Stewardship and Mission

Memory Text

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9, NKJV).

Want to see what we value? Observe where your money goes. There’s a great chance that where you spend it is the thing that you value the most. Money shows what we value.

We can say that we care about something. We can talk about it. We can even pray about it. But when we are willing to give our time, resources, and even our money for it, that tells you it’s really important.

In 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, Paul talks extensively about money. He was collecting an offering from Gentile churches for struggling believers in Jerusalem. But surprisingly, these two chapters are not primarily about fundraising. It’s primarily about God’s grace.

What does grace has to do with money? Let’s find out.

The Grace Behind Giving

The Macedonian Christians were not exactly in the best position to give.

Paul describes them as experiencing “a great trial of affliction” and “deep poverty” (2 Cor. 8:2). You would expect Paul to tell other churches to send money to Macedonia.

Instead, the Macedonians themselves wanted to give!

“That in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality” (2 Corinthians 8:2, NKJV).

Notice those strange combinations: affliction and joy; poverty and generosity.

How does deep poverty produce rich generosity? Paul’s answer? The grace of God.

Murray Harris observes that “the grace of Christ was shown in this generous self-giving.”¹

Christian generosity, therefore, does not begin with how much money is in our bank account. 

It begins with what grace has done in our hearts.

“They first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God” (2 Corinthians 8:5, NKJV).

Before God had their money, He had them.

Money simply follows the heart.

He Became Poor

The Macedonians are an impressive example. But they are not Paul’s greatest example. Jesus is.

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9, NKJV).

Jesus was rich. He had more than gold. He has the worship and allegiance of the entire universe! Everything belonged to Him. But yet He became poor.

The One who owned everything became like one of us! He was born in a lowly manger. He lived among us and like one of us!

Paul does not simply command the Corinthians to stop loving money and become more generous. Paul takes them back to Jesus.² That changes the question.

Christian stewardship does not begin with, “How much do I have to give?”

It begins with, “How much has Christ given for me?”

He did not give us a percentage. He gave Himself. 100% of Himself.

Planned, But Not Pressured

Grace-filled giving does not mean thoughtless giving.

“So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7, NKJV).

The word translated “purposes” was defined as something “decided beforehand in his heart.”³

In other words, Paul is not describing someone suddenly pressured into giving because an emotional appeal was made from the pulpit.

There is thought involved. Prayer. Planning.

And there is freedom.

Paul does not want money extracted “grudgingly or of necessity.” Christian giving should never depend on manipulation, shame, or public pressure.

Grace naturally produces generosity.

Pressure may give you money, but it cannot give you a giver.

No Room for Suspicion

Interestingly, Paul is not only concerned about how money is given.

He is also concerned about how money is handled.

Paul arranged for Titus and other trusted representatives to participate in administering the offering.

Why so much precaution?

“Providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men” (2 Corinthians 8:21, NKJV).

It would have been easy for Paul to say, “God knows my heart.”

But that was not enough for him.

“Paul wanted total transparency in the way the collection was being gathered and regarding the process of taking it to Jerusalem. As a wise pastor, he left no room for suspicion.”⁴

That is an important principle for the church today.

We should not merely be honest with God’s money.

We should handle it in such a way that reasonable people can see that we are honest.

Transparency does not demonstrate a lack of trust.

Sometimes transparency is precisely what protects trust.

Giving Becomes Mission

And this brings us to why the lesson is called Stewardship and Mission.

The money was going from predominantly Gentile churches to Jewish believers in Jerusalem.

They have different ethnicity, different geography, and was different in culture. But now the gospel had made them one family.

Different in culture. But one in mission. Amen?

Mission is not merely what happens after the offering is collected. How it is used for mission is very significant. Using what we have for the advancement of God’s mission is faithful stewardship in the eyes of God.

“Money, time, influence—all the gifts they have received from God’s hand, they will value only as a means of advancing the work of the gospel.”⁵

There it is.

Everything God has placed in our hands becomes a means by which His love can reach someone else. That’s why our lesson is Stewardship and Mission.

Conclusion

2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9 portrays something beautiful.

God gives. He gave Himself.

That is the greatest example of giving. We give because grace gave.

“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15, NKJV).

Before there was our offering, there was His.

Before we became generous, God was generous toward us.

And before God asks for what is in our hands, He wants what the Macedonians first gave:

ourselves.

Once He has us, our time, money, influence, talents, and possessions begin to find their proper place.

They become gifts received from God—

and gifts that can be given for His mission.

Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think Paul describes the Macedonians’ generosity as evidence of God’s grace rather than simply praising their character?
2. What difference does 2 Corinthians 8:9 make in the way we think about stewardship and giving?
3. Why is planned giving compatible with cheerful and voluntary giving?
4. Why should church leaders care not only about being financially honest but also about being visibly transparent?
5. Besides money, what has God entrusted to you that could be used more intentionally for His mission?

Endnotes

[^1]: Murray J. Harris, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005), 578.

[^2]: Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope That Matters(New York: Riverhead Books, 2011), 67.

[^3]: Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida, eds., Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains, 2nd ed., 2 vols. (New York: United Bible Societies, 1989), 1:359, §30.84.

[^4]: Daniel Berchie, “2 Corinthians,” in Andrews Bible Commentary: New Testament, ed. Ángel Manuel Rodríguez (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2022), 1675–76.

[^5]: Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1911), 71.