With regard to the collection for the saints, please follow the directions that I gave to the churches of Galatia: On the first day of the week, each of you should set aside some income and save it to the extent that God has blessed you, so that a collection will not have to be made when I come. Then, when I arrive, I will send those whom you approve with letters of explanation to carry your gift to Jerusalem. And if it seems advisable that I should go also, they will go with me. 1 Corinthians 16:1-4
“Paul gave the Corinthians six principles concerning offerings: (1) gather the money in an orderly fashion—on the day they all meet together, (2) each person must contribute to the collection, (3) each person must contribute from everything he or she treasured, (4) the gifts must be what he or she deemed a ‘blessing’ from God, (5) collections must be taken before needs arose, and (6) collections must be handed over to trustworthy people. These were the same principles Paul taught all the churches, including the Galatian churches and the Corinthian church.”
Andrew Spurgeon in 1 Corinthians: An Exegetical and Contextual Commentary (India Commentary on the New Testament; Minneapolis: Fortress, 2017) 185.
Spurgeon serves as a professor at East Asia School of Theology in Singapore. In this piece he provides six solid principles concerning offerings. They are fantastic! Let’s look more closely at three of them.
Firstly, every person received the same directions and was instructed to contribute. To give or not to give is NOT the question for followers of Christ. We must all make margin for giving.
Secondly, I like the NET translation of this text which brings out the lingustic nuance of ‘blessing’ as Spurgeon notes. When God blesses us with resources we are to set aside a portion to bless others.
Thirdly, collections must be handled by trustworthy people. That’s what the work of GTP is all about: multiplying stewards and mobilizing peer accountability groups to build trust and grow local giving.
Singapore is part of the Southeast Asia region of GTP. Our work in this region serves Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
To support GTP’s work of growing stewards and helping ministries follow standards this region, check out the Southeast Asia Regional Campaign. It has 8 givers so far and is at $1,682 toward a goal of $5,000.
If you have been blessed, consider blessing brothers and sisters in that region by making a gift today.