Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the Lord’s people. For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready, as I said you would be. For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we—not to say anything about you—would be ashamed of having been so confident. So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given.
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:
“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
    their righteousness endures forever.”
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

• 2 Corinthians 9:1-15

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

2 Corinthians 9:1-5 ‘The Offering for Jerusalem’s Christians’: “The apparent repetition of instructions regarding the offering (compare 8:1–6 with 9:1–5) suggests that 2 Cor. 9 may be part of a brief letter that Paul wrote to the Corinthians just in advance of his third and final visit with them. If so, a previous letter, written after the tensions between Paul and the Corinthians had been relieved, could have consisted of 2 Cor. 1:3–2:13 and 7:5–8:24.”

• Timothy B. Cargal, et al., The Chronological Study Bible

2 Corinthians 9:5 ‘your generous gift’: ”On first hearing of the need, the Corinthians had undoubtedly promised Paul that they would raise a large amount. grudging obligation. More clearly translated ‘covetousness,’ or ‘greed,’ it denotes a grasping to get more and keep it at the expense of others. This attitude emphasizes selfishness and pride, which can have a very detrimental effect on giving, and is natural for unbelievers but should not be for professed believers (cf. Ps. 10:3; Eccl. 5:10; Mic. 2:2; Mark 7:22; Rom. 1:29; 1 Cor. 5:11; 6:9, 10; Eph. 5:3–5; 1 Tim. 6:10; 2 Pet. 2:14).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

2 Corinthians 9:6-10 ‘sowing and reaping’: ”In this section of Paul’s letter, we uncover four principles that we need to understand about sowing and reaping. The first is the principle of investment. As Paul wrote, ‘He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully’ (2 Corinthians 9:6). You do not reap if you merely think about sowing. You do not reap if you simply pray about sowing. You do not reap if you only talk about sowing. Nor do you reap if you just read a book about somebody else sowing. You only reap if you sow!
“The second is the principle of identity. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he wrote, ‘For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life’ (6:8). The type of harvest you will receive is determined by the kind of seed you sow. In the world of agriculture, if you sow barley, you get barley. If you sow wheat, expect wheat. If you sow a bad seed, you will get a bad crop. If you sow good seed, you will get a good crop. The nature of the seed dictates the nature of the harvest.
“The third is the principle of increase. Paul wrote, ‘Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness’ (2 Corinthians 9:10). When a farmer plants a seed, he naturally expects to receive something greater in return when the time comes for the harvest. If the seed just stayed the same, the whole process would be futile. In the same way, when you give generously, you can expect something greater in return. You can depend on God to turn your investment into something bigger and better than what you originally gave Him.
“The fourth is the principle of interval. Paul wrote, ‘Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart’ (Galatians 6:9). Farmers know the harvest doesn’t happen overnight-it takes time for a crop to mature. The same is true of the harvest God wants to reap in your life. At times, as you wait, you might get frustrated or impatient. You are sowing, but it doesn’t appear the harvest is coming. But it is in these times that the apostle Paul urges you to continue sowing and expecting God to reap the harvest. You continue to sow because God has promised that in due season you will reap. There is no if, maybe, or possibly in this promise-it is unconditional. And God will use these crucial times of waiting to help you grow and mature in your faith. This is why Paul could write, ‘Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord’ (1 Corinthians 15:58).”

• David Jeremiah, 2 Corinthians (Jeremiah Bible Study Series)

2 Corinthians 9:6-8 ‘no high pressure finance campaign’: ”This passage is not a justification for high-pressure financial campaigns or efforts to shame Christians into giving. Under God’s economy, nobody is to be put under any compulsion. We are to give according to personal conscience. …
“Have you dared to put God’s economic plan to the test? His Word is as true in our century as it was in the first century.“

• Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 ‘For Us’: “How many times have we prayed for a certain outcome, imagined that a problem has only one solution, and lost heart when that outcome or solution didn’t occur? How many times have we seen that happen in our lives at home, at work, in sports, or with financial investments?
“And then we learn, of course, that God has something much better in store. That’s what the apostle Paul proclaims in today’s verse.
“For me, 2001 was a monster of a difficult year in Tampa Bay. First, as a team, we had all gone through the uncertainty of 9/ 11 and the aftermath together with the rest of the country. But we rallied from a slow start to make the playoffs again, only to lose to the Philadelphia Eagles in Philly-again. Off the field, the media was having a field day speculating whether I would be fired and if Bill Parcells would be the guy to replace me. My staff and I just kept coaching, believing that the Lord requires us to do our jobs and He will take care of the rest.
“And then, despite much prayer, we were fired. That was not the answer or outcome we were looking for, but it was the answer we got. And so in the midst of much disappointment and uncertainty for the future, we packed up, not knowing what doors the Lord would open tomorrow, but still believing He would provide.
“And He did. The Indianapolis Colts called with a mission statement they wanted me to fulfill. if God is for us. How could I have forgotten that promise? Then who can ever be against us?”

• Tony Dungy with Nathan Whitaker, Uncommon Life – Daily Challenge (excerpt from devotion for 27 May)

2 Corinthians 9:6 ‘giving is like sowing’: “Paul associated the act of giving with the principle of sowing and reaping. Farmers can keep and eat all of their grain, or they can ‘lose’ it by throwing it over the ground. Naturally, the more generous the sowing, the more bountiful the rewards. This principle holds true in the spiritual sphere as well. The liberal giver need not fear destitution, for this giver would receive in return gifts out of all proportion to what had been given (Pr 11:24–25; 19:17; Lk 6:38). Christ loves givers who are sincere (not reluctant), spontaneous (not under compulsion), and joyful (not begrudging). He does not look at the amount but at the heart (Mk 12:41–44).”

• Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Patty Comber, Pauline Epistles contributor)

2 Corinthians 9:7 ‘cheerful giver’ : “All giving should be done willingly and not out of compulsion. Why? Because God loves a cheerful giver. Thus, giving is not only about the gift but also about the attitude behind it. We are to be cheerful in our giving because of an understanding that our capacity to give is determined by God and not by ourselves. When you know that God is your source, you can be cheerful in giving since you understand there would be no possibility of giving if he hadn’t given to you first. ‘The earth and everything in it … belong to the LORD’ (Ps 24:1). Thus, one of the ways you know you are growing in your faith is when you give with a glad heart in response to the goodness of God. Giving should be a joy not a job.”

• Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

2 Corinthians 9:7 ‘A generous heart’: “A generous heart is one marked by evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work in your life. God’s love is demonstrated in the giving of his Son (Jn 3:16). Giving time, energies and financial resources is the expression of a grateful heart, the natural response of a woman who realizes she has been lavished with God’s grace (Eph 1:7–8).
“In the Old Testament, the Jewish tithe (the first one tenth) was a prescribed percentage of a person’s income. It belonged to the Lord and was used to provide for the priests, the temple and the needy. Offerings were made on special occasions (see Ex 35:21–36:7) and as an obligatory part of public sacrifices of thanksgiving, blessing or sorrow.
“In the New Testament, emphasis is placed upon the believer’s heart and attitude. Paul declared that a Christian’s giving should be the overflow of a worshipful heart and a matter of conviction before God (2Co 9:7). Giving to others in a spirit of forgiveness—without judgment or condemnation—brings joyful, abundant rewards (Lk 6:37–38).”

• Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Patty Comber, Pauline Epistles contributor)

2 Corinthians 9:7 ‘God loves a cheerful giver’: “What is meant by ‘a cheerful giver’? The rest of the verse tells us what is not meant and so helps us to see what is intended. ‘Not reluctantly or out of compulsion,’ not giving as though we wished we could avoid it, and therefore giving as little as possible. Not counting the pennies and reckoning them to be as precious as drops of blood but giving with ease, spontaneity, freeness, pleasure-this is a cheerful giver. To be this cheerful giver, we must give proportionately as the Lord has prospered us. Much has been said about giving a tenth of one’s income to the Lord. I think that is a Christian duty that none should for a moment question. If it were a duty under the Jewish law, much more is it so now, under the Christian dispensation. But it is a great mistake to suppose the Jews only gave a tenth; they gave much more than that. The tenth was the payment they must make, but after that came all the freewill offerings, all the various gifts at different seasons of the year. We are not to make an estimate of what to give by what will appear respectable or by what is expected of us by other people. We are to give as God has prospered us.
“A cheerful giver is also a willing giver. We are not to be like the young grape that must be pressed and squeezed to get the juice out because it is not ripe. Rather, we ought to be like the honeycomb, dripping spontaneously with fresh honey. A believer who gives to God willingly has gotten beyond the serf-like, slavish spirit. The slave brings the pittance he is obliged to pay, puts it down at the taskmaster’s feet, and goes his way in misery. The cheerful giver also gives earnestly, and that includes the gifts of time and of service. A cheerful giver always wishes he could give ten times as much; a cheerful doer always wants to have more capacity for doing. God loves this cheerfulness, this heartiness, this wholeheartedness, this intenseness, this fire of the soul.“

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes

2 Corinthians 9:8-9 ‘making every grace overflow’: “Paul’s next statement applies to all cheerful givers: God is able to make every grace overflow to you. God’s super abundant grace includes all that he can do for you that you are unable to do for yourself. He can guide you when you’re lost and provide for you when you’re in need. He can heal a relationship that’s broken and grant peace where there’s conflict.
“When we have stingy hearts and are reluctant to give to a legitimate need, though, we restrict the flow of God’s grace. It’s cheerful generosity that causes his grace to comprehensively ‘overflow’ so that in every way you have everything you need to excel in every good work (9:8). As Paul’s quotation from Psalm 112:9 shows, when God gives freely to those in need, his righteous char-acter is magnified (9:9).
“When God’s kingdom is given priority in your life, you open yourself to waves of grace that are bigger than your gift. History and eternity have more grace available than we could ever access (see Eph 2:7). As a result, the fruit that comes through your service to his kingdom multiplies into greater benefit to you, greater blessings to others, and greater glory to God.”

• Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

2 Corinthians 9:10-12 ‘harvest of righteousness’: “Paul assures the Corinthians that the one who provides seed will multiply seed, and the one who provides bread will increase the harvest of … righteousness (9:10). The emphasis here is that God is both the source of what is planted and also the source of what is harvested. Truly acknowledging this rightly produces thanksgiving to God (9:11)-in other words, it causes in-ternal transformation that is expressed in ex-ternal praise. Thus, there is a twofold effect from this ministry: supplying the needs of the saints and expressions of thanks to God (9:12). God’s goal is that both giver and receiver obtain his blessing as he himself is exalted.”

• Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

2 Corinthians 9:10 ‘risk, reward’: “Generous giving seems hazardous to those who have little; however, the risk dims in light of the greatness of God’s power. All resources ultimately come from God, and Paul insisted that God is able to increase these resources for the purpose of giving. God supplies the seed and also multiplies the harvest. The Macedonians had given out of extreme poverty. But such seed as God had supplied, they had sown in liberality. The results of their generosity would be—for both themselves and the recipients of their gift—of a magnitude out of all proportion to the original quantity given.”

• Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Patty Comber, Pauline Epistles contributor)

2 Corinthians 9:12 ‘administration of this service’: “’Administration,’ which may also be translated ‘service,’ is a priestly word from which we get ‘liturgy.’ Paul viewed the entire collection project as a spiritual, worshipful enterprise that was primarily being offered to God to glorify Him. supplies the needs of the saints. The Gr. word for ‘supplies’ is a doubly intense term that could be rendered ‘really, fully supplying.’ This indicates the Jerusalem church had an extremely great need. Many of its members had gone to Jerusalem as pilgrims to celebrate the feast of Pentecost (see … Acts 2:1, 5–11), had been converted through Peter’s message, and had then remained in the city without adequate financial support. Many residents of Jerusalem had undoubtedly lost their jobs in the waves of persecution that came after the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 8:1). However, the Corinthians were wealthy enough (they had not yet suffered persecution and deprivation like the Macedonians; 8:1-4) to help meet the huge need with a generous monetary gift (… 9:5).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

2 Corinthians 9:13 ‘proof of this ministry’: “The collection also provided an important opportunity for the Corinthians to test the genuineness of their faith (cf. James 1:22; 1 John 2:3, 4). The Jewish believers, who already doubted the validity of Gentile salvation, were especially skeptical of the Corinthians since their church had so many problems. The Corinthians’ involvement in the collection would help to put those doubts to rest. obedience of your confession. Obedient submission to God’s Word is always evidence of a true confession of Christ as Lord and Savior (Eph. 2:10; James 2:14–20; cf. Rom. 10:9, 10). If the Corinthians had a proper response to and participation in Paul’s collection ministry, the Jewish believers would know the Gentile conversions had been real.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

2 Corinthians 9:14-15 ‘gratitude for God’s gift’: “This section concludes in the same way it began—by focusing on the grace of God (2Co 8:1). ‘Thanks’ (Gk. charis) is the same word translated ‘grace’ or ‘favor’ (2Co 9:15). The indescribable gift is God’s grace or favor, which rests upon those who believe (v. 15). Gratitude for God’s gift brings to an end all debate on the question of giving. It is only proper that those who have benefited from such a vast, incomparable spiritual gift should generously and freely give material gifts to relieve the needs of others.”

• Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Patty Comber, Pauline Epistles contributor)

2 Corinthians 9:15 ‘He did it just for you.’: “Why did he do it? A shack would have sufficed, but he gave us a mansion. Did he have to give the birds a song and the mountains a peak? Was he required to put stripes on the zebra and the hump on the camel? … Why wrap creation in sweet splendor? Why go to such trouble to give such gifts?
“Why do you? You do the same. I’ve seen you searching for a gift. I’ve seen you stalking the malls and walking the aisles. I’m not talking about the obligatory gifts … I’m talking about that extra-special person and that extra-special gift … Why do you do it? … You do it so the heart will stop. You do it so the jaw will drop. You do it to hear those words of disbelief, ‘You did this for me?’
“That’s why you do it. And that is why God did it. Next time a sunrise steals your breath a meadow of flowers leaves you speechless, remain that way. Say nothing and listen as heaven-whispers, ‘Do you like it? I did it just for you.’”

• Max Lucado, The Great House of God

My Thoughts

The first five verses finish the topic from 2 Corinthians 8.  Titus is bringing the contributions, but Paul wanted to tell the Corinthians that he knew their hearts in Corinth.  They had promised to send the money to help the poor in Jerusalem during the famine.  He knew they would be generous, and he told the Macedonians that they would make a generous offer.  But he did not wish to become embarrassed if the offer was less than expected.  He had Titus bring the offering so that it would not seem to be a twisting of the arm in getting more money.

Then Paul focuses his thoughts on generosity and giving in general.  Although these are Gentiles, Paul uses the analogy of giving to sowing in the field.  If you want to reap more sow generously.  This comes from Proverbs 11 and 22.

Paul does not mention percentages here or tithes.  He says that you should give what is in your heart to give.  This could be thought of as a test of faith, giving sacrificially because our heart (in measure of faith) tells us to give more, knowing God will meet our needs.  Only then does he state that God loves the cheerful giver.  We are cheerful because what is in our heart to give is what we give.  Odd, how this fraction of a verse is used to browbeat people into giving more, begrudgingly, when Paul warned against that just a couple of verses before.  Giving more so that you can reap more is enough.

Paul quotes Malachi 3 and Psalm 112 to emphasize the point that in giving to the poor, righteousness will endure.

And those that supply you with your needs will ensure that the generous giver has more to give in the long run.

And generosity is an expression of gratitude toward God for His abundant harvest given to us.  And those who benefit will also be grateful and we will receive intercessory prayer from them in return.

Some Serendipitous Reflections

2 Corinthians 8:16-9:5 Titus Sent to Corinth 1. How do the groups you contribute to practice Paul’s principle in verses 20-21? Why is this especially critical for Christian organizations?
“2. If Macedonians came to visit you, would they find your generosity lacking or overflowing? With what else besides money are you generous?
“3. To become more generous, what would have to change: Your job, time priorities, spending habits, mission vision, or what?
2 Corinthians 9:6-15 Sowing Generously 1. How have you reaped by being generous to others in need?
“2. How can God’s promise (v.8) enable you to be more generous?
“3. Try writing thank-you notes to God for his ‘indescribable gift’ to you.”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

Second Corinthians 8:16-9:15 has two sets of questions as noted above.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

If you like these Thursday morning Bible studies, but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Thursday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.