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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Isaiah 54:1-17

Hope is a wonderful blessing from God, without which we would be vulnerable to all kinds of destructive tendencies in our lives.  Today’s society is marked by depression, anger, fear, anxiety and self-righteousness, in large part, because of the sense of hopelessness that prevails in our culture.  Isaiah writes to a people who are about to be taken into captivity because of their sin.  God knows that they will feel rejected, threatened and hopeless so He reveals His future plans for the nation in order to give them hope in the midst of the coming trial.  Hope is the expectation of good based upon the promises of God.  Many times when our lives are marked by the sins mentioned above it is because we have forgotten or failed to focus upon the promises of God’s Word. THE PROMISE OF GOD: From the very first day that God revealed His plan for the nation of Israel, He promised numerous descendants.  God chose Abraham, not because he was more righteous than a...
Read more

2 Timothy 1:3-7

I thank God   whom I serve, as did my ancestors,   with a clear conscience, as I remember you   constantly in my prayers night and day.    As I remember your tears,   I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy.    I am reminded of   your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and   your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.    For this reason I remind you   to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us   a spirit not of fear but   of power and love and self-control. It is easy for us to forget many important things especially in the face of difficulty or danger.  Paul is in prison and Timothy is facing difficult times in ministry so there are important reminders that Paul wants to make sure that Timothy understands.  God has given us everything we need to face the difficulties He allows i...
Read more

2 Timothy 1:8-14

Therefore   do not be ashamed of   the testimony about our Lord, nor of   me his prisoner, but   share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,   who saved us and   called us to a holy calling,   not because of our works but because of   his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus   before the ages began, and which now has   been manifested through   the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus,   who abolished death and   brought life and   immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But   I am not ashamed, for   I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until   that day   what has been entrusted to me.  Follow   the pattern of   the sound words   that you have heard from me, in   the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ...
Read more