2 Corinthians 9:1-15
A pastor wanted to see if a farmer in his
congregation was willing to support the Lord’s
work. So one day he challenged him with some
direct questions.
“If you had two farms,” he asked, “would you be
willing to give one to God?”
“Why, certainly!” replied the man. “I only wish I
were in a position to do so.”
The minister then asked,
“If you had $10,000, would you give $5,000 to the
Lord?”
Without hesitation the man responded,
“How I’d love to have that kind of money! I’d enjoy
giving generously like that.”
Then the preacher asked:
“If you had two pigs, would you give one to the
church?”
The farmer hesitated for a moment and then
blurted out, “That’s not fair. You know I’ve got two pigs!”
Today we are going to look at the 9th chapter of Second
Corinthians. Last week finished chapter 8 and Paul gave
his letter of recommendation for Titus and the two other
brothers that were going to help with the collection of the
offering that was to be given to Jerusalem.
2 Corinthians 9:1-5
Grace Giving Encourages others to Give
Remember in chapter 8 Paul told the Corinthian church
about the grace filled, joyful, sacrificial, selfless, free will
giving of the Macedonian churches in order to motivate
them to put their desire into action?
Now, in chapter 9 he is saying that it was the Corinthian
church’s desire to give that inspired the Macedonian
churches to give.
Paul isn’t pitting one group of churches against another in
order to get a higher offering for Jerusalem.
He is simply sharing the opportunity and allowing them
to be led by the Spirit to give in whatever way they can.
Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how to stir
up one another to love and good works, not
neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of
some, but encouraging one another, and all the
more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Generous giving is contagious,
though it shouldn’t be competitive.
— Michael Andrus
Paul also wanted to make sure Corinth was ready for the
offering for Jerusalem.
He sent the 3 Brothers: Titus, the Famous brother, the
Earnest brother to collect the offering from Corinth and
he had been boasting about their desire to give since the
year before.
Paul wants to make sure the Corinthians are going to be
ready with their gift because if they aren’t it’s not only
going to make them look bad, it’s going to make Paul
look bad.
So, even though it is superfluous for him to write about
the grace gift, he wants to make sure they are going to
have it ready when the three brothers arrive.
Once more Paul mentions the fact that the gift was not
mandatory or compulsory. It was a grace gift that was
given out of a heart to serve and love another church.
Benefits of Grace Giving
2 Corinthians 9:6-7
Paul gets to the point of the chapter here in verse 6.
Whoever gives bountifully will also reap bountifully and
whoever gives sparingly will also reap sparingly.
Paul’s point is that:
God Blesses those who Give with Right Motives.
This is clearly a reference to farming.
Those who cast a little seed will get little crops.
Those who cast a lot of seed will get many crops.
There are a lot of people who use this verse along with
others to motivate people to give because they will get
something back from God.
That’s wrong thinking.
You give because you love God and because you are so
grateful for everything He has already given you.
But you can’t outgive God.
And remember, God knows our heart.
We can’t trick Him. He will always know our true
motivation for giving.
I think Paul is really talking about God blessing us
spiritually as we bless others financially.
We shouldn’t think that God is going to give us back what
we give to someone else dollar for dollar.
That’s kind of what the charlatan preachers will tell you –
if you send me $1000 for this here prayer cloth God will
send you that $1000 back so don’t worry about it.
Paul goes on to say that each one should give according
to what he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or
under compulsion. Why? Because God loves a cheerful
giver. And like we just talked about, God knows our
heart.
The second benefit of Grace Giving is
The Holy Spirit is Your Guide
The Holy Spirit should guide your grace giving, that which
is outside of your tithe.
That’s why I always tell y’all to pray about how much God
wants you to give to the special offerings, like the Mary
Hill Davis offering that we had in September.
The Holy Spirit will help you decide in your heart how
much He wants you to give.
2 Corinthians 9:8-10
I love verse 8.
Paul writes that God is able to make all grace abound to
you.
Not some grace, not a lot of grace, ALL GRACE.
God is the one who gave us grace in the first place.
And he will provide everything believers need so that we
can be content at all times.
That word translated sufficient can also be translated
contentment.
Contentment from God
The BDAG defines it this way: “external, state of having
what is adequate, sufficiency, a competence…it is a
‘sufficient supply’; of God’s allocation” and “internal, state
of being content with one’s circumstances,”
But this sufficiency isn’t talking about having sufficient
funds to do whatever you want to please your own
desires.
God gives you grace when you give so that you can
abound in every good work.
Like I said earlier. It’s not always about how much money
you get back when you give it away.
It’s about doing what God wants as He guides you and
it’s for His glory. More on this in just a bit, but first let’s
talk about verse 10.
I think sometimes people forget that everything they
have comes from the Lord.
When you realize that you would have nothing without
God it’s easier to give away what you do have.
When you give financially God blesses you spiritually.
He will increase the harvest of your righteousness.
That’s a reward that will last, not one that will rust or be
stolen or eaten by moths.
2 Corinthians 9:11-15
Additional Benefits of Grace Giving
Grace giving obviously blesses the ones who receive it,
but Paul shares that it goes much beyond that.
It Increases Thanksgiving to God
When Christians bless other believers it causes them to
praise God and give Him thanks.
They realize that God often uses others to be a blessing.
The Jews at Jerusalem were overflowing in many
thanksgivings to God.
Also, It Brings Glory to God.
The Jerusalem church will be very grateful for a Gentile
church supporting them in their time of need. For that
they will give glory to God for using another church to
help them.
One church brings glory to God by giving out of love
The other church brings glory to God because they know
every good and perfect gift comes from the Father above.
It was God’s plan for Corinth to give to Jerusalem.
Finally, it Elicits Prayers.
Notice how Paul writes that the Jerusalem church longs
for Corinth and prays for them.
It’s natural to pray for someone who has blessed you.
APPLICATION
God has given us two hands—one to receive with and the
other to give with. We are not cisterns made for
hoarding; we are channels made for sharing. Billy
Graham
This passage of Scripture isn’t just about giving.
It’s about the heart behind the giving.
Our application this morning is to
Examine our Motivation for Giving
If you are giving so you can get it back – don’t give.
If you are giving for recognition – God doesn’t want your
gift.
God wants us to give so that He gets the glory.
He wants us to love and give and serve so that those who
don’t know Him will want to know Him.
Let’s look for ways we can give to others this week.
I heard of a man who everyday put something in his
pocket with the goal of giving it away to be a blessing to
someone.
Sometimes it was a nice pen, other times it was $10. But
he gave because He loves God and wanted to share that
love with others. How can you give this week to honor
God?