Giving enriches us. v13 says that people will praise God for the obedience that accompanies the Corinthians' faith. And v14 says that their hearts will be expanded in prayer for them because God has given them surpassing grace in order to be able to grace others. They are becoming like him. Their instincts for gracious generosity are being modelled after his. Their desire to bless is starting to look like his. Their hearts are being enlarged to expect more gracious provision from God, and educated to know how to pass it on when he gives it. They are growing out of that selfishness that marks out spiritual immaturity.
Read moreFabulous Generosity; 2 Cor 8
One way to discern the extent to which we are experiencing the grace of God is to see whether we are becoming channels of it to others. One very practical way is generosity. We could almost (but not quite) substitute the word "generosity" when talking about God's grace. He has lavished immeasureable goodness on us freely. He is incredibly generous in his kindness.
Therefore for people to claim to be recipients of grace but not to start to be like this themselves raises a big question mark. Do they really know the grace of God? Then why aren't they starting to mirror it in a small way themselves?
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