The Sermon Notes of Harold Buls
On the Epistle Lessons of the Ingrian Lutheran Church of Russia
Text from II Corinthians 8:1-9
Trinity I
1. Chapters 8 and 9 are devoted entirely to the tools of generous giving.
The word "grace" occurs with higher frequency in II Corinthians 8 than
anywhere else in the NT: verses 1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 16, and 19. Its basic thought
is that of generous giving, be that of God or of the Christian. In verses 1
and 9 we have the grace of God and that of our Lord Jesus Christ. In verses
4, 6, and 7 we find this grace as it works in converted man. But all grace
in one man can be traced back to the grace of God, the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Christians give generously because God has graciously and
generously given to them.
2. Next to his ministry of preaching to the Gentiles, Paul's most important
activity during his ministry was to collect money for the poor in
Jerusalem. Compare Galatians 2:10. Jewish Christians were ostracized and
persecuted in Jerusalem. They helped each other as much as possible (Acts
2:44, 45) but evidently that was not enough. And so wherever Paul went,
he asked for contributions for the Christians in Jerusalem. Our text speaks
about this collection in two places: Macedonia and Corinth. Paul is using
the enthusiasm of the Macedonian Christians to spur on the Corinthians to
complete the task of the collection which was lagging in Corinth.
3. The churches of Macedonia were at Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea. The
grace of God had been bestowed on these churches. That simply means that
the Gospel had caused them to give very generously for Christians in
Jerusalem.
4. Verse 2 explains verse 1 and is truly paradoxical. Civil wars had
devastated their country. Despite their deep affliction and utter poverty
they displayed great joy and generosity. Why? Because of the grace of God
which had been bestowed on them.
5. Verses 3, 4, 5 and 6 are one sentence with the main thought in 5: "they
gave themselves." Verses 3 and 4 lead up to this thought. Verse 6 is the
result of this thought. Not only did they give _according_ to their ability
but even _beyond_ their ability and that "of their own accord."
6. Verse 4 tells us that the grace of God had caused these poor, afflicted
people to beg of Paul. Paul did not beg them. _They_ begged Paul. The
privilege amounted to sharing in the service toward the saints in
Jerusalem.
7. Contrary to what Paul had expected these people gave themselves
entirely to the Lord. And the evidence of their utter dedication found
itself in their attitude to Paul and his associates. The grace of God was
truly evident in suffering, poverty-stricken Christians.
8. Titus had originally gotten the collection in Corinth started. But, for
some reason or other, it had been interrupted. As a result of the
enthusiasm of the Macedonians, Paul urges Titus to finish the work. The
grace here spoken of is that which had become evident in Macedonia. It is a
gracious work of God.
9. In verses 1-6 Paul spoke of the zeal of the Macedonians. In verse 7 he
tells them to be consistent in the use of gifts which God has given to
them. And in verse 8 Paul politely compares the Macedonians to the
Corinthians: "By comparing the zeal of others I am testing also the
genuineness of your love." I Corinthians 13 calls love the greatest gift.
10. In verse 9 we have motivation par excellence. It speaks both of the
atonement and the example of Jesus Christ. This verse is comparable to
Matthew 20:28 and Philippians 2:5-11 where we find Jesus both as Savior
and example. As Jesus gave Himself completely for mankind's salvation so
we should give ourselves completely to the Lord and His church in service.
In this verse "grace" is used in its full saving sense. Although Jesus was
Lord of heaven and earth He laid aside the full use of His attributes and
even lost His last possession, His clothing. His poverty denotes what He
suffered and fulfilled in my stead. Now I am forgiven, saved, an heir of
heaven. I am very rich. Jesus' forgiving grace causes my giving grace.
The Sermon Outline of Harold Buls
On the Epistle Lessons of the Ingrian Lutheran Church of Russia
Text from II Corinthians 8:1-9
Trinity I
THEME: Why We Should Abound in the Grace of Giving
INTRODUCTION
In all ages Christians have given of their money to support the work of the
church. It is not a tax which is forced from us as does the State. It is not
because of a law. See verse 8. Our text gives us the several reasons why
Christians should willingly give their money and themselves to the
Kingdom of God.
I. BECAUSE OF WHAT WE ALREADY ARE verse 7.
We are told at I Corinthians 1:5-7 that we've been enriched in everything
through Christ Jesus in all speech and knowledge so that we lack no gift
but are eagerly awaiting the second coming of Jesus. And our text tells us
that we have more than enough in everything, in faith, in word, in
knowledge, in zeal and in our love toward other people. (Some texts read
"your love toward us"). As verse 9 says, we are rich through the poverty of
Jesus. All we need do now is put the gift of giving into practice. The Lord
has given us all the material and strength to do this. Just DO it!
II. BECAUSE OF THE EXAMPLE OF THE MACEDONIANS verses 1-6
As today, Macedonia was northern Greece. It was a Roman Province. It had
suffered much because battles had taken place there. The people were
poor. But when Paul preached in Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea, we are
told in verse 2 that despite the great trial of their affliction they had an
abundance of joy in the Gospel and this resulted in an abundance of giving
freely and willingly. _But more_, not only did they give according to their
ability but they gave BEYOND their ability. They gave freely and willingly.
_But more_, they begged St. Paul to receive this gift and to pass it on to
the suffering Christians in Jerusalem. Very likely Paul advised them to
think this over before giving so very generously. But no, they begged Paul:
"Please receive our gift." Verse 4 says that it was actually more than
money. It was also fellowship in the spirit. That is important. _But more_,
in verse 5 Paul says that "first they gave THEMSELVES to the Lord." That is
the real secret, not just their money, but their very selves. Our love for
the church is like the love of marriage. Married people should give
THEMSELVES, not just a promise. It is total. Look at verse 8 of our text.
Paul says: "I am not laying down rules. I am testing the genuineness of
your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others." For 2000 years
Christians all over the world have been testing the sincerity of their own
love by comparing themselves with the Macedonians.
III. BECAUSE OF THE SALVATION AND EXAMPLE OF JESUS CHRIST verse 9
The last verse of our text is a very well-known passage. It is very
paradoxical. Though Jesus was berm rich in the glories of heaven He
became poor and lost everything so that we could be rich. In this one
thought we find both our salvation and our example. He had no place where
to lay His head. His enemies took His honor form Him. He lost His very
clothing on the cross. He was buried in a borrowed grave. That summarized
what we call His active and passive obedience in our stead. He became a
curse in our stead so that we could have also of the widow's mite, Luke
21:1-4. She gave the Lord everything that she had, holding back nothing.
Others gave from what they did not need anyway. She gave what she really
needed. Read Psalm 50:12. The whole world belongs to the Lord. He does
not need my money, but He does want to test the sincerity of my love for
Him and for others. Refusal to give can lead to loss of soul, Matthew
25:45. But willingness to give, to give like the widow, to give like the
Macedonians, yes, even to give like the Lord Jesus gives, that is the test
of genuine love.
CONCLUSION
The forgiving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ saved us. The giving grace of
Christians proves their faith.
______________________________________________________________
This text was converted to ascii format for Project Wittenberg
by Marilyn F. Gardner and is in the public domain by permission
of Dr. Buls. You may freely distribute, copy or print this
text. Please direct any comments or suggestions to:
Rev. Robert E. Smith
Walther Library
Concordia Theological Seminary
E-mail: bob_smith@ctsfw.edu
Surface Mail: 6600 N. Clinton St., Ft. Wayne, IN 46825 USA
Phone: (219) 452-2148 Fax: (219) 452-2126
______________________________________________________________