Just Like Barnabas: Generous

Transcription

1 Just Like Barnabas: Generous Summary and Goal Barnabas was an example of a faithful giver in response to the gospel. Paul exhorted the church in Corinth to give generously, not only as a means of physical provision for others, but also as a means of sanctification in their hearts and unification in the church. As believers understand more of the gospel of Jesus, they will be moved further toward sacrificial giving for the purpose of gospel advancement. Main Passages Acts 4:37; 2 Corinthians 9:10-15 Session Outline 1. The Generosity of Barnabas (Acts 4:37) 2. Blessed to Be a Blessing (2 Corinthians 9:10-11) 3. Generosity is Physical and Spiritual Discipleship (2 Corinthians 9:12-13) 4. Unity Through Generosity (2 Corinthians 9:14-15) Theological Theme God s blessings are never meant to be hoarded and collected, but to be used as instruments for blessing others. Christ Connection Christ modeled ultimate generosity in giving His life so that His followers could have life. As Christ followers, Christians follow His sacrificial example. Missional Application The Great Commandment, in part, tells Christ s followers to love their neighbors as themselves. One practical way to obediently fulfill that commandment is to bless others generously. 1 Leader Guide

2 Historical Context of Acts Purpose To give an accurate account of the birth and growth of the Christian church. Author Luke (a Gentile physician) To Whom Written Theophilus and all lovers of God Date Written Between A.D. 63 and 70 Setting Acts is the connecting link between Christ s life and the life of the church, between the Gospels and the Letters. Key Verses But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8 Key People Peter, John, James, Stephen, Philip, Paul, Barnabas, Cornelius, James (Jesus brother), Timothy, Lydia, Silas, Titus, Apollos, Agabus, Ananias, Felix, Festus, Agrippa, Luke Key Places Jerusalem, Samaria, Lydda, Joppa, Antioch, Cyprus, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, Caesarea, Malta, Rome Special Features Acts is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke. Because Acts ends so abruptly, Luke may have planned to write a third book, continuing the story. Date of My Bible Study: 2

3 2 Session Plan Just Like Barnabas: Generous For Further Discussion How often do you stop to consider all the ways in which God has blessed you? How many different areas, aside from just financial resources, do you include in God s blessing on your life? What impact do those considerations have on your view of God? Introduction Describe a time when someone demonstrated selfless generosity to you. How did that act impact you? What is your default inner response when someone brings up the issue of biblical stewardship and generosity? Why do you think that is so? In this week s session, the reader is introduced to the act of generosity that Luke connected with Barnabas. Paul s second biblical letter to the Corinthian church revealed Paul s explanation of how biblical generosity worked. The text for this week was included in Paul s encouragement that the Corinthians bless others with the considerable resources with which they had been blessed, both to meet physical needs and to bring about the worship of God. 1. The Generosity of Barnabas (Acts 4:37) The introduction of Joseph, who was nicknamed Barnabas by the apostles, in Acts 4 included an example of why he was known as Barnabas (meaning, Son of Encouragement ). One of the means by which he encouraged others was meeting physical needs. The social spectrum who belonged to the early church touched every conceivable socioeconomic stratum. As such, some were extremely affluent, while others were destitute. Scripture tells us that one of the most spectacular traits of the new faith community was their generosity. Barnabas was one whom Luke identified as an example of such exuberant generosity. How should being changed by the truth of the gospel lead Christ followers to generosity with others, especially those within the family of the church? What are some impure motives one might have for displaying generosity? Where has this been a challenge for you? 3 Leader Guide 2. Blessed to Be a Blessing (2 Corinthians 9:10-11) Paul connected the power of God to provide the essentials for life with the need for recipients of God s gifts to give generously within the Corinthian

4 context. God, who supplied seed for the sower and bread for food, was demonstrated to be of limitless supply and willingness in distribution. Increased generosity required increased faith, but also experienced increased provision. God s blessings were to be employed, leveraged, and stewarded to bless others as the Holy Spirit made the believer aware of the needs around him or her. Why do you think it s particularly important to establish God s pattern of extravagant generosity when encouraging others to be generous? For Further Discussion Who in your experience has best exemplified the openness of passing along blessings to others? How have you seen that type of generosity result in gratitude? 3. Generosity is Physical and Spiritual Discipleship (2 Corinthians 9:12-13) The holistic aspect of generosity was that, while it met a specific physical need in both the case of Barnabas and of the Corinthians, it was not constrained to be only a physical discipline. Verse 13 pointed out that the visible proof, i.e., the physical giving of financial resources, would lead to God s being glorified. The glorification of God would not be based on physical generosity alone, but on the basis of the shared obedient confession of the two groups of believers. What would you identify as the dangers of separating the physical aspects and the spiritual aspects of discipleship? What acts or disciplines do you most readily perform as acts of worship? What about those particular acts leads you to a posture of worship? 4. Unity Through Generosity (2 Corinthians 9:14-15) What must not be overlooked in this passage is that a predominantly Gentile congregation was being asked to sacrificially give to support a Jewish congregation that once held a summit to decide if they were going to acknowledge that Gentiles could be Christ followers (Acts 15). The offering was about so much more than the money. It was about the unification of the body of Christ in spite of numerous earthly factors that would argue for refusing to give. How would you rate your appreciation when others pray for you? Had you been in the Corinthians position and were told that, because of your financial generosity, these recipients would pray for you fervently, how do you think you would have responded? Why do you think so? Conclusion How would you explain the importance of pursuing God in prayer before you decide what to give? How have you seen this difference in your own life? If you were to paraphrase, You will be enriched in every way for all generosity in your own words, what would be the main ideas that you emphasize? How would you say it? For Further Discussion Read Philippians 2. How does Christ serve as the model for what Paul was saying? Session 2 4

5 Expanded Session Content 2 Just Like Barnabas: Generous Introduction When Jesus was asked by an expert in the Law what the greatest commandment was in Matthew 22, Jesus answered: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it, Love your neighbor as yourself. One of the enduring ways that God s people throughout the centuries have demonstrated love for their neighbor has been through meeting physical needs. Exercising biblical stewardship has not only been an act of love toward God, but also an act of edification of others. Examining the whole biblical narrative, this was always a part of God s plan for His people going all the way back to Abraham. In Genesis 12, when God first called Abraham (then Abram) to be the father of His chosen people, God made it explicitly clear that blessing was to be a part of the function of His people. The Lord said to Abram: Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the people on earth will be blessed through you. (Genesis 12:1-3) The people of God were blessed to be a blessing to others. In other words, God s people were to steward their blessings. The logical next question is, How has God blessed me to be a blessing to others? The answers to that question will be as different as the people who answer them. However, one of the areas of commonality is the area of money. As God has blessed us in this area of life, we are to leverage that blessing to bless others. Scripture is full of examples of this happening. 5 Leader Guide How often do you stop to consider all the ways in which God has blessed you? How many different areas, aside from just financial resources, do you include in God s blessing on your life? What impact do those considerations have on your view of God?

6 Describe a time when someone demonstrated selfless generosity to you. How did that act impact you? What is your default inner response when someone brings up the issue of biblical stewardship and generosity? Why do you think that is so? Session Summary In this week s session, the reader is introduced to the act of generosity that Luke connected with Barnabas. Paul s second biblical letter to the Corinthian church revealed Paul s explanation of how biblical generosity worked. Paul was in the midst of teaching the Corinthian believers about the blessing of generous giving when he explained the significance of blessing others. Paul had been on a mission to raise funds from the congregations outside Jerusalem to aid the church in Jerusalem s extreme poverty. The text for this week was included in Paul s encouragement that the Corinthians bless others with the considerable resources with which they had been blessed, both to meet physical needs and to bring about the worship of God. 1. The Generosity of Barnabas (Acts 4:37) The introduction of Joseph, who was nicknamed Barnabas by the apostles, in Acts 4 included an example of why he was known as Barnabas (meaning, Son of Encouragement ). One of the means by which he encouraged others was meeting physical needs. The social spectrum who belonged to the early church touched every conceivable socioeconomic stratum. As such, some were extremely affluent, while others were destitute. Scripture tells us that one of the most spectacular traits of the new faith community was their generosity. Barnabas was one whom Luke identified as an example of such exuberant generosity. Barnabas s generosity was displayed through the act of selling a field that he owned and giving the proceeds to the apostles for the benefit of the early church. It is of note that Barnabas brought all of the money from the field to the apostles, revealing his sincere spirit of generosity. Barnabas had the pure motive of giving these funds entirely for the benefit of the needy in the church. Compare this to the impure motives of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11 who gave for the sake of acclaim, not true generosity. How should being changed by the truth of the gospel lead Christ followers to generosity with others, especially those within the family of the church? What are some impure motives one might have for displaying generosity? Where has this been a challenge for you? Session 2 6

7 Multiplied Righteousness The word righteousness that closed out verse 10 was the same word that Paul used in quoting Psalm 112. The point in duplicating that word was to drive home the fact that the generosity of which he spoke, as it was extended to bless others, was a deeper act than merely giving money. It was volitionally and joyfully choosing to move, both in attitude and action, toward Christlikeness through the demonstration of generosity. Doing so is a spiritual act that is empowered by the Holy Spirit s indwelling the believer. 2. Blessed to Be a Blessing (2 Corinthians 9:10-11) Paul s second letter to the Corinthians underscored the importance of generosity. Interestingly enough, the emphasis was not expressed solely on generosity as a method of relieving physical need. In addition, generosity, Paul explained, was an outworking of the believer s discipleship. In the previous verses, Paul wrote of the power of God to make all grace and sufficiency abound to those who give with joy and exuberance. In those verses Paul included the familiar passage, for God loves a cheerful giver (v. 7c). Immediately prior to this week s passage, Paul cited Psalm 112:9 as a way of affirming that when believers gave, they were actually participating in a divine act. It was a divine act because it reflected the character of God in His relationship with His people. God gave love, grace, and mercy lavishly to His people, even at the cost of His own Son. That being so, generous and joyful giving was evidence in the believer s life of being conformed to the image of Christ. Paul took that principle and applied it directly to the matter at hand for the Corinthians in verse 10. Paul connected the power of God to provide the essentials for life with the need for recipients of God s gifts to give generously within the Corinthian context. God, who supplied seed for the sower and bread for food, was demonstrated to be of limitless supply and willingness in distribution. In these verses, there was a spiraling pattern at work of faith-give-provision. When the believer took God at His word, believing Him to be good and generous, and therefore was generous as God was generous, God was actually the One who provided the material resources to enable increased generosity. Increased generosity required increased faith, but also experienced increased provision. Notice that these blessings from God were never said to make the Corinthians rich. There is no sense in Scripture that God s blessings were to be hoarded. Rather, God s blessings were to be employed, leveraged, and stewarded to bless others as the Holy Spirit made the believer aware of the needs around him or her. Why do you think it s particularly important to establish God s pattern of extravagant generosity when encouraging others to be generous? Who in your experience has best exemplified the openness of passing along blessings to others? How have you seen that type of generosity result in gratitude? In verse 11, Paul repeated the phrase, in every way to connect the objects of those prepositional phrases. Specifically, Paul was connecting the enriching of the Corinthian people to the purpose of their being enriched, i.e., to be generous. The blessing of God existed to bless others. The by-product of blessing others had both horizontal and vertical ramifications. Horizontally, 7 Leader Guide

8 the generosity of the Corinthians materially met the dire needs of their Jerusalem brothers and sisters, supplying the needs of the saints. Vertically, though, the more significant impact was that the praises of God were multiplied. 3. Generosity is Physical and Spiritual Discipleship (2 Corinthians 9:12-13) Paul addressed generosity from the perspective of holistic discipleship in this text. What was not included in Paul s argument was perhaps as significant as what was included. There was a complete absence of any sense of contingency in Paul s argument. Generosity as part of one s discipleship was both necessary and holy. If discipleship at its core meant being conformed into Christ s likeness, then sacrificially and joyfully giving was no more negotiable than forgiving others or praying. The holistic aspect of generosity was that, while it met a specific physical need in both the case of Barnabas and of the Corinthians, it was not constrained to be only a physical discipline. Verse 13 pointed out that the visible proof, i.e., the physical giving of financial resources, would lead to God s being glorified. The glorification of God would not be based on physical generosity alone, but on the basis of the shared obedient confession of the two groups of believers. What would you identify as the dangers of separating the physical aspects and the spiritual aspects of discipleship? What acts or disciplines do you most readily perform as acts of worship? What about those particular acts leads you to a posture of worship? There was one more subtle nuance of how the generosity of the Corinthians would evoke praise for God. Their generosity demonstrated the relinquished grip of greed, materialism, and all forms of worldliness on the Corinthians collectively. This was particularly important given the fame of Corinth in Paul s day for all forms of fleshly pleasure and indulgence. Their generosity testified to their advancing discipleship. 4. Unity Through Generosity (2 Corinthians 9:14-15) What must not be overlooked in this passage is that a predominantly Gentile congregation was being asked to sacrificially give to support a Jewish congregation that once held a summit to decide if they were going to acknowledge that Gentiles could be Christ followers (Acts 15). The offering was about so much more than the money. It was about the unification of the body of Christ in spite of numerous earthly factors that would argue for refusing to give. The racial distinction between Jews and Gentiles was the most profound factor. Aside from that, the Corinthians did not know the Jerusalemites. There was no personal connection at all. In addition, Paul, with whom the Corinthians were obviously Session 2 8

9 not in agreement on a variety of matters, was the one asking for the sacrificial gift. The reasons for the requested offering not being honored were myriad. Mutual Giving The you/they language Paul used in verse 14 was to express the reciprocity of giving between the Corinthian believers and the Jerusalemite believers. The Corinthian giving was monetary and physical; the Jerusalemite giving was prayerful and spiritual. This is yet one other way by which Paul underscored the equivalence of importance in spiritual growth and physical expression of that growth. On the other hand, the embracing of the offering by both the Corinthians and the Jerusalemites served as an outward confirmation of the character of Christ taking root in both places. The church in Jerusalem realized overcoming the factors listed above would glorify God because of the evidence of Christian maturity. This would be done through the Corinthians generous submission to God s leading. Think of moments in which your generosity in the past has been greeted with responses of gratitude and responses of ingratitude, or lack of acknowledgement. How did each of those responses shape the likelihood of future generosity? How would you rate your appreciation when others pray for you? Had you been in the Corinthians position and were told that, because of your financial generosity, these recipients would pray for you fervently, how do you think you would have responded? Why do you think so? Conclusion When we talk about being blessed to be a blessing to others, it requires some rewiring in our default thinking. The default way of thinking in our culture seems to be blessing ourselves by hoarding resources. Biblically, though, we must come to the conclusion that God blesses us so that we might serve as a conduit of His blessing to others. How we apply that biblical understanding to our lives has several applications. First, we understand the importance of giving to the church. Please don t read that statement as self-serving. Instead of being self-serving, it is fortified by numerous biblical texts, including the one that is the focus of this session. Barnabas sold his field to give the money to the apostles to be distributed to the poor in the faith community as needed. Paul was collecting an offering to help sustain the church in Jerusalem so that the work of the gospel could and would continue there. He went out of his way in describing this offering effort in other letters so as to show the desperation of the Jerusalem church. Giving to their local church is the way believers provide for and sustain the gospel ministries of that local church, in accordance with the direction in which God is leading that church. In other words, giving to the local church is a major way in which believers and attendees enable the local church to collectively be a blessing to others. 9 Leader Guide

10 Second, generosity leads to unity and worship. Paul was careful to emphasize that the impact that generous giving has on a church body strengthens the relationships of that body both horizontally (with one another) and vertically (with God). Why do you think that is? It is because generous giving grows out of selfless devotion to the work of the gospel. When our acts of worship are generated from selfless devotion to God, the unity with others and the intimacy of worshiping God increase dramatically. If we are freed from intently focusing on our own interests and advancement, every relationship we have deepens. Third, giving generously requires planning and preparation. Paul s purpose in writing this section of the letter was to give advanced notice so the Corinthians were prepared to deliver on their earlier pledge to assist the Jerusalem church. Likewise for us, generous giving requires planning and preparation. Preparation includes prayer regarding what God is calling each of us to give. It also means giving in such a way that we are good stewards of our fiscal resources. Fourth, biblical generosity is critical for healthy spiritual growth. When we are faithful to bless others with our blessing, withholding nothing in our lives, we humbly place ourselves in a position to experience the faithfulness of God and we are transformed. How would you explain the importance of pursuing God in prayer before you decide what to give? How have you seen this difference in your own life? Read Philippians 2. How does Christ serve as the model for what Paul was saying? If you were to paraphrase, You will be enriched in every way for all generosity in your own words, what would be the main ideas that you emphasize? How would you say it? Prayer of Response Pray that God would give you a generous heart in order to show His generous love to others. Ask God to use your generosity to conform you more into the image of His Son, Jesus. Additional Resources The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness by Tim Keller The Genius of Generosity by Chip Ingram Session 2 10

11 For Next Week Session Title --Just Like Barnabas: Affirming Main Passages --Acts 11:19-24; 2 Timothy 1:3-6 Session Outline 1. Barnabas Affirmed the Cypriot Greeks in Antioch (Acts 11:23) 2. Affirmation Through Thanksgiving (2 Timothy 1:3-4) 3. Affirmation Through Celebration of Salvation (2 Timothy 1:5; Acts 11:23) 4. Affirmation for Growth (2 Timothy 1:6) Memorize You will be enriched in every way for all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us. -2 Corinthians 9:11 Daily Readings --Monday - Acts 11: Tuesday - 2 Timothy 1:3-6 --Wednesday - 1 Peter 2: Thursday - Galatians 3: Friday - 1 John 5:1-4 --Saturday - 1 John 5: Leader Guide

12 Extended Commentary Acts 4:37 4: We can almost feel Luke searching for an example to demonstrate the generosity and unity of the believers. He came up with exhibit A, Joseph a Levite from Cyprus. We call him Barnabas, a nickname he earned because of his encouraging spirit in the church at Jerusalem. He appears in Acts 4; 9; 11; 13; 14; and 15. Luke s clear-cut wording about the meaning of the name Barnabas has troubled scholars since the Bible was written. Bar clearly means son in Aramaic, but nabas has escaped scholarly explanation as an Aramaic or Semitic root related to paraklesis, the Greek word for encouragement. Such things are not our concern nor Luke s. We need to see Barnabas as Luke saw him, a positive demonstration of how courageous Christianity operated in the first century, giving of their resources and making other people feel better. 1 2 Corinthians 9: :10. Paul followed his quotation from Psalm 112 with two allusions to the Old Testament. First, he referred to Isaiah 55:10, which praises God as the one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food. Second, he drew from Hosea 10:12, which promises a harvest of blessing for those who sow righteousness. Paul combined these Old Testament ideas to assure the Corinthians that God would not ignore their generosity, but would enlarge the harvest (rewards) of their righteousness. Their righteous deeds would not be overlooked or forgotten. 9:11. Paul went on to describe what the Corinthians could expect as they contributed to the poor in Jerusalem. He first said they would be made rich in every way. Paul was not promising material blessings to those who give generously. He knew that faithful believers are often poor, just as the Jerusalem saints were at that time. The key to understanding this expression is the similar language in 1 Corinthians 1:5,7 where Paul rejoiced that the Corinthians had been enriched in every way in all [their] speaking and in all [their] knowledge, and did not lack any spiritual gift. The riches of the Christian life before the return of Christ are primarily the blessings of the Holy Spirit. He is the down payment on the inheritance of riches we will receive when Christ returns. When the Spirit is poured out on believers in dramatic ways, they are made rich in every way. Session 2 12

13 In this light, Paul s idea becomes clear. If the Corinthians gave generously, they could expect a dramatic enrichment of their lives by the Spirit. They would be so blessed they would be able to be generous on every occasion able to meet whatever needs they encountered with the rich ministry of the Spirit. Finally, Paul also assured the Corinthian church that he and his company would be blessed by generous giving. He pledged that through us (Paul and his company) the Corinthian generosity would result in thanksgiving to God. The apostle would praise God joyfully as he saw them fulfill this responsibility. In these verses Paul made it clear that giving generously to the poor in Jerusalem would bring many benefits. The needs of the poor would be met. The Corinthians would be blessed, and their lives would be enriched. Paul and his company would be encouraged and thankful to God. These positive benefits were to motivate the Corinthians to fulfill their earlier commitment to giving. 9: The apostle began by asserting that this service of contributing was not only for supplying the needs of God s people, but also for the overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God, so that men would praise God. The collection of money for Jerusalem was widespread in the church, reaching Achaia, Macedonia, and Asia Minor. As these churches heard reports of others generosity, it surely caused much worship and praise. The goal of honoring God was supreme in Paul s perspective, and this should have been the Corinthians goal as well. While explaining the process by which God would be praised, Paul mentioned a number of important features of this contribution. First, by it the Corinthians would prove themselves. In 8:8, the apostle had announced that this event was a test of the Corinthians sincerity. Here he made clear that fulfilling their promise to give would prove the true condition of their hearts. In this regard, Paul held a similar perspective to that of the apostle John, who said that love for God could not be present in a believer s life without love for other Christians (1 John 4:20). Second, Paul described fulfilling the contribution as obedience that would accompany their confession of the gospel of Christ. Confession or profession of the gospel must be demonstrated by obedience. Paul stated this principle clearly on many occasions (Rom. 6:1; Eph. 2:8-10; 2 Thess. 1:8). In fact, he warned that flagrant disobedience would reveal the absence of saving faith (Col. 1:22-23). 13 Leader Guide

14 By weaving these comments into his discussion, Paul reminded the Corinthians of how serious this matter was. It was a test of the obedience that must accompany saving faith in Christ. 9:14. As he ended his encouragement to the Corinthians on this matter, Paul assured them that in the prayers of other churches, the hearts of those churches would go out to the Corinthians. Because of the surpassing grace that God had given them, many would pray. Other Christians would be so encouraged by God s work among the Corinthians that they would intercede on their behalf. Paul assured them of this because he understood the importance of intercessory prayer. He encouraged many churches by telling them that he prayed for them. He sought to motivate the Corinthians with thoughts of how wonderful it would be to have many Christians throughout the world praying for them. 9:15. This thought was so magnificent in Paul s outlook that it caused him to break forth in praise. He wrote, Thanks be to God. His heart broke out in adoration for God s indescribable gift which made all of this possible the gift of salvation through Christ. He was overwhelmed by the thought of Gentiles in Corinth joining with other Gentile churches to provide for Jewish believers in Jerusalem. He overflowed with joy that all of these churches would join together in the praise of God and in prayer for one another. Paul was so ecstatic at the thought he could go no further. 2 References 1. Gangel, Kenneth O., and Max Anders. Acts. Holman New Testament Commentary. Nashville, TN.: Holman Reference, Pratt, Richard L., and Max Anders. I & II Corinthians. Holman New Testament Commentary. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, Session 2 14