1 Corinthians 14

Chapter 14. The Support of the Church: The Principle of True Spiritual GivingNow about the collection for God’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. (1 Corinthians 16:1-3)This manual of Church principles and polity would not be complete without a statement of the scriptural method of finance and God’s plan for supporting His Church. The ancient tabernacle was borne by the Levites on their shoulders, and God has provided that His Church should be sustained by the offerings of His people. Many false methods are abroad, and Christ is often dishonored by the appeals of His Church to an ungodly world, and the compromises that her rulers often make for the sake of securing the mercenary gifts of unholy men. This subject is discussed by the apostle at still greater length in the eighth and ninth chapters of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, and in the following discussions we shall first briefly outline the points brought out in the present passage, and then more fully unfold the comprehensive and exhaustive treatment of the whole subject in the longer passage in the second epistle.

Section I: The Divine Law of Giving

Section I—The Divine Law of GivingHe speaks of the matter here as an order which he has given to the churches of Galatia, and which he now reenacts in the church at Corinth. The subject of giving formed part of an elaborate system under the Mosaic law. It was not a mere matter of caprice, but it was regulated by the most positive and binding ordinances. God’s ancient people were required to give what practically amounted to almost 30 percent of their income for the support of the priesthood and the service of the tabernacle, and for the great national feasts. And so long as they were faithful to these ordinances and claims of their covenant God, they were never found to be a burden, but increasing prosperity rewarded their liberality and obedience. The Larger Freedom It is generally supposed that giving in the New Testament is left entirely to the impulse and good will of the individual Christian. This is excused under the plea of the larger freedom of the gospel. Now, surely, if the grace of God has advanced with the advent of the Christian age, and we are living in a larger dispensation of privilege and blessing, surely the Christian liberty on the new dispensation should lead to a larger beneficence and a nobler liberality than the bondage of the law. It would be a shame, surely, if we should content ourselves with giving one-tenth of our income, or even three-tenths as they did. More fitting is it that our love and liberty should give all. And yet, the fact is, that the average gifts of the people of God today do not begin to amount to a single tenth of their actual revenues. Three-tenths of the income of the people of God in this country alone would give us sufficient revenue to evangelize the whole world in a few years. The New Testament Church, however, is not left without a definite law on the subject of giving. The “order” (1 Corinthians 16:1) which Paul gave to the churches of Galatia and Corinth is still binding upon us, and no Christian can expect God’s blessing to rest on the spirit of stinginess and selfishness. It is still as true as ever, that “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7), and “he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:25).

Section II: The Divine Method of Giving

Section II—The Divine Method of Giving"On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income" (1 Corinthians 16:2). This clearly suggests systematic beneficence. It is not to be a matter of caprice or random impulse, but it is to be done regularly and periodically. It is to be done even when there is no urgent need appealing for help and no cause in distress addressing its claims to our sympathy. We are to have a fund always available for the Lord’s claims and the Lord’s cause. While we are to recognize all we spend even upon ourselves and our families as spent for Him, we are to take a proper proportion of it, and set it aside to be available whenever needed for the special needs of the Lord’s work. The advantages of this system are obvious. It prevents mere giving through excitement or haste. It makes our beneficence deliberate and conscientious, and it provides a fund which is always available, and which only makes it necessary for us to determine where the greatest need is. It is delightful to receive letters, as we often do, with such statements as this: “I have some of the Lord’s money, and I believe He wants it to go for China,” or “for Africa,” as the case may be. This makes us stewards and trustees of what the Lord commits to our keeping, and “God’s fellow workers” (2 Corinthians 6:1). The fact that it was to be offered on the Lord’s day gives the transaction a distinctly sacred character, and makes it an act of worship quite as much as our praises and our prayers. How different this from some of the ordinary methods of so-called Christian societies to extort their needed financial supplies through the devices of the auction mart, the produce exchange or the theater, or, still lower, the cheap restaurant.

Section III: The Standard of Christian Giving

Section III—The Standard of Christian GivingThe standard is to be “in keeping with his income” (1 Corinthians 16:2). This is intended as a definite recognition of the fact that everything we have belongs to God, and our offering is just the tribute of glad acknowledgment of His proprietary right to us and all we call our own. The expression, “so that when I come no collections will have to be made” (1 Corinthians 16:2), is a very suggestive hint that Christian giving should be so conscientious and deliberate that it would not need to be stimulated by special appeals or public excitement. Indeed, the apostle seemed desirous of having no appearance of his seeking their gifts. He wished rather the whole impression of his visit to be spiritual, and their offering to be so entirely spontaneous that it would be complete before his arrival.

Section IV: The Administration of the Gifts of God’s People

Section IV—The Administration of the Gifts of God’s PeopleCareful provision is here made for the financial administration of Christ’s Church. The donors are to have the privilege of selecting the one that will administer their gifts. “I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem” (1 Corinthians 16:3). He recognized the importance of the utmost care in the administration of the business of Christ’s cause and the avoidance of all possible blame. It is most important that those who are entrusted with the gifts of Christ’s people should see to it that they are administered economically, honestly and with the most conscientious regard to their accomplishing in the most effective way the purpose of the donors and the benefit of the cause of Christ. Passing now to the larger discussion of this subject in the second epistle we are gratified to find the whole subject is developed with the utmost completeness and attractiveness, reducing almost to a science the principles of Christian beneficence. The High Place

1. The high place of giving is first recognized. It is called “a grace” (2 Corinthians 8:7), and is classed with “faith… speech… knowledge… complete earnestness and… love” (2 Corinthians 8:7). It is pressed upon them as one of the fruits of the Spirit and the essential graces of the Christian character. We may be fervid in our religious emotions, and ardent in our expressions of consecration, but if we are stingy and selfish it will detract from everything. The lack of the grace of giving is a fatal blemish upon our Christian character. The Divine Motive
2. Next Paul points to the divine motive of giving. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). This is the supreme motive, the sacrifice and love of Jesus Christ. “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15). This is the watchword of all true beneficence. After Calvary nothing is too costly for Him. The very figure by which the sacrifice of Christ is here expressed as an impoverishing of Himself is unspeakably tender and appropriate. And after such a spectacle, we may well say of any sacrifice, as a dying Christian woman once said to us of the sacrifice of her life and her dearest ones, “It is little to give for Him.” Our Personal Consecration
3. The deep source of Christian giving should be our own personal consecration. “And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will” (2 Corinthians 8:5). The gifts of these saints began in self-giving. Nothing is of value to God that does not bear the marks of divine ownership, and it is vain to look for the support of Christ’s cause to halfhearted Christians. Let there be an entire surrender to Him, and the offerings of a few consecrated Christians will outweigh all that the wealth of millions could do. Our Christian efforts must not begin at the pockets of people, but at their hearts. Slay the idol of self, and the treasures of our beneficence will be sufficient to save the world. Once in India a British officer gave orders that a heathen idol should be smashed to pieces. The priests resisted long and obstinately, but at last the order was fulfilled, and, as the idol fell in shattered fragments, a great flood of golden coins poured out amid the ruins! Slay the idol of self, we again repeat, and the treasures will be enough to evangelize all the earth. The Crowning Glory
4. The crowning glory of Christian giving is sacrifice. “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability” (2 Corinthians 8:2-3). So strongly does the apostle express this overflow of love that he ruins his grammar to give utterance to his thought, and uses the hyperbole, “the superabundance of their joy, and their deep destitution, superabounded unto the riches of their liberality.” Giving reaches its climax in sacrifice, and sacrifice reaches its fullness in a joy that does not feel the sacrifice, for we read of superabounding joy side by side with superabounding giving. Sacrifice is worth nothing until it ceases to be a sacrifice, and giving never reaches its blossom until it runs over into the sacrifice of joy. “Giving,” as has been well said, “until it hurts and then giving until it doesn’t hurt.” Perfect Voluntariness
5. The true spirit of Christian giving is perfect voluntariness. “Entirely on their own” (2 Corinthians 8:3), and again, “For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have” (2 Corinthians 8:12). What God looks at is the intention of the heart. He sees the throbbing love that prompts the gift, and He often sees the still deeper love that weeps because it has nothing to give; and He counts the will for the deed, and says, as He did of old of another of His servants, “You did well to have this in your heart” (1 Kings 8:18). These Corinthians Christians had so longed to give that they had even ventured to pledge their offerings before they had the power to give them, and God had accepted the pledge and had now enabled them to make it good in actual performance. Therefore, He reminds them in the next place of the necessity of conscientiousness. Necessity of Conscientiousness
6. Paul next points out the necessity of conscientiousness in the performance of our purposes and the fulfillment of our pledges. “Now finish the work,” he says, “so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means” (2 Corinthians 8:11). It is most important that our giving be conscientious and honest, and that we be careful not to let our purposes and promises be easily forgotten or lightly excused, for God does not forget them; and He takes great delight in our conscientious fidelity to these things, and our keeping faith with Him as strictly as we would with a fellow being in any matter of a common and business interest. Proportionate Giving
7. The principle of proportionate giving is presented. Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.” (2 Corinthians 8:13-15) This is the principle of true Christian communism. God does not always require you to hand your money over absolutely to some other man to be the trustee and agent of your beneficence, but He may want you to retain your money, and still act as His steward and trustee; but in so doing be very sure that you are not transgressing this divine law of proportion. Your abundance is to be the supply for the want of some other, and if you can hold that abundance and see the cause of Christ in distress and extremity, your heart is not responsive to the life and touch of your living Head. For “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26). We believe this lesson is yet to be learned by the wealthy members of Christ’s Church. We most fully believe that if there were more business men and women today who would accept the trust of becoming the dispensers of God’s money, absolutely at God’s bidding, that He would surely place in the hands of some of these individuals the millions which now are consumed wholly in selfishness and greed, and give them the divine joy of seeing the world evangelized and the Lord’s immediate coming brought nigh. The Administration of the Gifts
8. The administration of the gifts of God’s people is again presented in this passage. The apostle shows with delicate tact how careful he was to have it, “to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men” (2 Corinthians 8:20-21). He tells them about Titus and another brother who are to administer this fund, reminding them that his “praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches” (2 Corinthians 8:18), and he informs them of the appointment of the other officers also who have been chosen by the various churches to travel with him and carry these offerings. Nothing can be finer than the thoughtful consideration here given to every question affecting the confidence of the people of God in all things. The Beautiful Fruition
9. The beautiful fruition of Christian giving is next presented. First, it bears fruit in blessing to the giver: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously…. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:6, 2 Corinthians 9:8) This undoubtedly refers to temporal prosperity. Some people think that all the promises of this kind belong to the Old Testament. That is not so. God’s promise to reward the liberal giver is just as true as it ever was. Still the man that “withholds unduly” will find that he “comes to poverty” (Proverbs 11:24), and “A generous man will prosper” (Proverbs 11:25). If we use God’s gifts honestly and generously for God’s glory, He will prosper us and enlarge our power to give more. Again, not only will it bring prosperity to the giver, but it will bring him abundant usefulness, or, as the apostle expresses it so forcibly in the 10th verse, as happily translated by Rotherham, “He who supplies seed to him who is sowing and bread for eating, will supply and multiply your seed and cause to grow the products of your righteousness” (see 2 Corinthians 9:10). Thus you will have a partnership in the work with him whom you sustain. You will be a sharer in his joy, in his fruit, in the work he does and the souls he saves. Thus, although you may never set your feet on foreign shores, some day there will come trooping to your side the children of distant continents, who will hail you as the instrument that led them into the blessed hopes and privileges of the gospel. One other blessed effect of your giving will be the prayers that will ascend to God for you from those you help. It is a blessed thing to have the prayers of God’s children follow us, and this is peculiarly the privilege of those who help others. They come surrounded with the intercession that holds them ever to the heart of God, and becomes a channel of unspeakable blessing to their lives. Glory to God
10. Finally, Paul points out the glory that rebounds to God from our giving. The apostle speaks here of the thanksgivings that go up to God on account of the gifts of His people, and the glory that rebounds to His name through the multiplied fruits of our beneficence. As God Himself is the great Giver, so He has made it the law of the universe that we can only reach the highest blessing through the love that gives. Abraham could not enter into the fullness of his covenant until he had laid his all upon the altar of Moriah. Moses could not become the leader of Israel until his mother had given him unreservedly away in the floating ark of sacrifice amid the weeds of the Nile. Samuel, the great reformer, was a mother’s sacrificial gift. The temple of Solomon was reared on a site that had already been the scene of Isaac’s sacrifice, and which David insisted on buying and paying for; for, he said, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24). The first Old Testament miracle of resurrection from the dead came to one who had already given her last morsel of meal and her last drop of oil at the prophet’s bidding. The great miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 started in the gift of a little lad, who gave up his lunch in the lone wilderness that others might be fed. Among the last and sweetest words ever spoken by our Savior was His commendation of the woman that gave the alabaster box with its precious ointment for love of Him; and the other woman who poured her all into the treasury, and received a crown of recognition greater than all the magnificent largesses of the rich and proud could ever have claimed. The most solemn judgment upon the Pentecostal Day was upon two people who did not give honestly to God. And the most distinguished example of apostolic ministry was the noble Barnabas, who laid down his all at the apostle’s feet and became the son of consolation and the princely pattern of consecrated businessmen for all time. In the closing days of the Restoration period the poor captives in Babylon sent an offering to their brethren in Jerusalem, who were laboring to rebuild the temple. As soon as it came God commanded that the gold should be fashioned into crowns, bearing perhaps the names of the donors, and that these should be hung up in the temple of the Lord as memorials of the gift and perhaps worn some day by the givers as the acknowledgment of their noble sacrifice and glorious recompense. So our gifts are taken by our blessed Master, and melted into crowns to be placed first upon the head of our Lord Himself, who alone is worthy of all the glory, and perhaps to be worn on the coronation day by those who loved and sacrificed for Him below. Oh, that we may be saved from the blight of selfishness! Oh, for the blessedness and glory of self-renouncing love and sacrifice! God Himself is always giving, Loving is the truest living, Letting go is twice possessing; Would you double every blessing?