Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
2 CORINTHIANS 9
1 There is no need for me to write to you about this service to the Lord’s people. 2 For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. 3 But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready, as I said you would be. 4 For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we—not to say anything about you—would be ashamed of having been so confident. 5 So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given.
Generosity Encouraged
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written:
“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever.”
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. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Application Notes
9:1-2 By describing how their own enthusiasm had motivated the Macedonians to give, Paul was, in effect, prodding the Corinthians to rekindle their initial enthusiasm for giving. Paul wasn't naive about human behaviour. The start and end of a marathon are much more thrilling than the miles in between. Runners need stubborn determination to keep going. Paul also knew that a community needs motivation to persevere. Just as teammates will cheer their runner on in a race, Paul was sending Titus and two other believers to the Corinthians to cheer them on.
9:3-5 Paul reminded the Corinthians to fulfil the commitment that they had already made (also see 8:10-12). They had promised to send a financial gift to the church in Jerusalem. Paul was sending a few men ahead of him to make sure their gift was ready, so it would be a real gift and not look as though people had given under pressure at the last minute ("ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given"). Paul was holding them accountable to keep their promise so that neither he nor the Corinthians would be embarrassed.
9:6-8 People may hesitate to give generously to God because they worry about having enough money left over to meet their own needs. They may think, What about retirement or emergencies? What if I lose my job? Paul assured the Corinthians that God would be able to meet their needs. God is the Almighty. He owns the whole world; moreover, he blesses those who give back to him. Christians who give back to God will lack nothing they really need. God's favour--his grace--will be showered on those who give. They will have everything they need in every situation. God promised to "Open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it" (Malachi 3:10). Don't let worry rob you of God's blessings.
9:7 A giving attitude is more important than the amount given. The person who can give only a small gift shouldn't be embarrassed. God sees our hearts and sees how we give from our resources (see Mark 12:41-44). According to that standard, the giving of the Macedonian churches would be difficult to match (2 Corinthians 8:3). God himself is a cheerful giver. Consider all he has done for us. He is pleased when we who are created in his image, give generously and joyfully. Do you have a difficult time letting go of your money? If so, that may reflect ungratefulness to God.
9:10 God gives us resources to use and invest for him. Paul uses the illustration of seed to explain that the resources God gives us are not to be hidden, foolishly devoured, or thrown away. Instead, they should be cultivated in order to produce more crops. When we invest what God has given us in his work, he will provide us with even more to give in his service.
9:13 Paul wanted his readers to be generous on every occasion. As he appealed to the Corinthians to give sacrificially to aid the Jerusalem congregation, he reminded them that God is the source of everything good (9:10). Believers are called to be generous because of the example of the Lord of life. Stingy Christians should be an extinct species. Generosity proves that a person's heart has been cleansed of self-interest and filled with the servant attitude of Jesus himself. That is why acts of generosity result in God being praised. What can you do to show more generosity? Can others see authentic Christianity in how you give?
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)