As Paul addressed the matter of giving with the Corinthian church in 2 Corinthians 8:1–15, he did so with model tact, by citing the remarkable giving of their little sister churches in Macedonia. His words were ever so gentle: “We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia” (v. 1). The “grace of God” Paul was referring to was, as the context makes so clear, the grace of giving (the gracious inclination to give) that had fallen upon the Macedonian churches. This grace flowed from the primary source of grace, which is Christ’s reconciliation of sinners to himself (cf. 5:18–6:1). The riches of God’s grace had been poured out on them, and then they in turn poured out what they had on others.

The grace of giving is what this section is all about. The word charis (“grace”) occurs eight times in chapters 8–9. In fact, charis occurs five times in 8:1–9: in verse 1, “the grace,” ten charin; verse 4, “the favor,” ten charin; verse 6, “this act of grace,” ten charin; verse 7, “this act of grace,” ten chariti; and verse 9, “the grace,” ten charin. Paul’s teaching on giving is a sermon on grace from beginning to end.

Concerning the grace among the Macedonians, “We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part” (vv. 1, 2).

Characteristics of Gracious Giving

Poor. The Macedonians (namely, the churches of Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea) were poor. The word Paul uses for “their extreme poverty” is the word from which we derive the English word bathysphere—the ship we use to probe the depths of the ocean—a Jacques Cousteau kind of word. They were in deep poverty. The great turn-of-the-century New Testament scholar Alfred Plummer translated it perfectly as “their down-to-the-depth poverty.” They were at the bottom—dirt-poor! For most of us, it is a major stretch to relate to deep poverty in an ancient setting. We fancy ourselves poor if we have to think about it before going out to dinner. As to credit cards, the Macedonians always left home without them. They had no cars, no designer wardrobes, no vacations, no TVs.

Afflicted. They were also “in a severe test of affliction” (v. 2). The literal idea is that they were being crushed by life. The surrounding culture kept squeezing them harder and harder because of the Macedonians’ devotion to Christ. Immense pressure! They were poor and picked on. The grinding poverty and the crushing tribulation made life very difficult—impossible by our standards.

Giving things instead of ourselves can easily become our religion, so that we never turn to Christ for salvation.

Giving. But out of their difficult situation they did what most of us would consider impossible—“their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part” (v. 2). This is a truly incredible statement. In a parched existence, squalid little churches gushed forth with the joy of giving. The riches that welled over to others was not the small amount that the Macedonians could give but their joy in what God had done for them (cf. Philippians 4:4; 1 Thessalonians 1:6). It was the grace of giving. There is no other accounting for it.

And Paul went on to expand his thought: “For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints” (vv. 3, 4). They gave “beyond” (literally, “contrary to”) their ability. St. Chrysostom marveled, “They did the begging, not Paul.” The sense is that Paul, seeing their extreme poverty, was reticent to take their gifts because he knew it would deepen their deprivation and plight. But they wouldn’t be denied. “Paul, we entreat you, don’t deny us this honor.” Such is the grace of giving. It is not dictated by ability. It has nothing to do with being well-off. It is willing. It views giving as a privilege. It is joyously enthusiastic.

Self-giving. What is at the root of such grace-giving? The answer is given in verse 5: “. . . and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.” This is by far the most important thing about the Macedonians. Grace is first rooted in our response to God. It’s all so basic: When we know that our lives are not our own, neither will we think that our possessions are our own. It’s easy to surrender part when we’ve already given the whole. There is an implicit lesson here: It won’t do any good to give our possessions to God unless we have given ourselves.

In fact, such “giving” will do us harm. The reasons are apparent. We will be tempted to imagine that giving of our substance is enough, that somehow this will make God pleased with us. External giving builds religious pride. Giving things instead of ourselves can easily become our religion, so that we never turn to Christ for salvation. It must be said that if you have not given your life to Christ, don’t give your money. God doesn’t need your money. Even more, he doesn’t want you to delude yourself. This story about the Macedonians is told by Paul about believers, for believers, to instruct true believers—no one else!

Now that my journey’s just begun,
My course so little trod;
I’ll stop before I further run,
And give myself to God.
(SOURCE UNKNOWN)

Giving and the Christian Life 

What are the implications for the Corinthians, and for us? Paul is most clear: “Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also” (vv. 6, 7). Earlier Paul had encouraged Titus to try to bring the Corinthians to completion/maturity in this area of giving. The Corinthians were a gifted group—many had “faith” or “speech” or “knowledge” or “earnestness” or “love,” but they did not “excel in this act of grace”—giving. Despite all their good qualities, they were incomplete, and Paul wanted them to grow.

Which brings us to the major implication: There is no way to grow to spiritual maturity without committing your finances to the Lord. Jesus can have our money and not have our hearts, but he cannot have our hearts without our money.

Jesus can have our money and not have our hearts, but he cannot have our hearts without our money.

Money is so entwined with one’s soul. Some say that the average American spends 50 percent of his or her time thinking about money—how to get it, how to spend it. Whether the statistic is accurate or not, it is generally true. And it is also true that our handling of money defines our affections, the things we truly treasure, how tightly we are bound to the world, and so on.

In this, I would not be true to God’s Word or to you if I did not say that some of you may have reached sticking spots in your spiritual growth because you have not begun to give as the Scriptures and conscience are directing you. I’ve heard all the “reasons” why one can’t give. It’s too hard. You have so many obligations. You’ll begin when you get a full-time job. You’ll begin when the car is paid for. You’ll begin when the children are done with school. You’ll begin when you can really give something. You’ll begin with the next promotion. But God’s Word says to excel in this act of grace now.

Giving is a matter of grace from beginning to end. Christ gave himself for us. We receive his grace, and then we give ourselves to him and to others in his name. This response to grace includes giving what we have. That is how the Macedonians gave out of their poverty with great liberality. And that is how we give out of our affluence. It is the same.

This piece is adapted from R. Kent Hughes, 2 Corinthians: Power in Weakness (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), 155–162. Used with permission of the publisher.

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