Rom 15:26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. (27) For they were pleased to do it, and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they ought also to do service to them in material things.
Out of the ministering of Christ to the nations and the offering of them as a sacrifice to God, developed the fellowship of love, the communication in love between the Gentile and Jewish saints. The Gentile saints communicated with the Jewish saints by the means of giving practical, material things. Formerly, in the eyes of the Jews, the Gentiles were swine; now they have become saints, a fragrant offering to God. Thus, the Gentile believers had it in their heart to care for the material needs of their Jewish brothers and they offered their own possessions as the expression of their desire to take care of the needs of the saints in Judea. When the apostle Paul came to the Gentiles, he came with Christ and ministered Christ into them....What was the outcome of this? The outcome was that the Gentile believers contributed their own material possessions to care for their ex-enemies, their Jewish brothers in Christ. After the Gentiles had been converted, regenerated, sanctified, and transformed, their old heart had been removed and a new heart had been implanted, a heart of concern for their Jewish brothers. They expressed this concern in a practical way by giving material things....Paul exemplified the practical church life by going with Christ and returning with material possessions. This is the genuine communication in love and practical expression of concern.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee. Life-study of Romans, pp. 358-359. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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