2 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER EIGHT - Verse-by-verse



2 CORINTHIANS chapter eight

JACK

Chapters eight and nine deal with the

JERUSALEM OFFERING

BACKGROUND (HISTORICAL)

1. THE HEBREW SAINTS LIVING IN THE SECOND COMMONWEALTH (JERUSALEM AND JUDEA) FACED A MAJOR LIVING GRACE TEST FROM 44 A.D. ON.

2. A famine predicted by the Christian prophet Agabus resulted in economic depression throughout the Roman world (ACTS 11:27,28).

3. In 47 A.D., the Gentile church at Antioch sent an offering to believers in Judea (ACTS 11:29,30; GALATIANS 2:1-10 especially verse 10).

4. The famine was brought on by poor wheat harvests in Egypt from 44 A.D. to 48 A.D.

5. The nation, being under the cycles of discipline, continued to experience chronic economic problems up to the fifth cycle (as is our own).

6. But believers in the nation were doubly affected due to the persecutions by other Jews (compare HEBREWS 1:32-34???????).

7. Paul had, over the years, called on Gentile churches to come to the aid of Hebrew Christians:

a. First Antioch (ACTS 11:29,30).

b. Then the Galatian churches (1 CORINTHIANS 16:1).

c. Then the Corinthians (1 CORINTHIANS 16:1).

d. And the Macedonians (2 CORINTHIANS 8:10).

e. And the Romans (ROMANS 15:25-28).

8. A very large offering was provided for these believers.

the Macedonian response

SUMMARY VERSES 1,2

1. IT IS LEGITIMATE TO MOTIVATE OTHERS TO APPLY BY MENTIONING THE APPLICATION OF ANOTHER.

2. The giving of the Macedonians is cited to motivate the Corinthians to fulfill their responsibility before God.

3. Paul does not mention amounts given, only the liberality of these impoverished saints.

4. They had lost much due to persecution.

5. The amount given was beyond their resources.

6. The offering was in the midst of their persecution.

7. They had +H under testing, knowing the testing of their doctrine produced SG3 (1 PETER 1:6-8).

8. Paul uses a double paradox in verse two:

a. Under undeserved suffering they had +H.

b. In extreme poverty, they had an abounding wealth of generosity.

9. True generosity is not the prerogative Old Testament those who enjoy an adequacy of means.

10. The most genuine liberality is frequently demonstrated by those who have the least to give. (Example: the widow’s mite; MARK 12:41ff).

11. The Corinthians, due to the influence of the false teachers, were slack in this ministry.

12. The Macedonian churches included Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea.

13. They went through extreme persecution and resultant impoverishment.

Paul didn’t solicit the gift (verses 3-6a)

SUMMARY VERSES 3-6

1. VERSES THREE THROUGH FIVE ARE ONE SENTENCE.

2. Concerning their extraordinary gift, Paul says:

a. They gave beyond the normal requirement (which wasn’t much).

b. They gave apart from begging—they did the begging.

c. They surprised the apostle.

d. They completely faith/rest their own future to help others.

e. They trusted apostolic judgement on the logistics of giving.

f. They gave in God's will.

3. Unlike modern, high-pressure techniques, the apostle simply let the need be known and let believers respond.

4. They gave:

a. To royal family members they had never seen.

b. In spite of Paul's reluctance to ask such poverty stricken believers to give.

c. After much begging.

d. “Over their heads.”

5. Such giving, to glorify God, must be voluntarily, totally apart from coercion.

6. OBSERVATION: A PASTOR SHOULD BE SENSITIVE TO THE FINANCIAL ABILITY OF THOSE HE ASKS TO GIVE. (Paul was.)

Getting back to the issues of the Corinthian offering

SUMMARY VERSE 6

1. THE COLLECTION WAS BEGUN PRIOR TO THE SENDING OF 1 CORINTHIANS.

2. First Corinthians 16:1ff assumes the readers were familiar with the situation.

3. First Corinthians 16:1ff was written to clear up questions they had about procedure and method.

4. CONCLUSION: Titus MUST HAVE VISITED THEM SOMETIME PRIOR TO THE WRITING OF 1 Corinthians AND THIS OCCASION INITIATED THE OFFERING.

5. SPECULATION: Titus WAS THE BEARER(S) OF THE LOST EPISTLE MENTIONED IN 1 Corinthians 5:9 AND AT THIS TIME fulfilled THE AORIST ACTIVE INDICATIVE OF proenarcomai ??????? (proenarchomai??????).

6. fact: Titus was the bearer of 1 Corinthians (compare

2 CORINTHIANS 2:4; 7:8ff).

7. Furthermore, he completed, under apostolic supervision, what he began.

further incentive to apply

SUMMARY VERSE 7

1. IF THE EXAMPLE OF LIBERALITY SET BY THE MACEDONIANS PROVIDED AN INCENTIVE TO THE CORINTHIANS, SO ALSO DID THE FACT OF THEIR OWN ASSETS.

2. Paul exhorts them to abound in grace giving as a compliment to the reality of their own abounding.

3. They had abounded in everything; so they should be true to themselves and abound in this sphere of grace.

4. For instance, God had bestowed upon them and abundance of spiritual gifts (compare 1 CORINTHIANS 1:7: “So that you are not lacking in any gift, eagerly awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

5. These gifts would be marshaled to this ministry.

6. The Corinthians did not lack for zeal which was now correctly channeled.

7. They were abounding in live—that is being under the filling of the Holy Spirit, they loved one another, Paul and company, God, and needy believers.

8. So Paul reminds them of the gifts and virtues which they had, to act as an incentive to abound in grace giving.

9. Should they fail to the occasion, it would falsify his boast that they abound in everything.

10. A gentler and more urbane method of incitement to generosity would be hard to imagine (urbane, polished, suave).

Grace giving and external compulsion are

MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE

SUMMARY VERSE 8

1. IN THE MATTER OF THIS OFFERING, PAUL DOES NOT STAND BEFORE THEM AS A DRILL SERGEANT TO RECRUITS.

2. They are free to do individually and as a group as they wish.

3. They are free either:

a. Not to give.

b. To give according to their ability.

c. To give with liberality.

4. The love that tends to demonstrate itself in liberality cannot be the product of external compulsion (i.e. the use of apostolic authority).

5. Avoiding a direct command, Paul continues to coax them with the Macedonian example.

6. They are placed under a test. (The verb dokimazw dokimadzo: to put to the test.)

7. The Macedonians, who were passing the test of severe affliction with flying colors, gave liberally and apart from solicitation, as proof of their love.

8. This is the inducement to the Corinthians to give evidence of their love.

9. Internal compulsion, yes, external compulsion, no, when it comes to giving.

10. Paul is not encouraging a spirit of rivalry between the churches.

11. For nowhere is the amount given mentioned. (That was a matter not for public consumption. This is in contrast to the emphasis today in who gave what in fund raisers.)

12. Again, his purpose is to provide an example and incentive for the Corinthians to show a comparable liberality.

13. The Macedonians gave from a posture of severe persecution and extreme poverty; which act proved the essence of their love and capacity.

14. God weighs the inner motive, not the outward amount.

15. And in all giving, He blesses according to the weight of the inner motives.

16. External compulsion undermines the grace processes.

the epitome of liberality and genuine love

SUMMARY VERSE 9

1. THE ULTIMATE EXAMPLE OF LIBERALITY, AND INDUCEMENT TO LIBERALITY IS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST DURING THE INCARNATION.

2. In order to appreciate and to understand how the Lord went from rich to poor, one must be familiar with the doctrine of the hypostatic union and the doctrine of kenosis.

3. Whenever we speak of Him, we are speaking of two persons in one (2-in-1).

4. The “first” person constitutes His Deity which can never change for the better (since He is perfect in all attributes) nor for the worse.

5. As Deity, He possesses all the attributes of the Godhead.

6. The phrase in verse nine “that though being rich” refers to the attributes of His Deity.

7. Scriptures where wealth is used of Divine attributes (ROMANS 2:4; 9:23 “riches of His glory”).

8. Possessing all the attributes of Deity (COLOSSIANS 2:9), as God, He is rich.

9. He is rich also from the standpoint of what Deity can do and does create.

10. God the Son is the actual Creator, proving His Deity and His surpassing wealth (JOHN 1:3,10; COLOSSIANS 1:16; HEBREWS 1:2,10 compare GENESIS 1:1).

11. If one possesses the attributes of Deity, one is rich!

12. And since the super-glue that holds Deity together is immutability (the doctrine that God does not change), the Son, as Deity, is eternally wealthy.

13. In other words, Deity can't become poor.

14. Also remember that Deity doesn’t need material things as a prophecy since God existed infinitely before the first creation began. (God is a spirit.)

15. As it applies to the hypostatic union, His Deity couldn’t change to accommodate His newly acquired humanity. (That is the false doctrine of kenosis.)

16. Having said all this about His immutable Deity, how does this square with the phrase, “yet for your sake, He became poor”?

17. Since Deity can't divest itself of the attributes of Deity and thereby become poor, in what sense did Christ “give up” His wealth?

18. To answer this question we must be briefed on the doctrine of the hypostatic union.

19. Having GAPed this doctrine, we now must study the related doctrine of kenosis.

20. “He became poor” relates strictly to His humanity, and not His Deity.

21. During “the days of His flesh” (compare HEBREWS 5:7), He refused, in accordance with the plan of God for His Ph2, to exercise the independent use of His attributes for His own personal benefit.

22. ILLUSTRATION: YOU ARE VERY RICH, BUT YOU DON’T DRAW ON YOUR RESOURCES TO RELIVE YOUR POVERTY; YOU ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY RICH AND POOR.

23. Jesus resisted the temptation to call on His Deity to bail our His humanity.

24. Satan's objective in the “Great Temptation” was to break the hypostatic union by tempting Him to violate the doctrine of kenosis.

25. Jesus, knowing full well who He was, never once succumbed to the temptation to so use His Deity to relieve His humanity.

26. To do so would have resulted in a forfeiture of the Angelic Conflict, an exigency protected by the doctrine of impeccability.

27. Examples of relinquishing:

a. Living in the peasant class.

b. Experiencing physical privation and sufferings (tiredness, thirst, hunger, etc.; abuse by people).

c. Ignorance of certain things. (Like the day and hour of the rapture.)

d. Physical death.

28. Philippians 2:5-8 substantiates all we have said thus far in this summary:

a. He was God.

b. He became man in union with Deity.

c. He did not, as man, demand His full rights.

d. But experienced the limitations and privations of one in the peasant class.

e. Including the most ignominious death for one at that time.

29. His vindication by Deity was to be made rich.

30. As of His resurrection, ascension, and session, He no longer, in His humanity, experiences the effects of kenosis (PHILIPPIANS 2:9).

31. He is forever rich in both persons as of His glorification.

32. Apart from His physical poverty, there would be no deliverance from our spiritual impoverishment.

33. Through His poverty (kenosis, with emphasis on the cross) we paradoxically have a foundation upon which we can acquire eternal riches.

34. Adjustment to our niche through resident doctrine is the straight and narrow to SG3 (JAMES 2:5 compare 1:9,10).

35. Some Scriptures labeling SG3 “wealth” (EPHESIANS 1:18: “the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” compare 2:7; HEBREWS 11:26; MATTHEW 6:19,20 (“treasure”); LUKE 12:33; 18:22).

36. When spiritual wealth (Bible doctrine in the bank [the soul]) is converted into Divine good, God parlays each unit of production into eternal physical wealth.

37. Some Scriptures labeling Bible doctrine “wealth” (MATTHEW 13:52;

LUKE 6:45; 2 CORINTHIANS 4:7; COLOSSIANS 2:3).

38. A verse bringing the two together (treasure in the soul and treasure in the heart; LUKE 12:34).

39. Jesus’ example forever stands as the epitome and the ultimate standard of liberality.

Paul continues to coax them

SUMMARY VERSE 10

1. THIS VERSE IS CLOSELY LINKED TO VERSE EIGHT.

. The offering is not a command; however, it is his judgement that it is to their advantage to participate.

. In encouraging them to give, he offers a further logical consideration as to why they should continue.

. Since they were initially eager to apply just one year earlier, they should be zealous to follow through.

. They had flagged in their original zeal due to natural apathy and mistrust of Paul due to the false teachers in their midst.

. Paul's appeal to abound in this grace is not inappropriate for the additional reason that they had given evidence of a desire to give by initiating a benevolent fund at Corinth.

. PRINCIPLE: IT IS PROPER TO POINT OUT TO PEOPLE THE INCONSISTENCY OF THEIR PRESENT COURSE WITH A PAST COURSE IN ORDER TO MOTIVATE THEM TO GET WITH WHAT THEY PREVIOUSLY FOLLOWED.

.

. Summary verses 11,12

. Paul exhorts them to complete what they began a year earlier.

. The implication is that they had let this ministry slide.

. They should revive the ready and eager mental attitude in which they had undertaken this task.

. It is not Paul's intention that the collection should be an oppressive burden to them.

. They are expected to give according to their ability.

. Paul is not, however, suggesting that they should emulate the Macedonians by giving contrary to their power.

. Liberality should always be unexpected.

. Paul explains that when the proper mental attitude is present, one should give according to one's ability and not in accordance with what is impossible.

. The mental attitude is the first measure of grace giving, not the amount.

.

. Summary verses 13,14

. Paul does not wish that the offering place a hardship (qliyij thlipsis, pressure, hardship) on those at Corinth.

. When one comes to the aid of another’s living grace need, it should not place an equally severe hardship on the one giving. (I.e. one that cannot be born.)

. Under present directive the Corinthians were enjoying a degree of material prosperity.

. The will of God is for the believer who has comparative abundance to come to the aid of the needy believer.

. The Macedonians constitute a special case not commanded.

. A balance will be restored when the situations are reversed.

. A principle of equality is present among the fraternity of believers.

.

. Summary verse 15

. The quote is from Exodus 16:18.

. The Jews were given specific instructions on how to gather manna.

. They were to gather only what each household could consume per day.

. Those who tried to gather more than a days portion discovered that the manna would not keep.

. Paul cites this example of living grace provision to provide a precedent for the doctrine that even though our individual living grace portion differs, He meets each one’s need.

. Whether it be much or little.

. Implicit in this doctrine that living grace varies is the requirement to help those who have a lack.

. At the present, the Corinthians gathered much but their excess would help to bring the Jerusalem saints “need” to “no lack.”

.

. Summary verse 16

. Paul is thankful for men who share his interest and zeal in the ministry.

. He gives God the credit.

.

. Titus relationship to Paul in the matter

. Summary verse 17

. It was Paul's proposal that Titus be sent to collect their money.

. Paul is thankful for the manner in which Titus welcomed Paul's proposal.

. Titus was too eager to carry on this ministry to need any exhortation.

. So much so that it can be said that he left for Corinth of his own accord.

. Believers who have their act together need little exhortation to apply.

. A mere word is enough.

.

. Letter of comendation of three

. to Corinth (verses 16-24)

. Titus’ companion, luke

. Summary verse 18

. This believer was both well known and respected in all the local churches that Paul founded.

. Luke best fits the identification since:

. He, more than any individual could be described as Paul's “travelling companion.”

. He accompanied Paul to Jerusalem with the offering collected from the churches (“we” of ACTS 21:15,17 indicates).

. His contribution to the New Testament (LUKE, ACTS) adds to his credentials.

. Timothy and Titus would not be referred to anonymously since they both assisted Paul in the founding of the church, but not Luke (compare

. ACTS 18:5; 2 CORINTHIANS 1:19).

. Four other names advanced include Aristarchus, who along with Gaius, were Paul's travelling companions in Acts 19:29; further, he was one of those who accompanied the apostle to Jerusalem with the offering (ACTS 20:4).

. He is eliminated since he was a Macedonian (ACTS 19:29; 20:4; 27:2) and according to 2 Corinthians 9:4, the implication is that no Macedonians traveled with Titus.

. Sopater of Berea and Secundas of Thessalonica were Paul's companions, but were Macedonians.

. If the Gaius in Acts 19:24 is the same as the Gaius of Acts 20:4, he is a Macedonian.

. Only two names of the list in Acts 20:4 remain: Tychicus and Trophimus, both “of Asia”. Paul's rapport with these men is clearly set forth in his letters (compare EPHESIANS 6:21; COLOSSIANS 4:7 for comments concerning Tychicus and 2 TIMOTHY 4:20 of Trophimus.)

.

. Summary verses 19-21

. Luke was elected by the churches to be their personal representative to carry the gift to Jerusalem.

. He acted on behalf of all the churches.

. Each church also elected one from its own membership to transport the gift (compare ACTS 20:4).

. This was a safeguard against rumors gaining credence.

. Paul, who was totally honorable, anticipated potential malicious gossip if he handled it, so he arranged this system to offset harm by the unscrupulous.

. At Corinth, as elsewhere, he does not himself collect the money, but this task is committed to Titus and two others.

. The importance, in monetary matters, of having a name for integrity before God and men is confirmed here.

. APPLICATION: THE PASTOR MUST NOT HANDLE THE CHURCH FUNDS HIMSELF; THIS SHOULD BE ASSIGNED TO OTHERS.

. The principle of doing what is right in the sight of God and men is found in Romans 12:17.

. As we conduct our affairs, it is not enough that we maintain integrity before God, but that we also arrange our affairs so as to be able to lay to rest charges by men of misconduct.

.

. Summary verse 23

. Our candidate for the second anonymous believer is Tychicus:

. Since he isn't a Macedonian.

. He is mentioned in Acts 20:4.

. Paul often sent him as his emissary (and the bearer of his epistles) to different churches and persons (compare EPHESIANS 6:21ff;

. 2 TIMOTHY 4:12; COLOSSIANS 4:7ff; TITUS 3:12).

. Paul doesn’t mention his name since the Corinthians had no previous personal association with him. (Paul mentions by name Titus, Timothy, and Apollos.)

. Paul had great confidence in this man based on his past relationship with him.

. Paul is commending him to the church.

. This man is qualified because of his previous testings.

. Based on the reports, he, like Paul, has great confidence in the Corinthians.

.

. Summary verse 23

. One should acknowledge the relationship others share in the service of the Lord.

. Paul pays tribute to those who work with him.

.

. Summary exhortation

. Summary verse 24

. Paul exhorts them to apply and so show the proof of their love to others.

. And to establish the credibility of his boasting in them before others.

. Among other things, he spoke confidently in their willingness to come through in this ministry (compare 7:16).

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download