THE BLESSED GIFT OF GIVING
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on July 11, 2021 under 2021 |
Bethany Bible Church Sunday Message; July 11, 2021 from 2 Corinthians 9:10-15
Theme: Giving is a gift from God that gives to us in many ways.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
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Over the past few months, we’ve been studying from 2 Corinthians 8-9. In those two chapters, the focus of the apostle Paul was on the subject of giving. He was giving his Corinthian brothers and sisters specific instructions with regard to a major relief effort that was being gathered for Jewish Christians who were suffering in Jerusalem. And in that section of Paul’s letter, we find one of the greatest treatments on the subject of Christian giving in the Bible.
Paul had covered a lot of ground in those two chapters. And now, at the end of Chapter 9, we find that he closed it all off by breaking out into ‘an exaltation’ on the subject of Christian giving. It’s truly a high point of joy and praise—not only of this section, but of his whole letter.
In verses 10-15, he wrote:
Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:10-15).
There’s a lot being said in this morning’s passage. But I ask you to pay special attention to those last words in verse 15. After having reviewed all that needed to be said about the ministry of Christian giving, Paul concluded with a doxology of praise: “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” The adjective “indescribable” meant that he was praising God for such a great thing—such a wondrous gift—that it couldn’t be fully expressed in human words.
And what was this ‘indescribable gift’? Amazingly, it was the blessedness that resulted from giving. In other words, he was saying that the actual act of giving was—itself—a gift from God. And as this passage shows us, it’s a gift from God that—itself—gives blessings to us in many wonderful ways.
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; we should remember that there’s nothing that we do in the Christian life that’s ordinary—not even our giving. Nothing about us can be measured in strictly human terms. Everything that we do within the context of the grace of God through Jesus Christ is truly extraordinary in nature; because it is made extraordinary by God Himself.
We walk around in this world as people who—from all outward appearance—seem quite ordinary. But as the Bible tells us in Ephesians 1:3, we have already been blessed by God “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ”. That’s our current condition right now. We don’t have to wait to receive those spiritual blessings. They are all already ours because of our relationship with Jesus. All of the rich spiritual treasures of Christ Himself in the heavenlies are ours right now—even as we walk about in what looks like an ordinary life. And what’s more, we have been blessed with all that we need for living that life upon this earth. As it says in 2 Peter 1:3, God’s divine power has given to us “all things that pertain to life and godliness”. As Paul puts it in Romans 8:31-32;
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32).
These are the spiritual realities under which we live right now. Nothing about us is ordinary. This should obviously impact the way we view all of the things that we do on a daily basis. And that would include even our giving. When we feel the impulse of the Holy Spirit to give to His work in some way, we should know that our heavenly Father—the almighty God who is the Creator and Sustainer of this created realm and the realm of heaven—is also involved in that act of giving. There are blessings that He is able to bring about through it that are truly wondrous and that exceed the natural human limitations of the gift itself.
It’s those very blessings that Paul is describing in this morning’s passage. And what a wonderful thing this is that God has led the apostle Paul to do for us. So many preachers and churches try to guilt-trip people into giving; but Paul did not at all guilt-trip the Corinthians into supporting this relief effort. And so many ministries make pathetic and desperate appeals for funding; but Paul didn’t resort to that either. Instead, he made his appeal to the people of God by simply stating what needed to be done; and then by describing the marvelous things that our almighty heavenly Father does—and the great blessings that He gives—as a result of our giving faithfully to His work.
In all of this, Paul is making it very clear to us that when we give faithfully in the name of our Lord Jesus, it’s not like any other kind of act of giving on earth. It is under the blessing of God in a remarkable way; and He works extraordinary and miraculously through it. Giving is a gift from God that gives to us in many ways.
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As we look through this passage, we see four ways in which God blesses and uses our faithful giving. The first has to do with how God blesses the gift itself. The second has to do with how God blesses us as the giver. The third has to do with how God blesses the one to whom we give. And finally, the fourth has to do with how God Himself blessed. The gift, the giver, the receiver, and the almighty God who makes it all possible. That covers everyone and everything.
First, notice how God blesses the gift. When the Holy Spirit moves upon our hearts to give to the Lord’s work in some way—and when we faithfully obey Him …
1. IT MANIFESTS THE POWER OF GOD TO MULTIPLY WHATEVER IS GIVEN.
In other words, God—working through the gift—is able to expand the gift beyond what was given. Paul shows us this in verse 10. He writes these words of blessing: “Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness …”
The apostle Paul is here quoting from the Old Testament—specifically from Isaiah 55:10-11; where God Himself says,
“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11).
When God sends forth His word, and when it is faithfully proclaimed by His spokesmen on earth, He blesses His word abundantly. The very same God who is the one who gives both seed to the sower and bread to the eater is the one who blesses His word and multiplies its impact—causing it to bring forth much more fruit than we could imagine. And Paul was saying that the same God who does that with both the seed of the ground and the word from His mouth also does so with a gift that is given at His leading. We can trust that any gift He calls us to give—even if it is a small one—can be blessed and multiplied by Him in such a way as to exceed our wildest expectations.
We have an example of this from the ministry of our Lord. Do you remember how He saw a multitude of people who came to hear Him teach? He wanted to feed them; but the disciples saw the vastness of the crowd—5,000 men; which didn’t even include the women and children who must have been present—they wondered how such a vast multitude could be fed. We’re told in John’s Gospel that a little boy offered his lunch of five small loaves and two small fish. It certainly didn’t seem like much. But the great miracle wasn’t merely that a little boy willingly gave up his only lunch. It was what Jesus did with it. Jesus had said to bring it to Him. And in some mysterious way—by a marvelous miracle—our Lord multiplied that small gift that was given; and fed that whole multitude full with it. And John tells us;
So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten (John 6:12-13) …
Therefore not only meeting the immediate need, but also providing them with the ability to meet other needs later on.
So; do you see? We should never hesitate to give because we fear that our gift is too small. The very same God—who gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater—is more than able to take whatever we give Him in His name for His cause, and multiply it far beyond what is given to the advancement of His kingdom’s work.
So; that’s one way that ‘giving’ is a gift from God that keeps on giving to us. It has to do with the gift itself. He manifests His power to multiply whatever is given to the advancement of His cause—so that it keeps on giving more and more.
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Another way that such faithful giving is blessed has to do with us ourselves as the givers. Paul went on to show us that …
2. IT ENRICHES US IN EVERYTHING FOR MORE GENEROSITY.
In verse 11, he wrote to the Corinthians that their gift would be blessed, “while you are enriched in everything for all liberality …” That word “liberality” can also be translated as “generosity”. And what the apostle Paul was saying is that, when we give faithfully at the Lord’s call, He so works in us through the gift that’s given that it changes us. We do not lose anything personally in the giving. Instead, we gain, because our giving so enriches us in everything else that we become even more generous and ready to give.
We can see a great example of this in Chapter 8. Originally, it was the Corinthians who felt the impulse of God to give to this great relief effort for the suffering Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. But word of their intention got all the way up to the northern regions of Macedonia. And the Macedonian Christians became inspired to give too. In fact, they gave far more than they could afford to give. And yet, they were greatly enriched by it all. Paul wrote;
Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God (2 Corinthians 8:1-5).
And the enrichment of the Macedonians—in turn—abounded back to the further enrichment of the Corinthians. Paul went on to write to them and tell them;
So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also (vv. 6-7).
Don’t you sometimes hear people say, “I gave of myself in this ministry; but I ended up gaining more than I ever gave. I ended up being more blessed than those I served!” Well; that’s because nothing that we do is ordinary. Because of the involvement of our faithful heavenly Father—even in our giving!—the idea that we can become the most blessed of all isn’t just a sentimental one. It’s a solid reality! When we faithfully give at God’s call, God is able to enrich us through the giving in ways that transform us and make us even more generous. What a blessing!
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So far, we’ve seen how God is able to bless the gift, and then also bless the giver. A third way that blessing is brought about has to do with the ones to whom we give—the recipients of the gift. As Paul goes on to show us …
3. IT CAUSES THANKSGIVING TO GOD TO ABOUND
IN THE HEARTS OF OTHERS.
Paul spoke of how we—as the giver—become enriched in all things “for all liberality”. And of that liberality or generosity, Paul went on to say in verse 11, “which causes thanksgiving through us to God.” We become agents by whom thanks is being given to God for the gift. And who does the thanking? It’s those who receive. In verse 12, Paul wrote, “For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God …”
Now; Paul had been writing about a relief fund for Jewish Christians who were suffering a great need in Jerusalem. And he recognizes that the administration of that gift will provide needed help. He said that it “supplies the needs of the saints”; which, of course, was the intended goal. But Paul almost treated that as an incidental thing. It certainly did meet the need … but it did much more than that alone! It ended up “abounding”—that is, overflowing beyond the mere meeting of the temporal and physical need—“through many thanksgivings to God”. Those dear Jewish Christians who received the benefit of this loving gift would turn their primary attention—not to the givers—but rather to the God who moved upon them to give. They offered up much praise and many thanks and grateful worship to God. And can you think of anything greater that a gift can do than that? The meeting of the need would be of temporary value; but the resulting praise and thanks to God would be of eternal worth.
Perhaps we can best understand this from what Jesus Himself said will happen on the day of judgment. He will separate the sheep from the goats; and will turn to those who are His sheep and say;
‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: or I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’ (Matthew 25:34-40).
The Lord Jesus sees all that is done for those He loves. He considers it to be done unto Himself. And when such a gift results in thanksgiving abounding to Him by those who receive it, then it is a God-blessed gift indeed!
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And that leads us to a final point. When we give in the way that God wants us to give, then the gift is blessed; and the giver is also blessed; and the recipient is blessed as well. And then, even God Himself is blessed. As Paul went on to show;
4. IT BRINGS GLORY TO GOD.
In verse 13, Paul went on to write of the blessedness of the recipients; “while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God …” God Himself receives the glory—which is the highest and greatest purpose for anything that we do.
How does God receive the glory? Paul went on to show that He receives it in three ways. First, He receives it through our obedience to our confession to the gospel. In verse 13, Paul wrote that the recipients would glorify God “for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ …”
We should remember that this was a relief effort that was going out to Jewish Christians. At this early stage of the history of the church, Jewish Christians were having a hard time grasping the idea that Gentiles could also be under the grace of God. And yet, when they saw that Gentile believers loved them and cared for them in this way—partnering with them in their need, and giving sacrificially to relieve that need—then they knew that they really believed what they confessed to be true about the gospel. As Paul put it in Romans 15:27, the believing Gentiles owed it to the Jewish Christians to do this for them.
For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things (Romans 15:27).
The Corinthian Christians were proving to the Jewish Christians that they truly believed the gospel. And that brings glory to God! People know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true—and that we truly believe it—when we give in a way that pleases and honors God.
Second, God receives glory through our Christ-like sharing with all. In verse 13, Paul went on to say that the recipients would glorify God “for your liberal sharing with them and all men …” When we give generously from out of what God has entrusted to us to meet the needs of someone else in sincere love, we prove that Jesus Christ is at work in us … because that’s what Jesus did for us. Jesus Himself testified,
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 8:9, Jesus Himself was rich; but for our sakes He became poor; so that we, through Him, might become rich. When we share generously from what we have, we bring glory to God because we behave like our Lord.
And finally, our faithful giving brings glory to God by love and prayers increasing because of the grace of God being seen in us. Jesus Himself once said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). And so, it can be said that anything that increases and expands sincere love among the brethren—in a manifest way—truly brings glory to our Lord.
Paul wrote in verse 14 to say that this gift would glorify God through the joy of the recipients “by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you.” When we love our brothers and sisters in Christ enough to give of ourselves to minister to their needs, and when they grow in their love and affection for us in return, that makes our gift a truly God-blessed thing indeed! (And by the way; it’s no small thing that they also pray for us in return too!)
No wonder, when Paul was through speaking of the blessedness of giving, he declared a doxology of praise in verse 15: “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”
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There is a quotation that people all over the world use. But very often, they don’t know where it comes from.
Well; it’s found in the Bible in Acts 20:35. And the apostle Paul tells us where it came from. He spoke to a group of pastors and told them, “And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (Acts 20:35). And because of the extent to which God Himself is involved in it and is able to bless it, indeed it is!
Dear brother or sister; is there a need that God is calling you to help meet? Is there some way in which He has been prompting your spirit to give to His cause? Don’t be afraid. Just start where you are, and give as He commands. It doesn’t matter if it seems too small to you. He’s able to expand it far beyond it’s seemingly small size. It doesn’t matter if it might cost you in some way. He’s able to enrich you through it in greater ways that you could imagine. It doesn’t matter if it only meets a temporal need. He’s able to turn the recipient’s heart toward Himself through it. And it doesn’t matter if you don’t receive the recognition for it. God is nevertheless glorified by it.
Giving really is a gift from God that gives to us in many ways. And so, let’s give as He leads—and, by faith, enjoy the many blessings!
EA
