2. Financial administration is a stewardship of grace and obedience
2. Financial administration is a stewardship of grace and obedience
When we handle money given by God’s people, we are handling (1) the fruit of God’s grace and (2) practical proof of human obedience to the gospel. Money that has been given as an offering to God is not just ‘stuff’. It is not just coins and notes or covenants or ledgers or entries in a journal. When we handle money that has been given by God’s people, we are involved in a deeply spiritual matter. God’s people give in response to God’s kindness. As we handle that money we are entrusted with something; we are stewards of the fruit of grace in their lives and stewards of the proof of obedience.
This understanding of our stewardship comes from what Paul says at the beginning of chapter 8 and the end of chapter 9 of 1 Corinthians. Notice how frequently the word ‘grace’ occurs in these familiar words.
Now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will. So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving. (2 Corinthians 8:1–7)
Three times Paul uses the word ‘grace’ about the Macedonian believers, and a couple of verses later he talks about ‘the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Note that the word koinonia is in there again. This desire to give was a mark of their koinonia, their fellowship.
This gift of the Macedonians, Paul writes, was a response to the Lord (‘they gave themselves first to the Lord’). Moreover, it was something that they wanted to do. They did not have to be asked to give; they asked for the privilege of giving. Because of the grace of God in them, they responded in an act of grace to others. This is reciprocal grace, or grace being expressed in action.
Paul sends Titus to oversee and administer the collection. It is as if Paul was saying (and I think this is slightly the flavour of his wording), ‘Because this is such an important evidence of the grace of God and of the fruit of the gospel in the lives of these believers, I am sending my most trusted senior person to handle this responsibility’. He did not send a junior clerk or some young functionary who might be haphazard in dealing with it all. Paul says, in effect, ‘It is a serious matter, so we urged Titus—an apostolic delegate in the church—to go and make sure that it was properly handled and treated with the seriousness it deserves’.
This display of generosity was not just an act of grace, but also an act of obedience.
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you [that is, you Gentiles] have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them [koinonia again] and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you because of the surpassing grace God has given you. (2 Corinthians 9:12–15)
And, Paul adds, ‘Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!’ which of course is the Lord Jesus Christ.
According to Paul giving, sharing, and generosity are not just grace; they are also proof of obedience. Why was that important? Precisely because these were Gentiles. The Jewish believers in Jerusalem were still uncertain whether or not these Gentiles, who had never been circumcised and were not keeping the Law, were really part of the family. Did they really belong to the covenant people of God? Paul responds, ‘The fact that you Gentiles have given an offering to meet the needs of Jewish believers is a proof of the fellowship that we have in Christ. Your obedience to the gospel is a demonstration that though you have been so despised by the Jews historically, you are now at one with them; that there is no difference, there is no Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free’. Let’s not miss the profound significance here. This gift was a proof of obedience to the core meaning of the gospel.
Summary Principle 2: Handling a gift offered by God’s people is a sacred trust. Administering it is a stewardship of the grace of God and of the obedience of God’s people to the gospel. Paul’s concern for accountability, integrity, and transparency was not just to satisfy the Roman governors or other officials. It arose because he was dealing with something coming from God: the grace of God and obedience to the gospel.