The Pursuit of God by Tozer - Reflections (19)

 

 

Let’s note two historical elements in the Corinthian church as we continue to ponder 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9. The first is that there were divisions based on affinity with different leaders, this was not of the leaders’ doing but rather grounded in the pride and egos of the Corinthians. “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ” (1 Cor. 1:23). The second is that there was an economic division which manifested itself in their gatherings.

 

When the Corinthians gathered to worship and celebrate the Lord’s Supper, people with money brought their own food and drink to enjoy beforehand in the presence of those who had nothing to eat! “What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing?” (1 Cor. 11:22).

 

There was a toxic element in the ethos of the Corinthian church that fostered division, ego, and selfishness, a division opposed to the unity of the Body of Christ as set forth in 1 Corinthians Chapter 12. As we think about this, perhaps we can understand why the Corinthians are lagging behind the Thessalonians in collecting funds to help the distressed people in Judea. After all, if the Corinthians don’t have care and concern for one another in their own city, why should they have compassion on strangers in another land? If some Corinthians are so hardhearted as to be able to eat and drink in front of others who have nothing, why should they have concern for people they don’t even know? If we can’t love the people we see, it isn’t likely we will love people we can’t see. If we don’t have compassion on those we see in need, we probably won’t have compassion on people whose needs we can’t see.

 

Do we see ourselves as modern-day Corinthians?

 

While we may not have congregations in which some eat while others go without (there are likely exceptions to this), do we have cities and towns in which some in the Church eat and drink while others in the Church go hungry? Do we have some congregations with plenty to eat, and other congregations struggling to purchase food and make ends meet?

 

For you see, in any given city, in any given town, there is only one Church, one Body, one Temple, and if the “least of these” goes without food or clothing or shelter then Christ goes without food or clothing or shelter (Matthew 25:31 – 46).

 

If we are honest with ourselves before one another and before God, we have many barriers between us and obedience to 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9.

 

“As it is written, He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little had no lack” (2 Cor. 8:15). This is a quote from Exodus 16:18 regarding the manna which God provided for Israel in the Wilderness. God made provision for His People in Exodus, and Paul is saying that God is also making provision for His People in the first century. In other words, God gives to us as His People and we are to ensure that there is equality in provision (2 Cor. 8:13 – 14). If we know the blessedness of possessing nothing this is not much of a problem, but if we don’t, obedience seems impossible.

 

I think even within congregations we dare not seriously discuss these things, and one of the reasons is that we probably don’t really trust each other. For example, if one of us were to lose our job and face financial peril, do we really think that others would step in and help us? If one of us lost our spouse and we were alone in old age without family, what is the likelihood that our congregation would truly help us?

 

In some societies people take care of one another. In some cultures people don’t stress over being alone because they will never be alone. This is not the case in the United States or in congregations within the United States. Do we have the courage to ponder and discuss these things? Probably not, there is too much risk. We are slaves to money and possessions and to “mine, mine, mine.”

 

There is yet another challenge beyond the hurdle of “equality,” and that is nationalism. Paul is asking the Corinthians to cross cultural, linguistic, ethnic, and national boundaries in their giving, in their obedience to the Biblical notion of equality within the Body of Christ. Actually, he is and he isn’t. In an obvious and natural sense Paul is asking the Corinthians to cross these boundaries, yet in another sense he isn’t.

 

You see dear friend, if we realize that the Body of Christ is universal and transcendent, then there are no national or ethnic or social or language barriers and boundaries – for we are all truly One People in Christ. The world may have national boundaries, the Church must not have such lines of separation – shall we take a sword and dismember Christ?

 

This idea is, of course, a threat to the kingdoms of the world which thrive on war and aggression and subjugation and manipulation.  

 

Perhaps 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9 shine the light on whether we are possessed by things and money as no other extended passage in the Bible. Perhaps it is an impossible passage to teach and talk about. Perhaps it is an impossible passage, at least in the United States, to discuss. Perhaps we have so deeply sunk into “me” and “mine” that there is no way out of the morass.

 

Isn’t it better to admit we have a problem and seek ways, by God’s grace, to learn some measure of obedience, than to pretend these chapters don’t exist? Than to gloss over them? Also, it is far better to acknowledge the challenge than to attempt to justify our actions by conjuring up religious and practical reasons that justify our disobedient attitudes and actions…as we are prone to do.

 

These chapters are indeed a challenge for me, and I hope they are a challenge for you.

 

Are we experiencing what Tozer terms, “The blessedness of possessing nothing”?