Today I want to share a word about the church as a giving creation and I comment on 1 Corinthinans 16:1-4.
We are coming to the end of a series about “Kingdom Qualities for God’s Church.” We have seen many qualities of the church that God has instilled in us, and that we must continue to reinforce.
First, we saw that the church was a creation of God, and that our highest purpose is to worship Him in spirit and in truth, and that we relate to Him on an ongoing basis through prayer.
We saw that the church is an innately missionary creation, which witnesses for God through our words and deeds. We also minister to the needs of others, both human and spiritual, and we know that the greatest need of all is salvation through Jesus.
We have seen that the church is supposed to mature, to grow-up in Christ, and that as we do, our fellowship grows closer with each other and with God as we are filled with the Spirit, and as He produces His fruit in us.
Most recently we remembered that because of God’s intervention on our behalf that we can be optimistic about our future, and that we should be truly grateful to God for transforming our lives.
Today, as we conclude this series, I want to share a word about the church as a giving creation. Money is a subject full of trouble. It is a major cause of trouble in marriages, in businesses and in churches. Paul's instructions about a missions offering in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 gives us a lesson on how to think about this potentially troublesome subject:
Now about the collection for the saints: Do the same as I instructed the Galatian churches. On the first day of the week, each of you is to set something aside and save in keeping with how he is prospering, so that no collections will need to be made when I come. When I arrive, I will send with letters those you recommend to carry your gift to Jerusalem. If it is suitable for me to go as well, they will travel with me.
Paul had called upon the churches on the mission field to give sacrificially to support and bless the church in Jerusalem, which was undergoing severe persecution at this time. These instructions were given so that the church at Corinth would know how to collect this offering “decently and in order.”
Our Giving Is Done to Obey God:
First, I think it is instructive that Paul used a term translated as “directed” in this passage. While this may mean he is directing the process by which the offering is to be collected, and he certainly was, we also need to remember the source of all that we have and ever will have on this earth. In Psalm 50:10-11, God reminds us that:
. . . For every animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird of the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.
God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the hills, the gold under the hills, and the oil under the gold under the hills. Everything we will ever have comes from Him!
God owns everything, but He has given people stewardship over His creation from the very beginning of time. In Genesis 1:28, God made humans the stewards over the world:
God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”
As the stewards of God’s world, we are to be fruitful and return to Him a profit, just as Jesus taught in the Parable of the Talents.
To begin understanding healthy giving, we need to know that God simply expects us to give. It is understood that as the owner of everything He expects and deserves our offerings to Him. The main offering that He wants is our hearts, and when He has our hearts, all the other issues of life will follow, including money.
Our Giving is Done to Bless Others:
Next, it is important to note that our giving is done to bless others.
As we just saw, when we give, we bless God, and honor Him, but we also bless other people as well. This particular offering was designed to go to Jerusalem to help the saints there. The believers were under severe persecution and those who could help were asked to do so. This kind of offering goes to people who are already saved, or to people who simply have unmet human needs.
Other offerings, such as offerings for missions in the modern world, go to help the lost come to know the Lord. These offerings are used to send missionaries, or to do evangelistic outreach from local churches. People are blessed through these offerings because they come to know the Lord as their Savior, and they receive the blessing of being in His flock and eventually in His presence in heaven.
Either way, offerings bless God's people: those who are already saved and who are in the church, as well as those who will be saved and brought into the church. The money given to churches goes to touch lives!
When we give to God’s church it blesses Him and it blesses His people!
Our Giving is Done at Church:
One thing Paul leaves no doubt about is how the giving should be done. Each week everyone should set aside an offering and it should be given regularly at church. And, again, this offering should be based on how God blessed each individual person.
The Bible clearly teaches that the church is the center of religious giving. Malachi 3:10 instructs, “Bring you all the tithes into the storehouse,” and Jesus Himself paid the temple tax by way of a miracle. In Acts we see believers selling their property and bringing the proceeds to the apostles for use in the ministry of the church.
Besides being the Biblical pattern, this practice has much to commend itself to us as well in practical terms also. The burden is shared amongst everyone, and there is good accountability for what is given. This is a better opportunity for good stewardship than giving to other organizations.
One might assert that in the 1st Century there were no other options for giving except through the church. Charities and nondenominational, independent ministries did not exist then. This may be true, but with the Roman roads and the Roman postal system, if someone wanted to send money to the Jerusalem church it certainly was possible. Paul however insisted that giving be done through the local church. By this he has set the Biblical example for us today as well.
A popular quotation about giving is, “Do your giving while you're living so you're knowing where it's going.” When we do our giving at church it's easy for us to know where it is going and what God is doing with it!
Our Giving is Done by Everyone:
Next, it is important to note that Paul is very specific that everyone in the church was expected to participate in this offering. Like Jesus referring to the Widow’s Mite, it did not matter if one was rich, or poor, or in between, but everyone was expected to participate.
Paul clearly recognized the differences in financial circumstances among people. Few people in our churches are rich, but most have more than they need. Paul wanted people to give as God had prospered them, not as they thought God prospered them. Likewise, they should not give as others thought that God had prospered them. They should simply give as God has given to them.
In truth, people in the United States are blessed! Even our poorest people would be well off in some countries around the world. Few people are so destitute that they can give nothing to the ministry of the Gospel.
Sadly, it is a commonly held belief that 20% of the people in the church do 80% of the ministry. Likewise, it is also commonly believed that 20% of the people give 80% of the offerings. Frankly, both of these figures are in opposition to the concept of Biblical stewardship. We need to offer our lives as well as our money to the service of the Lord.
Everyone needs to support the Gospel ministry, in word and deed, and in serving and giving!
Our Giving is Done Wisely:
Finally, the idea that we should give our offerings through the local church is a good segue to the next principle we need to discuss, and that is our giving needs to be done wisely. As we deal with money, we need to heed Christ’s advice; we should “be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.” God has given us the ability to think, and we should use it, especially in the area of stewardship and accountability.
There is no question that money should be handled carefully. I remember being told a story of a church which was located across the street from the city firehouse. On quiet Sunday mornings, the firefighters made a habit of sitting out front of the firehouse. Every Sunday an unaccompanied man would walk out of the front door of the church with the offering plates and carry them around to the church office where they would be counted later. As soon as he exited the church, he would reach into the offering plate and take several bills and put them in his pocket on the way to the church office. This was done in full view of the firefighters, and it went on for years. Needless to say, none of the firefighters ever became members of that church.
Money must be handled wisely to protect those who gave it, to protect those who handle it, and to protect those who would be blessed by it. Notice that a delegation was going to be sent from the mission field to Jerusalem with the offering. Even in the church, or maybe especially in the church, checks and balances must be in place for the protection of all.
How a church handles money will greatly affect its reputation and its ability to bless others.
Our Giving is a Testimony:
One aspect of being involved in ministry for more than three decades is that I have many memories. Some are pleasant, others are unpleasant, and others are just . . . well, let’s say that they are unique. In that regard I remember the time I was given a gift of a dozen pairs of white athletic socks.
I had travelled to a small town to advise a church about how to expand and improve their buildings to support their church’s ministry. It was quite a long drive to get to this town, but our meeting went well, and I felt like the church’s leadership was well on its way to making some good decisions for the future. As I was about to take my leave, one of the lay leaders of the church asked me to walk with him out to the parking lot.
When we arrived at his car, he reached inside and pulled out a plastic bag which he then thrust into my hands. “We know you had a long drive up here,” he said. “Here’s something to show our appreciation.” In that bag were the aforementioned white athletic socks.
The missing element to this story was that the town in question was known for being the location of one of the largest, and last, garment factories in our state, which, as a matter of fact, produced socks. Socks were, therefore, a common and imminently practical, gift to visitors.
Beaming with pride, my host said, “I hope you enjoy these!” And I did. Those socks were an unusual gift, but I used them for many months. I was glad to have them, and I was glad to allow my host to enjoy the blessing of generosity.
Paul also knew the blessing of giving to others. In fact, generosity was important enough to him that he included it in his final words to the elders of the church at Ephesus before being taken to Rome for his audience with Caesar. Such an event is likely to focus one’s thoughts, so the fact that Paul reminded them of the teaching of Jesus about generosity is instructive.
It is a well-known fact that Jesus spent more time talking about money than He did just about any other topic of daily life. He knew that if you want to know what an organization or a person cares about, all you have to do is see where they spend their money.
Our giving must be healthy if we are to have a healthy church. In 1 Corinthians 16, Paul has given us a good lesson about healthy giving. We should heed him, and we should follow his instructions in our churchmanship today!
Every blessing,
Dr. Otis Corbitt
