Untitled Sermon (4)
Those Corinthians who have not accepted the grace of God in vain (6:1–2), as evidenced by their repentance (7:9–11), are to prepare for Paul’s third visit (cf. 13:1) by purifying the church (6:14–7:1) and by completing the collection (8:1–9:15).
Paul wants to demonstrate his integrity regarding this sizable sum of money (7:2; 8:20; 11:20; 12:15–18) and to pave the way for transferring it to Jerusalem, since its favorable reception was by no means guaranteed
Now in 8:16–24, Paul commends the three-man delegation that he is sending to Corinth to administer it: Titus, the chief delegate (vv. 16–17), and two other unnamed brothers (vv. 18, 22)
Paul wants the collection completed before he returns in order to avoid any possibility of coercing the collection by his presence (9:5), since he knows that when he returns, it will be to judge the church (cf. 10:2–6; 13:1–4)
The anticipation that God will be praised through the generosity of his people (9:11), the main point of 9:1–15, also reflects this same theocentric focus.
In the light of Paul’s argument in 8:1–15, this zeal to complete the collection is a zeal for the good of the Corinthians themselves.
Paul’s point in 8:16–17 is that, as with the Macedonians (cf. 8:1), God is the one who put the desire to help the Corinthians in Titus’s heart.
Thus, Paul is simply expanding this brother’s appointment to include preceding him to Corinth in order to help complete the collection.
In other words, the collection is an essential aspect of Paul’s ministry precisely because it glorifies God and demonstrates the reality of the Spirit through Paul’s enthusiastic willingness to meet the needs of others
In 8:23–24 Paul draws two conclusions; the first concerns the delegation (v. 23); the second, derived from the first, is aimed at the Corinthians (v. 24)
(2) Given the representative status of the delegation, Paul concludes this section by calling the Corinthians to respond appropriately to its presence and purpose among them (8:24
The Corinthians must therefore demonstrate the reality of their renewed love for Paul and his gospel by complying with the call to contribute. Just as the Macedonians are an example to the Corinthians (8:1–7), the Corinthians are to be a reciprocal example to them
For as will become clear in 10:12–18, one can only legitimately boast about those things for which there is concrete evidence that God has been at work
Paul calls the Corinthians to respond to the three-man delegation (8:24) because its task is to ensure that their earlier desire to give will be fulfilled before he arrives (9:3) and that their giving itself will express God’s blessing in their lives (9:5).
Rather, Paul’s burden is that the Corinthians respond positively to the delegation by completing the collection before he himself returns.
Indeed, their earlier willingness had proved to be an example to the very Macedonians who were now providing an example for those in “Achaia” (9:2; cf. 8:1–7).
Despite their readiness, past and present, Paul has nevertheless sent the three brothers in order to ensure that his boast concerning the collection, which is the visible fruit of his ministry among them, will not be “emptied” (9:3; NIV, “prove hollow”).
A delegation of Macedonians will accompany Paul with the collection, which means that they will also be with him when he returns to Corinth on his way to Jerusalem
If the collection is completed before he arrives, the suspicion presently being cast on his motives will be dispelled (cf. 8:20), and no one will be able to say that the collection was extracted from the Corinthians under the fear of judgment
In 9:5, Paul is consequently pointing to two opposite ways of giving: the kind of generosity that flows from experiencing God’s blessing and from trusting in the sufficiency of God’s grace, versus the kind of begrudging greediness and self-reliance that selfishly seeks to keep as much as possible for oneself.
But, as 9:5 indicates, the apostle is concerned with their souls.
in 9:6–15, he addresses why this participation must be characterized by generosity and joy. In short, giving must be generous and joyful because only such giving is an expression of faith in God as the one who provides the gracious means to being righteous (9:8–11a).
Formally translated, 9:6 thus reads: “The one who sows sparingly, sparingly will he also reap, and the one who sows with/because of blessings, with/because of blessings will he also reap.”
Put negatively, there is no divine approval for giving to others merely out of duty. Instead, obedience, in order to count before God, must flow from a happy reliance on and contentment in God’s gracious gifts to his people.
Paul combines two related texts from the same context in order to make his point: The Lord approves of those who show by their willingness to give cheerfully to the poor that their hearts are holy (cf. Prov. 22:9).
The Hellenistic ideal, however, linked this contentment to a self-reliance brought about by self-discipline that led to a passive detachment from external circumstances and people. In striking contrast, Christian contentment, relying on God’s promised provision, leads to doing “every good work” for the sake of others. Among the ancients, the motive for giving was to show one’s moral superiority. For Paul, the motive was to glorify God for his grace
Neither Psalm 112:9 nor Paul, however, is advocating a works righteousness in disguise.
disguise. The righteous act of giving to others does not merit or earn God’s blessing.
The “righteousness” of the one who gives to the poor “endures forever” (Ps. 112:9) only because it is created and sustained by the Lord’s “righteousness,” which also “endures forever” (111:3).
Hence, while 2 Corinthians 9:9 quotes Psalm 112:9, 2 Corinthians 9:8 reflects the point made in Psalm 111.
This summary is important for two reasons. (1) These Old Testament texts make clear that the “seed” and “harvest” that God supplies and promises to be multiplied cannot simply be equated with material provisions. The context of both Isaiah 55:10 and Hosea 10:12 is the provision of God’s Word (i.e., the seed), which brings about the final redemption of his people. God’s promise in 2 Corinthians 9:10 is not to make his people rich but to use them as instruments of his presence for the salvation of others.
the manifestation of their righteousness in Christ (9:8–9), to the significance of their righteousness for others, that is, its “harvest.” It is this latter point that Paul goes on to outline in verses 11–14.
For as we have seen, the righteousness of God is his just character as demonstrated in the consistency of his actions toward his creation.
But Paul’s own suffering as an apostle and his argument throughout 2 Corinthians both make it evident that in speaking of such “wealth,” he does not have material prosperity in view
In 9:14, Paul draws out the second consequence of the Corinthians’ generosity: The saints in Jerusalem will pray for them out of the longing created by their newly formed unity in the gospel.
Furthermore, the parallel between 9:14 and 8:1 indicates that Paul is anticipating that the grace granted to the Corinthians will be no less than that given to the Macedonians, since God’s “grace” is the basis of all giving (cf. again 9:8).
This is why the “surpassing grace” being poured out on the Corinthians by God is described in 9:12–13 in terms of the Corinthians’ own “ministry,” which not only meets the needs of the saints, but also becomes the vehicle through which “many expressions of thanks to God” are “abounding [NIV, overflowing]”
where God’s glory is made known, praise and prayer result.
It is therefore fitting that in 9:15 Paul draws 8:16–9:15 to a close by returning to the thanksgiving with which he started.
It is therefore fitting that in 9:15 Paul draws 8:16–9:15 to a close by returning to the thanksgiving with which he started. That the Corinthians’ giving to others (8:24; 9:3; 9:5), which begins in God’s grace (8:4, 6, 7, 9; 9:8), will also rebound to their own blessing from God (9:6–10) in response to the praise and prayers of others (9:11–14) is an amazing “gift” of grace worthy of praise (9:15).
It is not surprising, therefore, that each of Paul’s three major themes finds echoes in his contemporary culture: (1) a concern for the integrity of the collection, as reflected in the need to send the delegation (8:16–24); (2) a concern that giving be uncoerced and generous, as seen in the necessity of completing the collection in advance (9:1–5); and (3) a concern for maintaining the proper purpose of the collection, as expressed in Paul’s emphasis on the theological character of the collection as a response to the grace of God (9:6–15).
And Paul’s concern for the integrity of the collection, which led to his sending the delegation to Corinth, is often replaced with a concern that everything be done “legally” (to avoid being sued), regardless of the “hidden” motives of the heart (which are beyond litigation).
Even within the church, generosity in giving has often become a “tax advantage,” an opportunity for self-actualization, or an expression of one’s “indebtedness to society,” rather than an expression of the blessings of God
Such attitudes and actions within the church are not biblical, but derive in large part from the self-understanding of human independence and isolation that still runs through contemporary culture.
As a result, the prevailing assumption of Paul’s day that all people have received gifts from a deity and are part of a larger community has been replaced by the conviction that we control what we possess because we have earned it “on our own.”
Thus, the Enlightenment emphasis on independence and isolation from God and others, whether expressed in the modern view of the self-determining individual or in the postmodern emphasis on our cultural captivity, has led to a self-understanding in which contemporary men and women view their “hard-earned” resources as their own possessions to do with as they please.
Thus, giving to the needs of the poor in Jerusalem was rooted in the character of God as made known in his works on our behalf.
We must keep in mind that within our context Paul’s relating every aspect of giving to God is inherently countercultural.
Nor is it illegitimate to take a tax deduction for giving, to be concerned to do things legally, or to want to be fulfilled. Instead, what is needed is an evaluation of all that we do, including our giving, from a consistent and thoroughgoing theological perspective.
Paul’s goal was not to attain an inner detachment from material things through some sort of Stoic self-mastery, but a recognition that God is the giver of all things. Perhaps nothing today is more radical than to assert that God, not our own “Self,” is responsible for all that we are and have.
Paul’s goal was not to attain an inner detachment from material things through some sort of Stoic self-mastery, but a recognition that God is the giver of all things. Perhaps nothing today is more radical than to assert that God, not our own “Self,” is responsible for all that we are and have. Our resources originate from him as a blessing, not from us as an expression of what we deserve.
“Cheerful givers” are not so by nature. Only those who realize that they have received great benefits from God have both the material means and inner disposition to become cheerful givers.
Nor should we give “in order to show God how thankful we are.” Our job is not to prove our sincerity to God. Those who recognize God to be the giver of all things are thankful, and God knows our hearts. Instead, in chapter 9 the motivation for giving is as radically God-centered as its foundation. Far from being our contribution back to God or our way of showing God the depth of our gratitude, giving to others is a response to what God has already done for us in the past and a demonstration of our continuing confidence in what he has promised to do for us in the future. Giving is an act of faith in response to God’s grace. As such, our giving is not a decision to participate in the projects of the church, but an expression of the fact that we are the church—that is, that we belong to God and hence to one another.
For Paul, participation in the collection was not a “practical” outworking of faith as something done in addition to trusting in God; it was an expression of faith itself.
He views all of life, even giving money to the poor in Jerusalem, through the lens of what God has done, is doing, and will do for his people as a result of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.
Often our appeals for money appear anemic because we have lost sight of the gravity of what God is now doing in the world in and through his people. When God’s people give to others within the body of Christ, they mediate his glory as it is now being revealed under the new covenant.
Hence, the only way to talk about money biblically is to talk about money in relationship to God and his purposes.
Paul’s call to the Corinthians to give is driven by his conviction that under the new covenant God is now revealing himself in and through the lives of his people.
One grand expression of the satisfaction in God’s grace that brings him great glory is giving freely and generously to others.
Fueled by a biblical understanding of God and of our own role within redemptive history, giving to other believers should be characterized by an integrity that is beyond reproach, a willing generosity that reflects the grace of God, a proclamation of the gospel, and joy.
The same is true today, in a time when many people are rightly skeptical concerning the motives of “organized religion.”
Nor does Paul define what constitutes giving generously.
The only rule is to give freely and generously as an expression of our continuing trust in God’s grace (9:5–8).
The only rule is to give freely and generously as an expression of our continuing trust in God’s grace (9:5–8). Paul simply assumes that believers will give all they can to meet as many needs as they can in order to glorify God as much as they can
The “payback” is not material, but the prayers of God’s people and the enjoyment of God’s glory (cf. 9:12–15).
At the same time, while giving must be done freely, it is not optional.
The Corinthians’ participation in the collection was not “for the church,” but evidence that they were the church
For Paul, faith is trusting in God to meet our needs in the present that we might give to the needs of others. As such, faith encompasses the past and future as we live them out day by day before God. We give to others, therefore, as an expression of our trust in God to meet our needs today. We should not give simply out of our surplus from the past, nor should we give in the hope of getting more in the future. Rather, not worrying about tomorrow and trusting God to sustain us through the trouble of today (Matt. 6:34), we are free to share our daily bread with others.
In stark contrast to this worship of money stands Paul’s conviction that the basis and purpose for giving is to maintain joy in God himself (9:7). Reluctantly giving to others reflects an insecurity that fundamentally denies the very thing Paul affirms in 9:8–11. Likewise, giving to others in order to get more money in return is a crass and idolatrous rejection of God’s all-sufficiency in Christ. It denies the very thing Paul affirms in 9:12–15.
Though we certainly must be and can only be grateful for God’s grace, it is our trust in God’s grace that grounds our giving.
But gratitude, like giving, is itself a response to God’s grace, and not the source of faith-filled obedience. Gratitude is itself a virtue produced by grace, not the source of other Christian virtues. God and God alone is the source of all Christian emotion and activity.
Viewed in this way, our willingness to give becomes a reflection not of our feelings toward God, but of what God is doing for us now and promises to do for us in the days to come. Giving, in order to honor God, must be an act of dependence on God. As believers, our confidence in God for the future makes it possible for us to give to others in the present (cf. again 9:8).
As Paul makes clear in 9:7, there is no divine approval for a giving to others that does not flow from a happy reliance on and satisfaction in God. For since God’s power and commitment to do what he has promised provides the continuing means to be righteous through giving (9:8–11a), only such grace-driven generosity, evidenced in our willingness to meet the needs of others, redounds to God’s glory (9:11b–15).
If love is the overflow of joy in God that gladly meets the needs of other people, and if God loves such joyful givers, then this joy in giving is a Christian duty, and the effort not to pursue it is sin.
… Love is the overflow of joy in God which gladly meets the needs of others. It is the impulse of a fountain to overflow. It originates in the grace of God which overflows freely because it delights to fill the empty. Love shares the nature of that grace, because it too delights to overflow freely to meet the needs of others.…
