7 Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.
8 I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.
9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. 2 Cor. 8:7-9
Giving away our finances and our material wealth is one of the ways that we serve God. The devil therefore works hard to bind us in this area. According to this scripture, to find yourself free in the area of finances and giving as our Lord Jesus Christ was is an incredible grace. Indeed, this is an unbelievable scripture. That a believer can “abound” in everything else – “in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us” – and yet not be free in the area of financial giving! This talks of the power of money upon the human spirit.
The area of giving, for most believers, is where “the rubber meets the road”. The human heart is so bound up with money that to find oneself free in the area of finances is true freedom indeed! He who is free from the power of money is free in nearly every area of his spiritual life. Just imagine how rich the Corinthians were in all these other areas; and yet, in this single area, it is clear they were woefully lacking.
The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10). According to Galatians 5, evil is “… adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings” (Gal. 5:19-21).
Nearly all these things are rooted in money.
Elsewhere, scripture also says:
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Mat. 6:24).
The word “mammon” means money, wealth or worldly possessions. Mammon is so powerful that the Bible equates it with God! Mammon is the god of this world.
But notice the Bible says that we cannot serve God and mammon. It is clear, therefore, that we as believers need to be set free from the power of this force or god, mammon. In other words, we need to be set free from the power of the love of money! We are to be free in our spirits with regard to finances in every area, including in our giving. That is the only way to serve God.
That was why Jesus said of the poor widow who put in two cents in the offering box, that she had given more than everyone else (Mk. 12:42-44). This old lady was so free she gave away all her “living”.
Do you think she was grieving and telling God, “God, I am planting a seed so that you might bless me a hundedfold”?
Hardly. Had she said that in her heart, Jesus would not have said those words about her. But Jesus spoke about her because in her heart she was free from the power of money. Although she was poor, yet she was the richest person in the temple. She was so rich she could give all her living for the gospel’s sake.
“For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.”
The heart of this old widow was the heart of Christ. Free.
Had this widow died from hunger, she would have died gladly. She would not have been sorrowful about her condition.
Our love for money is a subject that we tiptoe about, simply because we do not want to offend the flesh. It is the flesh that is bound up with money, not the spirit. The spirit of the born-again believer yearns to be set free from the power of money.
Finally, let us consider verse 9:
“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”
This is a verse that has become the bane of the church because carnal-minded preachers and believers use it for their own gain. They say, “Jesus became poor that we may inherit the wealth of this world.”
But this scripture is not even talking about that! Jesus did not become poor so that we might inherit worldly possessions for the simple reason that God’s Kingdom is spiritual. You will not find the dollar sign in heaven.
So what is the meaning of this scripture?
The Apostle Paul here is trying to show the Corinthians how free our Lord was in the area of finances. Christ did not serve mammon. He served God. That was how He could afford to become poor. You do not become poor simply because you have decided to become poor. You become poor because a work of God has occurred in your heart and God has set you free.
And notice Jesus did not become poor for poverty’s sake. Jesus became poor that through His poverty we might be rich.
But, anyways, let us give the benefit of doubt to those who claim that this scripture is talking about Jesus sacrificing His worldly riches so that we might become financially and materially rich. This argument gets instantly killed by the fact that the Bible also tells us to become Christ’s disciples, to follow Christ’s example and manner of life. How about we follow Christ’s example in not just becoming rich, but also in becoming poor that through our poverty others might become rich? That would require we go and sell all that we have and give to the poor! Incidentally, that was exactly what Jesus told the rich young ruler. And just like the rich young ruler, I am sure not many who follow this line would obey Christ’s command to go sell all.
The love of money is the root cause of all evil. We, being innately evil, have not the faintest chance of defeating this god, mammon. If we have been born again, we can only thank God for having delivered us from the power of darkness. Hallelujah to that! And to thank Him exceedingly for the Holy Spirit who, through the power of the cross, will fully conquer this most subtle and menacing of all our enemies, the love of money in our hearts as we willingly surrender our wills to Him.
The cross is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18).
[Below: God was so rich He gave us His Son Jesus Christ!]
Cross of Christ 
Amen! Jesus Christ is KING of kings, LORD of lords, HE is the ALPHA and OMEGA, the FIRST and the LAST, HE is the BEGINNING and the END! Hallelujah and Maranatha!!
Praise Jesus Christ for TODAY and EVERYDAY, HE LOVES Ye All Everyone Forever!!
Love Always and Shalom,
Kristi Ann
Thank you Kristi. Hallelujah for the Christ!!
It is interesting that the Greek probably should be translated as “the love of money is a root”. Pride and lust also lead to all kinds of evil. So it is the “love” of whatever feeds self, especially when others pay the price, that leads to so much evil. Loving God and neighbour points the way through. Born from above, as Jesus taught Nicodemus, takes us from these things of the flesh and opens to us the world of the spiritual. And to love money means not trusting God to supply all our need, but supply our need ourselves! And one last thought, if we live as though our giving means we get back, we make a mockery of God’s grace, for God gives not as a reward for our goodness, but because we have no goodness worthy of reward! Always appreciate your boldness and spirit, brother.
Peace
And thank you too, David, for always filling up whatever is lacking in my posts. I love especially, “… if we live as though our giving means we get back, we make a mockery of God’s grace, for God gives not as a reward for our goodness, but because we have no goodness worthy of reward!” Peace to you, too.