I Do You To Wit…
James Bigelow
That quaint but archaic phrase prefaced an appeal from Paul and Timothy to the church in
Corinth for a contribution to assist the saints in Jerusalem that had been stricken with a severe famine. The men cited the churches of Macedonia, which, although they were undergoing great trials and had deep poverty, joyfully gave to the cause. Their generous donation had been from willing hearts and was well beyond their ability.
What prompted them to forego their personal interests and needs in order to help others? According to the testimony of the apostles in 2 Corinthians 8:5, “They first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.” Once their first priority had been satisfied, the second came naturally. It is evident that the will of God had been revealed to them through prayer. Following that, they were visited with a bestowal of divine grace that awakened a burning desire to give. In modern vernacular, we do you to wit of the grace of God translates to, “We want you to know what God’s grace has accomplished.” The declaration was made to provoke the church in Corinth to respond in like manner as those in Macedonia. By selfless and prayerful commitment, they also could be recipients of divine enablement.
I do you to wit that the churches of Macedonia apparently understood that they had been blessed to be a blessing. The earlier cry of their hearts, “Come over and help us,” had been transmitted to Paul and Silas in a vision, who had responded immediately. As a result, churches were planted in Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea and the surrounding cities. The grace of God that brought salvation to those who gladly received the word soon blossomed into the grace of God for giving. Freely they had received; freely they gave.
In chapter four of his epistle to the Philippians, Paul commended the saints for partnering with him in missions. The New King James translation words it this way: “Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities…. And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Based solely upon the context of that scripture, I do you to wit that the promise of God to supply all your need is directly associated with your support of missionary endeavors.
I do you to wit of the grace of god bestowed upon Gaius. John wrote to him with this commendation, “Beloved, it is a fine and faithful work that you are doing when you give any service to the [Christian] brethren, and [especially when they are] strangers. They have testified before the church of your love and friendship. You will do well to forward them on their journey [and you will please do so] in a way worthy of God’s [service]. For these [traveling missionaries] have gone out for the Name’s sake (for His sake) and are accepting nothing from the Gentiles (the heathen, the non-Israelites). So we ourselves ought to support such people [to welcome and provide for them], in order that we may be fellow workers in the Truth…” (3 John 5-8, AMP).
I to you to wit also, of this statement John made in verses 10-11 regarding a preacher named Diotrephes: “He refuses to receive and welcome the [missionary] brethren himself, and also interferes with and forbids those who would welcome them, and tries to expel (excommunicate) them from the church. Beloved, do not imitate evil, but imitate good.”
I do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed upon the churches of Oregon. A goodly number of them are committed to the faith promise plan of giving to foreign missions. They continue to accept more missionary services, increase their number of PIM’s, and contribute to special projects. They do this joyfully despite loss of jobs, the expense of building and/or remodeling local facilities, supporting all the other departmental programs, and losing members. How do they do it? I submit that they have been recipients of the grace of giving.
I do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed upon the church in Oregon City, for example. It contributed the largest amount in our state last year for the furtherance of the gospel in other nations. Their offering of $55,190 was also the second highest in per capita giving.
I do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed upon other churches in our district, such as:
* Palace of Praise in Aloha, which gave $50,804
* Apostolic Worship Center in Gresham, which gave $25,172.14
* Klamath Falls UPC, which contributed $18,535
* Apostolic Truth Tabernacle in Hood River, which gave $16,639
* UPC of Corvallis, whose offering of $519.85 was the largest per capita offering
* True Light Apostolic Church in Brookings, which had the highest percentage of increase (441.87%) over that of the previous fiscal year.
I am nearly at my wits end; however, I do you to wit of The Portland Pentecostals, Landmark UPC in North Bend, Illinois Pentecostals in Cave Junction, Tabernaculo de Salem, New Hope Life Center in Monroe, UPCI Tabernaculo de la Verdad in Springfield, and New Life UPC of Aumsville, all of whose offerings increased by 90% or more over last years’.
“All things are for [the missionaries] sake, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God” 2 Cor. 4:15. (Author’s note: I do you to wit that I took the liberty to omit ‘your’ and insert ‘the missionaries’.)
This article “I Do You to Wit…” by James Bigelow was excerpted from: Oregon Apostolic Accent magazine. Page 11. May 2010. It may be used for study & research purposes only.
