Northeast & Southwest Ohio Joint Sunday School Convention

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Paul's second letter to the Cor inthians is quite differ ent, how ever. The fir st seven chapter s ar e mostly a defense of Paul's ministr y ther e. Both detr actor s fr om w ithin and enemies fr om w ithout w er e calling into question his apostolic ministr y. Chapter s 10 thr ough 13 focus on false teacher s w ho w er e attempting to infiltr ate the Cor inthian chur ch. Sandw iched betw een these tw o sections is an exhor tation to complete an offer ing in w hich they had pr omised to par ticipate. It pr ovides us w ith the longest single body of teaching on giving in the New Testament. As a for mer Phar isee and now as the apostle to the Gentiles, Paul was w ell awar e of the depth of animosity that existed betw een Gentiles and Jew s. In Chr ist, how ever , the chur ch is one body (Eph. 2:11-22). Ear thly distinctions have been abolished, "for by one Spir it ar e w e all baptized into one body, w hether w e be Jew s or Gentiles" (ICor. 12:13). One way that unity could be enhanced was to encour age Gentile believer s to help poor Jew ish believer s, something Paul was mor e than w illing to do (Gal. 2:10). So as he tr aveled among the Gentiles, he collected funds to help the pover ty-str icken saints in Jer usalem (Acts 11:27-30). The Cor inthians had asked about this effor t ear lier , and Paul had instr ucted them on gather ing the funds (ICor. 16:1-4). Fr om w hat Paul w r ote in II Cor inthians 8 and 9, it is clear that the chur ch had not follow ed thr ough on their pr omise to shar e in this offer ing. Using the Macedonian chur ches as an example (6:1-4), Paul encour aged the Cor inthians to do as they had done. In spite of their ow n pover ty, the Macedonians had done mor e than expected. Bust as Paul pointed out, it was because they "fir st gave their ow n selves to the Lor d: (vs. 5). This is w hat inspir ed their gener osity. "Tr ue giving r equir es giving of oneself, not just giving money. The gospel is not about w hat w e can get fr om God but w hat God has given us so that w e can give of our selves to other s" (Gar land, 2 Cor inthians, Br oadman). As w e know fr om I Cor inthians, the believer s in Cor inth w er e extr emely gifted. Although this led to some pr oblems in the congr egation, it could not be denied that the Cor inthians excelled in many ways - in faith, in gifted speaking, in know ledge, and in er nest enthusiasm in ser ving the Lor d. Since the Cor inthians had excelled in all thesr r hings, it was fitting that they "abound in this gr ace also" (II Cor. 8:7). The gr ace Paul was speaking of her e was the gr ace of giving. While the w or d "gr ace: is fr equently used in the New Testament in r elation to salvation (Acts 15:11; Rom. 3:24; Eph.2:8), it is also found in other contexts. The Gr eek w or d tr anslated "gr ace: is charis. This w or k is r ender ed "liberality" in I Cor inthians 16:3, w her e it r efer s to the offer ing in question. It is also r elated to the Gr eek w or k charisma (1:7; 12:4), r efer r ing to a gift of gr ace and often used of spir itual gifts (Rom. 1:11; 12:6). Giving is a spir itual gift (12:8), although some may be r eluctant to acknow ledge it or pr actice it. God indeed blesses us so that w e can bless other s. GENUINE LOVE 8 I speak not by com m andm ent , but by occasi on of t he for war dness of ot her s, and to pr ove t he si ncer i t y of your l ove. 9 For ye k now t he gr ace of our Lor d Jesus, Chr i st , t hat , t hough he was r i ch, yet for your sak es he becam e poor , t hat ye t hr ough hi s pover t y m i ght be r i ch. As an apostle of Chir st and the founder of the Cor inthian chur ch, Paul undoubtedly had a measur e of influence w ith these believer s that other apostle might not hve enjoyed. Even so, he w ould not or der them to do w hat they ought to do. He could have commanded them to give, but that ould have defeated the pur pose of giving. We ar e to give because w e want to. Even if Paul had commanded the Cor inthians to give, know ing w hat w e do about the char acter of some of these believer s, they likely w ould have r esisted such a mandate. Paul wanted to test the sincer ity of their love by compar ing their attitude to the eager diligence of other s, namely, the afor ementioned Macedonian saints. Ther e ar e, of cour se, higher motivations for giving than this, but it does str ike a familiar chor d. When w e see other s giving, ser ving, or helping, it tends to highlight our ow n lack of
dedication and par ticipation. Of cour se, w e know that some people ar e unfazed by such good r ole models. Moving on fr om the example of other s, Paul appealed to the gr eatest example of all the Lor d Jesus, Chr ist. Though He enjoyed heavenly r iches, Chr ist left that for the pover ty of this w or ld. Not only was His ear thly life void of r iches or comfor ts (cf. Matt. 8:20), but He also divested Himself of cer tain pr ivileges affor ded Him as the eter nal Son of God (Phil. 2:7-8). Because Chr ist humbled Himself to become a man and die for their sins, the Cor inthians w er e now heir s to heavenly w ealth and even enjoyed its spir itual benefits in the pr esent. If Chr ist was w illing to do this for them, could they not make a few sacr ifices to help their br ethr en in need? Mor eover , w e might ask our selves the same question, especially in light of the fact that most of us have a level of w ealth that exceeds that of billions of people in the w or ld. GRACIOUS ADVICE 10 And her ei n I give m y advi ce for t hi s i s ex pedi ent for you, who have begun befor e, not only to do, but al so to be for war d a year ago. 11 Now t her efor e per for m t he doi ng of i t ; t hat as t her e was a r eadi ness to w i l l , so t her e m ay be a per for m ance al so out of t hat whi ch ye have. Since Paul was not going to or der the Cor inthian chur ch to give, he offer ed them some advice. As most of us know , how w e ar e told to do something often makes a differ ence in our r esponse. If the boss tells us to do something, w e usually do it. If w e r efuse, w e may be putting our job in jeopar dy. But w hen it comes to fr iends and family or even chur ch, w e w ould pr efer to be asked in a way that does not make it appear as though w e have no choice, When it comes to advice, the spir it in w hich advice is given often affects w hether or not it w ill be heeded. The advice about to be given w ould be "expedient" (II Cor. 8:10). This w or d could be r ender ed "appr opr iate," "advantageous," "better ," or "best." Paul was simply outlining the best cour se of action for the Cor inthians under the pr esent cir cumstances. "He does not want to seem to cr iticize them, but he does want to tell them w hat he thinks is best. Their or iginal intention was good, but if they do not car r y it out, it w ould make them look bad" (Gar land). Fr om w hat Paul said her e, w e discover that the Cor inthians had not completely dr opped the ball r egar ding the offer ing for the poor. They w er e eager to par ticipate and had actually given some money or had it r eadily available w hen the time came for it to be deliver ed to Jer usalem. They had demonstr ated their w illingness or desir e, to give a year ear lier (or at some point dur ing the pr evious year ). Per haps it was simple pr ocr astination that kept them fr om follow ing thr ough. Whatever was behind it, they had not come thr ough as pr omised. Paul's advice, ther efor e, was simply to finish w hat they had begun. They should not wait until times got better or until people might, for w hatever r eason, be mor e w illing to give. As social scientists have discover ed, the longer w e put something off, the less likely w e ar e to do it. That pr inciple not only applies to such things as going back to school or making a needed house r epair but also to tr usting in Chr ist or becoming mor e involved in the ife of the local chur ch. GENEROUS RESPONSE 12 For i f t her e be f i r st a w i l l i ng m i nd, i t i s accepted accor di ng to t hat a m an hat h, and not accor di ng to t hat he hat h not . 13 For I m ean not t hat ot her m en be eased, and ye bur dened: 14 But by an equal i t y, t hat now at t hi s t i m e your abundance m ay be a supply for t hei r want , t hat t hei r abundance al so m ay be a supply for your want : t hat t her e m ay be equal i t y: 15 As i t i s w r i t ten, He t hat had gat her ed m uch had not hi ng over ; and he t hat had gat her ed l i t t l e had no l ack . Willing givi ng (II Cor . 8:12-3). Ther e may have beenvar ious r easons w hy the Cor inthians had not come thr ough on their pr omise of r aising funds for the pover ty-
Page 1 and 2: Nor theast & Southwest Ohio Distr i
Page 3 and 4: Thursday, August 9, 2018 Opening Se
Page 5 and 6: Saturday, August 11, 2018 Morning S
Page 7 and 8: FINANCIAL REPORTS NORTHEAST OHIO
Page 9 and 10: Northeast Ohio District LOCAL MINIS
Page 11 and 12: Northeast Ohio District SUNDAY SCHO
Page 13 and 14: FINANCIAL REPORTS SOUTHWEST OHIO
Page 15 and 16: Southwest Ohio District LOCAL MINIS
Page 17 and 18: Southwest Ohio District SUNDAY SCHO
Page 19 and 20: SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSONS
Page 21: Shar ing w ith Those in Need Lesson
Page 25 and 26: Conver sely, their br ethr en in Ju

Northeast & Southwest Ohio Joint Sunday School Convention

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