QFD | Treasured - ENTRY 7: The Open-Hand Test
- Herbert Berkley
- Dec 19, 2025
- 4 min read
ENTRY 7: The Open-Hand Test
Participation in Christ’s Self-Giving
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”—2 Corinthians 8:9 (ESV)
Paul does not begin his instruction on generosity with money.
He begins with Christ. Before he speaks about giving, collection, willingness, or sufficiency, he anchors everything in the self-giving movement of Jesus Himself. The command to give does not arise from a general virtue of generosity or from reflection on the human heart. It arises from participation in Christ’s pattern. Christ gave Himself. That is the ground.
The Apostolic Context We Must Not Skip
Paul is organizing a specific collection. He is not writing abstractly about spiritual formation. The Gentile churches are being instructed to give materially for the relief of the Jerusalem saints, believers suffering real economic hardship (1 Corinthians 16:1–4; Romans 15:25–27).
This matters.
The generosity Paul commands is:
ecclesial, not individualistic
concrete, not symbolic
directed, not abstract
The purpose is not emotional growth. It is unity, equality, and proof of love within the body of Christ.
“For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need…”—2 Corinthians 8:13–14 (ESV)
Generosity here is not self-expression. It is covenant responsibility.
Christ as the Pattern, Not the Illustration
Paul does not append Christ at the end to inspire generosity. He grounds the entire obligation in Him.
“Though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor…”—2 Corinthians 8:9 (ESV)
Christ did not give from surplus. He did not give what He could spare. He gave Himself.
The Corinthians are not asked to admire this. They are asked to participate in its pattern.
This is why Paul can say:
“I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine.”—2 Corinthians 8:8 (ESV)
The giving does not earn salvation. It reveals whether love is real.
The Primary Example Paul Chooses
Paul’s chief example is not the widow.
It is the Macedonian churches.
“For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity… begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints.”—2 Corinthians 8:2–4 (ESV)
This is the pattern:
affliction
poverty
eagerness
participation
They did not give because they were secure. They gave because they belonged to Christ.
And Paul draws the necessary inference:
“They gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.”—2 Corinthians 8:5 (ESV)
Giving follows surrender. Money follows allegiance.
Jesus’ Command About Treasure
Jesus speaks with the same moral logic.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth… but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”—Matthew 6:19–20 (ESV)
This is a command, not an observation.
The reason follows:
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”—Matthew 6:21 (ESV)
Jesus does not invite reflection. He issues direction.
Where treasure is stored determines where the heart is formed. To refuse the command is to accept the consequence.
The Widow and the Necessary Inference
Jesus observes a widow giving:
“She out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”—Mark 12:44 (ESV)
Jesus names proportion and sacrifice. The text does not name her interior thoughts.
But the necessary inference is unavoidable: her giving leaves her dependent.
Scripture allows us to say this because Scripture itself presents dependence on God as righteous posture (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 6:11). We must be careful to distinguish what Jesus states from what the text implies—but the implication is warranted and biblical.
Paul’s Command, Fully Stated
Only after laying this groundwork does Paul give the instruction often quoted in isolation:
“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”—2 Corinthians 9:7 (ESV)
This command does not loosen obligation. It clarifies posture.
The giving is required. The manner must be willing.
And Paul immediately adds the promise that governs obedience:
“And 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.”—2 Corinthians 9:8 (ESV)
This is not prosperity. It is provision for continued obedience.
The Objects of Generosity Named
Scripture is specific.
We give to:
the saints in need (2 Corinthians 8–9)
those who labor in the word (Galatians 6:6)
the poor among us (James 2:15–16)
the household of faith, with extension beyond (Galatians 6:10)
Generosity is not an abstract discipline. It is concrete care within Christ’s body.
The Open-Hand Test Defined
The test is not how generous we feel.
It is whether our participation in Christ’s self-giving is visible in material obedience.
“Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God…”—1 Timothy 6:17 (ESV)
Trust is named by Scripture. So is the alternative.
To give is to refuse trust in wealth and confess trust in God.
Concrete Obedience Required
Scripture presses us here. We cannot remain reflective.
Complete what you began (2 Corinthians 8:11).
Give according to what you have, not what you wish you had (8:12).
Give for the sake of the body’s need (8:13–15).
Give willingly, not under compulsion (9:7).
Anything less is partial obedience.
Christ-Shaped Closure
Christ did not give to make generosity admirable. He gave to redeem a people.
Those redeemed people are now called to participate in His pattern, not merely admire it.
An open hand is not a personality trait. It is obedience flowing from union with Christ.
Those who belong to Him do not ask whether generosity feels safe.
They ask whether it is faithful.
