“Give, and it shall be given unto you,” was our Lord’s promise; and it still holds true (Luke 6:38). The “good measure” He gives back to us is not always money or material goods, but it is always worth far more than we gave. Giving is not something we do, but something we are. Giving is a way of life for the Christian who understands the grace of God.  In grace giving, our motive is not “to get something,” but receiving God’s blessing is one of the fringe benefits.

If our giving is to bless us and build us up, we must be careful to follow the principles that Paul explained in this section.

9:6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.^NIV The people of this time were intimately familiar with the principles of an agricultural economy. Planting, weeding, and harvesting were common, everyday tasks. Everyone would have known of a foolish neighbor who had used too much of his grain instead of saving it as seed for his fields. Lavishly scattering seeds all over one’s fields was a risk. What if birds ate it up? What if the soil was inferior and wouldn’t produce a harvest? Keeping more seeds in storage might appear to be wise, a way to ensure against future disasters. But the farmer who scattered his seed meagerly inevitably would have a small harvest. A farmer who refused to risk his grain on the next year’s harvest would lose.

This piece of agricultural wisdom contains a profound truth about Christian giving (see Proverbs 11:24-26; 22:8-9 for similar sayings). Those who are like the foolish farmer who sowed sparingly—those who refuse to trust God with their future financial security—will inevitably lose out on God’s rich blessings. Those who sow generously will invest in an eternal harvest that will exceed their expectations.

9:7 Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.^NRSV Each Corinthian believer was to decide how much God wanted him or her to give. It wasn’t to be an impulsive decision but a deliberate one. They were to assess their own ability to give and plan accordingly. This was to be intentional, planned giving, for Paul had already told them to lay aside some money every week (1 Corinthians 16:1-4). This was one reason for Paul sending Titus ahead. He wanted someone to organize the weekly collections so that no one would fall short of how much they had pledged the year before (9:5). It seems that although they had already pledged the money, they had not given it yet.

Paul didn’t want to use urgent appeals or pressure tactics to coerce the Corinthians to give. Even though he was the one appealing for the money, he was careful to give the Corinthians enough time to think and to pray about how much God wanted them to give. Paul didn’t want anyone giving reluctantly or under compulsion. Paul knew that God weighs the heart and not the amount of money; he looks at the giver and not the gift. A cheerful giver, who gives out of a sincere gratitude for what God has done, is the type of giver God cherishes. God multiplies those gifts beyond measure (9:11).

9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.^NIV The biggest obstacle that people have to overcome in order to give is worry. What if I will not have enough money next year for my retirement? What if some emergency comes up? What if I lose my job? These verses reassure the Corinthians that God is able to meet all their needs. He is the Almighty. He owns all of the world; moreover, he blesses those who give back to him.

Paul emphasized all in this verse. Christians who give back to God will lack nothing. God’s favor—his grace—will be showered on people who give. They will have everything they need in the various situations in which they find themselves. In the Old Testament, God even invited the Israelites “to test” him in this. If they brought all the required tithes to him, God promised to “throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that [they] will not have room enough for it” (Malachi 3:10 niv).

The purpose of God’s overwhelming blessing is always to equip his people to do every good work. This text doesn’t imply that Christian giving is a contract with God, where the one who gives gets. Instead, it says that God will provide whatever a Christian needs to do good. Thus, in the end, a Christian’s good works will bring praise and glory to God.

9:9 As the Scriptures say, “Godly people give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will never be forgotten.”^NLT Just as a farmer has to scatter the seed on the ground in order to reap an abundant harvest, so Christians must scatter what they possess among the poor in order to reap God’s blessing. Paul already made it clear that God’s blessing does not always include an increase of riches. All of God’s gifts, both spiritual and material, are intended to help a Christian do good works (9:8). This quote from Psalm 112:9 demonstrates this truth. Although the psalmist does speak of material blessings for the righteous person in that psalm (Psalm 112:3), Paul quotes a line that emphasizes the spiritual benefits of generosity to the poor. Those who are blessed by God with financial resources should give generously to help those with less. Memory of this righteousness will never be forgotten. Those who receive this person’s gifts will remember the generosity for a long time, but, more importantly, God will never forget the person’s benevolence.

9:10 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.^NIV God supplies both the seed and the bread, both the surplus to invest and the resources to support one’s family every day. The resources that God gives Christians are not to be hoarded, foolishly devoured, or thrown away. God gives gifts to his people for their own use and for investing back into God’s work. Instead of squandering these gifts, Christians need to cultivate them in order to produce more good works (9:8).

God does not limit himself to merely giving more resources—in other words, more seed. He blesses what you sow. He showers the seed with gentle rain. He gives the seed that is sown everything it needs to grow into a healthy, thriving plant. Although the seed is small, it has great potential if it has the right conditions to grow (see Jesus’ parables on seeds in Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23, 31-32).

In the same way, God blesses believers’ feeble efforts at generosity so that they enlarge the harvest. This harvest does not consist of personal wealth and riches. It is a harvest of your righteousness. God will take inadequate efforts at good works and increase them so that they bless many people. All a person has to do is give.

9:11-12 Yes, you will be enriched so that you can give even more generously. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will break out in thanksgiving to God. So two good things will happen—the needs of the Christians in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanksgiving to God.^NLT Giving generously to those in need causes two good things to happen. First, through those gifts given to those who need them, God meets their needs (here, specifically, the needs of the Christians in Jerusalem). Second, the recipients of these generous gifts will break out in thanksgiving to God, joyfully expressing it! Their celebration over these gifts will lead to heartfelt praise to God, for they will know that it is God who enables the giver to give in the first place.

So, in Paul’s eyes, giving is not a strategy for financial growth but another way to bring praise and honor to God, who supplies everyone’s needs. Christians shouldn’t give to others in order to receive personal rewards. They should give liberally to the poor in order to see God work.

9:13 You will be glorifying God through your generous gifts. For your generosity to them will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ.^NLT In addition to the normal advantages that come through Christian giving (see 9:11-12), Paul hoped that the Jerusalem collection would have extra benefits: He hoped that through this gift from Gentile Christians Jewish and Gentile believers would be drawn closer together in Christian fellowship.

During the early decades of the church, Jewish Christians had grave doubts about whether the Gentiles’ faith was sincere. Even the apostle Peter was surprised that God wanted him to break Jewish ceremonial law in order to preach the gospel to Cornelius, a Gentile centurion (see Acts 10:1-33). But he did; Cornelius and his household not only came to faith in Christ but also received the Holy Spirit (10:34-46). This development wasn’t welcomed by some of the Jewish believers in Jerusalem (see Acts 11:3). Only after Peter had defended his actions did the believers in Jerusalem finally agree that salvation had been extended to the Gentiles also (Acts 11:18). Unfortunately, this wasn’t the end of the controversy. Later, some Jewish believers from Judea went to Antioch to inform Gentile believers that they had to be circumcised in order to be saved (see Acts 15:1). Even Peter tacitly joined in their hypocrisy because he was afraid of what this group would say (see Galatians 2:11-13). The controversy that erupted out of this was resolved at a meeting in Jerusalem. There the leaders of the early church agreed that salvation was only through faith in Jesus, not through the law (see Acts 15:6-19; Galatians 3:6-7, 13-14; Ephesians 2:8). Even though the issue had been resolved, it kept coming up. Jewish legalists misled the Gentile believers in Galatia (Galatians 3:1-5); and, apparently, decades after Peter’s first meeting with Cornelius, there were still Jewish believers in Jerusalem who doubted the genuineness of the Gentiles’ faith.

Paul viewed the collection for the destitute Jerusalem believers as concrete evidence that the Gentile believers were obedient to the Good News of Christ. One of the directives of the Jerusalem Council was that Gentile Christians shouldn’t forget the poor (see Galatians 2:10). The Gentiles’ generous gift to the Jerusalem poor would prove that they were obeying this directive. Paul never viewed the Jerusalem collection as a rite of initiation for the Gentiles. He was always perfectly clear that salvation came only through faith in Jesus (Galatians 3:26). Giving back to God, however, is one of many signs that a person’s faith is authentic (see also James 2:14-18).

9:14 And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the wonderful grace of God shown through you.^NLT The collection for the Jerusalem believers would not only demonstrate the sincerity of the Corinthians’ faith, it would also tie the Christian community of faith closer together. Jewish Christians would view the monetary gift as an indication of God’s wonderful grace working in the Corinthians’ lives. Why would any Gentile—whether a Galatian or a Greek—give generously to the Jews in Jerusalem? Many of the Jews were not even citizens of the Roman Empire. They were a poor, minority group within the empire, with not much clout. Only God’s undeserved grace in their lives could motivate them to give (see 8:8-9).

Some Jewish Christians in the first century still found it difficult to accept Gentiles into the community of faith. This generous gift might be the one thing that would prompt these Jews to start praying for the Corinthian believers for the first time. Just as the Corinthians’ prayers for Paul made them partners with him in sharing the gospel (1:11), so these prayers of Jewish Christians would make them partners with Gentile believers. Through the Jerusalem collection, Jesus would begin to unite Jews and Gentiles into one body, the church (see Galatians 3:28). They were all becoming part of Jesus’ body; each was dependent on the other. The Gentiles had relied on the Jews to tell them the wonderful Good News of Jesus, while the Jews were relying on the Gentiles to support them financially (see Paul’s explanation of the offering at Romans 15:26-27). Through this, the entire community of faith—Jewish and Gentile Christians—would be built up in love.

9:15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! ^NKJV Paul ended his appeal for giving with fervent praise to God. The source of all this—the ability to give, the desire to give, even the reconciliation that would occur between Jewish and Gentile believers—was solely from God’s hands. God is the ultimate Giver.

This verse may be saying that the whole process from giver to recipient is an indescribable gift from God. But since Paul used the Greek word for “gift” that is commonly used for Jesus’ gift of righteousness (see Romans 5:15), Paul certainly was thanking God here for Jesus’ gift of salvation. That God freely saves all those who believe in Jesus is truly an “indescribable gift.” God’s extraordinary gift of salvation should motivate you to give generously to others. Spend time meditating on how much God has given you. Then evaluate your generosity in light of God’s generosity to you.

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Source: Bruce B. Barton et al., Life Application Bible Commentary – 1 & 2 Corinthians, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1999), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: “2 CORINTHIANS 9”.