2 Corinthians 9:6-13

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 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. As it is written,

“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

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. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. 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.

2^nd Corinthians 9:6-13

After a brief moment where he commends Titus, Paul returns to encouraging the Corinthians to contribute to the needs of the Christians in Jerusalem.  In chapter 8 he encouraged them to give whatever their circumstance, to give from a spirit born of God’s will, and to continually seek opportunities to practice giving. Essentially, Paul presented with his readers the reason why they should contribute. In chapter 9 he begins to show them the potential results of their generosity.

To understand the desire to see results from our generosity we must make a distinction between self-interest and selfishness. We rightly condemn selfishness as opposed to the gospel of Christ. We cannot, for instance, seek our own pleasure or comfort at the cost of following Jesus. The call to lay down our lives prevents this. Our pursuit of sanctification involves our continual emptying out of our lives of all sinful pursuits and desires. This does not mean that all self-interest is necessarily selfish. Wayne Grudem writes: “Much self-interest is good and approved by Scripture, as when Jesus commands us to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” or when we seek to grow in sanctification and Christian maturity.” Furthermore, if self-interest in itself was a sin, God Himself would be guilty for He seeks his own (rightly and justly deserved) glory.

We admit that as it is practiced most frequently in our lives, self-interest quickly becomes selfishness. This not need be the case. Our call as Christians is to be transformed into what we were meant to be, not to empty ourselves of all humanity. Our humanity is only fully realized when it is in submission to Christ. Our only chance of experiencing true freedom and understanding the purpose of our existence comes from understanding our place as children of God. When our desires align with the will of God what else would we expect but true joy and fulfillment? When we pray to experience God more what are we asking but the chance to live joyfully?

That said, we must understand that just because we receive a reward for our service does not mean that our service is somehow less dignified or cheapened. We serve because Christ served. Just as Christ was exalted, we too will receive heavenly rewards when we sacrifice ourselves for Him.

God loves a cheerful giver (v7,8)

The first result of our generosity is that we will be loved by God. The stipulation is that we be cheerful in our giving. This of course is not to say that the Lord does not love us if we aren’t giving but is used to emphasize the Lord’s desire that we give without being compelled or guilt-ed into generosity. Just as Paul does not want to exhort too forcefully his recipients into giving to the believers in Jerusalem, the Lord does not want sacrifice that comes from strong-arming rather than the conviction of the Holy Spirit. We should remember Paul’s example when we put the needs of the kingdom before others. We must never attempt to manipulate people into giving (or any other form of sacrifice) but merely present the needs of the kingdom before others and earnestly desire that the Lord work through them and to bring righteousness to them. We can of course emphasize the importance of the need but always we rest in the knowledge that the Lord of the world will accomplish His will one way or another

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For our part, we should, in all things, desire to please the Lord. In our voluntary giving we bring pleasure to the God who willingly gave His son to save the souls of mankind. In this way we emulate Jesus and become more like Him.

If we give, we will be given more ----to keep giving (v6,8,10,11)

There may be no place in Scripture where the lines between self-interest and selfishness become more muddied through misinterpretation than 9:6-11. Many have taken verse six out of its context in Paul’s larger discussion and used it to justify a myriad of morally suspect ministries. Throughout 6-11, Paul uses a series of metaphors to describe generous giving (sowing, reaping, abounding grace, sowing, food, harvest, being enriched). Taken alone, verse six would seem to imply that if the Corinthians gave money they would receive more money in return. This shallow (in my opinion) interpretation has been used to fund various ‘seed’ ministries who promise financial returns for monetary donations. While monetary returns are one possible return upon our generosity, we will see that it is never explicitly stated that we will receive wealth. In addition, the conditions upon which we will reap bountifully matter greatly.

If ‘reaping bountifully’ is our first promised result of generosity, our second comes in verse 8, where God is described as being able to make all grace about to us. This would seem to repeat the promise of verse 6, but it comes with further clarification: God is able to make grace abound to us so that we may abound in every good work. The reward is tied to further giving.

We see this theme further outlined in verses 10 and 11. In this next metaphor, we must look at the pronouns closely. [to clarify, I am using the ESV].

“He [God] who supplies seed to the sower [us; the giver] and bread for food will supply and multiply your [again, us; the giver] seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.”

Again the Lord promises to supply and multiply our ‘seed’ for sowing. This verse clearly stipulates that the return upon our investment is intended to be used for further generous offerings. In addition, Paul speaks further on our reward for this generosity. He says that we will reap a harvest of righteousness.

Lastly, Paul asserts that we will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way.

Let’s be clear as to what is happening and being talked about here. Paul is asking the Corinthians to give money to help the believers in Jerusalem. That being said, it is notable what Paul does not say in his entreaty to his readers. He does not say explicitly that they will receive wealth or money as a result of their monetary donations to the believers in Jerusalem. This is notable. Paul deliberately chooses not to speak of reaping righteousness in these terms

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As we can see by looking at each of these metaphors in totality, we see that the result of our generosity is a bountiful harvest but that harvest is tied together with further generosity. This calls to mind Jesus’ parable of the talents where the faithful stewards are rewarded with further rewards. We cannot divorce the promise of blessings without viewing it within its proper context--- to provide further blessings for others. We must guard ourselves against any selfish intent in our hearts. It is not promised here that if we give generously, that we will receive wealth and riches to benefit ourselves. The blessings promised are always intended to be poured out again on others.

So what do we personally receive through this transaction? “and [God will] increase the harvest of your righteousness.” The reward we receive is righteousness. When we begin the ‘giving cycle’ we become more like Christ.

Ultimately, giving brings glory to God (v12,13)

The final result of our generosity is that it ultimately brings glory to God.

“For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission,”

Our ultimate purpose in life is to bring glory to God. In our generosity, which is, in itself an emulation of the Son, Jesus Christ, we shine a spotlight on the God who both provides for us the means to be generous and the desire to give. Generosity is not an end in itself. Our sanctification is not an end in itself. The ultimate aim of each is to bring glory and honor to God.