II Cor. 8:5 ... "And this, not as we expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God."
Paul undertook the project of raising a great contribution from the Gentile churches for the relief of poor Christians in Jerusalem and Judea. Not only was it right for disciples of Christ who prospered to try to assist those who suffered from want, but the apostle also hoped to ease the tension between the Jewish and Gentile segments of the church. Furthermore, he reasoned that the Jewish brethren who had shared spiritual wealth with the Gentiles deserved no less than to receive a material return when they so much needed it. As Paul visited churches in Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Achaia to collect these gifts, he expected there would be different degrees of cooperation. The brethren in Corinth seemed reluctant, perhaps even resistant, to participate in this aspect of fellowship. The apostle found it necessary to prod them rather strenuously in epistles he wrote to them to activate loving concern for suffering brethren so far away. This is the main thrust of his writing in chapters 8 and 9 of Second Corinthians.
To encourage them to make up the requested contribution, Paul offered as example the way the Christians in Macedonia had responded. Although they had suffered persecution and were themselves rather poor, they had given gladly, willingly, and quite liberally. The Corinthians had been spared persecution and were materially prosperous, yet after a full year (v.10) they were far short of their goal. The effective difference between the two groups of disciples was that of attitude. The Corinthians were characterized by selfishness, while their Macedonian counterparts were characterized by selflessness. The Corinthians were yet "fleshly" (I Cor. 3:3) and clung to what they had for their own satisfaction and pleasure. But Paul says the Macedonians "first gave themselves to the Lord" and then "to us by the will of God." That is, they first surrendered their very lives to the service of the Lord. Then, when it came to the matter of the contribution to help His disciples in another place, they gladly, willingly and freely gave from their resources what they considered they had already dedicated to God.
The primary challenge of the Christian life is the surrender of one's self to Jesus. In Mt. 16:24 He declared,"If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." Discipleship to Jesus begins only with self-denial, no matter what act or ritual one might perform to enter into such discipleship. That initial act is no more than a vain ritual when one's mind is not in the attitude of self-denial and ultimate surrender to Jesus. We are told in Rom. 12:1 that our "spiritual service" to God is to "present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice," for this is what is "acceptable to God." It is critical that every Christian consider these statements and determine how he is meeting their challenge. What have you yet sacrificed to Christ? a part, or the whole, of your life? Do you give Jesus access to your time, resources, and energy only so long as it does not much infringe on your personal comfort, pleasure, and ambitions? Are there areas of your life into which you refuse to let the rule of Christ enter? Why do preachers and elders continually find it necessary to exhort brethren to be regular in attendance at worship assemblies? Why do they have to appeal repeatedly for brethren to give as they have been prospered in a spirit of good will? Is it not because we have reserved a part of our lives to ourselves for our own selfish disposition and told the Lord, in effect, "Sorry, Sir, but this belongs only to me! You cannot make any claims here." Such an attitude will, in the end, condemn our souls to eternal rejection from God's presence. The gospel makes it quite clear that the Lord will have all of a person or none of him, (see Mat. 6:24). He has not left it up to us to set the standard of discipleship.
