Continued Concern- Part 23

Introduction- II Corinthians 9:1-14

The last time we were here in the book of II Corinthians we considered the closing verse of chapter 8.

This passage concentrated on the transparency and accountability that was so critical to the collection, transportation, and distribution of the offering for the church in Jerusalem.

Paul and the other believers that were involved in this process were committed to ensuring that all who participated in the offering would have absolute confidence that their sacrifice would be handled with the utmost care and would go to the cause they intended it to.

Chapter 9 continues to deal with the theme of giving and provides several important principles for believers to consider in relation to their giving.

This portion of the epistle is meant to encourage the believers in the church at Corinth not only to give, but to do so with the right spirit and attitude.

It is important that as believers we recognize it is not only what we give that is important, but how and why we give.

Motivation to Give (Vs. 1-5)

This passage opens with what amounts to a commendation for the believers in the church at Corinth.

The “ministering to the saints” spoken of here is a reference to the giving of the believers to aid the church at Jerusalem.

It is evident here that Paul was convinced that the Corinthian believers did not need to be pressured to give, for they had already indicated their willingness long before.

This Paul had boasted of the churches in Macedonia as a means of encouraging and motivating them to make a contribution as well.

The zeal of the believers in the church at Corinth to come to aid of their brothers and sisters in Christ had motivated others to do the same.

This is still true today—when we give generously it may serve to motivate others to give as well.

Many of us have at times been motivated to give by the generosity we have witnessed in others as well.

Paul was concerned that his boasting of the Corinthians would be in vain if they would not follow through in their contribution to aid the struggling believers.

Even so he indicates his desire that they would give generously of their own accord and not in response to some pressure exerted upon them.

Paul had sent Titus and the others who traveled with him in order to give them the opportunity now to make good on their promise.

Sowing and Reaping (Vs. 6)

This principle is one which is appropriate to apply to all of our giving and is easily understood.

Paul uses an agricultural illustration to express the reward of generous giving and the curse of being tightfisted.

When a farmer sows seed, he does so expecting at some future date to reap a harvest.

If he sows only a small amount of seed into the ground he can expect in the end to reap only a meager harvest.

However if he sows bountifully, he has every right to expect that he will in the end reap a bountiful harvest.

Some have misused and abused this passage as though what is meant is that if you give generously, you will then receive great financial gains as a result.

Televangelist and other hirelings have often used this verse to encourage people to give to their ministry with the expectation that in doing so they will be blessed with great wealth.

The point here is not that if we give generously we can expect financial gain-rather it is to indicate that there are blessings from the Lord reserved for those who give generously (these need not be always or ever financial blessing).

As believers we should understand that the greatest rewards that we may receive from the Lord have nothing to do with our bank accounts.

If you and I refuse to give or give only sparingly to the work of the Lord then we miss out on blessings from Him.

If we will choose voluntarily to give generously, we can expect that the Lord will bless us with a bountiful harvest.

Cheerful Giving (Vs. 7)

Each individual in the church at Corinth is here encouraged to give voluntarily—each one giving as he feels led of the Lord to give.

The Corinthians are instructed not to give “grudgingly or our of necessity”—this simply means that their giving ought to be free of compulsion and done in a genuine spirit of generosity.

We have each probably at times given in the right spirit and at times in the wrong spirit.

There may have been times when we felt that we had a duty to give, or when we gave because of a sense of pressure exerted intentionally or even at times unintentionally by someone sharing a need.

There are times when we have each given entirely willingly with no sense of regret or hesitation and then at other times we have given even though we would rather not.

This verse concludes with the revelation that “God loveth a cheerful giver.”

The idea here is that God is most pleased with us when we give voluntarily with a genuine spirit of joy in making our contribution towards the need.

God is not impressed by the amount that we give but rather He is much more concerned with our spirit in and motivation for giving.

There have been times for each of us when we have become aware of a need and we have instantly responded with a desire to help and have willingly and without hesitation made our contribution and have counted it a joy to give.

This is what God loves—when we give willingly and joyfully without hesitation.

God’s Provision (Vs. 8-11)

It may be that some believers were hesitant to give because of fear or anxiety and a concern for their own provision—they may think to themselves— “But what if I experience a financial reversal or some pressing need and I have given away the very provision that could have met my need?”

The scripture here encourages the believer who hesitates with a reminder of God’s ability to meet their needs.

God is more than able to supply all our needs and in addition to this to make all grace abound toward us so that we have all that we need to abound to every good work.

We must remember that God has the ability to take care of His children and that He knows what we have need of and will supply that which will enable us to faithfully execute His work.

God does not intend that a church should be hindered in carrying out the work of ministry as a result of their giving to support the need of others.

If we give according to His leading, we can be confident that He will supply our needs and that we will be able to continue to carry out His work in our community.

The quotation given here is from Psalm 112:9 and is meant to affirm the truth that God will supply our needs as we follow His leading in giving.

God is the source of the seed that is sown (the resources that we give) and it is His power which is ultimately responsible for the harvest that is then reaped as a result.

God is able to supply the needs of those who give as well as those who receive the gift and He is able to multiply what is given beyond such that it will be an even greater supply of need for those who receive it.

God is able to take what we give and multiply it to meet the needs of others while at the same time supplying our needs as well.

Ultimately this leads to an expression of gratitude to God from those who receive the gift as well as from those who gave it.

The point here is that if each of us are obedient in our giving God will make sure that every need is supplied.

We need not fear that giving to His work will somehow lead to our needs not being met.

If we give as He leads, we can trust that He will supply our needs.

God is Glorified (Vs. 12-15)

The end result of all of this is that many are helped, many needs are met, ministries are sustained, and believers are encouraged.

When the offering for the Jerusalem church was finally delivered the believers there would have their needs met and would then give thanks to God for the gift which they received.

God would then be glorified as the believers in the church at Jerusalem praised Him for leading the churches to contribute towards their need.

The giving of the Corinthian church and the others who made a contribution to this offering would provoke the recipients to glorify God for their obedience and generosity.

The reception of the gift would also very naturally lead the believers in the church at Jerusalem to pray for those who had given to supply their need.

This is another benefit which the Corinthians would enjoy as a result of their willingness to make their contribution.

This passage concludes with Paul giving thanks to God for His “unspeakable gift”—a reference to the grace of God given to us especially as it is demonstrated in Jesus Christ.

The grace of God is His unmerited favor toward us and it is seen nowhere in greater abundance than in His gift of His own beloved Son to die for our sins to purchase our redemption through His own precious blood.

This gift ought to serve to motivate every believer to be willing to give to meet the needs of others—just as God gave to meet our need of a Savior.

Conclusion

This passage should encourage every believer to give generously in obedience to the Lord joyfully and without hesitation.

Throughout the course of our Christian lives we will regularly be made aware of various needs.

It should be the case that like the Corinthian church we would be anxious to make a contribution to supply the needs of others.

We ought each to be constantly looking for opportunities to give to support the work of God whether it is to meet a need in the church here or it is to meet the need of our brothers and sisters in Christ in some distant place.

Our general attitude should be one of generosity and joyfulness in giving rather than one of stinginess and duty giving only to soother our own conscience.

We can be confident that if we will give as God directs, He is able to multiply our gift to meet the needs of others while also supplying our needs as well.

The ultimate goal of all our giving should be that God would be glorified and that His work would be enabled to continue so that souls may be saved and lives may be changed.

How thankful we ought to be for the grace of God and for His willingness to give His own beloved Son for us.