The Bible says more than you've been told.

Week 9 | Issue #9 | Worship Series (5 of 8)

Paul gives the church at Corinth a specific instruction about giving. Look at the details: 

When: "On the first day of every week" (kata mian sabbatou). Every Sunday. Not quarterly. Not during a fundraiser. Every time the church assembles for worship, giving is part of what they do. It is as regular as singing and prayer. 

Who: "Each of you" (hekastos humon). Not the wealthy members. Not the leadership. Each one. Giving is a universal act of worship, not a responsibility assigned to those who can afford it. 

How much: "As he may prosper" (hoti ean euodotai). Proportional to income. Not a fixed amount. Not a percentage mandated by law. Each person gives according to what God has given them. This is not a tithe; it is proportional, voluntary, and personal. 

The purpose: "So that there will be no collecting when I come." Paul does not want special fundraising campaigns. He wants giving to be a settled, weekly, routine act of worship; so natural and consistent that no special appeals are necessary. 

"I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God." 

Look at the Greek words Paul uses to describe the Philippians' financial gift: 

osmen euodias — "a fragrant offering." This is the exact phrase used in the Septuagint for the burnt offerings on the altar that produced a "pleasing aroma" to God (Genesis 8:21, Exodus 29:18, Leviticus 1:9). Paul is saying that when the Philippians sent him money, it rose before God like the smoke of a sacrifice on the altar. Their financial gift was an offering to God, not a donation to Paul. 

thusian — "a sacrifice." From thusia, the word for a sacrifice offered to God on the altar. This is not metaphorical. Paul is deliberately using temple language. When you give your money in worship, you are laying a sacrifice on the altar. The altar is no longer stone. The sacrifice is no longer an animal. But the act is the same: you are offering something costly to God. 

euareston to theo — "acceptable and pleasing to God." The offering pleases God. Not because God needs your money. But because giving — real giving, sacrificial giving — is an act of trust. You are saying: God, I believe you will provide for me, so I can release what I have to serve your purposes. That trust is worship. 

"Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." 

proereitai te kardia — "has purposed in the heart." The giving decision originates in the heart, not in a guilt trip, not in a thermometer chart in the lobby, not in a pastor's appeal. Each person decides internally what to give. The heart is the seat of the decision, just as the heart is the instrument of melody in Ephesians 5:19. 

me ek lupes e ex anankes — "not from grief or from compulsion." Two motives are explicitly rejected. Lupes means sorrow, grief, reluctance, giving because you feel bad if you do not. Anankes means necessity, compulsion, obligation, giving because you are pressured, guilted, or commanded. If your church uses guilt or obligation to motivate giving, it is directly contradicting Paul. 

hilaron doten — "a cheerful giver." Hilaron is the root of the English word "hilarious." God loves a giver who gives with joy, with gladness, with hilarious generosity not because they have to, but because they want to. This is worship. You are so grateful for what God has given you that releasing your resources in His service brings you joy. 

The tithe (ten percent) was an Old Testament command given to Israel under the Mosaic Law. Actually, there were multiple tithes when you add them together, Israelites gave closer to 23 percent. The tithe supported the Levitical priesthood, the temple, and the poor. 

The New Testament never commands the tithe. Not once. Jesus mentions tithing once (Matthew 23:23) to rebuke the Pharisees for tithing mint and cumin while neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness. He was not establishing the tithe as a New Testament command. He was exposing the absurdity of meticulous religious bookkeeping disconnected from actual righteousness. 

The New Testament replaces the tithe with something both more generous and more free: give as you have purposed in your heart, as you prosper, cheerfully, sacrificially. For some, that will be more than ten percent (10%). For others in genuine hardship, it may be less. The amount is between you and God. The attitude is what Paul cares about: cheerful, voluntary, proportional, and sacrificial. 

John Gill on 1 Corinthians 16:2: "On the first day of the week — the Lord's day, when the church met for public worship. The collection was to be a part of the worship, done by every member according to his ability. This was not a tax but a freewill offering, an act of devotion as much as singing or prayer." 

Albert Barnes on Philippians 4:18: "A sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God — the language is taken from the Jewish sacrifices, and means that the gift which they had sent was regarded by God as an acceptable offering. It was not merely a contribution to Paul's needs; it was an act of worship that rose before God as incense." 

Matthew Henry on 2 Corinthians 9:7: "God loves a cheerful giver. The disposition of the mind is that which God regards. A willing mind, a cheerful heart, and a bountiful hand, are the things which make our offerings acceptable. It is not the amount, but the spirit in which it is given, that determines its value in God's sight." 

Acts 20:35 "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Jesus' own words, quoted by Paul. Giving is not a loss. It is a blessing; the giver receives more than the recipient because giving is worship, and worship connects you to God. 

Mark 12:41-44 The widow's two small coins. Jesus does not commend the wealthy who gave large amounts. He commends the woman who gave everything she had. The value of the gift is measured by what it cost the giver, not by what it provides the institution. 

Hebrews 13:16 "Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." Again: thusia is sacrifice. Sharing your resources is a sacrifice that pleases God. It is worship. 

Giving in the assembly is not paying dues. It is not funding a budget. It is not meeting an institutional obligation. It is laying a sacrifice on the altar, an offering that rises before God like incense, that pleases Him the way a burnt offering pleased Him, that declares your trust in His provision and your gratitude for His gifts. 

When you drop money in a plate with the same mindset you use to pay an electric bill, you have missed what is happening. You are worshipping. Your money is a sacrifice. God is the audience. And He loves it when you give it with joy. 

Next week: communion: the Lord's Supper as an act of worship, remembrance, and proclamation. Not a ritual. Not a cracker and grape juice. A meal that declares the Lord's death until He comes.

The relationship between money and worship is one of the most abused topics in Christianity. Prosperity preachers exploit it. Megachurches monetize it. And many honest Christians are confused about what the Bible actually requires. Here is where the conversation stands: 

Those who teach the tithe is binding today: 

"The tithe is God's standard for giving. Malachi 3:10 says to bring the full tithe into the storehouse. Jesus affirmed tithing in Matthew 23:23. The tithe is a minimum — everything above that is an offering. If you are not giving ten percent, you are robbing God." 

What the New Testament actually says: 

Malachi was written to Israel under the Mosaic Law. The storehouse was the temple. The tithe supported the Levitical priesthood. When Jesus mentioned tithing in Matthew 23:23, He was speaking to Pharisees who were under the Law and He rebuked them for tithing herbs while neglecting justice and mercy. He was not establishing a New Testament command. 

The New Testament never commands a percentage. Paul says "as he may prosper" (1 Corinthians 16:2) and "as he has purposed in his heart" (2 Corinthians 9:7). The standard is not a number. The standard is sacrificial cheerfulness. For the wealthy, ten percent might not be sacrificial at all. For the poor, two percent might be everything they have and Jesus said the widow who gave two coins gave more than all the rich people combined (Mark 12:43-44). 

The prosperity gospel teaches that giving to God guarantees financial return — "sow a seed and reap a harvest." This turns giving from worship into investment. You are not offering a sacrifice to God. You are making a deposit expecting a return. That is not thusia. That is a business transaction wearing religious clothing. 

Paul does say "whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully" (2 Corinthians 9:6). But the "harvest" Paul describes is not a bigger bank account. Read the context: "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work" (v. 8). The harvest is sufficiency and the ability to do more good not wealth. God provides so that you can give more, not so that you can have more. 

The New Testament model of giving is beautiful when it is not corrupted by guilt or greed: 

It is weekly — part of the regular assembly, as natural as singing. 

It is universal — every member participates, regardless of amount. 

It is proportional — each gives according to how God has blessed them. 

It is voluntary — no compulsion, no guilt, no mandated percentage. 

It is cheerful — given with joy because giving is worship, and worship connects you to God. 

It is sacrificial — it costs you something, just as every sacrifice on every altar in history cost something. 

It is God-directed — the money goes to the church's work, but the offering goes to God. He is the audience. 

When you give with this understanding, passing the plate is not an interruption. It is an act of worship as profound as any song you will ever sing.

The lesson: Always check the original language. A single English word choice can build or demolish an entire theological framework. That is why tools like BibleWord.ai exist.

thusia (θυσία) 

Pronunciation: thoo-SEE-ah

Part of Speech: Noun, feminine

Strong's Number: G2378

Appears: 28 times in the New Testament 

Thusia means sacrifice; an offering presented to God. It comes from thuo, "to sacrifice, to slaughter, to offer." In the Old Testament (Septuagint), thusia is the standard word for animal sacrifices offered on the altar: burnt offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings. It is the smoke that rises. The blood that is poured out. The life that is given. 

In the New Testament, thusia is transferred from animals to people and their actions. Christ is the ultimate thusia (Ephesians 5:2). Your body is a living thusia (Romans 12:1). Your praise is a thusia (Hebrews 13:15). And your financial giving is a thusia (Philippians 4:18, Hebrews 13:16). 

When Paul calls the Philippians' financial gift a thusia, he is not using a metaphor. He is redefining where the altar is. The altar is no longer in Jerusalem. The sacrifice is no longer an animal. But the act is identical: you take something costly, something that belongs to you, and you offer it to God. The smoke that rises is no longer from burning flesh, it is from a heart that gives cheerfully, sacrificially, as an act of worship. 

Calling your weekly offering a "donation" strips it of this meaning. A donation is a transaction between you and an organization. A thusia is a transaction between you and God. The money may go to the church. But the offering goes to God. That distinction changes everything about how you give and why. 

Look up thusia in the Greek Lexicon at bibleword.ai/lexicon/greek/2378. Trace it from Hebrews (where Christ is the sacrifice) to Philippians (where your money is the sacrifice) to Romans 12:1 (where your body is the sacrifice). The thread is unbroken: worship is offering something costly to God.

Until next time,