The gracious work

Paul encourages the Corinthian believers to give joyfully. In doing so, he appeals to three things. (1) Unlike the Macedonian Christians, they were not suffering from poverty or persecution. In other words, if they were willing to give, they were in a position to do so more freely and boldly. (2) The Corinthian believers abounded in everything. They abounded in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in love. According to Paul, they abounded in these things because of the grace of God. In the same way, being able to give an offering joyfully is also a grace of God. Therefore, Paul exhorts them, “see that you also excel in this gracious work” (the act of giving). A wealthy person does not necessarily give more than a poor person. There are those who, even in their poverty, give boldly. When we see such people, we are reminded that giving an offering is also “by grace.” Let us pray that we may abound in “this gracious work” as well.

The example of the Lord Jesus Christ

As the third point, Paul reminds them of the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. (1) The Lord was rich. That is, He possessed all glory in heaven. (2) Yet the Lord of glory became poor for our sake. That is, He became human and walked on the earth. (3) This was so that we might become rich through the poverty of Christ. In other words, through Christ’s sacrifice, our sins are forgiven and we are made children of God. Paul teaches that the starting point of giving is found in Christ. Christ gave Himself from a state of riches and became poor. The Macedonian believers gave themselves out of their poverty. Every Christian should be somewhere between these two examples. Let us now remember the sacrificial love Christ has shown us and resolve to live in response to that love.