Galatians 8

CHAPTER 8

Generosity Encouraged (8:1-15)

1-2 Among the Macedonian churches, the two most well-known were the Philippain church and the Thessalonian church. The Thessalonian had become a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia (1 Thessalonians 1:7).

Even though the Philippians and Thessalonians were themselves extremely poor and were experiencing severe trials, still they were filled with rich generosity toward other Christians in need (verse 2). In particular, they had contributed generously to the collection that Paul had been raising in the churches of Greece to send to the poor Christians in Jerusalem. Paul hopes that the Corinthians will follow the example of the Macedonian churches and contribute to the collection for the Jerusalem Christians with equal generosity.

Generosity is not measured only by how much one gives; it is also measured by how much one keeps! A poor man can never give as much as a rich man; nevertheless, the poor man’s generosity may be much greater than that of the rich man. Remember the poor widow whom Jesus talked about; she put into the temple treasury only a fraction of a penny. But Jesus said of her: “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on” (Mark 12:41-44).

3-4 The Christians of Macedonia had urgently pleaded with Paul for the opportunity to send money to the saints—the believers—in Jerusalem (verse 4).

Are we like those Macedonian Christians? Or rather do we complain about how poor we are and try to give as little as possible? We need to remember that our money is not our own; it belongs to the Lord Jesus. We must decide how much to give, not according to our own wish or calculation, but according to His.

Remember this: If we are generous toward others, God will be generous toward us. The more we give, the more we will receive (see 2 Corinthians 9:6). A man reaps what he sows (Galatians 6:7). Let us not be stingy. God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). When we give, let us not worry about ourselves, because God will meet all [our] needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

5 The Macedonian Christians gave not only their money, but they gave themselves as well. They are an example for us to follow. More than our money, God wants us. Paul wrote: I urge you … to offer your bodies as living sacrifices … to God (Romans 12:1). If we belong to Christ, then our money belongs to Him also. That is why the Macedonian Christians were so generous: they had given themselves first to the Lord. They had also given themselves—submitted themselves—to Paul, as an apostle of the Lord, which was in keeping with God’s will. Paul hopes that the Corinthians will do the same.

6 Paul had appointed Titus to bring to completion this act of grace. This act of grace was the collection for the poor that Paul was raising to send to Jerusalem. Paul calls it an “act of grace,” because just as God shows His grace to us, so we must show that grace to others (see verse 1). Grace consists of love, mercy, kindness, and generosity. All grace comes first from God. Let us be diligent to share God’s grace with those around us—especially the poor.

7 The Corinthians had been given an abundance of God’s grace, God’s gifts (see 1 Corinthians 1:4-7). Therefore, let them now excel in this grace of giving to others.

8 Paul does not want to force the Corinthians to give their money. But Paul is testing the sincerity of the Corinthians’ love by comparing it with the earnestness of others—namely, the Macedonian Christians (see 1 John 3:17-18).

9 For us the greatest example is always Jesus Christ Himself. He was rich beyond measure. He possessed all the riches of God. Yet He gave it all up. For our sakes, He became poor (see Philippians 2:6-7). Through His poverty—that is, through His death²⁰ on the cross—we have become spiritually rich.

If Christ has done that much for us, how can we not follow His example and give both our possessions and ourselves for the sake of others?

10-11 Among all the Greek churches, the Corinthians had been the first to contribute to Paul’s collection for the poor in Jerusalem. But then they fell behind in their contributions; the collection was forgotten for a time. Now Paul urges them to finish what they had started.

12 How much the Corinthians give is not the main thing, says Paul. They can’t give what they don’t have. Rather, the main thing is their willingness to give. If they have the willingness, then their gift will be acceptable. Paul’s advice in verse 11 is this: Give according to your means (see 1 Corinthians 16:2 and comment).

13 Paul doesn’t want the Corinthians to give so much that they themselves become hard pressed. They should not go into debt in order to contribute to the collection.

14 For Christians, giving to those in need is a natural and reasonable thing to do. Today we supply someone else’s need; tomorrow he will supply our need. This is what Paul means by equality.

This is not the same as the communist system, in which the government takes from one and gives to another. In Christianity, it is love that causes us to give to others, not the government. We give freely, not by law. And, relative to our means, how much we give will depend on the needs of others (see Acts 2:44-45; 4:34-35).

Paul doesn’t say that all Christians must have exactly the same amount of money and possessions. God has assigned to Christians different ranks, different jobs, and different gifts. Some are rich, some are poor. But there must always be generous sharing between those who have enough and those who don’t. No Christian should ever remain in need. Those who have enough should give according to their means, and those who don’t have enough should receive according to their needs. All that we have has come from God (see 1 Corinthians 4:2). Whatever we have is God’s, not ours.

15 Paul here quotes from Exodus 16:18. This verse describes how the ancient Jews gathered manna from the desert. “Manna” was a kind of bread, which God sent down from heaven to the Jews so that they wouldn’t starve in the desert. Each day the Jews gathered the “manna.” Those Jews who were younger and stronger gathered more than those who were old and weak. But when all the “manna” had been gathered, it was distributed equally to all. Therefore, he that gathered little did not have too little. If any Jew tried to keep for himself more than his share of “manna,” it quickly spoiled and could not be eaten (Exodus 16:14-20,32).

Titus Sent to Corinth (8:16-24)

16-17 Titus volunteered to return to Corinth to help make the final arrangements for completing the collection.

18 In this verse, Paul mentions a brother who was praised by all the churches. It is not certain what brother Paul is referring to here. Some think it is Luke; others think it is Tychicus (Acts 20:4; Ephesians 6:21).

19 Whoever this brother was who accompanied Titus to Corinth, he was chosen, not by Paul, but by the churches who were taking part in the collection.

20  It was important for the churches themselves to choose their own representatives to join in taking the collection to Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 16:3). Otherwise, people could falsely accuse Paul and his colleagues of taking the collection for themselves, and they would have no witnesses to deny the charges. Satan is always looking for an opportunity to bring evil out of a good work.

21 Concerning the collection, Paul wanted to do what was right, not only in the eyes of the Lord d but also in the eyes of men. Paul doesn’t mean here that he was looking for praise from men. Paul sought praise only from God. Whatever Paul did, he did it for the Lord alone (see Romans 14:7-8; Ephesians 6:5-8).

But Paul knew that if he brought dishonor upon himself, this would also bring dishonor upon Christ. Therefore, he wanted to avoid anything that would appear dishonorable in men’s eyes. He wasn’t worried about his own reputation, but about Christ’s reputation.

In the same way, every Christian, insofar as possible, must protect his reputation from dishonor—even the appearance of dishonor. This doesn’t mean that we should avoid being dishonored for Christ’s sake; all believers can expect to be dishonored because of their faith in Christ. But it means that we should avoid the dishonor that comes from wrongdoing, or the appearance of wrongdoing. Paul wrote: Avoid every kind of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22). We must not give people any unnecessary opportunity to speak against Christ and His Gospel²¹ (see 1 Corinthians 9:12).

22 Here Paul mentions another brother—our brother—who also accompanied Titus to Corinth. It is not known who this brother was.

23-24 Paul tells the Corinthians that Titus and these two brothers are worthy of their love and respect. Titus himself was Paul’s partner and fellow worker (verse 23). These two brothers who accompanied Titus to Corinth were representatives of the churches. But more than that, they were an honor to Christ.

If Paul were here today, would he be able to say about us that we were an honor to Christ?