in the collection, they were really becoming the beneficiaries of a gift from God? We may safely assume that their old Adam was as wise in such matters as is our own. They figured that they were doing something; they were imposing a loss on themselves. They may well have been startled when they read τὴν δεδομένην. But once they assimilated this truth, it made them desirous of ever more grace, even though it came to them in the form of a request for a donation. It is God’s nature to give, and by