CRS SOLUTIONS

9a
He began by describing how
generous the believers in
northern Greece had been: “And
now, brothers and sisters, we
want you to know about the
grace that God has given the
Macedonian churches. In the
midst of a very severe trial, their
overflowing joy and their
extreme poverty welled up in rich
generosity” (8:1-2). Although
they were very poor, they were
very generous, and Paul
attributes this to the grace of
God. God had given them the
willingness to give what little
they had, and to do it with joy.
“For I testify that they gave as
much as they were able, and
even beyond their ability. Entirely
on their own, they urgently
pleaded with us for the privilege
of sharing in this service to the
Lord’s people” (8:3-4). Since the
Macedonians were poor
themselves, Paul did not ask
them to give anything to the
poor in Jerusalem, but they
learned about the collection and
wanted to help. They gave more
than Paul thought they could.
(We can read Paul’s thank-you in
his letter to the Philippians.)
“And they exceeded our
expectations: They gave
themselves first of all to the Lord,
and then by the will of God also
to us” (8:5). Why did they give?
Because they gave themselves to
Christ, which would include a
willingness to use all that they
had to further his work. As they
submitted themselves to Christ,
they wanted to participate in this
offering.
Paul no doubt wanted the
Corinthians to follow this
example. The Macedonians
showed that spiritual maturity
leads to material generosity. The
Corinthians had more money and
should be even more generous.

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