from 2 Corinthians 8, preparing the church in Corinth for making good on their pledge of support for his poor fund – or as he called it, “a work of grace.” In chapters 8-9, Paul seeks to motivate the Corinthian church to give.
He starts out in chapter 8 verses 1-6 with the example of the Macedonian church and how they gave. (These would be the churches of the Philippians, Bereans, and Thessalonians, and perhaps others.)
It is very appropriate for us also to learn and be motivated by the example of the Macedonian churches outlined in this passage. We can learn from the history of how other churches have given. Here are nine points that I have gleaned from it:
“Now/Moreover brothers/brethren, we make known to you [we do you to wit of] the grace of God which has been given in/bestowed on/distributed among the churches of Macedonia:”
It is against common sense and human nature to give away our assets. We must first experience God’s grace and respond to His grace in our lives.
What is God’s grace? It is described further down in verse 9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you, through His poverty might become rich.”
This is describing in economic terms the spiritual reality of what Jesus did. Jesus, the King of the Universe, with the unlimited riches that were His, stripped Himself of His glory, humbled Himself, became and human, and died. Why? Because we were poor.
We had lost the treasure that the first man and woman had – a walking and talking relationship with their Creator. In our disobedience and rebellion against our God we had become so bent and twisted and scarred that no matter how much material wealth we could gain, it would never be enough, because we did not have the first and greatest treasure of a happy relationship with our Creator.
What’s worse, our Creator had set things up such that it wasn’t enough for us to suffer in our brokenness in life, we also had to experience eternal death as the ultimate punishment for breaking faith with our Creator-God. The only way to save us from this awful fate was for God to send His own Son in our place to suffer the punishment we deserve and to satisfy God’s justice.
Then He could make us rich through a happy relationship with Himself once more, one in which He even promised to enrich us by making us “joint-heirs” to the glorious riches of the Son of God Himself! (Rom. 8:17)
That is grace, to take people who deserve to suffer and perish, to suffer and die for them, and then make them incredibly wealthy children of God instead.
Until we realize God’s grace towards us, all our efforts at giving will be feeble. When we are dazzled by God’s grace, it is a powerful motivation to follow Jesus’ example, strip off wealth and enrich others by it.
“...in a severe trial/great ordeal of affliction/during much stressful testing, the overflow [abundance] of their joy, notwithstanding their deep [extreme] poverty, overflowed/abounded/welled up into the wealth of their liberality [riches of their generosity].
Poverty and living in a stressful situation are no excuse not to give, in fact, when we face difficulty in the joy of the Lord, it becomes a wonderful context to give!
Times were tight economically in Macedonia. The Roman empire had been merciless to them, and taxes were cripplingly high3.
Religious persecution was also particularly intense for the Christians in Macedonia. It was in Philippi that Paul was beaten and thrown into prison. Do you think he was the only Christian persecuted there?
In Thessalonica, the Jews got so upset at the new Christians that they raised a mob and dragged Jason, Paul’s host, from his home and got him thrown in jail. Then they followed Paul to the next town and chased him right out of the province.
Do you think they didn’t continue to make trouble for the new believers in Thessalonica and Berea? Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 1:6 “And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction...” (NKJV)
How much money did they have to come up with to post bail and get Jason out of jail? And yet the Thessalonian church gave generously to Paul’s mercy project for the poor!
Story
of Giving from Korean Church:
There is a true story
of two wealthy Christians, a lawyer and a businessman, from America,
who happened to be traveling in South Korea. One day, they saw in a
field by the side of the road a boy pulling a crude plow, while an
old man held the handles and directed it. The lawyer was
amused, and took a snapshot of the scene. “That's a curious
picture! I suppose they are very poor,” he said to the missionary
who was interpreter and guide to the party. “Yes,” was the quiet
reply. “That is the family of Chi Noui. When the church was being
built, they were eager to give something to it, but they had no
money, so they sold their only ox and gave the money to the church.
This spring they are pulling the plow themselves.” The lawyer and
the businessman by his side were silent for some moments. Then the
businessman said, “That must have been a real sacrifice.” “They
did not call it that,” said the missionary. “They thought it was
fortunate they had an ox to sell.”
“[T]he abundance of their joy, and their deep poverty, overflowed into the wealth of their generosity…”!
Romans 12:8 “...Let the one who gives [do so] with generosity... Let the one who shows mercy [do so] with cheerfulness...” (NAW)
Jesus did not rebuke the widow who gave all she had at the temple treasury; instead, He commended her for it. This leads us to the next point:
“For I testify/bear witness that they were determined/freely willing/of themselves/of their own accord that it should be according to ability [as much as they were able] and then beyond ability/beyond [their] means/power.”
Paul calls their gift a “wealth of liberality... giving according to their ability and beyond.”
“according to their ability” comes from the Old Testament law in Deuteronomy 16:16-17 “Three times in the year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall choose in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: thou shalt not appear before the Lord thy God empty [handed]. Each one according to [his] ability, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he has given thee.” (Brenton)
It was a principle of the law not to fail to give to God from the profit you had earned, but there was no expectation to give unreasonable amounts. There were a couple of 10% tithes, and nothing more was required by God, although one could always offer more if they wanted to, in the form of a freewill offering (Lev. 22:18ff, Ex. 35:5).
Thus in the New Testament, we see this phrase “according to ability” not only here in 2 Corinthians 8, but also in 1 Corinthians 16:2 “On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper4...” and Acts 11:29 “Then the disciples [in Antioch], each according to his ability5, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea.” (NKJV)
But here in 2 Corinthians 8, Paul says they “gave over/above their ability/means”!
It is not reasonable to interpret this as the Corinthians taking foolish risks with money they did not have; rather, it should be understood in terms of giving which was beyond what God demanded – beyond just 10% – beyond what Paul might have thought they were even able to give.
Several years ago, I discovered a biography on my childhood pastor in the discount bin at a local book store. I didn’t even know a biography had been written about him, but there is was, Flight Path: A Biography of Frank Barker Jr. So, of course, I bought it, and when I read it, I discovered some things I had never known about his ministry. One of the most striking things was that he and his wife had determined early in their marriage to give away something like half of their income, and then each year, to give one percent more of their income to God. By the time the book was written, they had been able to keep up that pattern for something like 40 years. In other words, they were managing to give away 90% and more of their income!
How did they do that? One way was what Reverend Barker called “Faith Promise Giving.” He taught us to set prayer goals for God to provide money in an unexpected way so that we could give that sum of money we were praying for to a missionary. He said if God didn’t provide it, then we wouldn’t have to make the donation to the missionaries, but somehow every time we made a faith promise pledge and prayed, God provided, and we were able to make good on supporting those missionaries. Those are examples of giving ‘beyond our means.’
Giving is supposed to be generous. We can learn from example of the church in this passage that when we give to the Lord, we should not be cheap.
Paul spells it out later on in chapter 9 verse 6 “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows generously will also reap generously.” Do you want to see little things happen or big things happen? Give accordingly.
Another principle in v.3 is that giving should not be at all coerced: “they gave of their own accord.” Giving should be Voluntary.
Paul elaborates on this also in chapter 9 verse 7 “each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
Now, I know there are some church traditions that teach people to give to the church in order to get bigger blessings from God. But that is not what God’s word teaches.
Yes there is blessing in giving, but the motivation is all wrong.
As I stated in the first point in verse 1, We give because God has graciously given us so much, not because we wish God would give us more.
As the 4th century Greek pastor Chrysostom put it, “Let your alms be alms, and not traffic.”
It is wise to be purposeful rather than impulsive in giving a big gift. Paul will write later in chapter 9 verse 7, “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart.” If you feel obligated to give or have any reservation about giving, don’t bother giving – God loves a cheerful giver! In fact, giving is great fun when it is what you want to do!
In the hymn, “Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee,” there is a phrase, “Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold.” The author of this hymn, Frances Ridley Havergal, was not a hypocrite. In her diary she wrote: “‘Take my silver and my gold’ now means shipping off all my ornaments – including a jewel cabinet which is really fit for a countess – to the Church Missionary Society. I don't think I need to tell you I never packed a box with such pleasure.”
If you have ever given a special gift that is very generous for you, you know the delight which God puts in our hearts over doing it. How many times I have seen that childish grin and the sparkle in the eyes of a donor. It’s fun just to see how much delight they are taking in giving!
“[B]egging/pleading/imploring/praying us with much intreaty/urging/earnestness for the grace/favor/gift/privilege and the partnership/fellowship/participation/sharing of this service/ministry/support to/among the saints...”
Nine medieval Greek manuscripts6 explain the “ministry to the saints” as a “gift” that they wanted the apostles to “receive” and transport to Jerusalem, which fleshes out the meaning a little bit more.
What a radical example the Macedonian church provides for us: pressuring Paul not to leave them out of the opportunity to give. When was the last time you saw lines forming at the Salvation Army bucket, people shoving, desperately hoping that the bucket isn’t too full before they get there, just hoping that they get a chance to give before they close for the night? Why aren’t people like that? It’s because they don’t realize how great a blessing it is to give!
God said through Malachi that if His people tithe, He would “open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” (Malachi 3:10, ASV)
“It is more blessed to give than to receive,” said Jesus (Acts 20:35).
Paul promised the Corinthians that as a result of their giving they would be “enriched in everything for all generosity” (9:11).
He even tells the Philippians that their donation was more profitable to them than it was to the people they gave it to! (4:17)
In Matthew 25, Jesus painted the scene of Judgment Day: “Then the King will say to those off to His right, 'Come here, you who have been blessed by my father! Start inheriting the kingdom prepared for y'all from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry, and y'all gave me [something] to eat; I was thirsty, and y'all gave me a drink; I was a stranger, and y'all gathered me in; I was naked, and y'all wrapped me up; I was sick, and y'all watched over me; I was in prison, and y'all came to me!' Then, in reply, the righteous will say to Him, 'Master, when was it that we saw you being hungry and we provided nourishment or you being thirsty and we gave drink? And when was it that we saw you to be a stranger and we gathered in, or naked and we threw a wrap around? And when was it that we saw you being sick or in prison and came to you?' And, in answer, the King will say to them, 'Really, I'm saying to y'all, as much as you did it for one of the least of these brothers of mine, it was to me that you did it.'” (Matt. 25:34-40, NAW)
If we realized how rich are the rewards God gives to those who help the poor, we would be beating down the doors of every opportunity! How desperate are you to hear the words, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom!”
“And this they did, not [only] as we [had] hoped/not like we expected, but rather they gave themselves first to the Lord and to us by the will of God/in keeping with God's will/because it was God’s will.”
The donation made by the churches in Macedonia was not as Paul and Timothy had expected; it surpassed their initial hopes of what the Macedonian church might give:
Perhaps because Paul and Timothy had observed how “extremely poor” they were and how “afflicted” they were and what a “great trial” of persecution they were under, and so they hadn’t expected to raise much money there, so when the collection was taken, they were blown away by the actual response.7
Perhaps the apostles were also surprised after giving their sales pitch for this project to help the poor in Jerusalem, that the Macedonian Christians, instead of “passing the hat” as might be expected, said instead, “Just a minute. Before we give to the saints in Jerusalem, we need to dedicate ourselves to God first and to you, Paul and Timothy, as our pastors; then we’ll take up the collection for the saints in Jerusalem.”
They understood that money wasn’t at the heart of God’s concern. Is money really what God wants? Does He have any need for your money? No, what He really wants is you!
David explained in Psalm 51:16-17 “For You do not delight in a sacrifice (which I would have donated!); a whole-burnt-offering is not what pleases You. God's sacrifices are of a broken spirit. A heart broken and /humbled\, God /Himself\ will not despise.” (NAW)
That’s what Jesus said too: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart…” (Matt. 22:37)
It’s in Paul’s letter to the Romans, too, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Rom. 12:1, ESV)
Contemporary commentator Phillip Hughes wrote, “[T]heir giving of themselves was first in time as well as first in importance. Without self-giving there is no profound self-sacrifice... [I]n giving themselves to the Lord they also at the same time placed themselves at the disposal of Paul, the Lord's Apostle.”
Your body – your heart – this is what God wants. He wants you. Give yourself first to Him; the rest will take care of itself.
Jim Elliot was a famous missionary in the mid-20th century. He wasn’t famous for winning lots of converts, though. It was his martyrdom that made national news. But first, as a young man, He abandoned himself to God, seeking to be sold-out for Jesus. Then, when he heard that there was a small tribe of naked savages in the Amazon that nobody had ever preached the gospel to, he formed a missionary team and dedicated his life to reaching that tribe with the gospel. The tribe’s warriors speared him to death due to a misunderstanding before he ever got the chance to tell them about Jesus. His wife found the following words written in his diary: “He is no fool to give what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” And she and her children went right back into that jungle and kept trying to share the Gospel with that tribe! After years of effort, a church was started among that tribe.
So what do you have to lose?
Paul later wrote in Romans 6:13 “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” (NKJV)
So/Accordingly/Insomuch that we urged Titus that, just as he had previously started/begun it, so he might also bring to completion/finish this grace in/among y’all as well”
The Greek words which open verse 6 indicate that Paul and Timothy’s recruitment of Titus to finish the proposed work of grace was linked
to the begging and urging of the Macedonian Christians back in v. 4 to participate in giving a gracious gift to the poor church in Jerusalem in the first place,
and Paul and Timothy’s urging of Titus also seems to be linked grammatically to the way the Macedonian church first gave themselves to the Lord Jesus and to the apostles in v.5.
In other words, getting Titus in on wrapping-up this charitable gift down in Corinth seems to have been the Macedonian’s idea in the first place, and Paul and Timothy seemed to agree that it would be a good idea8.
Titus, it may be recalled from Galatians 2 was with Paul when Peter, James, and John had exhorted him to “remember the poor,” so he had been in on the plans to raise funds from the Gentile churches for the poor in Jerusalem from the very beginning.9
Since the details for saving up for a collection for the saints was in chapter 16 of the earlier letter of 1 Corinthians, it may be that Titus had started talking about taking up such a collection before even 1 Corinthians was written. (Hughes)
The Greek word in v.6 translated “grace/gracious work/act of grace” is
the same word translated “grace” in verse 1,
and the same word in v.4 translated “gift/favor/privilege” in some English versions.
God’s free gift of grace to save (in verse 1) inspired the Thessalonian church to want to give a gift of money to their brothers and sisters in Christ in v.6, and they connected the two experiences (of God’s grace toward them and of their grace to others) together in v.4 as a grace that they didn’t want to miss out on.
But it had been years since that meeting between Peter, James, and John and Paul, Barnabas, and Titus back in Jerusalem. It had been just an idea and just a project in process for years. “Finishing/bringing to completion” this grace meant actually collecting the money and sending it to Jerusalem.
Are there any ideas you’ve had brewing for a while concerning things you’d like to do for the kingdom of God that you haven’t brought to completion yet?
Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 “When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake…” (NASB)
But/Moreover, just as y’all abound/excel in everything (in faith and in word/speech/utterance and in knowledge and in all diligence/complete earnestness and in your love for us/literally ‘the love that is from us among yourselves’ [or, as the NASB explains: ‘the love we [inspired] in you’]), that y’all should abound also in this gracious work/[act of] grace [of giving]
Verse 7 is a comparison with a long list in the middle, but the things being compared at the beginning and end of verse 7 are the Corinthian Church’s “abundance in everything” and their corresponding duty to be “abundant” in their donations to Paul’s charitable cause.
Paul had already noted in 1 Corinthians 1:5 how the church in Corinth “was enriched by Him (Jesus Christ) in everything – in every word and in every [bit of] knowledge...” (NAW, cf. 2 Cor. 9:8)
And Jesus taught in Luke 12:48b “...to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” (NKJV)
So Paul is reminding the Corinthian Christians that they were wealthier in many ways than the poor, afflicted Macedonians were, so he is expecting them to give more than the Macedonians did.
Jesus taught in Matthew 6:3 “...when doing charity, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing…,” so we need to be careful not to pay undue attention to what other people give (or don’t give) and instead make our own giving choices according to God’s leading.
But one thing that has consistently surprised me in the fundraising I have been doing for missions over the decades is that when I have asked people who appear very wealthy for contributions, they tend to give much less than I expected, while the impressively-large donations have usually come from people that I did not think were able to give that much.
Here in 2 Corinthians 8:7, Paul exhorts us that when we are considering how much charitable giving we are going to do, we should consider the abundance which God has provided us and give accordingly.
“[A]ll quickly fail, that are not upheld by the Spirit of God, who is the Author of all consolation… [W]hat makes us more close-handed than we ought to be is – when we look too carefully, and too far forward, in contemplating the dangers that may occur – when we are excessively cautious and careful – when we calculate too narrowly what we will require during our whole life, or, in fine, how much we lose when the smallest portion is taken away. The man, that depends upon the blessing of the Lord, has his mind set free from these trammels, and has, at the same time, his hands opened for beneficence.” ~John Calvin, 1546 AD
It is not exactly an order that I am dictating [I speak not by commandment], but/rather giving proof through/by occasion of/by comparing it with the earnestness/diligence/forwardness of others and the genuineness/sincerity of your love.
1 John 3:16-18 “In this we have known love, because He, on our behalf, laid down His own life, and we ourselves, on behalf of the brothers, are obliged to lay down [our] lives. But whoever might have the worldly means and might be taking a long look at his brother when he is having a need, yet shuts off his affections toward him, how can the love of God remain in him? [My] dear children, let us neither love in word nor in talk, but rather in work and truth.” (NAW)
Simply saying something nice without doing anything substantive isn’t genuine love. Neither is doing something simply because an authority commanded you to.
Paul is springboarding off of the fact that the Macedonian churches have come up with a gift for the church in Jerusalem, and he is giving the Corinthian Christians an opportunity to ‘put their money where their mouth is’ and prove10 their love for their Jewish brothers and sisters in Christ by giving voluntarily and generously to them in their time of need.
Giving is a result of God’s grace to us,
Suffering and giving are related when there is joy in the Lord,
Giving should be generous,
Giving should not be under obligation, but of your own free will,
Giving is a privilege and blessing,
Give Yourself to the Lord first before you give your money.
Complete the Works of Grace that You Start
Consider The Abundance God Has Given You When You Give
Let Giving Be A Way To Show The Genuineness Of Your Love
ByzantineB |
NAW |
KJVC |
RheimsD |
MurdockE |
CopticF |
1 Γνωρίζομεν δὲ ὑμῖν, ἀδελφοί, τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν δεδομένην ἐνG ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τῆς Μακεδονίας, |
1 Now brothers, let us make known to y’all God’s grace which has been distributed among the churches of Macedonia: |
1
Moreover, brethren, we
do
X
you
to
wit
of the grace
of God bestowed
|
1 Now we make known unto you, brethren, the grace of God that hath been given in the churches of Macedonia. |
1
And, my brethren, we
make known to you the grace
of God which was conferred
|
1
But |
2 ὅτι ἐν πολλῇ δοκιμῇ θλίψεως ἡ περισσεία τῆς χαρᾶς αὐτῶν καὶ ἡ κατὰ βάθουςH πτωχεία αὐτῶν ἐπερίσσευσενI εἰς τὸν πλοῦτονJ τῆς ἁπλότητοςK αὐτῶν· |
2 that during much stressful testing, the overflow of their joy, notwithstanding their low-down poverty, overflowed into the wealth of their generosity. |
2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. |
2 That in much experience of tribulation, they [have had] abundance of joy and their very deep poverty hath abounded unto the riches of their simplicity. |
2
that in [the]
great
trial
of [their]
affliction,
[there was]
|
2 that in a great proof of a tribulation, the abundance of their joy and (the) depth of their poverty abounded into the riches of their singleness. |
3 ὅτι κατὰ δύναμιν, μαρτυρῶ, καὶ ὑπὲρL δύναμιν αὐθαίρετοιM, |
3 I bear witness that they were determined for themselves that it should be according to ability and even beyond ability, |
3 For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; |
3 For according to [their] power (I bear [them] witness) and beyond [their] power, they were willing: |
3 For I testify that, according to [their] ability, and beyond [their] ability, [in the] spontaneity [of their mind], |
3 X I witness that according to [their] power and beyond [their] power, [they acted] of their own readiness, |
4 μετὰ πολλῆς παρακλήσεωςN δεόμενοι ἡμῶν τὴν χάριν καὶO τὴν κοινωνίαν τῆς διακονίας τῆς εἰς τοὺς ἁγίουςP, |
4 begging us with much urging for the grace and the partnership of this service among the saints, |
4 Praying us with much intreaty [that we would receive] the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. |
4 With much entreaty begging of us the grace and communication of the ministry that is [done] toward the saints. |
4
they besought
us, with much entreaty,
|
4 they prayed us in a great beseeching concerning theB/theirS grace, and the fellowship of the ministry which is [done] to the saints: |
5 καὶ οὐ καθὼς ἠλπίσαμενQ, ἀλλ᾿ ἑαυτοὺς ἔδωκαν πρῶτον τῷ Κυρίῳ καὶR ἡμῖν διὰ θελήματος Θεοῦ, |
5 and not like we expected, but rather they gave themselves first to the Lord and to us because it was God’s will, |
5 And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. |
5
And not as we hoped: but they gave their own selves, first to the
Lord, |
5 And not only as we [had] expected, but they first gave themselves unto the Lord, and to us by the will of God. |
5 and not according as we hoped, but they were beforehand in giving themselves to the Lord, and to us [also] through the will of God. |
Byzantine |
NAW |
KJV |
Rheims |
Murdock |
Coptic |
6 εἰς τὸS παρακαλέσαι ἡμᾶς Τίτον, ἵνα καθὼς προενήρξατοT οὕτω καὶ ἐπιτελέσῃ εἰς ὑμᾶς καὶ τὴν χάριν ταύτην. |
6 such that we urged Titus that, just as he had previously started it, so he might also bring to completion this grace among y’all as well. |
6
Insomuch
that we |
6
Insomuch,
that we |
6
So
that we |
6 So that we besought Titos, that according as he began [from] (the) first, thus X he might complete this grace also in you. |
7 ἀλλ᾿ ὥσπερ ἐν παντὶ περισσεύετε, πίστειU καὶ λόγῳ καὶ γνώσει καὶ πάσῃ σπουδῇ καὶ τῇ ἐξ ἡμῶν ἐν ὑμῖνV ἀγάπῃ, ἵνα καὶ ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ χάριτι περισσεύητε. |
7 Moreover, just as y’all abound in everything (in faith and in word and in knowledge and in all diligence and in love that is from us among yourselves), that y’all should abound also in this grace. |
7
|
7
|
7
|
7 But according as ye abound in everything, in the faith, and the word, and the knowledge, and all earnestness, and the love which is in you from us, that ye may abound in this grace also. |
8 Οὐ κατ᾿ ἐπιταγὴν λέγω, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς ἑτέρων σπουδῆς καὶ τὸW τῆς ὑμετέρας ἀγάπης γνήσιον X δοκιμάζων· |
8 It is not exactly an order that I am dictating; it is rather giving proof through the diligence of others and the genuineness of your love for each other. |
8 I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love. |
8 I speak not as commanding: but by the carefulness of others, approving also the good disposition of your charity. |
8
I do not actually
X command you,
but by
the promptitude
of your |
8 I was not saying it according to commandment, but through the earnestness of others, I approved (the) choicenessB/genuinenessS of your love also. |
1Then known as Saul.
2Calvin’s commentary: “...they were afflicted with a great famine, so that they could scarcely support life...”
3Robertson’s Word Pictures noted that, “The Romans had lacerated Macedonia (Livy, XLV. 30),” and G. Wilson’s commentary noted, “Macedonia had been reduced to a state of grinding poverty by the crippling taxes of Rome.”
4τι ἐὰν εὐοδῶται, roughly synonymous with κατὰ δύναμιν in 2 Cor. 8:3.
5καθὼς εὐπορεῖτό τις, a phrase basically synonymous with κατὰ δύναμιν in 2 Cor. 8:3.
6These were picked up by Erasmus in his 16th century Textus Receptus edition of the Greek New Testament and passed on in versions (like the King James) based on that edition.
7Cf.
Vincent: “They took part in this contribution in a manner beyond
our expectation.”
Calvin: “He expected from them an
ordinary degree of willingness... but they went beyond his
expectation, inasmuch as they not only had their worldly
substance in readiness, but were prepared to devote even
themselves.”
8Cf. Calvin: “Titus had entreated them, not so much from his own inclination, as in consideration of the charge given him by the Macedonians.”
9Vincent and G. Wilson suggested that the “prior start” was during Titus’ first visit to Corinth.
10“I do not understand Paul to have been desirous to be assured of their love, (as to which he had already declared himself to be perfectly persuaded,) but he rather wished that all should have evidence of it.” ~Calvin
AWhen
a translation adds words not in the Greek text, but does not
indicate it has done so by the use of italics or greyed-out text, I
put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a
wording which is different from all the other translations, I
underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my
opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Greek
word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original text,
I use strikeout. And when a version omits a word
which is in the original text, I insert an X. I also place an X at
the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English
translation is singular. I occasionally use colors to help the
reader see correlations between the various editions and versions
when there are more than two different translations of a given word.
NAW is my translation. My original chart includes annotated copies
of the NKJV, NASB, NIV, and ESV, but I erase them from the online
edition so as not to infringe on their copyrights.
BThis Greek New Testament is the 1904 "Patriarchal" edition of the Greek Orthodox Church. As published by E-Sword in 2016. The Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine majority text of the GNT and the Textus Receptus are very similar. The Westcott-Hort, Nestle-Aland, UBS, and Tregelles editions, however, are a slightly-different family of GNTs developed in the modern era, focusing on the few manuscripts which are older than the Byzantine manuscripts. Even so, the practical differences in the text between these two editing philosophies are minimal.
C1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible; public domain. As published by E-Sword in 2019.
DRheims New Testament first published by the English College at Rheims, A.D. 1582, Revised and Diligently Compared with the Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner, Published in 1582, 1609, 1752. As published on E-Sword in 2016.
EJames Murdock, A Literal Translation from the Syriac Peshito Version, 1851, Robert Carter & Brothers, New York. Scanned and transcribed by Gary Cernava and published electronically by Janet Magierra at http://www.lightofword.org, and published on E-Sword in 2023.
FThis is my conflation of the English translations of the Northern Bohairic and Southern Sahidic traditions published by Oxford Clarendon Press in 1905 and 1920 respectively, neither of which named the translator or editor. The beginnings and ends of multiple-word variants are marked out with brackets, with a superscript “S” for Sahidic or “B” for Bohairic. The editor of the Sahidic compilation did not have manuscripts for vs. 1-4 and 6-8, and I have not discovered a published English translation of the subsequently-discovered manuscripts, so variants in that section for that tradition are not listed.
GIn their Grammars, Robertson asserted that εν meant “among” (L&N#83.9) and Turner said that that was not an impossible meaning. Moule, in his Idioms and Hanna in his Grammatical Aid asserted, on the other hand, that it meant “to” (L&N#90.56).
HLiterally “down-low;” not used as a phrase anywhere else in the Greek Bible.
IThis
verb is singular in Greek, but there are two feminine nominatives
“the abundance of their joy” and “the low depth of their
poverty,” and these two nominatives are linked with a generic
conjunction normally translated “and.” I see three ways to
explain this: 1) Paul made a grammar error here, 2) The grammar rule
that subject and verb must agree in number was suspended for
stylistic reasons (perhaps to combine the idea of joy and poverty
together more closely), or 3) The conjunction is not introducing a
separate subject but rather introduces a parenthesis, in which case
there is only one subject “the abundance of their joy” which
precipitated the “outflow of their wealth.” The latter makes the
most sense to readers committed to inerrancy (which rules out #1),
and to those who don’t see how “poverty” could “flow out
wealth” (which rules out #2).
Vincent commented on this
grammatical conundrum with some agreement to me, although he
proposed a different solution: “It is better to throw the verse
into two parallel clauses, instead of making abundance of joy and
deep poverty the joint subject of abounded. Render: ‘How that in
much proof of affliction was the abundance of their joy, and their
deep poverty abounded unto the riches, etc.’”
JThis masculine spelling of “wealth” is the reading of the majority of manuscripts, but the oldest-known manuscript containing this spelling is only 9th century (although it is found as a correction in the 4th century Sinaiticus). This is the reading of the Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox editions of the GNT. However, the four oldest-known manuscripts (plus two more) read with a neuter spelling (τὸ πλοῦτος), and this has been adopted by all the contemporary critical editions of the GNT. It makes no difference in meaning, however.
KLiterally means “singleness.” Robertson suggested “heartiness.”
LThis (“above”) is the reading of the majority of manuscripts, but the oldest-known manuscript containing this spelling is only 9th century. This is the reading of the Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox editions of the GNT. However, the four oldest-known manuscripts (plus six more) read παρα (“alongside”), and this has been adopted by all the contemporary critical editions of the GNT. Nowhere else in the Greek Bible does para dunamin occur, but huper dunamin occurs in three other places: Eccl. 9:16 ...ἀγαθὴ σοφία ὑπὲρ δύναμιν… (“...wisdom is better than power…”), 2 Cor. 1:8 (“... in Asia: that we were weighed down to the extreme – beyond ability – such that we despaired even of life.”), and more interestingly, Sirach 8:13 μὴ ἐγγυήσῃ ὑπὲρ δύναμίν σου καὶ ἐὰν ἐγγυήσῃ ὡς ἀποτείσων φρόντιζε (“Do not accept liability beyond your ability, indeed if you accept liability, you must mind how to repay!” ~NAW).·At any rate, all the standard English versions read “beyond,” whether they followed the CCE’s or the MT/TR Greek editions.
MThe only other instance of this adjective in the Greek Bible is in v. 17 of this same chapter.
NThe previous 9 occurrences of this word in 2 Cor. are translated “comfort,” but here and in the one additional instance in v.17, the meaning appears to be more along the lines of “exhortation.”
OThe Greek word here is correctly translated “and” in the Vulgate, Coptic, Geneva, KJV, NKJV, RV, ASV, and NET Bibles, but the NASB, NIV, ESV, and NLT oddly translated it “of,” perhaps following the Peshitta, which is a bit different from the ancient Greek, Latin, and Coptic manuscripts.
PThe Textus Receptus adds the phrase δεξασθαι ‘ημας (“us to receive”), based on 9 manuscripts dated between the 11th and 16th centuries. It is not found in the Greek Orthodox editions of the GNT or in the Majority text or in the contemporary critical editions, or in any of the ancient versions, so it only appears in versions based on the Textus Receptus, like the Geneva and King James in English and the Olivetan and Osterwald versions in French. It does however, explain what the “ministry” is, in terms of the “grace/gift” that they wanted the apostles to transfer to the saints.
QThis
is a simple Aorist (“hoped/expected” - Geneva, KJV, NIV, ESV,
Lamsa), not a Perfect tense (“had hoped/expected” – RV,
ASV/NASB, NKJV, NET, NLT). (Murdock’s English translation of the
Peshitta does not actually speak to this, since Aramaic does not
make a distinction between past and perfect tenses, thus, for
instance Lamsa’s English translation of the Peshitta of this
verse is simply “we expected.”)
As to the meaning, this is
not speaking of dashed hopes, but rather, in Robertson’s words,
“Paul had been reluctant to press the Macedonians because of their
manifest poverty…. They went beyond his hopes about them.”
RThe
simple conjunction “and” here between “to the Lord” and “to
us,” is not the way a Greek author would have written it if he
were emphasizing that “to us” was secondary whereas the “to
the Lord” was primary, so I am skeptical of the English versions
which do this by translating it “then” (NKJV, NIV, ESV) or
“after” (Geneva), following the Vulgate deinde
(even though “then” is one of the dictionary meanings for και
- L&N#89.87).
I side with the Peshitta,
Coptic, KJV, RV, ASV, NASB, and NET here,
that the first giving was to the Lord “and” (L&N#89.92)
to us, and the subsequent
giving was to the saints in Jerusalem.
As
for the commentators, Calvin similarly
questioned whether giving themselves to the Lord was actually
different from giving themselves to the apostles, citing Acts 15:28
and Exodus 14:31 and commenting, “It is quite a common thing, that
when God charges or commands through means of any one, he associates
the person whom he employs as his minister, both in authority to
enjoin, and in the obedience that is rendered... For, as they were
obedient to God, who had committed themselves to his ministry, to be
regulated by his counsel, they were influenced by this consideration
in listening to Paul, as speaking from God’s mouth.”
Vincent
also seems to
have agreed:
“Their liberality began in self-surrender to God and to the
apostles as His agents…” Phillip
Hughes commented: “Bengel and others
have understood ‘first’ here to mean that they gave themselves
first in time, that is, before giving their money. Alford, Stanley,
Hodge, Plummer and others have taken it to indicate first in
importance. But it is better to combine these two interpretations:
their giving of themselves was first in time as well as first in
importance... A third view is that of the Latin authors and Denney
and Allo, who take Paul to mean that the Macedonians
gave themselves, first to the Lord, then to him; but this sense
seems to us less than satisfactory and not really warranted by the
text. They did not give themselves twice; for in giving themselves
to the Lord they also at the same time placed themselves at the
disposal of Paul, the Lord's Apostle.”
Cf.
all GNT instances where “first” is
followed by a conjunction and another statement (Where
a word is not in both the Robinson-Pierpont Majority Text and the
Nestle-Aland
Critical Text, it is in square
brackets):
In
most cases, when time sequencing is emphasized, a word other than
kai is
used, differing from 2 Cor. 8:5 as
follows:
Matt.
5:24 “...first
be reconciled… and
then (τοτε)
offer your sacrifice.”
Matt. 7:5/Luke
6:42 “...First
throw away the timber-beam from your eye, and
then (τοτε)…”
Matt.
12:29/Mark 3:27
“...first
he shall have bound the strong man? Then
(τοτε)
indeed he
will plunder…”
Matt. 23:26
“...first
clean the inside... in order that (‘ινα)
also the
outside…”
Matt. 13:30 “...Start gathering up the weeds
first and
bind them... then (δε)
gather together the wheat…”
Mark
4:28 “...first
the blade, then (ειτε)
the ears...”
Mark
16:9-12 “he appeared first
to Mary Magdelene… and (δε)
after
(μετα)
these
things... to two guys walking...
Luke
21:9 “...these things must happen first,
but (αλλ’)
the end is not right away.
John 2:10
“...first
sets out the good wine... [τοτε
- then] the lesser-quality when
(‘οταν)...”
John
18:13-24 “...they led him away to Annas first…
then (ουν)
... questioned Jesus… [ουν
- then] ... sent him... to Caiaphas.”
Acts
7:12-13 “...Jacob... sent out our fathers first.
And the
second time (δευτερω)
Joseph was made known…”
Acts 26:20 “to
those in Damascus first
and [both
- τε] to the
Jerusalemites and (τε)...
Judea, and
to the Gentiles...”
Rom.
1:16, 2:9, 2:10 “to the Jew first,
and also
(τε) to the
Gentile.”
1
Cor. 12:28 “...first
apostles, second (δεύτερον)
prophets...”
1
Cor. 15:46 “first...the
soulish, then (ἔπειτα)
the spiritual...”
1
Thess. 4:16-17 “...dead in Christ shall rise first,
then (επειτα)
we who live...
1
Tim. 3:10 “...let
them be tested first,
then (εἶτα)
let them serve…”
2
Tim. 1:5 “...first
in your grandmother Lois and
in your mother Eunice, then (δε)
… in you.”
Heb. 7:2 “...first
translated ‘King of Righteousness,’ and then (ἔπειτα
δὲ)
also
‘King of Peace’”
James 3:17 “...first
pure, then (ἔπειτα)
peaceable…”
In many other instances of “first,” a
later
event
is described, followed by “but first” (e.g. Luke 17:25, Rom.
15:24, Eph. 4:9, 1 Tim. 5:14),
which also doesn’t fit the pattern here in 2 Cor. 8.
I
found only 4 other instances
where the grammar is like 2 Cor 8, and in none of them is sequence
emphasized:
Matt.
8:21 “...first
permit me to go and
bury my father.”
Matt. 6:33
“...seek first
the kingdom... and
all these things will be added…”
Matt.
17:11 “...Elijah does come first,
and will
restore all…”
Matt. 17:27
“...pull up the fish that comes up first,
and
opening its mouth…”
SIn their Grammars, Robertson said this phrase has a “consecutive notion, ‘so that we besought Titus.’” and Turner translated it “to such a degree that…” Robertson added in his Word Pictures, “Use of eis to and the infinitive for result with accusative of general reference (hēmas).”
TThis compound of pro (“before”) + en (“in”) + archomai (“begin”) occurs nowhere else in the Greek Bible except v.10. Without the first prefix, enarchomai is also found in Gal. 3:3 “having begun in the Spirit…” and Phil. 1:6 “He who began a good work in you…” (plus several more in the LXX: Exod. 12:18; Num. 9:5; 17:12; Deut. 2:24-25, 31; Jos. 10:24; 1 Ma. 9:54; Prov. 13:12; Sir. 36:24; 38:16), and the even simpler archw appears hundreds of times, but proarchomai is not a form used in the Greek Bible anywhere.
U“According to Plummer, ‘faith’ here signifies ‘faith in Christ, such as every believer has’. It seems preferable, however, to take it as referring to that faith of which the Apostle speaks in I Corinthians as belonging to the charismatic gifts of the Spirit, that is, wonder-working faith (I Cor. 12:9; cf. 13:2), rather than as saving faith. It was particularly in these charismatic gifts that the Corinthian church abounded.” ~P. E. Hughes
V“The love out of us into you” is the reading of the majority of Greek manuscripts (including three of the oldest-known manuscripts) and thus of the Vulgate, the Bohairic, the Textus Receptus, Greek Orthodox, Tischendorf, and Tregelles editions of the GNT, and the KJV/NKJV, NIV, and NET English versions. The Peshitta and about 10 Greek manuscripts (including the oldest-known one) switch the pronouns to read “the love out of you into us,” and that is the reading of the Nestle-Aland and USB editions of the GNT, as well as the Geneva Bible, ASV/NASB, and RV/ESV. Because of the mutuality of that love, this doesn’t create an untrue statement either way, and it doesn’t affect any important doctrine.
W“genuineness” is the accusative neuter singular which matches this definite article. Turner’s Grammar noted that this definite article “is used as an abstract substantive here, ‘what is genuine with respect to your love...’”
XVincent: “Used by Paul only. Contracted from γενήσιος legitimately born: hence genuine. Paul calls Timothy his lawful son in the faith (1Ti. 1:2). The kindred adverb γνησίως sincerely (A.V. naturally), occurs once, Php. 2:20.”