Glorious Giving-2 Corinthians 9:1-15

Key Elements

In 2 Corinthians 9:1-15, the Apostle Paul addressed the Corinthian church encouraging and motivating them to give to the offering for the Jerusalem church, pointing them to the benefits that come from glorious giving, and emphasizing the results of God being glorified and the church being unified.

Main idea of the text: As Christ followers, when the grace of God motivates our giving, God is glorified, our faith is strengthened, and the church is brought together in unity.

I want my audience to realize the benefits of glorious giving, living lives that give generously because of God’s grace, so that God is glorified, their faith is strengthened, and our church is brought together in unity.

Intro

A pastor in Dallas, TX tells the story of a member who made a commitment to tithe ten percent of his income every year. He was young and didn’t have much money. He began by tithing one thousand dollars that first year that he earned ten thousand. As his income increased, he continued the commitment to tithe 10%. The man soon became very successful and the following year gave ten thousand dollars that year because he had earned one-hundred thousand dollars. A few years later, the man earned one million dollars and so he tithed $100,000. But the year he earned six million dollars he just could not bring himself to write out that check for six-hundred thousand dollars to the Church.  He called his minister and asked to see him. Walking into his pastor’s office, the man begged to be let out of the commitment to tithe, saying, "This tithing business has to stop. It was fine when my tithe was one thousand dollars, but I just cannot afford six-hundred thousand dollars. You’ve got to do something, Pastor!" The pastor knelt on the floor and began to pray silently for a while. Eventually the man said, "What are you doing? Are you praying that God will let me out of the commitment to tithe?" "No," said the minister. "I am praying for God to reduce your income back to the level where you’ll be comfortable tithing one thousand dollars!"

Now, we may laugh at that story but sometimes, as Christ followers, we may find ourselves slipping into that same pattern of thinking where we don’t recognize and see the benefits of the privilege we have to give to God. And as we conclude our Gift of Giving series, that’s what we want to focus in on today-the benefits of glorious giving. Today, we want to conclude on a high note. We want to end this series on a note of encouragement and practical application in our lives. Where we come to the realization that giving to God is not an obligation, it’s not a burden, giving to God is an opportunity, it is in itself a gift. Giving to God is an honor that He, in His grace, has bestowed on us as His followers. And as we come to that realization, and as God continues to make that truth clear in our hearts, wherever we are in our giving journey, our hope is that we would all realize there are benefits that come from giving to God.

So, here’s the main idea of our message today: As Christ followers, when the grace of God motivates our giving, God is glorified, our faith is strengthened, and the church is brought together in unity.

And that’s what we are going to see in our text today in 2 Corinthians 9:1-15 . So, open your copy of God’s Word there with me today and let’s begin with verse 1...

Context: So, we really are picking up where we left off last week in the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the believers at the church in Corinth. Just to catch us up, the background of this part of the letter is that the church in Jerusalem had experienced hardship. For various reasons, they were financially struggling. And to help remedy this, the Apostle Paul had made a plea to the other churches he had planted, most of them made up of non Jewish believers, to take up an offering to give to help the church in Jerusalem. Now, last week what we had discovered is that the church in Corinth had been very enthusiastic about giving to this offering and had started out strong, but for some reason had not fulfilled their commitment to give. In chapter 8, Paul had laid before them the Macedonian church as an example of believers who were fulfilling their commitment to give even in the face of great hardship. Now, here’s what’s interesting. Paul had initially used the example of the believers in Corinth to challenge the Macedonians to give but now he is using the example of the Macedonians to challenge the Corinthian believers to give. A year before, the Corinthian believers had enthusiastically boasted that they would share in the offering, but then they had done nothing. The Macedonians had followed through on their promise, and Paul was afraid that his boasting about the Corinthians would be in vain. Paul sent Titus and the other brothers to Corinth to stir them up to share in the offering. Far more important than the money itself was the spiritual benefit that would come to the church as they shared in response to God’s grace in their lives. Paul had written to the church before to tell them how to take up the contributions (1 Cor. 16:1–4), so there was no excuse for their delay. Paul wanted the entire contribution to be ready when he and his team arrived, so that there might not be any last-minute collections that might appear to be forced on the church. What did Paul want to avoid? Embarrassment to himself and to the church if the offering was not ready. Paul had boasted to the Macedonians about Corinth, and now he feared that his boasting might be in vain.

And this is the setting that we find leading up to our text today. As we approach 2 Corinthians 9:1-15, we see the Apostle Paul challenging the Corinthian church encouraging and motivating them to give to the offering for the Jerusalem church, pointing them to the benefits that come from glorious giving, and emphasizing the results of God being glorified and the church being unified.

Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 659–660.

Message

So, from our text today, we notice 3 benefits of glorious giving in the life of a follower of Jesus. And as we give generously, motivated by the grace of God that we ourselves have been shown, we will see these benefits practically play out in our lives.

1. Glorious giving in the life of a follower of Jesus serves to motivate other Christ followers. (vs. 1-5)

So, it’s been interesting this week in preparing for today that several sources I’ve looked at have consistently pointed out something that I would say is true. Every follower of Jesus should be a giver. This should be something that is a natural part of our lives. Generosity and giving should be something that we gravitate towards as Christ followers because of the grace we have experienced in our own lives. And what’s interesting is if we did live this way. If giving to God was something that we automatically did as followers of Jesus, then we wouldn’t have teach and preach on it as often as we do. And we would have more than enough resources financially to accomplish the ministry that God has called us to accomplish.

And when the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth, this truth is something that he begins with, he says in vs. 1.... Basically, it is “unnecessary.” This is something that you committed to and should already be doing, this is something that should be a natural part of who you are as followers of Jesus. But here he is having to address giving because of the particular situation they are in. And evidently the Apostle Paul feels no shame in doing so. He didn’t see anything wrong with holding the Corinthian believers accountable for the commitment they had made to give. He didn’t tell them specifically how much they had to give but he did expect them to keep the promise they had made.

And we see one of the main reasons for this as he continues in vs. 2. He says....

This church in Corinth had led the charge. This church in Corinth had served as the prime example of giving first and of the gifts of the Holy Spirit present in all believers. Their excitement and joy for giving and ministering to the believers in Jerusalem had served the major purpose of motivating other churches in the region to give also. And the Apostle Paul, as he is writing to them, is reminding them of how God had used them in this way. He says, “your zeal, your excitement about doing something, your excessive fervor about accomplishing this goal” has served to “stir up, to challenge other believers” to do the same. It’s almost like there was a contest among those churches to see who could give the most to this offering for the Jerusalem church. The church in Corinth was giving which had inspired the churches in Macedonia to give and that excitement was spreading, that excitement and desire to give was contagious and Paul is reminding the believers in Corinth that it had all begun through God using them. Because they had committed to give, other churches had been motivated to do the same.

And that’s one of the benefits of glorious giving in the life of a follower of Jesus. When we see what God is doing in the hearts and lives of other believers and what He is doing through the hearts and lives of other believers, it’s an inspiration and a motivation for us to do the same or better. I mean think about it, and we touched on this last week, if you are a giver, there is probably someone in your life who set the example of giving for you.

Ex: of someone who set the example for me of giving.

Now, there’s a fine line between giving in fleshly imitation of other churches or believers for the wrong reasons and the Bible cautions us against that. We should never give to be noticed or for our own glory. But passionate believers giving in obedience to God and serving Him with the gifts and talents they have been blessed with should always serve to motivate and encourage other believers to so the same. And what a privilege that we might be used by God to do that, to be an encouragement to another follower of Jesus to give. Not because we are anything special but simply because we are obedient to what God has called us to do. Simply because we are actually living the way a follower of Jesus is supposed to live and we are doing what a follower of Jesus is supposed to do. Out greatest motivation for giving is that it pleases God, but a benefit that we experience as a result of our obedience is that God uses our obedience to motivate others to give and to serve.

What a mind blowing thing to think about, that when we are faithful in our giving we help motivate others to do the same. And how does that happen in our lives? How do we motivate others to give? We simply live it out. We give as we’ve been commanded to give. And as we do, God uses that as a testimony for His glory and an example to motivate others.

Glorious giving in the life of a follower of Jesus serves to motivate other Christ followers.

There’s a second benefit we notice...

2. Glorious giving in the life of a follower of Jesus strengthens our faith in God and expands the Gospel mission in the world. (vs. 6-12)

So, I want us to think about something for a moment. Why do people give to God? Have you ever thought about that? I mean you have probably asked that question of yourself, but in general, why to people give to God? I think there are a few reasons:

First, there are some people who give to God so that they get something back. It’s the old addage “You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.” They think they have this kid of arrangement with God. If I give, then God is obligated to reward me because I did.

Second, there are some people who give to God because they are afraid not to. I have to admit, sometimes I drift into this category. They are afraid if they don’t give then something bad is going to happen to them or someone they love. Giving to God serves as kind of an insurance policy against bad things happening.

Third, there are some people who give because they see it as an obligation or a duty. These are people who give but there’s no joy in it. They committed to tithe and give because that’s what they thought they had to do as a Christ follower and it is a motion that they go through.

I don’t know if you can identify with any of those, I know I can, but those are categories that Christ followers sometimes fall into when it comes to giving. And if that’s an attitude we have or a reason we give, then I would say that our giving has lost the purpose that God has intended it to have. You see, again, giving was never intended by God to be something we do, giving should be something we are. Giving in our lives is the direct result of the grace of God we have been shown and there should be a joy that comes with it. Because God has given His all, His own Son for us, because of His grace and mercy, we should desire to give back to Him. Because when we give, it strengthens our faith in God. It deepens our faith in God as we are obedient to what He has called us to do. As He has proven Himself faithful over and over again, we continue to give. But also it expands the Gospel mission in the world. It is us being a part of the Gospel reaching lost people in places that we may never go ourselves. So, let’s talk about those to benefits for a moment:

a. Our faith is strengthened as we invest generously. (vs. 6)

There’s a principle here in vs. 6 that the Apostle Paul proclaims that just makes sense naturally. It’s the principle of increase. What does he say… He’s using agricultural terms here and this is something that we see operating in everyday life. A farmer who sows a lot of seed has a better chance of reaping a greater harvest. The person who invests more money in the bank has the opportunity to collect more money in the end. The more we invest, the more we will reap. And the opposite is also true-the less we invest, the less we will reap. And if this makes sense to us in our natural everyday situations, then it should also make sense to us when we apply it to our spiritual lives and our giving. If we expect to grow in our faith as followers of Jesus, then we must invest generously as God has called us to. And I’m not standing up here this morning and acting like that’s always easy. It’s like we talked about last week, there are times in our lives when it will be harder to give because of situations we are facing. There are times when that tithe amount naturally looks like it would be better used to take care of something we need to take care of. And it’s in that moment that our faith is strengthened when in obedience we give to God trusting in faith that He knows our needs and will meet every one. So, our faith is strengthened as we invest generously.

b. Our faith is strengthened as we give joyfully. (vs. 7)

The Apostle Paul continues in vs. 7. He says… He’s talking about motives here. It’s the principle of intent. Which is extremely important when it comes to our giving as Christ followers. Our giving must come from the heart for the motive of pleasing God for the purpose of bringing Him glory. And notice what he says here that “God loves a cheerful giver.” What does he mean by that? Well, he explains it first by telling us what it doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean giving out of reluctance or because we’ve been guilted into it. Literally, it’s the picture of water being wrung out of a rag. God doesn’t want our giving to be forced in that way. He says to give cheerfully, the word here is the Greek word where we get our word “hilarious.” It’s a joyfulness that comes with our giving to the point that we almost are looking forward to it. It’s an expectation that strengthens our faith that we know that as we give to God, He is going to use our offering in mighty ways for His kingdom. And that is reason to have joy. Our faith is strengthened as we give joyfully.

c. Our faith is strengthened as God provides generously. (vs. 8-11) “Sufficiency in everything”

Look at vs. 8… He mentions two things here: first, he says that “God is able to make all grace about to you.” Not some grace or a little grace but “all” grace. Which is the foundation of why we give in the first place. We give because God, through His grace, has given to us. That’s the “indescribable gift” he is talking about in vs. 10. God’s gracious gift to us was sending His Son Jesus to be the sacrifice for our sins to restore a relationship with Him and provide eternal life in heaven. And because of God’s grace in our lives, we give. Now, this grace God shows us doesn’t mean we will become wealthy in material things necessarily. What it means is that we will always have what we need when we need it. Which leads us to the second thing he mentions, he says “always having all sufficiency in everything.” Literally, that we will through Jesus have the adequate supplies we need to handle the daily situations of life. And he goes on to explain this in vs. 10-11… As God’s grace abounds in us and to us, He supplies all that we need, and as He does that we constantly remember that all we have is given to us by our gracious Heavenly Father and our faith is strengthened because we know that in the past, right now, and in the future God has and will generously provide for us in every situation that we face. And because we know that God generously provides, we give generously because we serve a God who provides generously all that we need. Our faith is strengthened as God provides generously.

d. The Gospel mission is fulfilled as lives are transformed consistently. (vs. 12)

Look at vs. 12… Now, this is as practical as we can get when it comes to why we give as followers of Jesus. Just as the gifts of the believers in Corinth were meeting the needs of the believers in Jerusalem, when we give God uses our giving to fulfill the mission of the Gospel. And that really applies here in our church and community and beyond. We can see how God uses what we give here in our church and the hearts and lives that are transformed every week. That is more obvious. But think about all the life transformation that we don’t see. The lives that are being transformed in our state as we give to our state convention, the lives that are being transformed across our country as we give to our national convention and north american missionaries. Not to mention the lives that are being transformed in Tucson, AZ through our partnership with One Hope Church. What about the lives that are being transformed across the world as we give to international missions and the lives being transformed in Honduras and Brazil as we go there ourselves and share the Gospel? As we give the mission of the Gospel is being carried out and lives are being transformed all over the planet. I truly believe one day when we get to heaven because of us giving to the Lord, there will be people you never knew here on earth who will show gratitude to God for you because your giving transformed their life. Think of all God can do if we are obedient and we give. Don’t you want to be a part of something like that? Something eternal? The Gospel mission is fulfilled as lives are transformed consistently.

Which brings us to our final benefit...

3. Glorious giving in the life of a follower of Jesus solidifies unity among God’s people. (vs. 14-15)

I grew up playing sports, I know it doesn’t look like it now, but I played really anything that I could from the time I was a little kid through high school. And there’s a lot of things I liked about playing on a team-the competition, the intensity, winning-all of that was an incredible part of the experience. But probably what I loved the most about playing on a team was the unity. There’s nothing like it when a team is unified. There’s power in that, there’s potential in that, when a team is unified in one purpose, one vision, and one mission they are almost unstoppable. And even in situations when they lose, it’s something that they experience together.

When we look at these words from the Apostle Paul to the believers in Corinth about them giving to the offering for the church in Jerusalem one purpose we see for Paul calling on them to give was unity. He saw the Gentile churches having an opportunity to reach across racial lines and support and help their Jewish Christian brothers and sisters. In doing so, not only did it abolish a societal division but it broke through a religious division as the churches in Corinth and Macedonia did all they could to show the grace and love they had been shown by Christ to their fellow Jewish Christians in need. Now, while on the surface this may not look like a big deal, this was a radical act of grace on the part of these churches. These churches were not obligated in any way to the Jewish believers in Jerusalem although the Jerusalem church had been the ones who had sent out Paul and his teams to plant these churches. But because of the grace of God they had experienced in their lives, they gave in hopes of helping relieve some of their fellow believer’s suffering.

And in vs. 14, Paul proclaims the result of their giving. He says… As these churches gave graciously to help their fellow believers in Jerusalem, a unity would be established as a spiritual bond through Jesus Christ was created that would forever be unbroken. From that point on, there would be a powerful unity that surpassed any human division as these churches prayed for one another and were drawn closer to Jesus because of the grace of God in their lives.

And this is probably one of the greatest benefits of glorious giving in the life of a follower of Jesus. When we as followers of Jesus and members of Stone Ridge are unified under one mission “to make disciples of Jesus,” when we are laser focused on one goal, we become an unstoppable force for the Gospel in this world. There is nothing more powerful than unity among God’s people. And when we purpose in our hearts, all of us, to give and to serve as God has called us to do, fueling the mission and the vision God has given us, it solidifies unity among us. And when that happens, when we are moving forward as the unified people of God He has called us to be, the unsaved people in our community will take notice of what God is doing. And they will recognize that the Gospel is real, that the Gospel transforms lives, and that God is worth following and giving all that are and all that we have too.

Glorious giving in the life of a follower of Jesus solidifies unity among God’s people.

Conclusion

So, I don’t know what this giving series has done for you or how God has used it in your life. I pray that He’s spoken to you and He has used it to enlighten you about truths when it comes to giving.

When we began this series, we said there were three things that we wanted to see God do: First and foremost, if you’ve never surrendered your heart and life to Jesus, that you would take that step in your life. Second, if you are a Christ follower, that He would truly become Lord of your life. That every area of our lives would be surrendered to Him including our finances. Third, that we as Christ followers would clearly understand God’s principles when it comes to giving and that we would put those principles into practice. And so, our prayer today is the same as it was when we began. Today, if you need to become a follower of Jesus, we want to help you take that step in your life. If you are a Christ follower, and you need to make Jesus the Lord of your life especially in the area of your finances, that you would take that step. Or if there are some Biblical principles that need to be put into practice in your life as a follower of Jesus that you would come to the altar this morning and commit to taking that step. Whatever you need to do today, our prayer is that we would all be obedient to what God is asking us to do.