2Cor 8:13-14 | KingComments | STEP | . This verse is again the strong evidence that Paul – and you see this with the other Bible writers as well – always brings up the example of the Lord Jesus in the most practical issues. In the forgoing verses he presented the Macedonians as role model; but the example of the Lord Jesus Whom he presents now of course outshines all others. You indeed also do know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, don’t you? The Lord Jesus here is called by His full name. The complete glory of His Person comes to expression in the verse in the middle of the section which speaks about giving. There have been many generous people, but no one has ever given so much as the Lord Jesus. He was rich. How rich? He is the Creator of heaven and earth. Everything you perceive around belongs to Him. He owns the “world … and all it contains ( ). Innumerable angels serve Him in heaven. At His command they do what they are asked to do ( ). His wisdom is unsearchable and in Him “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” ( ). He upholds all things by the word of His power ( ). Who could ever estimate how rich the Lord Jesus was? He renounced all His wealth when He was born as a poor Baby on earth. He was wrapped in swaddling cloth and laid in a feeding trough for animals. Of His wealth and wisdom there was nothing to be seen at that time, although He remained God the Son still in full possession of all Divine wealth. He grew up in the most despised part of Israel, in Nazareth of which it is said: “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” ( ). As He went through Israel He had “nowhere to lay His head” ( ). He did not possess money. To pay the temple tax He had to order a fish to supply the needed amount ( ). If He needed a boat or a donkey He had to borrow ( ; ). At the cross the soldiers tossed dice for His possessions. All that He had were a few pieces of clothing, probably given to Him by some women ( ; ). Even the grave in which He was laid belonged to another: “And Joseph took the body …, and laid it in his own new tomb” ( ). What poverty! We could guess that the Lord Jesus surely had friends and they could have helped Him to make His poverty bearable. He indeed had. But when it really mattered His friends left Him in the lurch ( ). The last thing that still remained, and what remains for every man, was God. Now the real and terrible poverty of the Lord Jesus is clearly shown: even God forsook Him. We did not become rich by the material poverty of the Lord Jesus. We could become rich only through what the Lord experienced in the three hours of deep darkness on the cross. There you see the absolute depth of His poverty and the deepest bitterness, because then He was forsaken even by His God. There He was made sin and bore your sins in His own body on the tree. God Himself turned against Him and judged Him. Why did the Lord Jesus want to endure this terrible poverty? That is said in the next part. It was “that you through His poverty might become rich”. He did it all for you who was so incredibly poor – poor through sin. And now you have become so rich, “blessed … with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ” ( ), “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” ( ), with a dwelling place in the Father’s house ( ). They are too many to enumerate and to be listed. You should stop and think for yourself all that you have received thanks to the poverty of the Lord Jesus. Then you will say: ‘What unspeakable riches have I received!’ Against this background, will it be difficult to give away some of your material wealth? Surely not. . Paul says it is ‘profitable’ for the Corinthians that he shares his opinion in this way with them. And it is profitable for you also. A year ago the Corinthians began to do something for the poor brethren in Judea. They did not simply do it; they desired to wholeheartedly involve themselves in this act. You can give something without knowing why and what for you do it. But it was not so with the Corinthians. But there was something more: they had to finish their task. You can have the intention to regularly lay aside a certain amount for the Lord’s work or for someone who has a need. You might make a good start but after some time you can be slack or careless. There could be all sorts of justifiable reasons. At first you are impressed about a certain need. After some time your willingness diminishes and finally it dissipates into nothing and you stop your giving. Therefore you must be reminded of your original plan and of the good start you made. It is about what you have. Your giving is acceptable if you have the eagerness, the desire to do according to what you have and not according to what you do not have. “Acceptable” means your gift is accepted with great joy. This joy is with God and those who receive your gift. . In this passage you are not compelled to give more than what you have. Paul is quite sober. The idea is not that you give beyond your capacity to the welfare of others and then beg for your own needs. No, it is about an equal distribution of possessions. From your wealth you give away the superfluous to others to help meet their basic needs. Then there will be equality. Things must be different with us as believers than in the world. The reason for the unequal distribution of wealth among the nations is man’s self-centeredness. While people die of hunger tons of food are destroyed to create an artificial demand and to keep the prices high. . Your abundance may serve the lack of your fellow believers. This act of yours will prompt others to stand by you when you are in need. This happens as something normal in the church of God. This equality is not a kind of communism. Communism says that everything that belongs to you also belongs to me. In communism one enriches himself at the cost of others. In the church of God it is the other way around. In the church of God one enriches the other at his own cost saying everything that belongs to me belongs to you also. Think again of the example of the Lord Jesus. . To illustrate the principle of equality Paul points to the example of Israel in the manner they collected the manna in the wilderness ( ). Every morning the manna was available in abundance as food for the day. There were Israelites who gathered much and there were those who gathered less. Some collected more than they could eat, while others could use some more. What did they do? Whoever collected more than he could eat, gave the superfluous to him who had less. They shared. I do not think they shared with the lazy Israelites. Also in our days the word applies: “If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either” ( ). But when someone was not guilty in which he was not able to collect, for instance because of illness or age, it was shared with him. By the way, what would the one who collected too much do with the superfluous? He could not keep it until the next day, because it was then infested with worms. So consider the abundance that you might have. It is a better spending to give from your wealth instead of spending it for the worthless things which have no lasting value. Now read 2 Corinthians 8:9-15 again. Reflection: Do you cooperate to get equality?

‏ 2 Corinthians 8:13-14

That There May Be Equality

2Cor 8:9. This verse is again the strong evidence that Paul – and you see this with the other Bible writers as well – always brings up the example of the Lord Jesus in the most practical issues. In the forgoing verses he presented the Macedonians as role model; but the example of the Lord Jesus Whom he presents now of course outshines all others.

You indeed also do know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, don’t you? The Lord Jesus here is called by His full name. The complete glory of His Person comes to expression in the verse in the middle of the section which speaks about giving. There have been many generous people, but no one has ever given so much as the Lord Jesus.

He was rich. How rich? He is the Creator of heaven and earth. Everything you perceive around belongs to Him. He owns the “world … and all it contains (Psa 50:12b). Innumerable angels serve Him in heaven. At His command they do what they are asked to do (Psa 103:20). His wisdom is unsearchable and in Him “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:3). He upholds all things by the word of His power (Heb 1:3). Who could ever estimate how rich the Lord Jesus was?

He renounced all His wealth when He was born as a poor Baby on earth. He was wrapped in swaddling cloth and laid in a feeding trough for animals. Of His wealth and wisdom there was nothing to be seen at that time, although He remained God the Son still in full possession of all Divine wealth. He grew up in the most despised part of Israel, in Nazareth of which it is said: “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (Jn 1:46). As He went through Israel He had “nowhere to lay His head” (Mt 8:20). He did not possess money. To pay the temple tax He had to order a fish to supply the needed amount (Mt 17:24-27). If He needed a boat or a donkey He had to borrow (Lk 5:3; Mt 21:2-3).

At the cross the soldiers tossed dice for His possessions. All that He had were a few pieces of clothing, probably given to Him by some women (Jn 19:23-24; Lk 8:2-3). Even the grave in which He was laid belonged to another: “And Joseph took the body …, and laid it in his own new tomb” (Mt 27:59-60). What poverty!

We could guess that the Lord Jesus surely had friends and they could have helped Him to make His poverty bearable. He indeed had. But when it really mattered His friends left Him in the lurch (Mk 14:50).

The last thing that still remained, and what remains for every man, was God. Now the real and terrible poverty of the Lord Jesus is clearly shown: even God forsook Him. We did not become rich by the material poverty of the Lord Jesus. We could become rich only through what the Lord experienced in the three hours of deep darkness on the cross. There you see the absolute depth of His poverty and the deepest bitterness, because then He was forsaken even by His God. There He was made sin and bore your sins in His own body on the tree. God Himself turned against Him and judged Him.

Why did the Lord Jesus want to endure this terrible poverty? That is said in the next part. It was “that you through His poverty might become rich”. He did it all for you who was so incredibly poor – poor through sin. And now you have become so rich, “blessed … with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ” (Eph 1:3), “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Rom 8:17), with a dwelling place in the Father’s house (Jn 14:1-3). They are too many to enumerate and to be listed. You should stop and think for yourself all that you have received thanks to the poverty of the Lord Jesus. Then you will say: ‘What unspeakable riches have I received!’ Against this background, will it be difficult to give away some of your material wealth? Surely not.

2Cor 8:10-12. Paul says it is ‘profitable’ for the Corinthians that he shares his opinion in this way with them. And it is profitable for you also. A year ago the Corinthians began to do something for the poor brethren in Judea. They did not simply do it; they desired to wholeheartedly involve themselves in this act. You can give something without knowing why and what for you do it. But it was not so with the Corinthians. But there was something more: they had to finish their task.

You can have the intention to regularly lay aside a certain amount for the Lord’s work or for someone who has a need. You might make a good start but after some time you can be slack or careless. There could be all sorts of justifiable reasons. At first you are impressed about a certain need. After some time your willingness diminishes and finally it dissipates into nothing and you stop your giving. Therefore you must be reminded of your original plan and of the good start you made.

It is about what you have. Your giving is acceptable if you have the eagerness, the desire to do according to what you have and not according to what you do not have. “Acceptable” means your gift is accepted with great joy. This joy is with God and those who receive your gift.

2Cor 8:13. In this passage you are not compelled to give more than what you have. Paul is quite sober. The idea is not that you give beyond your capacity to the welfare of others and then beg for your own needs. No, it is about an equal distribution of possessions. From your wealth you give away the superfluous to others to help meet their basic needs. Then there will be equality.

Things must be different with us as believers than in the world. The reason for the unequal distribution of wealth among the nations is man’s self-centeredness. While people die of hunger tons of food are destroyed to create an artificial demand and to keep the prices high.

2Cor 8:14. Your abundance may serve the lack of your fellow believers. This act of yours will prompt others to stand by you when you are in need. This happens as something normal in the church of God. This equality is not a kind of communism. Communism says that everything that belongs to you also belongs to me. In communism one enriches himself at the cost of others. In the church of God it is the other way around. In the church of God one enriches the other at his own cost saying everything that belongs to me belongs to you also. Think again of the example of the Lord Jesus.

2Cor 8:15. To illustrate the principle of equality Paul points to the example of Israel in the manner they collected the manna in the wilderness (Exo 16:18). Every morning the manna was available in abundance as food for the day. There were Israelites who gathered much and there were those who gathered less. Some collected more than they could eat, while others could use some more. What did they do? Whoever collected more than he could eat, gave the superfluous to him who had less. They shared.

I do not think they shared with the lazy Israelites. Also in our days the word applies: “If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either” (2Thes 3:10). But when someone was not guilty in which he was not able to collect, for instance because of illness or age, it was shared with him. By the way, what would the one who collected too much do with the superfluous? He could not keep it until the next day, because it was then infested with worms.

So consider the abundance that you might have. It is a better spending to give from your wealth instead of spending it for the worthless things which have no lasting value.

Now read 2 Corinthians 8:9-15 again.

Reflection: Do you cooperate to get equality?