2 CORINTHIANS 8
CAC I suppose this is a continuation of the second beseeching — “We also beseech that ye receive not the grace of God in vain”, 2 Corinthians 6: 1. God loves to make His grace appear in a practical way amongst His saints; if it does not appear we have received it in vain. It would seem from the opening of this chapter that the grace of God shines in contrary circumstances. The grace of God is not dependent on favourable circumstances or advantageous conditions. We read of “a great trial of affliction” and “abundance of their joy” being found together; and then it speaks of “deep poverty” and “riches of their free-hearted liberality” — these are not two things we naturally associate. The grace of God must be very wonderful to fill the heart with abounding joy even in a great trial of affliction, and to make a person in deep poverty abound in riches of liberality. It seems like a contradiction. We would think that people in deep poverty ought to be ministered to. It shows that the grace of God shines out when there seems least to help it.
Rem Like the widow with the two mites who excelled in giving.
CAC That is a very striking example. I have often thought that was the brightest day in the history of the temple. We have been told lately that she excelled even David and Solomon in giving.
Rem Undoubtedly Corinth was a wealthy assembly.
CAC Yes, there were probably many there who [p. 307] could have bought up all the poor assemblies in Macedonia. It is remarkable how these assemblies come to the front — Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, and perhaps Nicopolis; they were poor companies but they were very bright.
Rem Not only abounding in love but in grace; it is a great test to show grace to one another.
CAC Grace is expressed in a practical way. Someone hearing of a case of need said, ‘Poor things, I do feel for them’, and another said, ‘How much do you feel for them? I feel a sovereign’. There is a difference between grace and love. Grace is love in activity; it is shown to each other. Grace is a sort of bond. There was a paper once written, ‘Grace, the Power of Unity and Gathering’; there is a good deal in the title. It was written as a companion book to ‘Separation from Evil God’s Principle of Unity’. Someone said that there must be something besides separation, so the author wrote the second paper. The great exercise of Paul was that the Jew and gentile should be practically bound together by this ministry of help.
Ques Did their affliction become an incentive to bind them together?
CAC The need of the saints became the occasion for binding together. There were evidently different occasions when there was need in Judaea. The saints there had sold their possessions and goods to give to those who had need, so that they had not much to fall back on when distress came; thus the gentile brethren had the opportunity of ministering to them. It was all to be in a spirit of grace, a free-will offering. The apostle does not make it an obligation in a legal way on the Corinthians; it was not that they were compelled to do it. He wanted it all done before he came so that it might not seem “as got out of you”, 2 Corinthians 9: 5. He was so anxious that his Corinthian [p. 308] children should not get behind. What a variety of motives he brings to bear! He uses the example of other saints to move their hearts. He does not speak by commandment, but puts it before them as an opportunity to show the genuineness of their love. It is the principle of a vow. A vow in the Old Testament was not part of the righteous requirement of the law, it was an outlet for a devoted heart, an outlet for devotion to God. In the same way Paul is providing them with an outlet as a privilege. If a man took a vow it was because he loved the Lord and wished to be in a special way for the Lord. It is a small matter to give money if you have given yourself; the willingness of the saints in Macedonia went beyond what the apostle had even hoped: “Not according as we hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord, and to us by God’s will”. I have thought that Psalm 110 is specially applicable to the present time. It speaks of Christ sitting at God’s right hand and addresses him as Priest for ever. Then in verse 3 it speaks of the saints as willing or voluntary offerings (see note to verse 3). That is like this verse here. “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in holy splendour: from the womb of the morning shall come to thee the dew of thy youth”, Psalm 110: 3. How lovely that is! When Israel comes to the morning of the day of their salvation that is what they will be in all the beauty of holiness and in the freshness of first love; in all the freshness of morning dew they will be brought forth. We have our day of salvation now before they get theirs. The gentile saints have the privilege now of being voluntary offerings and of coming out in the beauty of holiness, as we were reading last week, and in the freshness of affection, that is the dew of youth. Christ is at God’s right hand in abiding devotedness to His saints as Priest for ever, and now saints are here to be voluntary offerings in holy splendour and in the freshness of [p. 309] affection that delights to be for Him. We see this in 2 Corinthians 8 — saints giving themselves to the Lord and, of course, all they have goes with it. If I give myself I give all that I have.
Rem The widow gave all that she had.
CAC I do not think God would have suffered the old dispensation to close without proving that He could have one person in this world to love Him with all her heart. This is very important. We often dwell on the giving on the divine side but perhaps not enough on the giving on our side, the giving of ourselves; if it is left out we leave out a very important part of truth. The Lord said, “Wheresoever these glad tidings may be preached in the whole world, that also which this woman has done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her”, Matthew 26: 13. She had expended everything she had on Him and He says, ‘When you tell people how devoted I am to you, tell them how devoted the woman was to Me’.
Rem Paul says, “Do ye not know that ... ye are not your own? for ye have been bought with a price”, 1 Corinthians 6: 19, 20.
CAC There the obligation is insisted on as a matter of righteousness; the price has been paid and the goods are to be delivered! But here it is not righteousness, but grace and love. In the first epistle they were not in a good state, so he insists on righteousness and tells them that the price has been paid, but in 2 Corinthians their hearts were captivated and they were constrained by love to give themselves. They surpassed even the apostle’s hopes, they had done more than he expected. He does not need there to tell them that the goods have been paid for and should be delivered!
We ought to be exercised as to being spiritually complete: “Even as ye abound in every way, in faith, and word, and knowledge, and all diligence, and in love from [p. 310] you to us, that ye may abound in this grace also”. The Corinthians were not complete though they had fine qualities. It reminds one of Paul’s appeal to the Philippians: “If then there be any comfort in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and compassions”, Philippians 2: 1. Paul had proved these things to be in the Philippians. ‘Now’, he says, ‘go on a little further’ — “fulfil my joy”, ‘I want to see you knit together’. He speaks of their being “complete as regards the fruit of righteousness” (Philippians 1: 11) not lacking in any quality.
Rem This grace was to be for the glory of the Lord (verse 19) not only for the benefit done.
CAC The binding together of saints by practical grace would be greatly to the glory of the Lord. It should be an exercise to us that in all that we do or write we should act for the binding together, not for the dividing or separating of saints. Saints unconsciously do things for the dividing of each other. It is for the glory of the Lord if we are bound together.
Rem Verses 20 and 21 are striking. We should be careful that no reproach should be brought on the testimony.
CAC Yes, it would come in specially in dealing about money. Men do not understand grace and love, but they understand money. It needs care that things should be done without reproach.
Ques Does Paul use verse 9 as an incentive to quicken their hearts? “Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sakes he, being rich, became poor, in order that ye by his poverty might be enriched”.
CAC The One possessed of all had given up all; they owed everything to the One who had given up all His possessions.
[p. 311] Rem One of the Psalms speaks of the poor man — never such a poor man walked the earth.
CAC Yes, we do not know that the Lord ever had a penny. He had to ask to see one, and when it was a matter of paying taxes He got it out of a fish’s mouth. There was no self in the blessed Lord; with us self is so strong. The grace of God never shines more than in overcoming our natural selfishness of heart. The greatest miracle ever seen in this world was at Pentecost; there were five thousand people together and not one said that anything of what he possessed was his own. It would have been wonderful to see five together like that, but five thousand! They sold all they had and distribution was made. I have had a thought that perhaps we may come back to this state at the close of the history of the church; conditions may be such that the same thing may come about, and saints may be in such distress that those who have means could have the privilege of giving it up for their brethren. What a waste of the saints’ money if it were left behind for the beast! None of us would like to leave our money behind for the devil, we would rather spend it on the saints. If one is under the care of God there is no lack (verse 14), and God’s principle is one of equality. If there is a lack, somebody has abundance; that is how God works it among His people. He allowed this time of poverty and provided that other companies of saints should have something to spare just like the manna; when they gathered it, it was all equalised. However hard and diligently a man worked he had not more than would fill his omer, and when a man had gathered a very little, how surprised he must have been to find his omer full.
Rem It is very interesting to see how God put “the same diligent zeal for you in the heart of Titus”.
CAC Titus was in the same spirit as the apostle. This contribution of the gentiles was not a small thing; it was the fruit, the crown and seal of Paul’s ministry; it was the truth of the one body in practical shape. We might have said, ‘What is all this fuss about? Could not Quartus or any obscure saint carry the money? Why should this unnamed brother who had such a reputation and was such a fine gospel preacher be sent with it?’ We often do not see what is behind a little thing. It might be that the whole truth of christianity is involved; it was in this little gift of money. It was a question if Jew and gentile were really joined together in one body; it was being worked out practically for the binding together of Jew and gentile. There was the greatest care taken and the assemblies chose men to go with the gift, and those who carried it were the “messengers of assemblies, Christ’s glory”. This contribution brought out the character of Christ in the assemblies. Paul does not say ‘the assembly’, but “assemblies”. It is not the church looked at in abstract unity but these poor companies in Macedonia, and the apostle says they are Christ’s glory. The character of Christ was coming out in them; the fact that they had made this contribution was the character of Christ coming out. It makes one wonder if there is anything in this town that Paul could say was Christ’s glory.