God generously loves you and he generously saves you therefore we should be motivated to give generously because of the message of the gospel. When we give generously it is a tangible expression or a genuine extension of our love for others in the gospel, which proves the authenticity of our love for the Lord.
2 Corinthians 8:7 – 9…
7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also. 8 I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
In these verses the apostle Paul reminds the Corinthian church to give generously to a fund that had been set up for the purpose of bringing financial relief to other churches that were struggling financially. The Corinthian church had made a pledge to give generously to this fund and Paul was preparing to come and collect that offering so that the churches could continue making disciples through the preaching of the gospel. As we examine these verses we learn that we should be motivated to give generously because of the message of the gospel…
Think about the message of the gospel for a minute. Think about the generosity of God through the message of the gospel. At some point God was generous enough to send someone to share the message of the gospel with you. At some point the Holy Spirit generously opened your heart to the message of the gospel. At some point you understood the generosity of the cross of Christ, which is the point of the gospel. At some point you realized your poverty and your hopelessness without him and you placed your faith in Christ. God was generous towards you in the message of the Gospel. He generously loves you and he generously saved you. Paul wants us to be motivated to give generously because of the message of the gospel.
It’s the message of the gospel that should motivate us to be generous. Paul wasn’t commanding the Corinthian church to give generously he was seeking to motivate them to grow or excel in giving generously in light of the gospel which was causing growth in other areas of their lives like “faith, speech and knowledge”. Paul is saying that it’s important to grow in the areas of our gifting but he’s also teaching us that we should be motivated to grow in giving generously because of the message of the gospel.
Paul also seeks to motivate the Corinthians to give generously in light of his love for them in the gospel when he says, “as you excel… in our love for you, see that you excel in this act of grace also”. Paul didn’t want the Corinthians to give generously because of a command. He wanted them to give generously as a result of his love for them and their love for him because of the work of the gospel among them all.
Paul knew that he once was a persecutor of Christians. Paul knew that the Corinthian Christians were once Gentile unbelievers. Paul was reminding them that his love for them was a result of the work of the gospel. He was reminding them that their love for him was a result of the work of the gospel. So he was seeking to motivate their generous giving in light of the work of the message of the gospel. We should be motivated to give generously because of the message of the gospel, which results in us becoming consumers of and contributors in the work of the gospel.
Paul also says that he wants the Corinthian church to prove through their generous giving that their love is genuine. He says, “I want to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine”. Paul says that the generous giving of the Corinthian church would be proof of their genuine love for the Lord and for their brothers and sisters in Christ. When we give generously it is a tangible expression or a genuine extension of our love for others in the gospel, which proves the authenticity of our love for the Lord.
Paul also reminds the Corinthians of the basics of the gospel when he says that though Jesus was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich”. Paul is reminding the Corinthians that Jesus left behind the wealth of Heaven to become poor among us so that because of his poverty and death upon the cross we could become spiritually wealthy beyond our wildest dreams. We should be motivated to give generously because of the message of the gospel, which makes us eternally wealthy beyond our wildest dreams.