a sermon on 2 Corinthians 8

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Excellence in Generosity
2 Corinthians 8:1-9
Let’s take our Bibles and turn to the book of 2 Corinthians, chapter 8. We
love having guests, so if you’re visiting with us we are really glad you’re
here. The people of First Baptist Church are wonderful folks and they
would love to meet you and help you in any way they can.
I’m excited that next week we’ll begin a series of messages from the book
of Philippians on Sunday mornings, but today we complete a series of
sermons that emphasizes the biblical theme of stewardship. We’ve stated
each week that God owns everything, including us and everything we
have. Also, the Bible teaches that once we are born again and we’re
followers of Jesus, God makes us stewards, or managers of what He has
given to us. He’s given us financial resources, time, talents, spiritual gifts,
and we manage all of that for God’s glory. And we manage what God
gives us according to what He has told us to do in His Word. So, the title
of our four-week series focusing on stewardship is “My Life, God’s Way.”
When we order our lives according to God’s Word, we’ll walk with Him
through every day in a close personal relationship. We’ll also gather with
God’s people to worship, because God tells us in His Word to do that.
We’ll also serve God and people; we talked about that last week. Today
we’ll address stewardship with our financial resources. Someone has said
that the most sensitive nerve in the human body is the one leading from
the heart to the wallet, and if that’s even close to true you’ll be very
interested in this message. As always, my goal is not to tell you what
Allan thinks but to stay with what God says in His Word. So we’ll be
walking through a passage in the Bible, and if your neighbor does not have
a Bible please share with them as we begin reading in 2 Corinthians 8,
verse 1. I’m reading from the English Standard Version.
Read 2 Corinthians 8:1-9
Most people do not possess a burning ambition to be average. We have an
innate desire to excel, to improve, to grow. That’s one reason for the
success of books like Your Best Life Now, by Joel O’Steen. People want
their best life; sales of that book would have been different if it had been
entitled Your Average Life Now, or Your Pretty Good Life Now. Jim
Collins’ book Good to Great also sold a lot of copies. Hundreds of

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thousands of people bought that book because people are not satisfied with
being good, they want to be great.
When we’re born again, God gives us the same impulse with respect to
our faithfulness to Christ. Paul expressed an ambition to be great for
Christ in Philippians 3 – “Forgetting what lies behind and straining
forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the
upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (vv. 13-14). God commands that kind
of ambition for spiritual greatness. Jesus said, “You, therefore, must be
perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). And 2 Peter 3:18
commands us, “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ.” In the Scripture we just read, Paul wrote the same kind of
exhortation with respect to our generosity. As he encouraged the
Christians in Corinth to give, he wrote in verse 7, “See that you excel in
this gracious work also.” The New American Standard Bible has, “See
that you abound in this gracious work also.” That’s what we want to talk
about this morning – abounding, or excelling, in generosity.
First, let’s see in verse 1 that the Origin of Our Generosity is God, not
Man. The apostle Paul had been collecting an offering for the poor
Christians in Jerusalem. Christians in various areas had been giving to
that offering, and Paul was about to write how the Christians in
Macedonia had given generously to that offering. He began by writing,
“We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been
given among the churches of Macedonia.” But wait a minute. Shouldn’t
Paul have written that he wanted to make known the grace of the
Christians in Macedonia, their grace demonstrated in the offering they
gave for the church in Jerusalem? He wrote about that in the verses that
follow, but Paul began by writing about the grace of God, and that makes
a very important statement – the origin of our generosity is God. Our
giving starts with His grace in our lives.
We’re born naturally selfish. When we’re babies, toddlers, and little
children, our world and everything in it revolves around what we want. A
toddler is sitting in a play pen playing with a toy. Put another toddler in
the play pen and he picks up a toy that the first toddler was not playing
with, and what does the first toddler do? Does it make him happy to share
his toys with the new kid? No, he bops the new kid on the head with his
toy and takes the toy away. We’re born thinking we’re the center of the
universe and we should get what we want right now. In fact, people who
haven’t been redeemed and changed by Christ have that same attitude in

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adulthood, though in a more socially assimilated form. A lot of adults live
self-centered lives. Every decision they make is based on the answer to
the question: “How will this help me?”
How do we become generous people? When we put our faith in Jesus, He
comes into our lives and gives us a new nature. We’re changed people,
and God causes our change. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” We’re made new by Christ.
We have new priorities, new lifestyle patterns, and a new power for living
– God’s power in us. So, when Paul saw the amazing generosity of the
Christians in Macedonia, he realized that it was the result of the gracious
work of God in their lives. God caused the change in their lives. Our
generosity begins with God’s work in us. “We want you to know,
brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches
of Macedonia.”
Also, God gives us the pattern. We learn how to give by watching the
way God gives; He’s the perfect Giver. Every virtue we’re to have we see
perfectly expressed in our Lord. In John 13:34, Jesus said, “Just as I have
loved you, you also are to love one another.” We see how Jesus loves, and
we’re to love like that. In Matthew 18 Jesus says we know how to forgive
by remembering how God has forgiven us. And in our giving, here in
verse 9 Paul reminds us of how Jesus has given to us. “You know the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake
he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” Jesus
gave, and if we’re like Him we’ll give too. He gave us a pattern to follow,
and He changes us into the kind of people who are generous, like Him.
Second, the Motive of Our Generosity is Spiritual, not Financial.
Please don’t think this sermon has to do with raising money. No, we’re
aiming at simple obedience to God’s Word by His people, bringing our
lives into conformity to the image of Jesus. Our giving won’t be right
until our hearts are right, because the motive for generosity is spiritual. In
verses 2-3 we see that we are to be generous even if in poverty. That’s
very clear in the giving of the Christians in Macedonia. Verse 2 doesn’t
say they gave because they had some surplus funds or they needed the tax
credit. It says, “In a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and
their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.”
Verse 3 says they gave “according to their means…and beyond their
means.” The Macedonians gave “beyond their means.” Their means
equaled almost zero. They were in “a severe test of affliction” and in

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“extreme poverty.” Verse 2 is an amazing statement about those
Christians. In their affliction they experienced joy, and in their poverty
they expressed generosity. In fact, Paul added the word “wealth” in verse
2, which seems totally out of place in reference to those poor Christians in
Macedonia. “Their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity
on their part.” Think about it as a formula. Affliction plus extreme
poverty – what does that equal? In the case of the Christians in
Macedonia, affliction plus extreme poverty equaled abundant joy and a
wealth of generosity. Paul could not have made the point more strongly
that the motive for their generosity was not financial, it was spiritual.
They gave out of their poverty because their hearts were generous.
Years ago I pastored in Gulfport, Mississippi. During Hurricane Katrina,
long after we left, the church building was about 6 feet under water, and
much of the property was destroyed. A week or two after the hurricane I
went down to the church to help with the clean-up and to survey the
situation to help to raise some support for them. On one of the nights I
was there, the Finance Committee met for the first time since the
hurricane. For some reason, they invited me to attend the meeting. A lady
on the committee remembered that I love chocolate, so she made a
chocolate cake, and we all shared it and had a great time of fellowship.
Then they started the Finance Committee meeting. This was a moment of
financial crisis for them. The church income had tanked, since many of
the church members had left the area and almost all the church members
were unsure about their future jobs or income, since much of the city had
been destroyed. So, the church had very little income, but they still had
bills and salaries to pay, not to mention the fact that their building had
taken on hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage. I sat in the meeting
as an observer as they looked at their astronomical financial challenges.
And I was astonished as they all began to affirm that no matter what, they
were not going to cut their giving to world missions. I couldn’t believe
they were suggesting such a thing at that moment. I sat there repeating to
myself, “You’re only a guest, don’t say anything. You’re only a guest;
don’t say anything.” And I didn’t say anything. But I’ll tell you what was
on the tip of my tongue to say. “Why are you guys talking about giving
money away? As an outsider, let me say that nobody expects you to give
anything to anybody. You don’t need to give to the mission field; you are
the mission field, or haven’t you noticed the military helicopters shuttling
back and forth overhead, virtually all the buildings from the coast to here
have been gutted if they’re still standing, tent cities all over the area are
filled with volunteers to bail you out, the Army National Guard is

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bivouacked a half mile away, and 100 volunteers are sleeping in your
gym. You’re a living emergency, your church is a disaster area, and
you’re talking about giving to people in need?!” But they did. “In a
severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme
poverty…overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.” Don’t tell
me that generosity depends on our financial condition; it depends on our
spiritual condition.
And, we are to be generous willingly. Verse 3 says that the Christians in
Macedonia gave “of their own free will.” It was a free will offering. In
verse 4 Paul wrote that they were “begging us earnestly for the favor of
taking part in the relief of the saints.” Not only did no one have to twist
their arms to give, they volunteered to give, and not only did they
volunteer, they begged to give. As I read that I wondered why they had to
beg. Apparently, when they offered to give somebody indicated that, “It’s
not necessary for you to give.” So, they had to beg somebody to take their
gift. They didn’t give as a result of some high-pressure persuasion; they
had to use persuasion to convince somebody to take their gift. Our giving
is to come from the heart, willingly. The pastors of the church teach and
preach what God’s Word says about tithes and offerings to God, and
God’s people obey God’s Word “of their own free will.”
Also, we are to be generous sacrificially. Verse 5 says, “They gave
themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.” “They
gave themselves first.” We don’t merely give God a percentage of income
as a religious duty. He’s not looking for the performance of a religious
ritual. He’s looking for a relationship with us. We give ourselves to Him.
Romans 12:1 says, “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” The
sacrifice God wants is us. He wants us to present ourselves as sacrifices to
Him. And when He has us, He has our money – not some of it, but all of
it. We’ve presented it to Him, so it belongs to Him. He then appoints us
as managers of it, and we move it wherever He wants for His kingdom
purposes. The Bible calls us stewards, and that’s what it means to be a
steward – God is the owner and we’re the managers of the resources He
allows us to have for awhile.
Third, the Goal in Generosity is Growth, not Monotony. Verse 7 has
the word “excel,” or “abound.” We’re to excel in generosity. Verse 7
begins by commending the Christians in Corinth for excelling, or
abounding, in other Christian virtues. “You excel…in faith, in speech, in
knowledge, in all earnestness.” So, generosity to this offering was listed

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along with other Christlike characteristics. That’s why we say that
generosity is a benchmark of spiritual health. Paul wrote that these
Christians were doing well in developing other qualities, and then he
encouraged them to develop in generosity. He challenged them to excel in
generosity, to be excellent in giving.
Is that your goal? It’s likely that your goal is not to be average in your
vocation, but to be excellent. You probably don’t want to be an average
parent or grandparent; you want to excel. It’s doubtful that in school you
prefer C’s to A’s – you would rather excel than be average. It’s not a
compliment to tell somebody, “I think you’re really average.” This week I
read some facts about the average person.
 The average person eats 10,000 chocolate bars in a lifetime (I’m
definitely above average),
 the average person takes 9,000 steps per day,
 by age 50, the average person has spent 5 years waiting in lines
(unless you switch to the faster line, in which case you spend 10
years waiting in lines),
 the average person laughs 15 times per day,
 the average I.Q. is 100.
And if you hear that and think that you’re well above average, I also read
that the average person thinks he is above average. We don’t want to be
average in our walk with God. We want to excel, and specifically God’s
Word exhorts us, “See that you excel” in generosity. Whether we’re
generous or not matters to God.
Jesus said that what we do with our treasure says something about our
hearts. He said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”
(Matt. 6:21). Where we put our treasure determines where our hearts will
be. Maybe you don’t care about the Microsoft Corporation, but if you buy
shares in Microsoft, you’ll start caring about Microsoft. Where our
treasure is, our hearts will follow. If you don’t care much about missions,
give your treasure to missions, and you’ll care about missions. We can
choose where we put our hearts. How? By our giving. If your heart is in
the wrong place, give to the right place, and your heart will be there too.
Excellence in giving is a benchmark of spiritual health, and it affects our
spiritual health.

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Also, generosity is evidence of sincere love. That’s what Paul wrote in
verse 8. He wrote to these Christians that their participation in the
offering was going to prove “that your love also is genuine.” An offering
for the poor church in Jerusalem was being taken. If the Christians in
Corinth loved God and loved His church, they would give generously to
the offering. If, on the other hand, they heard about the offering and they
said, “We’ll pass. We’re not going to give anything,” that would say
something about their love for God and for His church.
If a husband loves his wife, he’ll give to her. What would it say about a
husband’s love if his wife’s birthday came, and he said, “Honey, I know
it’s your birthday, and I thought about buying a gift, but I decided just to
tell you I love you, and I think that’s even better.” His wife would not be
thinking at that moment, “Wow. He loves me so much.” No, that’s not
going to be good. What if the Christians in Corinth had told Paul, “We
know that the Christians in Macedonia gave to this offering generously,
sacrificially, and out of poverty, but we’re not going to give money. Just
tell the Christians in Jerusalem that we love them.” Here’s what 1 John
3:17 says: “If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need,
yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?”
Generosity is evidence of sincere love.
Then our fourth point is in verse 9 – Our Example for Generosity is
Jesus. Paul was challenging the Christians in Corinth to excel in the grace
of giving. Then, in verse 9 he reminded them of how Jesus graciously
gave – “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was
rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might
become rich.” Think about the grace of Jesus. First, consider what Jesus
left. Jesus is the second Person of the Trinity. He was and is God Himself
– as the 4th century Nicene Creed puts it, Jesus is “very God of very God.”
Paul wrote here that Jesus was rich before He was born as a man. Paul
knew that was an understatement. Jesus had all the prerogatives of deity,
all the power of the almighty God, and all the possessions of the universe.
Rich? He owned everything because He created everything. That’s what
Jesus left. He’s our example in giving because of what He left. “He was
rich, yet for your sake He became poor.”
Second, consider how Jesus lived. Jesus did not live as a wealthy man,
but He did live as a generous man. When 5,000 people became hungry
while they were listening to Him teach, Philip told Jesus, “Two hundred
denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little” (Jn.

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6:7). Jesus said, “Philip, I’ve got this one,” and He gave those people
more than enough food. When Jesus was at a wedding feast, the host
family ran out of wine. That was embarrassing for them. People were
asking, ““Who’s the irresponsible party planner who didn’t do a head
count?.” But Jesus decided to help them, so He gave them the lavish gift
of gallons and gallons of the best wine. Jesus is our example in giving.
Paul wrote, as you think about giving, think about Jesus. Consider what
He left, consider how He lived, and consider whom Jesus loves. Jesus
was rich in heaven, but He left that to come to poverty on earth, and He
did it because He loves us. John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world, that
he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but
have eternal life.” When Jesus left the glories of heaven for the suffering
of earth, it was the greatest act of generosity in history, and Jesus did that
because of His love for all the people in the world.
And the apostle Paul made Jesus our example in giving. We’ll never be
able to give as much as He gave, will we? But we can have His generous
heart as He lives in us and manifests His character in us and through us.
Several years ago, I attended a conference in Dallas. I heard a pastor from
Waco, Texas give a testimony (Jimmy Siebert of Antioch Community
Church). He said a lady in their community was in great need, and the
people of that church helped her and ministered to her in love. One
Sunday she came forward at the invitation time and asked somebody to
pray for her. That person asked her, “Do you know Jesus?” She said,
“No, but I’ve been so loved by everybody here. Is He anything like this?”
May our generosity be so excellent that people will see our gracious and
loving Lord in us.
If you have not received Jesus as your Lord so you can have forgiveness
of sin and eternal life, you can do that today. God wants to give you the
gift of reconciliation with Him, free of charge. Will you receive that gift?
Maybe you’ve received Jesus, but you haven’t obeyed His command to be
baptized. Come during the invitation and commit to do that. Maybe you
are a follower of Jesus but in this worship service God has convicted you
that your heart is not generous and not like Jesus. This is the time to ask
God to help you and form you into the image of Jesus. He can do that.