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Great Generosity
Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia,
Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia,
They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.
that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.
For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will.
For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord,
begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints,
They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.
and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.
So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving.
So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well.
But just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also.
I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.
I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also.
You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it.
I give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it.
Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have.
But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability.
Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.
For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.
Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality.
For this is not for the ease of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality —
Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal.
at this present time your abundance being a supply for their need, so that their abundance also may become a supply for your need, that there may be equality;
as it is written, “HE WHO gathered MUCH DID NOT HAVE TOO MUCH, AND HE WHO gathered LITTLE HAD NO LACK.”
Titus and His Companions
But thank God! He has given Titus the same enthusiasm for you that I have.
But thanks be to God who puts the same earnestness on your behalf in the heart of Titus.
Titus welcomed our request that he visit you again. In fact, he himself was very eager to go and see you.
For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest, he has gone to you of his own accord.
We are also sending another brother with Titus. All the churches praise him as a preacher of the Good News.
We have sent along with him the brother whose fame in the things of the gospel has spread through all the churches;
and not only this, but he has also been appointed by the churches to travel with us in this gracious work, which is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord Himself, and to show our readiness,
We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift.
taking precaution so that no one will discredit us in our administration of this generous gift;
We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable.
for we have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
We are also sending with them another of our brothers who has proven himself many times and has shown on many occasions how eager he is. He is now even more enthusiastic because of his great confidence in you.
We have sent with them our brother, whom we have often tested and found diligent in many things, but now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you.
As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brethren, they are messengers of the churches, a glory to Christ.