“Giving for the Glory of God”
(1 Corinthians 16:1-4)
Series: Chaos & Correction (1 Corinthians)
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson
•I invite you to take your Bibles and open to 1 Corinthians, chapter 16 (page 776; YouVersion).
We are preaching our way, verse-by-verse, through the book of 1 Corinthians and today we are at the last chapter, chapter 16. We’re going to focus on the first few verses today as they comprise the first main thought of the chapter. Paul writes about his future plans to visit the church and mentions specifically a special offering to be taken for some of the poor Christians living in the area of Jerusalem. I invite you to listen for that and consider how this text may speak to us about Christian giving for the glory of God.
•Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also:
2 On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.
3 And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem.
4 But if it is fitting that I go also, they will go with me.
•Pray.
Introduction:
I want to speak briefly this morning on the topic, “Giving for the Glory of God.” Many of you will recall a very helpful memory verse from earlier in Paul’s letter, chapter 10 and verse 31 where Paul says, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).” Do all to the glory of God. This would include Christian giving.
When we give our weekly tithes and offerings we do so to ascribe glory to God. Giving is a response to God’s grace and a way of calling attention to God’s goodness, His care, His love, and His righteousness.
There are a couple of main headings that rise from these four verses. We see from them how Christians are to be known by their giving. You note-taking types may wish to write these down. First:
**When it Comes to Christian Giving…
I. We’re to be Known for our Generosity (1-2)
Kevin DeYoung is a preacher who defined generosity as, “The spiritual discipline of having holes in our pockets.” I like that imagery. The spiritual discipline of having holes in our pockets. We’re more inclined to give than we are to keep.
Generosity was what Paul was teaching the church at Corinth. He mentions a collection to be taken for Christians who are in need in Jerusalem. You’ll note that at the end of verse 3 where Paul talks about “bearing their gift to Jerusalem.” There were some brothers and sisters in the churches in Judea who were going through hard times, facing poverty (2 Corinthians 9:12) and persecution (1 Thessalonians 2:14), and Paul is calling upon the church at Corinth to help our their fellow Christians. So he writes in verse 1:
1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also:
Must do what? Verse 2:
2 On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.
So Paul is teaching that the church is to give. Now apparently, the Corinthians knew already about this collection and had asked Paul about how they should go about getting the money to the churches in Judea.
See the phrase, “Now concerning” at the beginning of verse 1? Now concerning. This is now the sixth time that Paul uses this phrase in response to questions raised by the church. You’ll remember we saw the phrase first back in chapter 7, 1 Corinthians 7:1 “Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me,”
So apparently, the Corinthian church knew that an offering was to be taken for the brothers and sisters living in Jerusalem who were in financial need and were asking Paul how this whole thing was supposed to work. How is the offering taken and how does it get to Jerusalem, and so forth.
So Paul says in verse 2, well it works like this: “On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper…”
“On the first day of the week,” that is a Jewish expression for Sunday. It is similar to the phrase used in the New Testament to describe the day of the week that Jesus rose from the dead (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1, John 20:1). The early Christians did just as we do today. They gathered for worship not on the last day of the week, Saturday, but on the first day of the week, Sunday (see also Acts 20:7; Revelation 1:10).
And you think about it: Only one thing could cause a bunch of devout Jews to change their day of worship from the Sabbath to Sunday, from the last day of the week to the first day of the week. Only one thing could cause them to change their day of worship from Saturday to Sunday and that one thing of course is the Lord’s resurrection. Sunday marks the day commemorating Christ’s rising from the dead.
Worship took place on the first day of the week. Breaking bread together, giving, singing, and preaching, all occurred on the first day of the week.
Acts 20 records Paul’s preaching on the first day of the week. Remember Paul was in Troas where he preached until midnight. That was on the first day of the week, on Sunday. And the Bible says that there was this little fellow named Eutychus who fell asleep to Paul’s preaching and fell out of a window and died. That’s a warning to you about staying awake during the preaching!
Remember Paul went outside and embraced the young man and then assured everyone, “His life is still in him;” he’s okay. Then Paul went back upstairs and the Bible says that he talked on till daybreak. That’s a preacher, amen?!
But he preached till midnight! Hours of preaching! Some folks today can’t listen to a message for more than 15 or 20 minutes.
For this reason, some preachers today have capitulated to the anemic culture of our country , reducing their sermons to the preaching of short 10-15 minute “sermonettes.” And time will prove whether these tiny little “sermonettes” produce anything more than tiny little “Christianettes.”
The Word of God makes us strong. So let’s serve generous portions of it, meaty plates of the Word and let us cherish the Word, knowing that, “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word—every word!—that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).”
The church gathers together on the first day of the week for worship. So Paul says to these Corinthian Christians in verse 2: “On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.”
Paul calls for generosity in giving. It’s a blessing to give to others. God prospers us in order to prosper others. He gives to us that we may give to others.
There’s also a really cool missionary aspect here in this passage. Remember that the Corinthians are Gentile Christians and the Christians in Judea are Jewish Christians. So this gift from the Gentiles to the Jews is a way of showing that the Gospel brings together folks of different backgrounds, different ethnicities, and different cultures.
The Gospel brings together folks on earth as a foretaste of what the church looks like in heaven. As John says in Revelation 7:9, God is bringing together “a great multitude which no one [can] number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues.” A generous heart inspires generous giving, which inspires missional activity to the glory of God.
When it comes to Christian giving, we’re to be known for our generosity. And we can give generously when we understand that God’s salvation is a gift far greater than the money we may have or the money we may want. God’s gift of salvation is a gift far greater than the money we may have or the money we may want.
We’ll not only are Christians to be known for their generosity, but when it comes to Christian giving:
II. We’re to be Known for our Integrity (3-4)
Verses 3-4 teach the importance of financial accountability and integrity in the church. Look again at verse 3:
3 And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem.
Paul wants to avoid even the slightest appearance of the misuse of funds. The NLT puts it this way, “When I come, I will write letters of recommendation for the messengers you choose to deliver your gift to Jerusalem.” Paul is concerned that the delegation of men sent to bear the gift are men known for integrity, folks who can be trusted. Then Paul says in verse 4:
4 But if it is fitting that I go also, they will go with me.
Paul is like, “If it works out and seems like a good idea, I too will go along with the delegation.”
So when it comes to Christian giving, we’re to be known for our generosity and we’re to be known for our integrity.
Now, I’m always struck by the way God’s hand of providence works through our sermon series. We’ve been preaching verse-by-verse through 1 Corinthians and, providentially, we find ourselves studying a passage on giving the very Sunday we vote to approve our budget for the next year. It seems our Sovereign God delights to bring His Word to bear upon the life of the church at unique times He has worked out in advance.
Given that we’ll be voting on the 2015 Budget this morning, I’d like to take a few minutes to highlight the missional thrust of next year’s budget. Keep a place marker in 1 Corinthians 16 because we’ll come back to it in a few minutes.
**Vision 2015 Budget Slide Presentation**
So I wanted to give you that brief highlight of the missional engine of our church as we’ll be voting in a moment to approve next year’s budget.
So let me conclude this morning with a few principles on Christian giving that surface from our study of this passage. CH Talbert is a gifted commentator who identifies five giving principles arising from verse 2. You still have your Bibles open, right? So verse 2 again:
2 On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.
**Five Giving Principles from Verse 2.
Five words. Write these down. First: Our Giving is to be Done…
1) Regularly
“On the first day of every week”
Christian giving should be done regularly. Whether you and I are paid weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, the idea is that we are to give regularly. This is why we have a regular, weekly offering. Because giving is to be done not sporadically, but regularly.
Secondly, Christian giving is to be done:
2) Universally
Paul says, “let each one of you” lay something aside. Every Christian is involved in giving. It is to be done universally. Let each one of you give. So it’s not just some who give, it is all who give. It is to be done universally.
Children are to give. Teenagers are to give. Young adults are to give. Senior adults are to give. Those who have much are to give. Those who have little are to give. It is to be done universally.
And guard against judging what you think others should give. Remember that many people give anonymously and that the guy who has a lot of stuff may be using that stuff in ways to bless others.
Thirdly, Christian giving is to be done:
3) Systematically
Paul says, “lay something aside; storing up”
So we have planned ahead of time to give and we are prepared to give. We have already determined that we are giving before we come to worship.
Craig Blomberg notes, “We need to make sure that giving comes ‘off the top,’ at the beginning of the pay period, according to what we have determined to give; we should not allow it to fluctuate based on what is leftover after some initial period of spending to meet other needs and desires.”
Christian giving is to be done regularly, universally, and systematically. Number 4, giving is to be done:
4) Proportionately
Paul says each one should give, “as he may prosper” or as God has prospered him. The biblical idea of tithing—the giving of 10% of one’s income—is an Old Testament teaching that is never specifically set-aside by New Testament teaching.
But whether one sees tithing as a command or a principle, tithing for the Christian seems to be a place merely to begin in our Christian giving. Because if we give proportionately—giving as we have prospered—then some of us may be giving less than 10% but in all likelihood most of us will be giving more than 10%.
But giving is not something to be done legalistically. Giving is something to be done proportionately. The principle is simple and straightforward: God has given to you. You give to God.
So Christian giving is to be done regularly, universally, systematically, proportionately, and number 5:
5) Freely
Paul says at the end of verse 2 give, “so no collections take place when I come.” Paul doesn’t want to come and make the church feel obligated to give. He does not want to twist their arms to give. Giving is to be done freely.
Giving is not to be thought of like the temple tax people were forced to pay in Jesus’ day. Our attitude should not be like, “Man, I’ve got to give, aww!”
The Bible says God wants us to be “cheerful givers (2 Corinthians 9:7).” Remember: “What you do not freely give, God neither wants nor needs.”
Giving is to done regularly, universally, systematically, proportionately, and freely.
Conclusion:
When Paul writes 2 Corinthians about a year later, it is clear that the church in Corinth was needing to be reminded to follow through with their pledge to give. They were like many of us; they had good intentions but they needed some encouragement to do what they already pledged. So Paul includes in 2 Corinthians some gospel motivation for them to follow through. Remember what he says?
2 Corinthians 8:9, 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.”
Here’s all the motivation we need to give. Our Lord Jesus Christ was rich. In perfect fellowship with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the glory of heaven He was rich. Yet He lay aside that gloriously exalted position in heaven to become poor.
We’ll be celebrating Advent in just a few weeks, advent; a word that means arrival. In the incarnation, Jesus arrives. He comes to us from the exalted place of heaven to the lowly place of earth, this fallen world. Jesus left the glories of heaven to enter into this fallen place in order to die for our sins. He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor.
For whose sakes? For your sakes. He became poor. He lay aside the privileges of status and position and glory and humbled Himself to the point of death on an old rugged and crude executioner’s cross. He died for your sins. He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.
So theology motivates giving. The duty we have to give is motivated by doctrine. Our Christian duty is inspired by Christian doctrine. God gives to us. We give to God.
Christian, have you thanked Him yet today for saving your soul? He gave. Have you given thanks in return?
If you are saved, you are rich. Not monetary riches. That’s nothing to compare to spiritual riches; eternal life.
Someone said, “You’ll see how rich you are when you add up everything you have that money can’t buy and death can’t take away.”
This is why we give: because He gave to us. God so loved the world that He gave. He gave of Himself to die for our sins. He gave Himself to you to save you from your sins. Prosperity that money can’t buy and death can’t take away.
•Stand for prayer.
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.