2 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 9, “Sow
Sparingly And You Will Reap Sparingly, Bountifully And You will Reap
Bountifully”
By
1.
INTRO
1.1.
In our last study, we saw that Paul was again encouraging the
Corinthians to keep their pledge of the offering for the sake of the
impoverished saints of the mother church in Jerusalem and that he met several
objections that he knew that the church might have to resuming this
collection. We saw also that his motive
for encouraging the Corinthians to complete this offering was just as much for
the benefit that the Corinthians would receive as a result of giving as the
mother church would get by receiving the gift
1.1.1. We saw that it is very
healthy for us as Christians to give. We
Christians are blessed and our walk in Christ is most strengthened when we take
our eyes off of ourselves and find ways that we can give and reach out and help
and bless others
1.1.1.1.We saw again in our last
study that Jesus taught His disciples a beatitude that is recorded in Acts
20:35 that, “…It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
1.1.1.2.We looked at the fact that
it is a paradox that we gain our life by losing it and that we Christians were
designed by God to pour out our lives for others and that it is in doing so
that we are truly fulfilled
1.1.2. We saw that all of as
Christians have been blessed full to overflowing by the Lord as a result of His
grace!
1.1.3. We considered yet again the
fact that the word ‘tithe’ or ‘tithing,’ that is the giving of a 1/10th
to the Lord, is not mentioned in the New Testament and therefore is not
required of us. However, what the New
Testament does tell us to do is to give in proportion as God has blessed us, or
give to the extent that the Lord has given to and blessed us
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look at Paul completing his
admonition to the Corinthians concerning their completion of their pledge to
give towards the relief fund for the mother church in
1.2.1. I have enjoyed being in the
1.2.2. I have to be honest with you
also in that I really do not like to talk about money and giving, and I have
actually to an extent avoided the topic when it has come up in the
scriptures. However, I realize that God
does want to teach us principles concerning our giving as Christians and that
this is an important aspect of our walk with the Lord. Therefore, I have tried to be more careful of
late to share scriptural principles concerning our giving when the topic comes
up where we are studying
1.2.3. Paul indicates to the
Corinthians that God will always give the most to His people as they respond to
His grace in their giving
1.2.4. Paul tells us that the
degree to which we are willing to give is also the degree to which the Lord
will in turn bless us
2.
VS 9:1-2 - “1 For it
is superfluous for me to write to you about this ministry to the saints;2 for I
know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the Macedonians, namely,
that Achaia has been prepared since last year, and your zeal has stirred up
most of them.”
- Paul tells the Corinthians that he
does not need to remind them to complete this pledge of their giving to the
Macedonians because he knows that they are ready to do this
2.1.
In this chapter we see that Paul is in a bit of a dilemma. On the one hand, he knows that the
Corinthians have promised to give towards this relief fund for the mother
church, and he is aware that it is their desire to do so. On the other hand, if for some reason they do
not follow through with their pledge by the time that Paul finally arrives in
Corinth with some of the brothers from Macedonia to pick up the pledge, then
Paul and the Corinthians will be greatly embarrassed and there could be hard
feelings on the part of the Macedonians toward Paul and the Corinthians. Paul had used the Corinthian’s enthusiasm to
give towards this relief fund for the mother church as an example to encourage
the Macedonian churches to give towards it.
The Macedonians had risen to the call and though they were in deep
poverty and a great ordeal of affliction, they had actually given beyond their
means and anyone’s expectations.
However, if these Macedonian brothers arrive with Paul in Corinth to
pick up the Corinthian’s gift and it isn’t ready, then it will appear either
that Paul was lying about the Corinthians desire to give and/or that the
Corinthians are flaky and aren’t willing to follow through and keep the
promises that they make.
2.1.1. Paul realizes that even
though he believes that the Corinthians will indeed continue on and keep their
promised pledge, he feels obligated to remind them of the importance of
completing the pledge because of the damage that will be caused if for some
reason they don’t complete it.
2.1.2. Paul realized that there
could easily develop animosity between the two different regions, Achaia where
2.2.
Achaia was the region on the south coast of the Gulf of Corinth, the
region where the city of
2.3.
So, we see in verse 2 that as an encouragement to the Macedonians of
northern
3.
VS 9:3 - “3 But I have
sent the brethren, that our boasting about you may not be made empty in this
case, that, as I was saying, you may be prepared;” - Paul tells the Corinthians that he had
already sent ahead to them Titus, the brother of great fame in the gospel, and
the other faithful brother
3.1.
Paul was intending to come to the Corinthians for one last visit. He would evidently would be bringing with him
some of the faithful brethren from the Macedonian churches. They would accompany Paul all of the way to
3.2.
Paul is trying to prepare the Corinthians both for finishing the
collection of this relief fund and for meeting with him as well as the faithful
brethren from
4.
VS 9:4 - “4 lest if
any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we (not to speak of you)
should be put to shame by this confidence.” -
Paul tells the Corinthians that he is warning them to be sure to
complete the relief offering so that he will not be ashamed if they should not
have it completed when he returns to them
4.1.
Paul appears to have been very careful in the choice of the words that
he picked when writing this chapter. He
didn’t want to do anything to offend the Corinthians and further alienate them
from himself. Therefore, he decides that
it would be a little smoother for him to say that he didn’t want himself
(rather than the Corinthians) to be embarrassed if the Macedonian brothers came
with him and the Corinthians didn’t have their offering ready.
4.2.
In actuality, Paul knew that both he and the Corinthians would be
shamed if the Corinthians did not have their relief fund together when he came
to them this last time with the Macedonian brothers.
5.
VS 9:5 - “5 So I
thought it necessary to urge the brethren that they would go on ahead to you
and arrange beforehand your previously promised bountiful gift, that the same
might be ready as a bountiful gift, and not affected by covetousness.” - Paul tells the Corinthians that this is the
reason that he had already sent the brethren ahead to
5.1.
It is intriguing here that Paul refers to the Corinthian’s gift as
being a ‘bountiful’ gift. Evidently the
Corinthians had promised to give generously towards this relief fund.
5.2.
He is encouraging the Corinthians to give generously towards this
relief offering by admonishing them to not let themselves be effected by
‘covetousness,’ which in this case would mean “love for this world’s goods.”
5.2.1. By the way, isn’t
interesting all of the various things that the scriptures bring up that we as
Christians need to apply in our lives.
In the church at large today, it is very unusual to hear preaching
concerning the sin of covetousness for this world’s goods. Many groups teaching the “prosperity gospel”
would never consider mentioning the sin of covetousness. They instead are telling their people that if
they really have faith that they will get rich in this world’s goods. This isn’t Christianity or godliness that
they are promoting, is it?
6.
VS 9:6 - “6 Now this I
say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully
shall also reap bountifully.” - Paul tells
the Corinthians that if they give a little they will receive just a little
blessing, but if they give a lot they will receive a lot
6.1.
In this verse, Paul is using the example of a farmer sowing seed for a
crop. If the farmer does not sow an
abundance of seed, then there is no way that he can reap an abundant
harvest. Allowing no unforeseen
unfavorable circumstances, the crop that a farmer reaps will normally be
equivalent to the amount of seed that he placed in the ground.
6.2.
In Luke 6:38, Jesus told His disciples that if they gave that
they would receive proportionally back in return, “38 “Give, and it will
be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over,
they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be
measured to you in return.””
6.2.1. This blessing does not occur
because of some law of nature or some kind of karma that a person accumulates,
rather this is a promised guaranteed by the Lord for His followers and the increase
comes about at the hand of the Lord.
6.3.
In Mal. 3:8-12, we see that the Lord tells His people that they
are robbing Him by not giving their required tithes and offerings, and we also
find the only place in the scriptures where the Lord tells His people to test
Him, and the way that we are encouraged to test Him is in relation to our
giving of tithes and offerings, “8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you are
robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed Thee?’ In tithes and offerings.9
“You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of
you!10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in
My house, and test 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 a blessing until it
overflows.11 “Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it may not
destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its
grapes,” says the Lord of hosts.12 “And all the nations will call you blessed,
for you shall be a delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts.”
6.3.1. Though this promise was
given to Israel, the fact that it is a “spiritual” promise means that we as
Christians can claim it in relation to ourselves, just as we inherit the
spiritual (not material blessings of land and territory) blessings we inherit
from our father of the faith Abraham.
6.3.2. There is always a tremendous
blessing in our faithful giving, is it not true?
6.4.
Here, Paul is expounding a general principle concerning our giving as
Christians and that is that “if we give that God promises that to the degree
that we are generous in our giving that the Lord will see that we are blessed
in return!”
6.5.
Those in the “prosperity teaching” camp that is popular in many
churches today see this verse as referring solely to financial prosperity. However, though the Lord will take care of
us, and as we will see in just a second, also give us even more to give, the
verse doesn’t really refer only to financial blessing that we will
receive. I believe that God blesses us
in a spiritual sense sometimes when we give, and that what is returned to us
may not always be financial reward.
6.6.
Another principle concerning our giving is seen here as well, and that
is that “we are truly not in control of our lives and assets.” God is in control of all of the forces of
this world and of our lives. Everything
that occurs in our lives the Lord has either caused or allowed to occur!
6.6.1. We might think in our own
mind that we will be losing by giving, however nothing is further from the truth. You can never lose when you are giving of
your assets as the Lord leads you.
6.7.
A third principle concerning our giving seen here in this chapter is
that “you cannot out give God!” When we
give to the Lord and to others in Christ’s Name, the Lord promises that He will
come to us later and bless us greatly for our faithfulness.
6.8.
I found the following anonymous quote concerning the surprises that
result from giving, “The
Christian who tithes will be surprised:
6.8.1. At the amount of money he has for the Lord’s work,
6.8.2. At the deepening of his spiritual life in paying the
tithe,
6.8.3. At the ease in meeting his own obligation with the
nine-tenths,
6.8.4. At the ease in going from one-tenth to a larger
percentage,
6.8.5. At the preparation this gives to be a faithful and
wise steward over the nine-tenths remaining,
6.8.6. At himself for not adopting the plan sooner!”
6.9.
There are
many companies that I could tell you about who were owned by Christian men who
were faithful in their tithing and giving to the Lord and who as a result were blessed
beyond measure by the Lord, such as:
J.C. Penney, Welch Corp. (they make Welch’s Grape Juice), Kraft Cheese
Co., The Colgate Co., Quaker Oats, John P. Rockefeller, Sr., Albert Hyde whose
company makes Mentholatum, Mr. Proctor of Ivory soap, Mr. Henry Delaney of
Resinol Ointment, Mr. Matthias Baldwin, founder of Baldwin Locomotive Industry,
etc.
6.10.
A fourth principle that perhaps we can see implied in this chapter is
that “our giving as Christians has to be done in faith,” otherwise if we give
sparingly and only from the excess that we have then we will never be blessed
to the degree that the Lord wants to bless us!
6.10.1. When my family and I were in
Seattle and praying for the Lord to be lead us and open the door for us to go
out and to plant our first church, we kept praying for us to be able to sell
our house so that we could use our equity to be able to get out of debt and pay
for our move. However, the Lord kept
closing the door over and over. Plus,
for that four years before we were to eventually sell our house so that we
could go out, the Lord wanted to teach us about living by faith by allowing us
to go through a huge financial trial.
Our trial began just after we had bought our second house and had gotten
ourselves financially leveraged to such an extent through that house that we
needed both Jill and myself to make significant salaries in order to pay our
bills. However, after six months Jill
lost her job. As she was praying for
another job and sending out resumes she became pregnant. Jill becomes very ill whenever she is
pregnant and she cannot work and needs to be bedridden a good deal of the time
due to very high blood pressure. So, for
nine months she was unable to work. Our
savings was spent in the first three months or so since we weren’t trying to be
really frugal thinking that surely Jill would find work right away. Then came the day of the birth of our
daughter. Now, Jill was a new mother and
recuperating and couldn’t work. After a
couple of months she then began sending out resume after resume, but nothing
opened up. She went on several interviews but didn’t get the jobs. She even when on four third interviews but the
company ended up hiring another interviewee.
I was also trying to do anything that I could to get a second job, or
any kind of contract work. All was done
to no avail. The long and short of it is
that we were basically $1,200 a month in the red for those four years. We learned though how to live by faith
through this trial. Each bill that came
in we would pray for the Lord to somehow bring money for us to be able to pay
it, and then somehow we would get the money for it. We didn’t let anyone know our needs but just
prayed to the Lord for them. At one
point a few months after the birth of our daughter I had just gotten my pay
check and we paid our mortgage with no money left over even to buy food, and,
we had a stack of bills which included numerous medical expenses and totaled
$900. We were praying continually for
the Lord to provide and that very next week both of the previous companies Jill
had worked for sent to her a letter saying that they had been auditing their
accounting records and that it appeared that Jill may have been underpaid an
amount equivalent to about a month’s salary, and the envelope included a
check. I have never ever heard of a
company doing something like that once in a person’s lifetime, and here it
happened twice right during that very week that we were most in need and crying
out to God. God showed us His
faithfulness and commitment to provide for His children through those four
years as He taught us to truly live by faith.
I don’t believe that I could have put down on paper where the money came
from for us to be able to pay all of our bills during that period, money came
from many places we didn’t expect.
However, one of the things that we did not neglect during that entire
time was to give some of each and every one of my paychecks to the church. We could only do this by faith because from a
worldly accounting perspective any giving by us would have been looked at as
being foolish. However, as we gave some
each paycheck, the Lord in turn provided all that we needed. We didn’t buy anything for four years that we
didn’t have to have as we were on what we called “our disaster budget,” yet all
of our needs were provided.
7.
VS 9:7 - “7 Let each
one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under
compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.” -
Paul tells the Corinthians that they are each to give as they purpose in
their hearts
7.1.
As was mentioned, we Christians are not commanded from the scriptures
about how much that we are supposed to give, for we are not under law. Tithing (the giving of a 1/10th)
was an Old Testament law which is not mentioned in the New Testament and
therefore we are not required to follow it.
Rather, in the New Testament we see that each one is to give as he has
been blessed and according to the amount that he determines to give.
7.2.
The fifth principle of giving in this chapter then is that “you determine
how much you want to respond to the grace of God in your own (grace) giving!”
7.2.1. We saw in the previous
chapter that our giving comes from the grace of God. The word for gift is the same word used for
‘grace.” God pours out His grace within
our lives and then we in turn are to respond to that grace in our giving.
7.3.
The sixth principle of giving then is that “the Lord would rather you
not give if you cannot give without doing it grudgingly or under compulsion!”
7.3.1. Someone once said that if
you can’t quit thinking about what your going to lose by your giving, then you
shouldn’t give at all!
7.3.2. God doesn’t need our money,
He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and everything in between and infinitely
more.
7.3.3. You are to give as a
Christian because you desire to give in response to how the Lord has overflowed
His grace into your life!
7.4.
Paul tells us here that the Lord loves a ‘cheerful’ giver. We saw in our last study that the Greek word
used here for ‘cheerful’ is ‘hilaros’ which is the word from which we get our English
word “hilarious.”
7.4.1. The kind of giving that the
Lord desires from us His children is the kind where it is just a great joy for
us to give.
7.4.2. If you feel that it is a
burden for you if you give then you should not give.
8.
VS 9:8 - “8 And God is
able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in
everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;” - Paul tells us that if we give that the Lord
is able to make all grace abound to us so that we will have an abundance for every
good deed
8.1.
Paul is saying in this verse that if we will give from His grace that
He promises that He will give us even more that we will be able to give. Again, this shows that “you cannot out-give
God!” If you give, you will be blessed,
and the Lord will just give you more to give so that you can be blessed again.
8.2.
God knows how much we need to take our eyes off of ourselves and look
around at the needs of others and begin to assist them in practical ways.
8.3.
If we will give towards His work He will continue over and over again
to bless us in His grace.
9.
VS 9:9 - “9 as it is
written, “He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, His righteousness abides
forever.””
- Quoting from Psalm 112:9, Paul shows
that giving produces righteousness in God’s people
9.1.
This verses shows the good effect that being generous and giving
liberally produces in the lives of God’s people. It purifies their hearts to true
righteousness and right living.
9.1.1. When we hold onto this
world’s goods, hoarding them or being greedy, this just produces sinful
selfishness and self-centeredness in our lives.
10.
VS 9:10-11 - “10 Now
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 everything for all liberality, which through us is producing
thanksgiving to God.” - Paul tells the Corinthians
that if we will give generously that the Lord who provides seed for the farmer
will also supply and multiply the seed with which we can sow
10.1.
This just restates what was mentioned earlier. If we will give to the Lord and His work as
He leads us, then He promises that He will give us even more that we can give
in return.
10.2.
Contrary to the false teachings of the prosperity teachers, Paul tells us
that the return that the Lord promises to bring into the lives of the Christian
who sows (gives) generously, will be not so that he can use it upon himself,
but rather so that he can give even more and thus be blessed even more.
11.
VS 9:12-14 - “12 For the
ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints,
but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.13 Because of the
proof given by this ministry they will glorify God for your obedience to your
confession of the gospel of Christ, and for the liberality of your contribution
to them and to all,14 while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you
because of the surpassing grace of God in you.” - Paul tells the Corinthians that the result of
their completing this generous gift for the mother church in
11.1.
Paul tells the Corinthians that God will be glorified if the
Corinthians give generously towards this relief fund for the mother church, and
those brothers and sisters in the church in Jerusalem will give countless
thanks to God that the other churches of Christ, even those filled with
Gentiles, had given to help them in their desperate need.
11.2.
Paul tells the Corinthians further that not only will there be many
giving thanks to God because of their giving of a generous gift to the mother
church, but also because of the great debt of gratitude that the mother church
would owe to the Gentile churches, that there would be many prayers go up for
the Gentile churches. So, the end result
is that the Gentile churches would be greatly blessed as a result of giving in
this way.
11.2.1. Aren’t we all in need of
more prayer?
12.
VS 9:15 - “15 Thanks
be to God for His indescribable gift!” - Paul gives
thanks to God for the ‘indescribable gift’ of God’s grace which all of us as
Christians have received through God giving His only begotten Son, Jesus
Christ, in order that we might be saved
12.1.
Remember, we saw in our first study in chapter 8 that the Greek word
for ‘gift’ is ‘charis,’ the same word that is translated ‘grace.’ We also saw that our giving as Christians
results from the ‘grace’ of God which we have received, and that our giving is
a ‘grace.’ Here, in summation of Paul’s
exhortation to the Corinthians to be sure to complete their relief gift to the
mother church in
12.2. We as Christians need to
keep always before us that each and every one of us has been blessed to
overflowing by the grace of God in our lives.
We are overflowing with His grace.
Our giving to the Lord then is not as a result of command or law, not the
commanded tithe spoken of in the Old Testament, rather it is to be the natural
result of simply responding to the grace of God in our lives.
13.
CONCLUSION
13.1.
My encouragement again is for each of us to just have an open hand
concerning all of the things we possess, first giving ourselves and all that we
are to God. Then, we need to just
respond to the grace that we have received from God in our giving back to Him
and His work
13.2.
As you are overflowing in the grace of God given to you, it will be
best for you if you give from God’s grace in the same measure you have been
blessed
13.3.
Put the Lord to the test in your giving as the Lord tells us to do in
Malachi chapter 3. Give faithfully and
see if He does not give back to you in return!
13.4.
Ask the Lord to help you to truly live by faith and also to give you
the faith to believe the promises of His word concerning your giving