Title: Receiver of Grace, Receiver of Grace
2 Corinthians (31) Those who received favor, those who received favor (2 Corinthians 8:1-5)
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The protagonist of the blessing line >
< Those who received grace, those who received grace >
In the text, the Apostle Paul introduces a church that strives to help others. That church is the Macedonian church. Look at verse 1 of the text. “Brothers, we make known to you the grace that God has given to the churches of Macedonia.” The Apostle Paul introduces God's grace to the Macedonian churches to the Corinthian church. What is God's grace to the Macedonian churches?
Look at verse 2 of the text. “In the midst of many trials of tribulation, their overflowing joy and extreme poverty caused them to abound in abundant generosity.” In this verse, the Greek word 'haplodes', which means 'annual tribute', means 'a missionary offering of love that does not ask for compensation'. In other words, it was God's grace that the Macedonian churches made a great missionary offering with joy despite difficulties. To better understand the meaning of these words, we need to know the context of the time.
At that time, there was a great famine in Israel, and the church in Israel was in great trouble. Hearing the news, the Macedonian churches collected a huge amount of money and sent it to the Israeli church, even though it was difficult for them. On the other hand, the Corinthian church, the largest port city in Greece, had many wealthy people, and it was quiet. In today's terms, it means that small churches in the countryside are working hard on missions, but large churches in Bundang have been quiet. While talking about that, the Apostle Paul says that the actions of the Macedonians are ‘grace’.
Here we realize the true meaning of grace. When people say 'grace', they associate 'receiving', but in the text, 'giving' is called grace. After all, God's grace has little to do with 'material existence'. If you practice the life of giving hard even if you don't have material things, that is the life of grace. Some people say, "I have nothing to give!" and do not go into the life of giving, but in fact, it is not 'having nothing to give' but 'without grace'.
There is no 'rich enough to receive anything' in this world, but there is no 'poor person who has nothing to give'. If you start a life of giving when you don't have enough to give, your body will be tired, but your soul will be clearer and happier. That is the life of believing in Jesus and believing in heaven. If we hope for heaven while ignoring the 'grace of giving', who will see that faith as true faith? Put 'evangelism of life' ahead of 'evangelism of words'. Some people at least work hard to help others. How attractive are you? That is the figure of the ‘recipient of grace’ and the figure of the ‘recipient of grace’.