Encouragement On Giving Generously
ENCOURAGEMENT ON GIVING GENEROUSLY
2 CORINTHIANS 9:6-15
Our incentive to give is the gift to us of our Savior Jesus Christ.
“To give,” says one ancient commentator, “is not to lose, but to sow seed.” And so it is the natural metaphor (9:6), drawn from horticulture, which is employed to apply the principle of generosity in giving. The key phrase lies in 9:7. God loves a cheerful giver. The Greek term, translated “cheerful,” gives us our English “hilarious”—a new slant on the spirit which should motivate us as we bring our gifts to God or take on some act of stewardship. The type of giving which Paul recommends is in contrast to that suggested by the adverbs “reluctantly” (literally, “out of sorrow,” sorry to part with the money!) and “under compulsion” (literally, “because of stern duty or necessity”).
True stewardship implies that we give because of love, and not simply because we cannot avoid it—for various social reasons. Love by its very definition cannot help but give, for it is love’s privilege to give and go on giving. The highest expression of such love is found in the New Testament teaching on God’s grace (9:8), and the greatest proof and demonstration of that love in action is focused in the gift beyond words of 9:15, Jesus Christ himself (Romans 5:6-11).
Notice the outworking of Christian giving in the intervening verses (9:9-14): first, it produces a rich harvest of thanksgiving to God (9:12) who is honored when his people take their discipleship seriously; secondly, the almsgiving of the Corinthians produced spiritual fruit—it convincingly showed the Jerusalem church the true Christian standing of the Gentile brothers and sisters (9:13); thirdly, this recognition evoked from the Jewish Christians a spirit of intercessory prayer and a longing to be drawn to them because the grace of God so clearly rested on the Gentile groups (9:14).
Paul gives a picture here which so often filled his vision—a united, worldwide church of Christ, composed of believing Jews and Gentiles, “all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 2:11-18), and discovered in this relationship, which broke down one of the toughest barriers in the ancient world (Colossians 3:11), a powerful confession of the reconciling gospel (9:13). For if the gospel does not unite Christians, how dare we expect that its message of reconciliation will be believed by the world?