2 Corinthians 9:10-15

                                                             2 Corinthians 9:10-15

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, while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.  Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

 

Like everything else in our Christian lives, generosity is from God and for God.  All praise and thanksgiving for generosity belongs to God because all the resources that permit generosity come from God.  When people take credit for being generous, they are missing the point and robing God of the glory that should belong to Him alone.

 

GENEROSITY IS A PROVISION FROM GOD: When a farmer plants a crop he takes a seed, places it in the ground he has prepared and then he waits for it to grow and multiply to produce many times that original seed.  There is no doubt that there is much work that goes into preparing soil, controlling weeds, and providing water.  However, the miracle of germination and growth is something beyond the farmer’s ability to perform.  This is something that God has placed in His creation that we can only scratch the surface of understanding.  Like that miracle of germination and reproduction, the spiritual growth that permits generosity and demonstrates the supernatural spiritual life that salvation brings to every believer is a miracle beyond our capability and true comprehension.  Giving is simply an outpouring of that miraculous work in our lives.

 

GENEROSTIY PROMOTES THE GLORY OF GOD: When we experience the blessing of generosity, it should cause us to rejoice in a heart and spirit of thanksgiving to the Lord.  Only He could bring about such an amazing reality.  This is not to say that unbelievers cannot be generous.  God’s common grace allows many unbelievers to be extremely generous.  However, that generosity does not flow from a heart redeemed by God so it inevitably results in some sort of self-promotion instead of thanksgiving to and glory for God.  When we recognize that our giving is empowered by God it should result in humility on the part of the giver and inspire worship of our Lord.

 

APPLICATION: Always give with the recognition of God’s provision.  Be amazed by the work of God’s Spirit that leads us into a life of selfless generosity as a part of His work to produce the righteousness of Christ in us.  Giving should not be accompanied by an expectation to receive thanks, but by an attitude of thanksgiving and worship for the privilege of giving.

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