Words to Action
Good Intentions Don't Feed Anyone
SCRIPTURE:
2 Corinthians 8:7-8 CSB - Now as you excel in everything -- in faith, speech, knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love for us -- excel also in this act of grace. I am not saying this as a command. Rather, by means of the diligence of others, I am testing the genuineness of your love.
OBSERVATION:
In verse 11, Paul tells the Corinthians to finish the task. What does he mean by this?
In 1 Corinthians chapter 16, Paul encouraged the church to take a collection for the church in Jerusalem. At the time, they were eager to do so. What had happened to keep them from following through?
It is believed that there was a third letter to the Corinthians, which would fall between the first and second letters. Paul had to be firm in this letter because there were serious errors in the church that needed correction. This letter was so severe that it caused the Corinthians to begin to turn against Paul.
Now that the errors had begun to be corrected, Paul would remind them to keep their word and finish the task.
The Corinthians took great pride in excelling in everything -- in faith, speech, knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love for us -- so excel also in this act of grace. Paul was exhorting them, “If you excel in all of this, let our words become actions, not just words.”
Paul was “testing the genuineness of [their] love.” Put love into action. Don’t just talk about it; do it. This is a true test of love. Moving from talk to action!
2 Corinthians 8:7-8 CSB - Now as you excel in everything -- in faith, speech, knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love for us -- excel also in this act of grace. I am not saying this as a command. Rather, by means of the diligence of others, I am testing the genuineness of your love.
OBSERVATION:
In verse 11, Paul tells the Corinthians to finish the task. What does he mean by this?
In 1 Corinthians chapter 16, Paul encouraged the church to take a collection for the church in Jerusalem. At the time, they were eager to do so. What had happened to keep them from following through?
It is believed that there was a third letter to the Corinthians, which would fall between the first and second letters. Paul had to be firm in this letter because there were serious errors in the church that needed correction. This letter was so severe that it caused the Corinthians to begin to turn against Paul.
Now that the errors had begun to be corrected, Paul would remind them to keep their word and finish the task.
The Corinthians took great pride in excelling in everything -- in faith, speech, knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love for us -- so excel also in this act of grace. Paul was exhorting them, “If you excel in all of this, let our words become actions, not just words.”
Paul was “testing the genuineness of [their] love.” Put love into action. Don’t just talk about it; do it. This is a true test of love. Moving from talk to action!
The tragedy of life so often is not that we have no high impulses, but that we fail to turn them into actions. – William Barclay.
APPLICATION:
We are exhorted to finish the task! Not by guilt or obligation, but as an act of grace.
2 Corinthians 8:9 CSB - For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: Though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.
Don’t just talk about loving, serving, and giving to others, or about serving the Lord. Talk is cheap, but action has a price.
We are exhorted to finish the task! Not by guilt or obligation, but as an act of grace.
2 Corinthians 8:9 CSB - For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: Though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.
Don’t just talk about loving, serving, and giving to others, or about serving the Lord. Talk is cheap, but action has a price.
This age abounds with mouth-mercy, which is good cheap, and therefore like refuse fruit is found growing in every hedge. But a little handful were worth a great many such mouthfuls. – John Trapp.
Let the genuineness of your love be put on full display.
1 John 4:19-21 CSB - We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," and yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And we have this command from him: The one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.
PRAYER:
Jesus, thank You for Your unfailing, unending love for me. Help me to love others not only in words but also in action. Help me to love as You love. I can only love this way because You first loved me. Help me to finish the task and to love others in deeds, not just in words.
1 John 4:19-21 CSB - We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," and yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And we have this command from him: The one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.
PRAYER:
Jesus, thank You for Your unfailing, unending love for me. Help me to love others not only in words but also in action. Help me to love as You love. I can only love this way because You first loved me. Help me to finish the task and to love others in deeds, not just in words.
The genuineness of our love isn't proven by what we feel or say — it's proven by whether we actually follow through.
Posted in 08 - 2 Corinthians
Recent
Archive
2026
January
Words Spoken at the Right TimeHe Will SaveShining as the StarSOAPRepentance: It’s a Good ThingDawning of a New LifePerfect Not PerfectionThe Cure for AnxietyThe Way We Think About and Treat OthersRight AwayTax Collectors and SinnersChoosing Christ Above AllThe Yoke of LearningHope In His NameWhere Did He Learn ThisImmediatelyFrom the HeartOn This RockMustard Seed FaithTrue HumilityMission ImpossibleMoved with Compassion
February
Change Your MindInvitationDrop the MaskGood News ProclaimedDid or Did NotYour Accent Gives You AwayEli, Eli, Lama SabachthaniThe EndIf You Are WillingSins Are ForgivenCrazy!Silence! Be Still!Saw and Heard – Jesus Something BlessedEphphathaRight PerspectiveSalt and PeaceServe Not ServedRemoving DifficultiesAbundance vs Poverty
March
Never FailAnointing, Betrayal, and DenialCarry Jesus’s CrossRolling StonesGod Will Never FailSalvation In Three StoriesSlaves and SandalsThe Lord's Favor Has ComeCalling All SinnersActing As ChildrenDo You See This WomanPreaching and Announcing the Good NewsWhen We Can’tGo and Do the SameHow You Should PraySet on FireOne More ChanceTake the Lowest PlaceNotoriously Lost, But Now FoundHow Great a ChasmFaith to ForgivePray and Never Give Up
April
The Way to PeaceCornerstoneGiven EverythingThat’s Enough EntitledEarly on a Sunday MorningFull of Grace and TruthDo Whatever He Tells YouJoy CompleteBelieve What Jesus SaidWhen Traditions Get In The WayBelieve and KnowKnow the WordDisciples – Know the Word, Truth, and FreedomI’m The OneEternal Life & Eternal SecurityLoose Him, and Let Him GoLifted UpLast WordsBelieveChristlike LoveSorrow To Joy