2 Corinthians · chapter 9 of 13
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2 Corinthians 9 continues the teaching on the collection for Jerusalem. Paul sends brothers ahead so that the gift will be ready and not given under compulsion. He teaches that whoever sows generously will reap generously, that each should give as he has decided in his heart, and that God loves a cheerful giver, and concludes with thanks for God's indescribable gift.
This chapter closes the section on giving that began in chapter 8. If there Paul presented the example of the Macedonians and of Christ, here he explains motives and promises: giving freely and cheerfully, trusting that God provides and that generosity produces thanksgiving.
Paul says it is superfluous to write to them about the ministry to the saints, for he knows their readiness and has boasted of them to the Macedonians that Achaia has been ready since last year, and their zeal has stirred up most of them. But he is sending the brothers so that their boasting may not prove empty and that they will be ready, lest if the Macedonians come with him and find them unprepared, they and Paul be humiliated. So he sends the brothers to arrange in advance the gift they had promised, ready as a willing gift and not as an exaction.
Paul teaches a principle: whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will reap bountifully. Each should give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. God is able to make all grace abound to them, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, they 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 their seed and increase the harvest of their righteousness. They will be enriched in every way for all generosity, which through Paul produces thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this gift not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows in many thanksgivings to God.
Because of the evidence of this service, they will glorify God for the Corinthians' submission to the confession of the gospel of Christ and for their generosity in sharing. They also pray for them with deep affection because of the surpassing grace of God in them. Paul closes the chapter with thanksgiving: thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will reap bountifully. Paul uses the farmer's image to speak of the relation between giving and receiving blessing.
Each should give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Christian giving is not squeezed out by pressure but flows from a willing heart.
God is able to make all grace abound to them, so that they always have enough and abound in every good work. The promise is not of luxury but of sufficiency to serve.
Paul ends by thanking God for his inexpressible gift, that is, the gift of Christ that cannot be fully described. All generosity is a response to that gift.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: So that the gift will be ready and his boasting about them will not prove empty. — 2 Corinthians 9:3-5
Answer: He will reap sparingly. — 2 Corinthians 9:6
Answer: As he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion. — 2 Corinthians 9:7
Answer: A cheerful giver. — 2 Corinthians 9:7
Answer: Many thanksgivings to God. — 2 Corinthians 9:12
Answer: For God's inexpressible gift. — 2 Corinthians 9:15
2 Corinthians 9 teaches that Christian giving must not come from manipulation or guilt. In a church or small group, it is a good occasion to talk about generosity as a response to what God has given. Each person can decide in prayer how much and how to give.
The chapter also guards against a mercenary reading: Paul does not promise wealth to those who give, but that God provides enough so that they can keep serving. Generosity produces gratitude to God, and those helped pray for the givers, creating bonds between believers who may never meet.
2 Corinthians 9 ends with a hymn of gratitude for God's inexpressible gift. With chapter 10 a different and tenser section begins: Paul defends his apostolic authority before those who criticize him in Corinth.
Not directly. Paul speaks of God providing enough to keep giving and doing good, and of a harvest of righteousness. Many interpreters warn against using the text as a promise of automatic material prosperity.
The chapter does not mention the tithe. It teaches that giving should be voluntary, cheerful and according to the purpose of the heart. Christians understand in different ways how these teachings relate to the tithe, but the principle of voluntary generosity is clear.
The word inexpressible means it cannot be fully put into words. Paul refers to the gift God has given, which Christians understand as Christ himself and his salvation. Giving is a response of gratitude to that gift.