<p>8:7 <i>So as you abound in everything, in faith and speech and knowledge and in all earnestness and in your love to us, see that you excel in this grace also- </i>These are references to the Spirit gifts which the Corinthians had potentially received, and which they claimed to practice (1 Cor. 1:5; 12:8-10). Yet Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 has revealed that in reality they were only pretending to have the Spirit gifts of speech and knowledge. They were acting as the pagans acted at the Delfi oracle, speaking in unintelligible utterances and calling this the Spirit gift of the Spirit. They didn't really practice the actual gifts of the Spirit, for they were &quot;not spiritual&quot; (1 Cor. 3:1). They <i>claimed to</i> &quot;abound&quot; in the Spirit gifts, but as noted throughout 1 Cor. 12, they did not in reality. Likewise their abounding &quot;love to us&quot; was imputed by Paul- for the rest of 2 Corinthians shows that they were far from being in love with him. But Paul takes a positive view of them, and reasons that if indeed they feel filled with the Spirit and with love, then they will also perform this <i>charis</i>, this grace or Spirit gift- by actually giving in material terms. Again, Paul is arguing that their actual giving will be a function of the gift or grace of the Spirit being allowed to operate within them.</p><p>We cannot know God&rsquo;s grace without likewise &lsquo;abounding&rsquo; with it ourselves. This can be in acts of generosity; the early believers&nbsp;were to &lsquo;abound&rsquo; in generosity to the needy (2 Cor. 8:7- the same word used about the abounding of God&rsquo;s grace). But the spirit of &lsquo;abounding&rsquo; is far more than material generosity. We are to &lsquo;abound&rsquo; in the work of edifying the church (1 Cor. 14:12; 15:58); abounding in prayer for each other (1 Thess. 3:10), rather than just praying once about someone else&rsquo;s problem as a conscience-salving formality. Ask yourself- whether your prayer for others is of the &lsquo;abounding&rsquo; quality that the Lord&rsquo;s intercession was and is <i>for </i>you? We are to &lsquo;abound&rsquo; in praise- for God&rsquo;s abounding grace abounds through us to His glory if we praise Him for that grace (2 Cor. 4:15).&nbsp; And so... how is your praise? A mouthing off of familiar words and lyrics, that you&rsquo;ve hummed and hymned for years? Or the internal praise that has some real fire and flame to it? As God makes His grace <i>abound</i> to us, <i>we</i> are to <i>abound</i> to every good work (2 Cor. 9:8). We are to &lsquo;abound&rsquo; in love to each other, as God abounds to us (1 Thess. 3:12). This is why there will never be a grudging spirit in those who serve properly motivated by God&rsquo;s abundance to us. This super-abounding quality in our kindness, generosity, forgiveness etc. is a feature lacking in the unbelievers around us. If we salute our brethren only, then we do not super-abound (Mt. 5:47); if we love as the world loves its own, then we have missed the special quality of love which the Father and Son speak of and exemplify. This radical generosity of spirit to others is something which will mark us apart from this world.</p>