The Principles Of Giving (Part 1)

Dear Bethelites,

As believers, we know that we ought to glorify God. As Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 1 said, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” Some of us who are familiar with certain Bible verses would be able to quote those scriptures by memory. For example, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. But have you ever asked yourself, “What does it mean to glorify God?”

Does it mean that God lacks glory, and therefore, we need to give Him what He needs so that He would be glorified? Most certainly not! God lacks nothing, and surely, not glory!

One theologian aptly used the example of a magnifying glass to illustrate this point, to show the people who God really was. “Like a child would use a magnifying glass to show to his friend the butterfly, and the friend would be able to see things that he has never noticed before - the beauty of the butterfly. The butterfly does not change. But what has changed is that the person is now able to get a better view of the beautiful butterfly.”

Dear friend, we glorify God when we live in such a way that people would see through our transformed lives how He has changed and affected us, and they begin to see the attributes of God manifested out of our lives. We are like the “magnifying glass” (so to speak) by the way we speak, behave, and respond to the situations of life, whether in our church, workplaces, schools, community, or wherever we go, and whoever we come into contact with. We are like the “magnifying glass” so that the people may see the beauty of God. And per-adventure, they may glorify our God.

One of the best ways for us to glorify God is in the way we worship and serve Him, and in the way we give to the Lord. Why do believers worship God on every Lord’s Day? Why do believers serve Him with their time and strength? Why do believers give to Him so cheerfully and sacrificially? Because they want to glorify God, and they want to acknowledge that everything they have cometh from Him.

This passage in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 is about giving. It is about giving toward a particular need. It is a special collection. Here, we want to draw some valuable spiritual lessons about the biblical principles of giving!

I. What Is The Purpose Of Giving?

1 Corinthians 16:1, Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.

Whenever we see this word concerning in this book, we know that the Corinthians were asking questions. And Paul was answering their questions. For example, in 1 Corinthians 7:1, Paul said, Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: it is good for a man not to touch a woman. In 1 Corinthians 1:25, now concerning virgins. In 1 Corinthians 8:1, now as touching things offered unto idols. In 1 Corinthians 12:1, now concerning spiritual gifts (emphasis mine). Clearly, the Corinthians were asking those questions.

Likewise, here, Paul said, now concerning the collection for the saints. In other words, Paul was saying, “You have been asking me questions, and concerning those things you have asked me, I am going to address them!” Previously, he had answered questions regarding food offered to idols (was it alright for believers to eat food offered to idols), questions about head-covering in worship (was that appropriate and relevant, should they do it or not), questions about the Lord’s Supper (what was the significance of the Lord’s Supper, and how should they observe it), questions about spiritual gifts (how should they approach this matter regarding spiritual gifts), etc.

Now, he was going to answer those questions about giving. We do not know exactly what those questions were, but based on the answers given, we can briefly gauge what those questions might be.

Let us learn from how Paul answered their question/s.

1. Giving is not something extraordinary — It was assumed that as the churches were gathered together, they gave as part of worship. That was why Paul said, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. In other words, “what you were giving as a church, likewise all the other churches were doing the same thing. It was not something extraordinary.”
2. Giving is primarily for the support of God’s people — Who were the saints? Some think of saints as those people who had died, done great deeds during their lifetimes, and as a result, they were canonized as saints (e.g. the Roman Catholics). That is not the biblical meaning of saints. The word saints means holy ones or sanctified ones, and verse 3 tells us that these saints were the believers in Jerusalem. So, these saints were alive and not dead. One does not give his money to support someone who is dead. That would be ridiculous. Therefore, the word saints was a reference to the believers. When all the believers or saints were gathered together, they formed the church. Which means this was a collection meant for the church at Jerusalem.

The believers in Jerusalem were being persecuted very severely. When they turned to Christianity from Judaism; many lost their jobs, they were ostracised, faced incredible persecutions, plagued with poverty, and on top of that, there was a great famine at that time (c.f. Acts 11:28). And being at the lowest rank in society, they were suffering greatly. So, the Corinthians were giving to support the suffering church in Jerusalem.

Dear friend, whenever we come together to worship, we give of our tithes and offerings. The word tithes literally means one tenth; it is to give one tenth of what we have received. The offerings are anything extra that we give beyond that, especially for a specific need, e.g. the building fund.

The money collected is to be used for gospel-related ministries; help other needy believers, support God’s people who are serving full-time, sustain and maintain ongoing ministries and mission works. It does not mean that we do not support the poor or needy in the world. Jesus used the parable of the Good Samaritan to teach us that we should help anyone in need, regardless of religion, culture, nationality or circumstances. The Apostle Paul also said in Galatians 6:10, As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, (but then he went on to say) especially unto them who are of the household of faith, (which means even more so to the believers, emphasis mine).

Have you ever visited the shopping centre, and at the entrance, you see people soliciting for funds? It could be for the war veterans (like ANZAC Day), or for the bushfires, or for the flood victims, perhaps because of the recent coronavirus, it could be for Covid-19? Sometimes we choose to give, and sometimes we choose not to give. If the Lord so burdens our hearts, and we have the resources to give, by all means, we give. But we will not say, “Well, I am burdened for this particular social cause, so I am going to ask the church to give this week’s offerings to this work.” No, we do not do that! The reason is because the church’s primary call is to do gospel work, not social work. There is nothing wrong with social work, but gospel work is the church’s primary call. And even if it is social work, it must always be gospel-related!

For example, there could be a famine in Myanmar, and the people are suffering. So, we send money to our mission churches, and buy bags of rice to give out to the church members to help them through the difficult time. But the bags of rice are just the instrument to remind the believers that our God is the Provider, and He has provided for their needs through the cheerful giving of other believers. What is the purpose? Remember, it is always for the glory of God!

But some people may have this mentality, “Well, alright, I have already given to the church my tithes and offerings, and the church has the responsibility to administer the money. Now, this is my money, and I have the right to give my money away, anyway I want.” Please do not think like that. If everything we have cometh from the Lord, then how we use our money is extremely important, and we must always consider how best we can use our money to glorify God. If we have the choice to support the building of a Christian school, or the building of a park? It is certainly not wrong to build a park as citizens of the community, and it is a good thing for us to do that. But we would rather choose to build a Christian school, because it is gospel-related. As Christians, we must always consider how best it is to use our resources to glorify God!

3. Giving is a collection — Take note of the word collection. When we give, it is not a fee, tax or donation. Some of us are members of certain clubs, and we pay an annual fee or subscription. We must never look at our giving as a form of payment to God. All believers should give, but though we are commanded to give, yet this commandment operates on the basis of our willingness, and our willingness is based on love. Our love for God, and for His people!

(To be continued in the next pastoral chat)

With love in Christ,

Pastor Paul Cheng

1 CORINTHIANS 16

The Principles Of Giving (Part 1)

The Principles Of Giving (Part 1)

1 Corinthians 16:1-4