The Comprehensiveness of Giving 2 Cor. 9:1-15

2 Corinthians 9:1-15

2 Corinthians 9:1–5 NKJV

1 Now concerning the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you; 2 for I know your willingness, about which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal has stirred up the majority. 3 Yet I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this respect, that, as I said, you may be ready; 4 lest if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we (not to mention you!) should be ashamed of this confident boasting. 5 Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation.

Big Idea

Giving is not an afterthought in the Christian life—it is a thoughtful, prioritized, joyful practice shaped by the gospel.

Introduction

Tonight we continue in our study of 2 Corinthians. If you remember from our last time together, You will remember that Paul was counseling the church about their gifting. He also was disclosing to us and offering guidance as to how we administer the gifts God provides to the church. We are to be accountable to the church, yes, but the greater calling is to God. We are administrating God’s money.

Paul was calling on the churches to give cooperatively in raising funds to help the persecuted Christians in Jerusalem.

Giving had become a back burner item rather than a front and center focus of the church at Corinth.

The interesting thing was their prior example had all the regional churches ready for the offering. Paul along with fellow brethren were coming to help them prepare so that V. 5 “they would be ready to give as a matter of generosity rather than grudging action.”

Our aim tonight is not only give but give cheerfully as we work toward verse 6 and beyond tonight.

If you remember Paul was soliciting the church at Corinth to do their part in giving to the needy Christians in Jerusalem that were being persecuted. You might remember that Paul discussed the churches in the area of Macedonia that even though they themselves were impoverished and struggling as well they gave sacrificially, joyful and abundantly in their impoverishment.

2 Corinthians 8:10–11 “10 And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago; 11 but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have.”

1. The Concern for Giving VV. 1-3

“Now concerning the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you”

-It is not necessary that I write to you. “For I know your willingness, your eagerness.”

The word “concerning”-peri in the Greek means touching, on account of, because of

Paul is saying I want to dial in church on the subject of ministering to the saints. Furthermore, Paul stated that it was “superfluous” to write to you.

Paul is saying that I know you want this to happen.

I think you get the drift tonight. Ministering to the saints is a highly important subject for God’s people.

Here is what Paul was really saying:

“Superfluous” does not mean unimportant

It means: “This should already matter to you.”

Paul assumes giving is already on their spiritual radar

We are to minister to the saints.

Ministering-diakonia which means we are to aid, service, attend to, offer relief etc.

God calls His people to meet the needs of His children that are believers and serve Him. Here in Jerusalem were some infant Christians, most likely called out of Judaism, being persecuted from two sides, the Jews and the Romans and they needed relief. They had been ostracized from synagogue life. And Paul is calling the family to help family.

Look at verse 2 with me:

2 Corinthians 9:2 “2 for I know your willingness, (eagerness)about which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal has stirred up the majority.”

We know who the Macedonians are, we discussed them in prior messages, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea for example. They were the impoverished region that gave so sacrificially, joyfully, and gave out of their suffering.

Achaia was a Roman province, it was a regional location that Corinth sat right in the middle of. It was the capital metro large center.

Think of it in terms only bigger as Montgomery in the River Region or Birmingham to the state of Alabama. The area churches around Corinth had seen their liberality and their giving heart in past (in the prior year begin this campaign) and it made an influence in their giving. They followed suit of the heart of giving taught in the past from their example. Corinth had been the lighthouse as to how a giving church operates from past example.

Paul is working to get the ship of the church turned around to become gospel concerned rather than emotionally pressured.

I think the take home message we can park on tonight is the fact that Paul thought the church was willing “for I know your willingness” in verse 2.

Do you know I truly believe most believers park right here. I truly believe that those that truly love the Lord and love His people. Want to give, but do not know how.

Firstly, it has to be a concern. It is something you focus on. It is something you pray about. It is something you seek the Lord about in His word and absorb all the teachings of His Word as to how we give.

Acts 11:29 “29 Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea.”

Romans 15:26 “26 For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem.”

1 Corinthians 16:1 “1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also:”

2 Corinthians 8:4 “4 imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.”

“I boast of you”-WE have to believe we can give and we need encouragement to give.

Cooperative Program and all that stands for. Goals, publicizing the goal, reporting our efforts are all encouragement.

“Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal has stirred up the majority.”

They had seen in past the blessedness of the exponential blessings of their giving and the example it set and how the churches around caught the example.

2 Corinthians 8:10 “10 And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago;”

2. The Coordination of Giving VV. 4-5

2 Corinthians 9:4–5 “4 lest if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we (not to mention you!) should be ashamed of this confident boasting. 5 Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation.”

Let’s look at the coordination of Giving and how we make it happen in the power of the Lord and seeking Him.

I see here we see one of the blessings of being Southern Baptist. We call it the cooperative program. But I do not know that we all realize how far reaching that is.

2 Corinthians 9:3–5 “3 Yet I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this respect, that, as I said, you may be ready; 4 lest if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we (not to mention you!) should be ashamed of this confident boasting. 5 Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation.”

We see a meshing with the church at large of the region. We see the cooperative effort at work from a corporate vantagepoint, but notice :

2 Corinthians 9:5 “5 Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation.”

The cooperative program is the fact we have believers within our denomination that can help us prepare to give. Dave Ramsey for one example.

Individually speaking, the fact most are willing but how do you prepare? Where do you begin?

That is demanded. We have not really given until we give an offering above the 10th.

Malachi 3:8–10 “8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.”

But let’s assume that is the goal. That is what we want to shoot for. Maybe you have fear that the finances would not line up if you gave 10%.

I could not meet my budget and may I say for many that would be true. But I think when we understand this coordination, this thought that goes into our finances, and we deepen in our gospel concern, we find out that everything that our money goes toward is not as much a priority.

The Culmination of Giving

2 Corinthians 9:6 “6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”

In 2 Corinthians 9:6, Paul draws from an agricultural reality his readers would immediately understand: you only reap what you first sow. A farmer who scatters seed sparingly should not expect an abundant harvest, and one who sows generously does so with hope and expectation. Paul is not teaching a mechanical formula for wealth but a spiritual principle—the scope of our generosity shapes the scope of God’s work through us. The harvest Paul envisions is not merely material; it includes spiritual fruit such as thanksgiving to God, strengthened faith, and the spread of grace within the body of Christ.

The blessedness of giving, then, lies not in getting something back but in participating in God’s gracious economy. When believers sow generously, they align themselves with God’s character, who gives freely and abundantly. The blessing flows in multiple directions: needs are met, hearts are freed from greed, faith is deepened, and God is glorified. In this sense, giving becomes an act of trust—placing seed into God’s hands and believing that He will bring about a harvest according to His wisdom and purpose, not our expectations.

Paul is not saying that generosity guarantees financial gain; he is saying that God faithfully produces fruit—often spiritual, sometimes material, always purposeful—through hearts that trust Him enough to give.

“A farmer doesn’t stand in the field demanding a harvest from the seed—he buries it and waits. In the same way, when we give, we’re not making a deal with God; we’re placing our trust in Him and believing that He will bring growth in His time and in His way.”

“The blessing of giving is not what comes back to us, but what God grows through us.”

A. Giving Begins with the Heart

2 Corinthians 9:7 “7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Guideline

Start with a heart decision, not a dollar amount

Giving is intentional, not accidental

For a New Believer

Before asking “how much,” ask “why?”

Martin Luther

“There are three conversions necessary: the conversion of the heart, the mind, and the purse.”

C.S. Lewis

“I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I’m afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.”

And note tonight in our text-Paul is not fundraising, He is forming disciples in their area of giving.

Giving is not just about meeting the needs of the ministry at the church but its about forming our spiritual disciplines, expressing our worship through giving.

Corinth had lost their focus or prioritization about giving. And, if we were all going to be honest our giving can be dutiful rather than a delight at times. We may feel it is something we have to do rather than we want to do. In fact we learn that God doesn’t honor giving under compulsion. There is no blessing in it.

What does that word compulsion mean?

A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible 318. ἀναγκή

318. ἀναγκή anagkē, an-ang-kay´; from 303 and the base of 43; constraint (lit. or fig.); by impl. distress:—distress, must needs, (of) necessity (-sary), needeth, needful.

Let me say clearly that God doesn’t need your money. We will learn shortly that it is all His anyway.

I want to veer just a moment from the text and speak in greater teachings of stewardship.

What Is a Steward?

A steward is someone entrusted with managing what belongs to another, according to the owner’s purposes, and accountable for how it is used.

Oikonomos-house manager

A steward:

Does not own the property

Is given authority with accountability

Manages resources for the benefit of the owner

Everything Belongs to the Lord

Psalm 24:1 “1 The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.”

Nothing is ours including ourselves

Haggai 2:8 “8 ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts.”

The wealth is his.

Deuteronomy 8:17–18 “17 then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ 18 “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

Even our ability to earn comes from God.

1 Chronicles 29:11–14

“For all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours… For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.”

This is one of the strongest stewardship texts in Scripture.

“When we give, we’re not giving God something that was ours—we’re returning what was already His.”

Job 1:21

“The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

Truth: Possession is temporary; God’s ownership is permanent.

Psalm 50:10–12

“For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills… If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.”

Truth: God does not depend on our giving—He invites us into it.

Romans 11:36

“For from him and through him and to him are all things.”

Truth: God is the source, sustainer, and goal of everything.

“If God owns everything, and if I’m not supposed to give out of pressure or guilt… why give at all?”

That’s a fair question.

We don’t give because God needs our money. We give because God is shaping our hearts.

Little Luke-Walmart-Bday-no budget

Giving is not about meeting God’s needs—it’s about forming God’s people.

5 Biblical Reasons Why We Give (Without Compulsion)

1️⃣ Giving Trains Our Hearts to Trust God

Matthew 6:24

“You cannot serve God and money.”

Money competes for lordship. Giving reorients allegiance.

Mark 10:17–22 “17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” 18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ” 20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” 21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” 22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”

“Giving is one of God’s primary tools for loosening money’s grip on our hearts.”

If God already owns it, giving is how we acknowledge that ownership.

2️⃣ Giving Is an Act of Worship, Not a Payment

Proverbs 3:9

“Honor the LORD with your wealth…”

We give:

To honor

To worship

To say, “God, You are first”

“Worship costs something—or it’s just words.”

3️⃣ Giving Aligns Us With God’s Mission

2 Corinthians 9:12–13

“For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.”

Giving:

Advances the gospel

Strengthens the church

Brings thanksgiving to God

“God doesn’t need our money—but His work in the world does.”

And He chooses to involve us.

4️⃣ Giving Forms Christlike Character

2 Corinthians 8:9

“Though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor…”

Giving shapes us into:

Generous people

Self-giving disciples

Christ-reflecting believers

“We give not to earn grace, but because grace has changed us.”

5️⃣ Giving Produces Joy and Freedom

Acts 20:35

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

This is not spiritual marketing—it’s spiritual reality.

“What we cling to controls us. What we release frees us.”

“You’re right—God doesn’t need our money, and we’re not to give out of pressure or guilt. But God does use giving to shape our hearts, loosen money’s grip on us, align us with His mission, and train us to trust Him. We give not because God lacks something—but because we do.”

If giving isn’t about God’s need, what might God be doing in us when He calls us to give?

“Giving isn’t about filling God’s coffers—it’s about forming God’s people.”

Giving is something we think about. Giving is something we budget.

Matthew 6:21 “21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

WE give to what we value and the more we value Jesus and the things of God and what God is doing and realizing that resources are needed to do God’s work, we realign our treasures with what God treasures.

B. Giving is Proportionate

Note that these churches mentioned did not give equally but they gave sacrificially to the resources that the Lord bestowed upon them. And dearly beloved, that helps our heart and helps our stewardship of those resources when you realize they are not yours anyways.

Psalm 24:1

“The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.”

Truth: Nothing we have is ultimately ours—including us.

Haggai 2:8

“The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts.”

Truth: God claims direct ownership of wealth itself.

Deuteronomy 8:17–18

“Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth…”

Truth: Even our ability to earn comes from God.

1 Chronicles 29:11–14

“For all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours… For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.”

This is one of the strongest stewardship texts in Scripture.

Teaching Line:

“When we give, we’re not giving God something that was ours—we’re returning what was already His.”