This week we are looking at a section of letter that a man named Paul wrote to early
followers of Jesus who were a part of a church in Corinth Greece. Wednesday we
looked on as Paul introduced the members of the church at Corinth, and us here this
morning to a timeless and true principle when it comes to generosity by way of
a familiar farming metaphor in that the level of our generosity
is reflected by the results.
Paul revealed the reality that the
person who is meager or miserly when it comes to investing their treasure in
God’s kingdom mission and to meet the needs of others will produce little or no
benefit. By contrast, the person who generously invests their treasure in God’s
kingdom mission and to meet the needs of others will see their generosity
reflected in the benefits that are produced and flow from their generosity.
Paul then explained to the members of the church at
Corinth that, in light of this principle, that each one must do just as he
purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a
cheerful giver.
If Paul was communicating this phrase in the language we
use in our culture today, this phrase might sound like this: “You should have
already decided what you are going to give and the check should already be
written before the worship service begins. Paul then provided three reasons why
we are to decide beforehand how generous we are going to be when it comes to
investing our treasure in God’s kingdom mission through giving.
First, when we fail to decide beforehand we can find
ourselves investing with an attitude of painful reluctance instead of
gratitude. Second, when we fail to decide beforehand we can find ourselves
investing our treasure in giving from pressure instead of pleasure. Third, Paul
explained that when we take the time to prayerfully decide beforehand how
generous we are going to be when it comes to investing our treasure in God’s
kingdom mission through giving, we are able give with an attitude of gratitude
that reflects the generosity of Jesus as a response of joyful worship.
And it is this attitude of gratitude; it is this response
of joyful worship that God loves. The investment of the treasure that God has
given us through giving is an act of worship that is to be done out of a
heartfelt and joyous recognition that God is our provider who owns everything
and allows us to manage all that He has given us.
Now today we are going to see
the Apostle Paul respond to the pushback and objections that we can find
ourselves having when it comes to the fact that the level of our generosity is
reflected in the results. So let’s look at the first objection, which is found
in 2 Corinthians 9:8-10:
And God is
able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in
everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; as it is written,
"HE SCATTERED ABROAD, HE GAVE TO THE POOR, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ENDURES
FOREVER." Now 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;
In these verses, we see Paul respond to the pushback and
objection that “If I invest generously like you are calling me to, then I will
not have enough to take care of my needs and the needs of my family”. The
Apostle, anticipating this pushback, replies by stating that God is able to
make all grace abound to you. When Paul uses the phrase “all grace abound to
you” here, he is referring to the exceptional effect that God’s generosity and
activity can have in our lives.
Paul then explains that God’s gracious activity in the
lives of those who reflect God’s generosity by being generous results in them always
having all sufficiency in everything. In other words, God is able to respond to
our generosity by graciously providing for us in a way that results in all of
our needs being adequately met.
But notice why God graciously and generously provides for
us in a way that all of our needs are adequately met: “so that you may have an
abundance for every good deed”. You see, God’s gracious generosity is not for
our prosperity, as those in the prosperity gospel movement maintain. And God is
not generous so that we can meet all of our wants and desires.
Instead, Paul is revealing for us the reality that God’s
gracious generosity that provides to adequately meet our needs is divinely
designed to enable us to reflect His generosity by meeting the needs of others.
Paul’s point here is that as we reflect God’s generosity by generously
investing our treasure in His kingdom mission to minister to others, God will
graciously and generously provide so that we will always have what is adequate in
all things. And as we always have what is adequate in all things, we are able
to continue to reflect God’s generosity by being generous.
Paul then reinforces his argument in verse 9 by quoting
from a section of a letter in the Old Testament of our Bibles, called the book
of Psalms. In Psalm 112:9, we see the Psalmist explain that the person who is
in a growing and maturing relationship with Jesus will reveal that reality
through their generosity. Paul then applies this Old Testament verse to the
situation at the church at Corinth, and for us here today, by explaining that
God will continue to graciously and generously provide for us the resources to
invest in His Kingdom mission to minister and meet the needs of others as we
continue to reflect His generosity.
When Paul states that God will supply and multiply your
seed, this phrase literally means to defray the expense of something, in this
case the cost of being generous, by providing more. You see, the more generous
we are in investing in God’s kingdom mission, the more generous He will be in
providing us resources to further invest in God’s kingdom mission. The harvest
of righteousness here refers to followers of Jesus fulfilling the divine
expectation that we have to reflect Jesus generosity in our generosity.
And in the same way today, our heartfelt and joyous
response of generosity reveals the reality of our relationship with Jesus as we
reflect Jesus through our generosity. This is the case because the depth of our
relationship with Jesus and the level of our generosity is reflected in the
results. Paul then reveals for us a timeless result that occurs when our
generosity is reflected in the results, beginning in 2 Corinthians 9:11. Let’s
look at it together:
you will be
enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing
thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only fully
supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many
thanksgivings to God. Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will
glorify God for your obedience
to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your
contribution to them and to all, while they also, by prayer on your behalf,
yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. Thanks be to God
for His indescribable gift!
In these verses, we see Paul explain to the members to
the church at Corinth a second reason why God graciously provides for us in a
way that all of our needs are adequately met. The phrase all liberality, which
we looked at last week, literally means a “no strings attached” attitude toward
generosity. Paul’s point here is that God generously provides for us so that we
can reflect His generosity by investing our treasure with “no strings
attached”, with no expectation for reciprocation. And when we reflect God’s
generosity in such a way, the result is a response of thanksgiving, or an
attitude of gratitude from others.
Paul then explains that this attitude of gratitude flows
from a response of those in need having their pressing and profound needs met
by those who reflect God’s generosity by generously investing in order to meet
those needs. The generosity of the churches when it came to the famine relief
fund for Jerusalem was causing all involved to consistently and repeatedly
express an attitude of gratitude toward God.
And it was this
attitude of gratitude by all involved that revealed the second result that
occurs when our generosity is reflected in the results: they will glorify God.
Now when Paul uses the word glory here, this word literally means to influence
one’s opinion so as to enhance one’s reputation. As a result of the generosity
of the early church when it came to the Jerusalem famine relief fund, people’s
opinions were influenced in a way that resulted in God’s reputation being
enhanced.
In verses 13-14, we see three ways that the early
churches generosity resulted in God’s reputation being enhanced. First, God’s
reputation was enhanced as a result of the early churches obedience to the
confession of the gospel of Christ. In other words, God’s reputation was
enhanced because the early churches generosity served as an expression of their
allegiance to following Jesus. They did not just talk the talk when it came to
being a follower of Jesus; they walked the walk. They actually took following
Jesus seriously enough that they reflected His character and His conduct
through their generosity.
Second, God’s reputation was enhanced as a result of the
early churches liberality, or “no strings attached” attitude when it came to
their generosity to meet the needs of the church at Jerusalem. There was no
expectation for reciprocation; the early church simply loved and served their
needs through their generosity. And in the same way today, God’s reputation is
enhanced when we generously invest our treasure in God’s kingdom mission in a
way that demonstrates our allegiance to Jesus and His mission that is genuine,
authentic, and without strings attached.
Third, God’s reputation was enhanced
as the members of the church at Jerusalem expressed their strong desire for God
to continue to be active and at work in the lives of these early churches
through prayer. They yearned; they had a strong desire to partner with these
churches as a result of their generous investment in their lives.
And as Paul wrote this letter, he could not help but stop
to express thanks for God’s gracious activity that he had the privilege to
experience and witness. Because when our level of generosity is such that it
results in the reflection of God’s generosity, God’s reputation is enhanced and
God’s kingdom mission is advanced.
So what do the results of your
life reveal about the level of your generosity? Does the level of your
generosity result in God continuing to provide us the resources to further
invest in God’s kingdom mission? What does your level of generosity reveal when
it comes to the depth of your relationship with Jesus? Does the level of your
generosity result in the opinions of others being influenced in a way that
God’s reputation is enhanced and God’s kingdom mission is advanced?
Because the timeless principle
is that the level of our generosity is reflected by the results.
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