Author: Pastor Zach
Posted: 2009-03-09 07:41:32

2 Corinthians 8

“Job Losses Could Worsen Through 2009.” “12.5 Million Are Unemployed in US.” “Senate Moves to Give FDIC $500 Billion Loan.” These are just a few of the headlines I scanned this past Friday which told of our country’s imperiled economic state. As the week wrapped up, the Dow Jones closed at 6,626.94. That’s down over 50% from the Dow’s record high of 14.087.55 on October 1, 2007. Is anybody worried yet? Actually, is anybody not worried yet?

In this kind of economic climate, Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 8 probably strike many of us as offensively jarring and hopelessly irrelevant and impractical: “But just as you excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us – see that you also excel in the grace of giving” (verse 7). Now, before you stop reading because you think I’m going to lecture you on the glories of tithing and try to guilt you into giving more money to the church even as we’re being asphyxiated by the confines of an impossibly volatile economy, let me assure you, that’s not what this blog is about. Actually, this blog is more about “excelling.” Paul says that we, as Christians, “excel in everything.” Really? I’m not sure much of anything has its foot on the accelerator right now. The stock market is down. Home values are down. Available credit lines are down. Job postings are down. Profits are down. And quite frankly, people are down too. There are a lot of people who feel down and out these days. In fact, the only story I’ve heard lately of something excelling comes out of the Dollar Store. Apparently, rocky financial times are good for the discount chain’s business.

During these down times, what is it that we can possibly excel at? Paul gives us a list. When our country’s stock market is down, we have an opportunity to excel in our faith as we trust that Christ will provide for our daily needs. When pecuniary pundits are talking down our economy, we have a chance to excel in encouraging speech as we hold out the hope of the gospel. When we feel down as we watch our economy collapse in real time on CNBC, we have an opportunity to excel in our knowledge of Scripture as we read God’s Word and trust in his promises to get us through. As people’s morale goes down at the specter of more layoffs and massive job cuts, we can excel in earnestness as we continue to work at the jobs we have or search for the one we need. As people’s support systems go down in the face of stress and bad news, we can excel in our love for those who are hurting deeply. And finally, as people’s bank accounts go down – and that includes our bank accounts possibly – we can excel in the grace of giving.

It’s that final call to excel that gets us, isn’t it? Excel in giving? How can we when we have nothing to give? First, it is worth noting that our giving need not be exclusively monetary. We can give of our time, talents, and energies, all for the sake of others. In a sense, all of the things which Paul calls us to excel at – faith, speech, knowledge, earnestness, and love – fall under the “grace of giving” because they can all be given away to others. Second, whatever you give, remember that excel-lence in giving, or in anything else, is never done under duress. In other words, you can’t force excellence. It must be willingly engaged. Paul knows this full well. That’s why, right after Paul encourages the Corinthians to excel, he says, “I am not commanding you” (verse 8). Paul knows that excellence can never be forced. That is why excellence in giving is called a “grace.”

Speaking of grace, Paul wraps up his discussion on graceful excellence by reminding us of the one who is most gracefully excellent of all: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes become poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (verse 9). Paul says that Jesus excelled in poverty so that we could excel in richness where being rich really counts: richness in forgiveness, richness in life, and richness in salvation. And in a down economy, these may be the only riches we have. Then again, in any economy, these are the only riches we finally need. For those are the only riches which finally last. So let’s excel in those.

 

Author: Ron Lammert
Posted: 2010-03-04 08:19:38

Re: Jars of Clay
A management principle that has sustained every form of enterprise through the centuries: hire the very best man or woman, the most talented, the most competent, to get the job done. Compensate them well and give them credit for their accomplishments. But, according to Paul, whom did God enlist to do the work of his beloved church on earth? Answer: the afflicted, the perplexed, the persecuted, the struck down. Paul describes Christians as fragile jars of clay. Once again, God is implementing a counter-intuitive rule with an eternal purpose. In this case God wants the world to see that the miracles of redemption and sanctification that take place daily in the church owe no credit to any individual in the body of believers. Instead, he wants people to be astounded that such great work can take place in spite of the broken people doing the work. His light shines through the lives of believers, but the glory belongs exclusively to Him.

 

Author: Pastor Bob Nordlie
Posted: 2010-02-23 08:35:52

Great comments on 1 Corinthians 12:31b, Pastor Zach! Very insightful.

 

Author: Ron Lammert
Posted: 2010-02-19 08:49:43

Pastor Zach’s commentary calling for common sense is excellent. In dealing with the Corinthian Christians, it seems to me Paul was dealing with the age-old conflict between “style” and “substance”. In chapter 10 Paul twice quotes someone (perhaps a Corinthian interpretation of the Christian walk) that “All things are lawful.” But he quickly adds “but not all things are helpful” and “but not all things build up”. We have incredible freedom under the Gospel as to how we worship and how we conduct our lives. In this, we apply common sense to our “style” of worship or conduct or even what we eat. But where we must draw the line is in applying human reason to the “substance” of God’s message to us in His holy Word. Culture, convenience and human logic will never allow us to figure out the mystery of the incarnation of Jesus and his atonement for the sins of the world. Back to “style”… how, then, are we to live? Paul has a pretty good guideline in Chapter 10: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

 

Author: Donald Novian
Posted: 2010-02-18 16:14:10

Pastor Zach, I guess what is most confusing is Verse 8 thru 14. Not sure how this pertains to us Lay-people. Or what Paul is trying to tell us today???

Thanks.....

 

Author: Pastor Zach
Posted: 2010-02-18 09:00:33

Hi Don,
Which specific verse is confusing to you in 1 Corinthians 9?