5 And going even farther than our hope, they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us after the purpose of God.
So I have given him to the Lord; for all his life he is the Lord's. Then he gave the Lord worship there.
Then the spirit came on Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said, We are yours, David, we are on your side, O son of Jesse: may peace be with you and peace be with your helpers; for God is your helper. Then David took them into his army and made them captains of the band.
And in Judah the power of God gave them one heart to do the orders of the king and the captains, which were taken as the word of the Lord.
For I will send water on the land needing it, and streams on the dry earth: I will let my spirit come down on your seed, and my blessing on your offspring. And they will come up like grass in a well-watered field, like water-plants by the streams. One will say, I am the Lord's; and another will give himself the name, Jacob; another will put a mark on his hand, I am the Lord's, and another will take the name of Israel for himself.
And I will make the third part go through the fire, cleaning them as silver is made clean, and testing them as gold is tested: and they will make their prayer to me and I will give them an answer: I will say, It is my people; and they will say, The Lord is my God.
And do not give your bodies to sin as the instruments of wrongdoing, but give yourselves to God, as those who are living from the dead, and your bodies as instruments of righteousness to God.
For every man's life and every man's death has a relation to others as well as to himself. As long as we have life we are living to the Lord; or if we give up our life it is to the Lord; so if we are living, or if our life comes to an end, we are the Lord's. And for this purpose Christ went into death and came back again, that he might be the Lord of the dead and of the living.
Or are you not conscious that your body is a house for the Holy Spirit which is in you, and which has been given to you by God? and you are not the owners of yourselves; For a payment has been made for you: let God be honoured in your body.
For it is the love of Christ which is moving us; because we are of the opinion that if one was put to death for all, then all have undergone death; And that he underwent death for all, so that the living might no longer be living to themselves, but to him who underwent death for them and came back from the dead.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 2 Corinthians 8
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 8 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 8
In this and the following chapter Paul is exhorting and directing the Corinthians about a particular work of charity-to relieve the necessities of the poor saints at Jerusalem and in Judea, according to the good example of the churches in Macedonia, Rom. 15:26. The Christians at Jerusalem, through war, famine, and persecution, had become poor, many of them had fallen into decay, and perhaps most of them were but poor when they first embraced Christianity; for Christ said, "The poor receive the gospel.' Now Paul, though he was the apostle of the Gentiles, had a fonder regard, and kind concern, for those among the Jews who were converted to the Christian faith; and, though many of them had not so much affection to the Gentile converts as they ought to have had, yet the apostle would have the Gentiles to be kind to them, and stirred them up to contribute liberally for their relief. Upon this subject he is very copious, and writes very affectingly. In this eighth chapter he acquaints the Corinthians with, and commends, the good example of the Macedonians in this work of charity, and that Titus was sent to Corinth to collect their bounty (v. 1-6). He the proceeds to urge this duty with several cogent arguments (v. 7-15), and commends the persons who were employed in this affair (v. 16-24).
2Cr 8:1-6
Observe here,
2Cr 8:7-15
In these verses the apostle uses several cogent arguments to stir up the Corinthians to this good work of charity.
2Cr 8:16-24
In these verses the apostle commends the brethren who were sent to them to collect their charity; and as it were, gives them letters credential, that, if they were enquired after (v. 23), if any should be inquisitive or suspicious concerning them, it might be known who they were and how safely they might be trusted.