2 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 9
Paul’s Final instructions concerning the Collection. 2 Cor. 9, 1-15.
God blesses liberal giving: V.8. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work, v.9. (as it is written, he hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor; his righteousness remaineth forever. V.10. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness,) v.11. being enriched in everything to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
The apostle is so full of his subject that his words gush forth in an overwhelming stream of praise for the manifold manifestations of God’s grace in and through the Corinthians: God has power to make all grace abound toward you. The might and power of God is such as to make it an easy matter for Him to bless them with every gift, both temporal and spiritual, in rich measure. And the result will naturally be that they, having always all sufficiency, would abound unto every good work.
The richness of God’s goodness and mercy toward them is the supreme motive to incite the Christians to perform all good works cheerfully and freely. They have the riches of God’s grace in Christ Jesus; God gives them enough and more than enough of worldly goods and gifts: what more natural than that they show their appreciation and gratitude in accordance with His will? This verse should be heeded far more by the Christians of our country, in which the great majority of them have been so richly blessed; for they certainly are living under conditions which warrant their being perfectly contented, since they possess a sufficient subsistence not only for comforts of the body, but even for actual luxuries.
Paul illustrates his meaning and applies it from an Old Testament passage: He has scattered abroad, he has given to the poor, his righteousness abides forever, Ps. 112, 9. The truly charitable person, every Christian in the performance of the good works that fall to his lot, scatters abroad, as a farmer that sows broadcast: he distributes abundantly on every side. As Luther says, St. Paul chose this word with care, admonishing the Christians to give richly, and that it may be a real blessing.
As though he would say: Do not be so overcareful with the nickels and pennies. If you want to give, give cheerfully, as though you wanted to scatter it abroad. As the poor and needy will be benefited by our assistance, in the same measure should it be offered.
And the result is that, as a reward of grace, the donor’s good works are held in remembrance before God, his good conduct is laid up as a treasure in the sight of the Lord. The application of the passage is comprehensive: But he that bountifully offers seed to the sower and bread for food shall also increase your seed and multiply the fruits of your righteousness.
As God gives seed to the farmer and blesses him with the results of his labors in the form of bread and all other supplies for sustaining life, so he extends the hand of His blessings also in the spiritual field. He Himself, as the owner of all the silver and gold in the world, bestows upon each steward of His such a measure of His bounty as is necessary in the particular field in which this Christian is to apply these blessings, in the case of the Corinthians that of the collection then in progress. It is by the bounty and mercy of God, therefore, that the fruits of righteousness in every Christian are multiplied and increased. Surely, then, God has a right to require that the gifts entrusted to us by Him be dispensed in the way which He judges best, for such charitable purposes as He directs our attention to.
Since the Corinthians and all believers are able to abound in every good work, it also follows: Being enriched in everything to all benevolence, which through us works thanksgiving to God.
Rich the believers become, not in proportion to the money which they have saved and gained, but in the measure of their charity shown to others; not rich in hoarding, but rich in benevolence, in liberality, that is God’s way of estimating values.
Only in that way, moreover, does the benevolent performance of the Christians redound to the glory of God, since on its account the thanksgiving of many will rise to God in a hymn of gratitude. Pure benevolence, together with perfect simplicity or singleness of heart, knows nothing of selfish interests or painful forebodings, but manifests itself in a free and ample supplying of the wants of others, thus producing in them a spirit of thanksgiving to God.