Philippians 4:15
And as you Philippians know, at the beginning of my gospel ministry, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in this matter of giving and receiving except you alone.
And as you Philippians know, at the beginning of my gospel ministry, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in this matter of giving and receiving except you alone. (NET)
Philippi was in Macedonia.
That is also where Thessalonica was.
Paul was in different places, including Galatia, before going to Macedonia.
In the book of Acts, he saw a vision of a man saying, "Come and help us (Acts 16:9). The first place he landed was Philippi.
The church stood out for its generosity to Paul. They did not just hold a special place in Paul's heart because they gave, but also because it was at the beginning of his gospel ministry and because they were the only church to do so.
Apparently, this church gave to Paul not because he pressured them to give. It's as a result of the working of God in their midst, in my opinion.
What that tells me is that different churches would have different gifts.
Paul did not say that the other churches (groups of believers located in a particular geographical area) were not valid churches because they did not give to Paul.
That tells me that churches are different.
And when he wrote to the church in Corinth, whom he said were not lacking in any gift, he encouraged them to have this specific gift/grace of being generous givers (2 Corinthians 8:7).
What Paul did not like was false teachings.
Jesus healed certain women, who financially supported him, and they were recognized in the scriptures (Luke 8:1-3).
But Jesus did not say that if you do not give to me, there is something wrong with you.
What He warned against is the teaching of the Pharisees (Matthew 16:12), just as Paul did.
Jesus did not say that when Nicodemus came to visit, he needed to drop an offering.
Jesus did not quote 1 Samuel 9:5-10, where the soon-to-be king Saul felt he must take a gift to see a seer.
When we isolate those passages to the neglect of others, we betray a heart of greed.
When Simeon wanted to access the gift of God through money, Peter did not take it kindly (Acts 8:20).
So it is sad to have a whole theological system in which that is not only encouraged but demanded.
The women who followed Jesus and gave him from their riches were not given more recognition than the apostles who followed him.
They have their own recognition, but not above the apostles.
And when Jesus opened his mouth in the sermon on the mount, He said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:1).
That is God telling us what He thinks.
And when people mention the woman with the alabaster box (Mark 14:3-9), and create a whole theology that something special will happen to us if we empty our bank account and bring it to church, we have a problem.
Jesus commended what she did, but never said, "Go and do likewise.”
We should not think that the solution to all problems is money-giving.
We should not create the idea that giving is a shortcut to riches and getting the recognition of the world. We see no such clear promise in the scriptures.
For example, James rebukes the church for giving special recognition to the rich rather than the poor (James 2:1-4).
We should not think God loves the rich more than the poor, or that being rich means God is with you.
But an excessive fixation on the size of Abraham's cattle in some quarters distorts the view.
Remember, Jesus said it is harder for the rich to enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:23-24).
When interpreting those Old Testament passages, let's keep in mind that Jesus said they were written about him (Luke 24:44-45). He also said that true riches are spiritual, not physical (Matthew 6:19-21).
But when some people want to interpret that passage, they say the "treasure in heaven" is what you have from aggressive giving. And that you can draw from that heavenly treasure in earthly currencies. Not true.
It's almost as if Jesus did not want us to join the rat race for human fame and accolades. Who knew!
So the focus is not on the size of this church's giving. Paul did not even quantify it. So it is not about the amount, but the act itself. The heart is more important than the amount from God's standpoint.
He said they shared with him "in this matter of giving and receiving." They are sharing with him; they were on one side giving, and he was on the other receiving.
He also said it happened at the beginning of his gospel ministry. Meaning it had been going on for a long time, many years. They have a long track record.
He also said they were the only church that did it.
Even though there was a physical disconnect, the church maintained a connection with Paul through their giving.
They are part of his ministry even though they were not physically with him.
