Now since you excel in everything-

..... in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you -- see that you also excel in this grace of giving. I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others (2 Corinthians 8:7, 8). To excel is to be greater or better than someone or something. Paul acknowledges that the Corinthians excelled at the things mentioned. He then admonishes them to excel  in the grace of giving.  He is, he tells them,  testing the sincerity of their love (verse 8), for “love must not be with words only, but also with truth and action”  (1 John 3:18).  It has been said that you can tell if a person's faith is real,  by whether it extends to his pocket book.  Nevertheless this is not a command, it is an admonition (verse 8)

I do want to acknowledge something that grieves me and I think grieves God, and that is that there is much abuse by televangelists and the like, who use Biblical teaching  to manipulate their audience into giving to them. And then living high on the hog. It is, as I say, abuse. Paul here is talking about giving to the needs of the Christians in Jerusalem (Romans 15:26), not to his own ministry. Actually,  the law gave Paul the right to live from the proceeds of the gospel, but many times he would not receive it “lest we hinder the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:8-12).  Nevertheless, we do need to support the local church,  for “the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel” (verse 14). It's the pressure and the manipulation that's the problem. But, again it's not just the church where we need to give.  For example, from the council of Jerusalem came the admonition to “remember the poor” (Galatians 2:10).

Paul is also careful to say, that it's not about making ourselves poor that others might be made rich (verse 13). Nevertheless we “know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for our sake's He became poor, that we through His poverty might become rich” (verse 9). Here the grace of God excels indeed, and we are never commanded or admonished to do something that He has not already done, but more so. We are to be motivated then by  the  extravagant grace of our Lord, but also by the extravagance of others. We see this in verse 8 again, where Paul admonishes them to excel in the grace of giving  “by comparing it with the earnestness of others.” The “others”  Paul is talking here about the churches of Macedonia (verse 1). To put this another way, the Corinthians, and we too,  are admonished in our giving to “provoke one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24).

Father, please give us grace to excel in this grace of giving. We cannot out give You. You are no man's debtor, for “whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will reward them” (Proverbs 19:17). Thank You Lord Jesus, that You became poor that we might become rich. Thank You that You became sin, that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Thank You for salvation and for Your amazing extravagant healing love and Grace. We praise and bless You again this morning Lord, in Your holy, lovely and precious Name Amen