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Macedonian Churches
Second, if we go to the preceding verses of 2 Cor. 8:9, Paul challenges the Corinthian church about generous giving by pointing out to the generosity of Macedonian churches. He writes, “And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity” (2 Cor. 8:1-2). Mark these words, “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.”
Observe carefully, it doesn’t just say “poverty” but “extreme poverty.” It is also worth noting—the same Greek word “πτωχεία" [ptōcheia] is used when mentioning the poverty of Macedonian churches in verse 2 and the poverty of Christ in verse 9.
Now here is my question—if Jesus had become poor to make His people wealthy, why did the Macedonians churches have to give out of extreme poverty? They should have been wealthy, giving out of their riches of goods. But their greatness stands out, not because they gave out of abundance, but out of their inadequacy. Their poverty did not rob them of generosity.
Don’t you suppose, to claim 2 Cor. 8:9 as speaking about worldly prosperity is to simply distort the context of the Scripture which actually speaks about the poverty of Macedonian churches? Indeed, 2 Cor. 8 doesn’t prove the doctrine of prosperity but refutes it.
Needy Saints of Jerusalem
Third, it is important to understand the reason why Paul wrote 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. Knowing its background would help us to stand against the misinterpretation of 2 Cor. 8:9, which is widely propagated by prosperity preachers.
Paul was on a mission to raise funds to financially help the saints in Jerusalem. He writes in Romans 15:25-26, “Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there. For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.” I think, according to prosperity preachers, there shouldn’t be poor saints, but how come there were poor saints in Jerusalem for whom Paul was raising help from the churches?
He also writes in his first epistle to Corinthians, “Now 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” (16:1-3). You see, Paul was encouraging the Corinthian church to set aside some money weekly as a collection for God’s people, so that it would be sent as a financial gift to the needy saints in Jerusalem.
And then in 2 Corinthians, Paul reminds the Corinthians of their desire to help the poor saints in Jerusalem. He writes, “And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means” (8:10-11). The Macedonian churches shared their contribution to the saints (8:1-4) and Paul writes, “There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the saints. For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action.” (2 Cor. 9:1-2)
Observe carefully, Paul was not writing these words to raise money for his ministry, thereby living a prosperous life based on the contributions given to him. He was writing to raise money to help the needy believers of Christ, the very thing he was eager to do (Gal. 2:10). The fact that “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7) and “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Cor. 9:6) were written in the context of helping the needy people of God.
But don’t you see all these Scripture are used by prosperity preachers to motivate people to sow money in their ministry rather than giving much to help the needy people?
Well, here is my question—why was Paul striving to raise funds from various churches to help the needy saints at Jerusalem when these needy saints should have been rich and wealthy, according to the prosperity gospel interpretation of 2 Cor. 8:9?
Even if the prosperity preachers use these Scriptures to motivate people towards generous giving, why are they unlike Paul who wrote these inspiring words to help the needy saints of Christ? This is the clear difference I see between Paul and today's preachers of health and wealth gospel—Paul was passionate for the poor and needy saints, and the latter are zealous for prosperity.
Concluding Words
The appropriate consideration of the context of 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, and the rest of the Scriptures in connection to them, helps us to come to this plain interpretation of 2 Cor. 8:9—Though Jesus was gloriously rich in heaven, for our sakes, He became physically poor on earth, taking the form of a servant, so that through His poverty we might become spiritually rich.
And the reason Paul writes this is to motivate the Corinthians to imitate their Lord who gave Himself to benefit others so that they too would excel in the grace of giving (compare verse 9 with verse 7). Paul penned these words, not to propagate the doctrine of prosperity, but to spread out our hands out of generosity in order to help God's people in adversity.
Similarly, Paul explains about the deity and the servanthood of Christ in Philippians 2:6-11, so that the Philippians too would possess the attitude as that of Christ Jesus, which is to look not only to one’s own interests, but also to the interests of others (Phi. 2:3-4).
Second, if we go to the preceding verses of 2 Cor. 8:9, Paul challenges the Corinthian church about generous giving by pointing out to the generosity of Macedonian churches. He writes, “And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity” (2 Cor. 8:1-2). Mark these words, “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.”
Observe carefully, it doesn’t just say “poverty” but “extreme poverty.” It is also worth noting—the same Greek word “πτωχεία" [ptōcheia] is used when mentioning the poverty of Macedonian churches in verse 2 and the poverty of Christ in verse 9.
Now here is my question—if Jesus had become poor to make His people wealthy, why did the Macedonians churches have to give out of extreme poverty? They should have been wealthy, giving out of their riches of goods. But their greatness stands out, not because they gave out of abundance, but out of their inadequacy. Their poverty did not rob them of generosity.
Don’t you suppose, to claim 2 Cor. 8:9 as speaking about worldly prosperity is to simply distort the context of the Scripture which actually speaks about the poverty of Macedonian churches? Indeed, 2 Cor. 8 doesn’t prove the doctrine of prosperity but refutes it.
Needy Saints of Jerusalem
Third, it is important to understand the reason why Paul wrote 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. Knowing its background would help us to stand against the misinterpretation of 2 Cor. 8:9, which is widely propagated by prosperity preachers.
Paul was on a mission to raise funds to financially help the saints in Jerusalem. He writes in Romans 15:25-26, “Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there. For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.” I think, according to prosperity preachers, there shouldn’t be poor saints, but how come there were poor saints in Jerusalem for whom Paul was raising help from the churches?
He also writes in his first epistle to Corinthians, “Now 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” (16:1-3). You see, Paul was encouraging the Corinthian church to set aside some money weekly as a collection for God’s people, so that it would be sent as a financial gift to the needy saints in Jerusalem.
And then in 2 Corinthians, Paul reminds the Corinthians of their desire to help the poor saints in Jerusalem. He writes, “And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means” (8:10-11). The Macedonian churches shared their contribution to the saints (8:1-4) and Paul writes, “There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the saints. For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action.” (2 Cor. 9:1-2)
Observe carefully, Paul was not writing these words to raise money for his ministry, thereby living a prosperous life based on the contributions given to him. He was writing to raise money to help the needy believers of Christ, the very thing he was eager to do (Gal. 2:10). The fact that “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7) and “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Cor. 9:6) were written in the context of helping the needy people of God.
But don’t you see all these Scripture are used by prosperity preachers to motivate people to sow money in their ministry rather than giving much to help the needy people?
Well, here is my question—why was Paul striving to raise funds from various churches to help the needy saints at Jerusalem when these needy saints should have been rich and wealthy, according to the prosperity gospel interpretation of 2 Cor. 8:9?
Even if the prosperity preachers use these Scriptures to motivate people towards generous giving, why are they unlike Paul who wrote these inspiring words to help the needy saints of Christ? This is the clear difference I see between Paul and today's preachers of health and wealth gospel—Paul was passionate for the poor and needy saints, and the latter are zealous for prosperity.
Concluding Words
The appropriate consideration of the context of 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, and the rest of the Scriptures in connection to them, helps us to come to this plain interpretation of 2 Cor. 8:9—Though Jesus was gloriously rich in heaven, for our sakes, He became physically poor on earth, taking the form of a servant, so that through His poverty we might become spiritually rich.
And the reason Paul writes this is to motivate the Corinthians to imitate their Lord who gave Himself to benefit others so that they too would excel in the grace of giving (compare verse 9 with verse 7). Paul penned these words, not to propagate the doctrine of prosperity, but to spread out our hands out of generosity in order to help God's people in adversity.
Similarly, Paul explains about the deity and the servanthood of Christ in Philippians 2:6-11, so that the Philippians too would possess the attitude as that of Christ Jesus, which is to look not only to one’s own interests, but also to the interests of others (Phi. 2:3-4).
O, how the prosperity preachers twist the Scriptures, manipulating people to give contributions to their own ministries while ignoring the poor and needy people of God! They are giving false hope of prosperity to people while they themselves are prospering on the money given to them. The Living God is going to judge them for their selfish ambitions, if they do not repent of their sin of self-indulgence and for misleading multitudes of naïve people by distorting the Holy Scripture of God.
May the Lord’s people be awakened to flee from the disease of prosperity teaching and cling to the sound teachings of God’s word! [go to first page] |
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Related Articles:
Prince of the Poor vs Preachers of Prosperity
How to Become Rich Forever?
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Enquiries:
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Very true. Jesus came to make us rich. In what? wealthy to serve mammon? Macedonian christians were poor in wealth but rich in spirit.Jesus came to make us rich in spirit like him to give all self. Very few in the christian world preach the truth. Many preach and walk as the enemies of the cross of christ. They lead many to destruction.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your faithful words. Go on steadfast like a man.