Deep Impact
Notes
Transcript
2 Corinthians: Deep Impact
2 Corinthians 9:1-15
1. Introduction – This morning we’re going to look at all of chapter 9.
a. Remember that chapters 8 & 9 form almost a ‘mini-letter’ within the larger letter of 2 Corinthians.
i. These 2 chapters deal with the topic of generosity…of giving willingly to God’s work.
1. The underlying historical even was a collection Paul was taking up for the church in Jerusalem that has fallen on hard times.
ii. We’ve seen over the last few weeks that generosity is a key Christian characteristic. We saw last week that zeal and passion and unity are also of utmost importance.
1. And in chapter 9, Paul continues to write about this theme of giving.
a. But instead of pounding on the drum of ‘Give, Give, Give…”
i. Paul instead dives into the theology of giving.
2. He grounds the collection he is taking up for the Jerusalem church on the theological foundation of God the gracious giver.
b. But theology is always imminently practical – so instead of leaving the section on giving in the realm of theory…Paul shows the Corinthians the deep impact their generosity will have.
i. Paul begins to paint a picture of what will happen in Jerusalem as a result of the Corinthians generosity towards them.
1. The way I see it, this passage breaks down like this…
a. In vv.1-5, Paul gives the Corinthians one final motivation for giving to this cause.
i. In vv.6-11, Paul lays out the theological foundation for giving.
1. And in vv.12-15, Paul draws out the impact that the Corinthians generosity will have.
ii. Hear the Word of God – I’ll be reading 2 Corinthians 9:1-15.
1 Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints,
2 for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them.
3 But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be.
4 Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated—to say nothing of you—for being so confident.
5 So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction.
6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
9 As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”
10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.
12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.
13 By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others,
14 while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.
15 Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
2. Five Minute Warning – In vv.1-5, Paul is really bringing his thought about the Jerusalem collection to a close.
a. Paul has urged the Corinthians to finish what they had previously started,
i. He formulated a plan for them – Titus and 2 others were coming to Corinth before Paul to get things ready for the collection to be taken up.
1. And now what Paul does in vv.1-5 of chapter 9 is gets the Corinthians emotionally and spiritually prepared for this collection.
b. One commentator I read this week likened this part of chapter 9 to parents giving their kids warnings.
i. It hasn’t happened in a while because of this physical distancing thing we’re in…but whenever we go somewhere, we always give Veronica warnings…
1. “We’ve leaving in 10 minutes.”
a. If we’re at the grandparent’s house and she is playing with her cousins…when its time to go we don’t simply pull her out of the play and tell her its time to go…
i. No, first we give warnings. “We’re leaving in 20 minutes, 10 minutes, 5 minutes…time to go.”
ii. The warning helps her know that it’s time to wrap up the play. It helps her to emotionally prepare for our eventual exit.
1. Well, Paul is doing the same thing in vv.1-5. He’s preparing the Corinthians for his eventual return. He’s preparing them for the collection to actually be taken up.
a. He’s encouraging them to get the collection ready ahead of time – before his arrival – so when he comes, they won’t give to it begrudgingly…or feel forced in to it.
i. That point is clear at the end of v.5 – so that it (the collection) may be ready as a willing gift and not an exaction.
3. Theological Foundation – And after giving the Corinthians this warning – be ready before I come… Paul then moves on to the give them the theological foundation of righteous giving.
a. And to show the theological framework with which he is working, Paul uses an analogy from the world of agriculture.
i. Now, lets just get this out of the way…I’m probably the least qualified person to stand here and tell you all about farming…but here we go!
1. In Paul’s day – they didn’t have fancy equipment that planted seeds in fields.
ii. Seeds were planted by hand, by a farmer tossing seeds here, there and everywhere.
1. Think about Jesus’ parable about the sower and seeds…the reason some seed fell on the path, on the rocky ground, among the thorns and on good soil…is because the farmer would just toss seeds out – and where they landed, they landed.
b. And Paul writes here – if you sow sparingly, you’ll reap sparingly. If you sow generously, you’ll reap generously.
i. Or if we wanted to make it plain and simple to understand – You get out what you put in.
1. This pretty much goes for everything in life. In your work – you get out what you put in.
a. In your school work, if you go to the gym to work out.
i. In your Christian discipleship – you get out what you put in.
ii. And Paul says here too – like a farmer – if you don’t plant a lot of seeds, you can’t expect a lot of crops.
1. Or to translate that into the realm of giving – if you give sparingly, hold on tightly to your possessions…you will reap sparingly.
a. If you don’t put a lot of seeds in the ground you can’t expect a big harvest.
iii. I was over at Bill and Sue Clark’s the other day – and Bill has this big beautiful garden.
1. And one thing I noticed is that he doesn’t simply have 1 tomato plant, 1 bean plant, 1 pea plant, 1 carrot planted…
a. No he has multiples of every plant – and so the second half of the verse might be true for Bill – he sowed bountifully…so he will reap bountifully.
a. So Paul builds his theological foundation of giving on this idea of sowing reaping. You get out what you put in.
c. But Paul also teaches that giving is an act of worship. Look at how Paul describes worship in vv. 6-11.
i. Paul writes that giving is personal. Each one must decide in his or her heart. It doesn’t matter how much so & so gives…or how little so & so gives…
1. What matters is that you decide in your own heart what God wants you to give…and when he tells you what to give…in humble obedience – you faithfully give that amount.
ii. But Paul also writes about the cheerfulness in giving.
1. It’s not a maddening thing to give to the Lord.
a. We aren’t to give reluctantly or give because we feel we have to or we are pressured in to giving.
iii. It’s like we looked at when we studied the book of Malachi. We give – because God has given us so much that, in exuberant thanksgiving – we have the opportunity to give something back to God.
1. It’s not paying our dues to the church for our membership – its not something we use to hold sway over the rest of the church…
a. We give because we get to – because God has blessed us with so much – and we get to give some it back to him in an act of worship.
d. So Paul has talked about the sowing and reaping principle of giving. You get out what you put in…Like Bill’s garden.
i. He’s talked about giving as an act of worship – its to be done willingly, generously and cheerfully.
1. And in vv.10-11, Paul writes about the cycle of giving. It kind of reiterates what Paul wrote earlier about sowing and reaping.
a. Now, this idea of seeds and sowing and reaping here in this section has been taken advantage of by health and wealth prosperity gospel preachers.
i. They turn this idea of planting and reaping seeds and turn it into a selfish activity.
2. Plant seeds – and in most cases, planting seeds involves giving large sums of money to their organizations.
a. But their promise is this – if you give to their ministry – then God will bless you.
i. And they have a very limited view of blessing – its usually financial…God will give you a raise, a new job, a fancy house, a new car…etc.
1. Really, really selfish stuff there.
ii. But look at what Paul writes here in this chapter. He does write about planting seeds. He does write about god being generous.
1. He does write about God giving to us and blessing us when we give….but notice the reason Paul gives for God’s blessings…
a. God doesn’t give to us so that we’ll be rich and healthy and self-sufficient.
i. God blesses us and gives to us – so that we’ll have more opportunities and more means with which to be generous.
2. There is a cycle to giving – we give, God blesses our cheerful and righteous giving…so that, and I’m quoting directly from v.11 here – you’ll be enriched in every way to be generous in every way.
a. Blessed in order to be more generous than you already are.
e. When our motives are pure – when our heart is cheerful…when we give generously and willingly and we sow bountifully…
i. We will reap a bountiful harvest – not for selfish gains, but in order for us to be more generous and have more opportunity to bless other people.
4. The Impact – But not only does Paul write a theological framework for giving…
a. He also writes about the impact the Corinthians’ giving will have in Jerusalem.
i. He writes – almost as if he is looking into the future at how the Christians in Jerusalem will receive this gift.
1. Look at how Paul says the generosity will impact the Jerusalem Christians.
b. Impact number 1 – The most obvious impact of sacrificial and righteous giving is that ta need is met.
i. Remember the saints in Jerusalem were impoverished. Whether it was through famine or persecution – the church and individual Christians were struggling.
1. The leaders in the Jerusalem church asked Paul to take up a collection in order to help…
a. And the Gentile churches Paul planted were willing to contribute to this collection.
i. The most obvious impact is because of the Corinthians generosity, physical needs will be met.
c. But the impact goes deeper. Not only is a need met, but the meeting of that need will cause the recipients to give thanks to God.
i. Has this ever happened to you? Perhaps you were struggling – lack of money, lack of resources…
1. But God provided for you at just the right time? And how did you react when God supplied your need?
a. Did you begrudgingly accept it? I sure hope not! Thanksgiving is the only acceptable response.
i. Praise God the providing…Praise God for moving and working as only he can.
1. The impact of giving moves beyond the physical realm and into the spiritual realm.
d. But look at v.13 – the impact of giving goes even deeper. It has gospel implications as well. A need is met, thanksgiving overflows from the recipients.
i. And out of that thanksgiving comes a praising for the giver’s obedience to God’s promptings.
1. Ever thought about giving in that way? Giving to God’s work comes about as a result of your submission to the gospel and Jesus as your Lord??? Wow. That’s a different perspective.
ii. The receivers are praising and glorifying God for the work the gospel has done in the lives of the givers.
1. The impact of giving goes far beyond the exchanged of funds. Far deeper than the meeting of physical needs.
a. Giving has spiritual implications for both the giver and receiver.
e. And finally, look at the final impact of giving.
i. When one church provides for another or one Christian provides for another…kingdom relationships grow.
1. v.14, they long for you…other translations say, “they have deep affection for you.”
a. And they pray for you!
i. Think about the historical context of this passage. The Jerusalem church didn’t know the churches that contributed to this collection.
1. But the impact of this collection would be such that they would develop a deep affection for people they don’t know and they would pray for them.
ii. Think of a time when god met a need of yours….and specifically if/when he used a specific person to meet that need.
1. How did you feel towards that person? Bitter? Angry? NO! Well…hopefully not…hopefully your affection for them grew.
a. Hopefully you prayed earnestly for them…giving praise and thanks to God for his working in their life.
5. Doxology – And right at the end of this chapter – as a reminder…but also as a word of praise…a doxology…
a. Paul gives thanks to God for his indescribable gift.
i. The whole chapter is a reminder that God is the ultimate provider.
1. V.7 – God loves a cheerful give.
2. V.8 God is able to make grace about to you.
3. V.10 – God supplies the seed – God provides bread for food.
4. V.15 – God gave us an indescribable gift.
b. And when we think about what God did for us…creating the world…giving us this beautiful creation to enjoy…
i. When we think about what God did for us in the send of Jesus…when you think about what Jesus did for us in bearing our sin in his body on the cross…
1. When you think about all the benefits we receive because of our salvation through Jesus…the gift really is indescribable.
c. How can we put into words all that has been done for us? I think the apostle Paul nailed it.
i. After writing for 2 chapters on giving, the characteristics of a righteous giver…
1. After writing about the theological framework and underpinning of giving…
a. Writing about blessings received and blessings given…
i. After writing about the deep impact of that giving on both the giver and receiver…
ii. Paul reminds us of the ultimate gift given to us by God…and gift so great, and so generous…it can only be called indescribable.
