Building Project

When Paul wrote the Book of Philippians he was nearing the end of four years in prison. Roman prisoners were dependent on family and friends to provide them with the things they needed, so it was during this time in Rome that the Philippians sent a gift to Paul. One of the reasons Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians was to express his gratitude. In Philippians 4:10a Paul writes, “But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me.” However, contrary to the way we often express gratitude to people by telling them how their gift helped us in a time of need, Paul has a different reason for his joy in verse 17, “Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.” Paul was not interested in what “receiving” the gift meant for him, but in what “giving” the gift meant for the Philippians. The word “profit” in this verse is the same word that is translated “fruit” throughout the New Testament. Paul rejoiced because he knew that the gift of the Philippians was a demonstration of spiritual fruit in their lives. Unlike the money, which they could only keep in this life, the spiritual fruit they produced in this life was being credited to their eternal account.

What kind of spiritual fruit is credited to the account of the generous Christian? First, it is the fruit of obedience to the Lord’s commands. We are commanded to give regularly, cheerfully, generously, and proportionately to what God has given us (1 Cor. 16:1-2; 2 Cor. 9:6-7). We are commanded to be generous to all people and especially to believers (Gal. 6:10). When we give with the right heart attitude we are expressing our submission and obedience to our Lord. Second, in giving we bear the spiritual fruit of a thankful heart. We know that everything we have is a gift from God (1 Cor. 4:7, James 1:17). We acknowledge that He has given us everything we have and we give some back to Him to express our gratitude.

Third, our giving expresses the spiritual activity of trusting the Lord. We are so tempted to think that a little money in the bank will remove all our worries. When we give we are acknowledging that we are more dependent on the Lord than we are on our money. We would rather give to the Lord and trust Him than save our money and trust it. Fourth, giving generously demonstrates the spiritual fruit of love. When we give our money it goes to meet the needs of fellow believers. It frees up our pastors and missionaries to be involved full-time in the equipping of God’s people for ministry. By giving we show that we are more concerned with the needs of others than we are with our own.

So we see that the act of giving to the Building Fund is so much more than a transfer of money from my account to the new building. By giving to the Building Fund we can submit to God’s guidance for our church and we can express our love to the hundreds of God’s people who will benefit by the ministry that will take place there. When we give with the right heart of obedience, thankfulness, trust, and love we can rejoice with Paul over the spiritual fruit that is added to our eternal account. May God receive the glory as He motivates us to continue supporting this project.