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Moreover, your very giving proves the reality of your faith, and that means that men thank God that you practise the Gospel that you profess to believe in, as well as for the actual gifts you make to them and to others. J.B. Phillips.

 As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ. NLT

Obedience does not make anyone a Christian. We cannot be obedient enough to save ourselves. Nevertheless, authentic Christianity shows itself in obedience. True believers not only ”profess” the Gospel, but possess it’s reality, and demonstrate it in godly living.

Giving is a part of this.

Christians are ”…created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph.2:10). Our giving is one of these ”good works”.

James famously says that ”…faith without deeds is dead” (Jas.2:26). Christian giving is one of these deeds.

So, says Paul, those who are the recipients of our giving are full of praise to God, not only for the gifts themselves, but to see the work of God in human lives. When the natural selfishness and acquisitiveness of human flesh is crucified, and there is an overflow of generosity, this is nothing other than a work of grace. People recognise it, are inspired by it, and are deeply thankful for it.

John Macarthur said, ” God made all of His creation to give. He made the sun, the moon, the stars, the clouds, the earth, the plants to give. He also designed His supreme creation, man, to give. But fallen man is the most reluctant giver in all of God’s creation.”

However, conversion supernaturally changes the human heart, and when others see this and benefit from it, they want to thank God.

 He who gives the seed to the sower and turns that seed into bread to eat, will give you the seed of generosity to sow, and, for harvest, the satisfying bread of good deeds well done. The more you are enriched by God the more scope there will be for generous giving, and your gifts, administered through us, will mean that many will thank God. For your giving does not end in meeting the wants of your fellow-Christians. It also results in an overflowing tide of thanksgiving to God. J.B. Phillips

Our giving is an important part of our worship. It is ultimately about glorifying God.

Was Paul concerned to meet the needs of the famine affected Christians in Judea? Did he want them to have bread on their tables? He most certainly did. This much was not in doubt. He was going to great lengths, involving careful planning, to ensure that there would be parity across the churches. But even beyond this noble aspiration there lay his greatest desire: to see God thanked as the supreme motivator of Christian giving, and the ultimate provider of all that His people ever receive.

 For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.

¹¹ Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. NLT

The Lord will provide.

He is the One who superintends the entire process that gets bread on to our tables, and into our stomachs. The farmer plays his part, of course, but he/she would have no seed to sow apart from the Lord’s generous provision. Where does the seed come from? Well, some will give a quite legitimate scientific explanation, describing biological processes and so on. But behind it all, and over it all, there stands the Lord, the life-giver. He it is who also provides us with financial ”seed” to sow for the benefit of others (see vv.6-9).

But the Lord will also increase what we have, so that we may give more. We do not need to be shy about the Biblical principle that the Lord regularly enlarges the store of those who give. But neither should we miss the point that we are not blessed for selfish hoarding, but for generous sharing.

He who gives the seed to the sower and turns that seed into bread to eat, will give you the seed of generosity to sow, and, for harvest, the satisfying bread of good deeds well done. The more you are enriched by God the more scope there will be for generous giving… J.B.Phillips

This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away…The Message

And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. ⁹ As the Scriptures say,

“They share freely and give generously to the poor.
    Their good deeds will be remembered forever.” NLT

 God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it,

He throws caution to the winds,
    giving to the needy in reckless abandon.
His right-living, right-giving ways
    never run out, never wear out. The Message

As it is written,

“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
    his righteousness endures for ever.” (verse 9, ESVUK)

I heard a story about a pastor who, one day, said to his congregation, ‘The good news is that the Lord has all the money required for…(whatever the project was); the bad news is it’s in your wallets!’

But if we understand this passage correctly, this is not ‘bad news’ at all. It is indeed the best news that we get to be partners with God in giving: to be channels of his blessing to others. As one generous man said to another, when giving a large gift, ‘No need to thank me. I’m just the Lord’s errand boy.’ One of the chief ways that our God gives ”freely” to others is through His people.

The quotation in verse 9 is from Psalm 112:9. It speaks of the person who scatters blessing to the poor, and says their ”righteousness” will last ”for ever.” It doesn’t mean that they are made right with God by the action of giving. They not earning merit. But those who are right with God, through faith, overflow with good deeds that are in some real sense ‘eternal’.

”…the whole poem is a celebration of those who fear and trust the Lord, and in particular of their generosity and merciful behaviour towards their neighbours, particularly the poor. Once again Paul is inviting the Corinthians to step inside the Biblical portrait and discover a whole new identity, not simply to do something strange because he tells them to.’ Tom Wright.

You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” NLT

‘As always, Paul’s vision of God’s people is firmly rooted in the Bible. And whenever Paul quotes a passage of the Bible, even four or five words, it’s worth looking at the original passage, often the entire chapter or paragraph from which the quotation is taken, and seeing what its overall sense is.’ Tom Wright

Tom points out that the Greek translation of Proverbs 22:9 says, ‘God loves a cheerful giver.’ He says that Paul and his churches would normally have read the Bible in Greek, and the passage he quotes would have been in their Bibles. He also points out that much of Proverbs 22 is about riches and poverty.

‘Proverbs gives a reasonably complete portrait of a wise and God-fearing person who knows how to be generous with money. Paul wants the Corinthians to see this as a portrait of themselves.’

He wants them (and we can say ourselves also) to fully inhabit the Biblical picture of a godly person. This will involve cheerful generosity.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. ESV

We note the repetition of the word ”all” in this verse, and the appearance of ”every”. This points to a comprehensive abundance in order to live the out-going life to which we are called.

We should not shy away from the Biblical world-view that says that if we give generously give to God, He will give back to us abundantly. But as we work through this passage we will see that the abundance is to enable further (and, I believe, greater) giving. It is not for hoarding, but for sharing.

Tom Hale is a missionary statesman, and I will quote him a number of times over the coming days. It seems to me that he has a helpful, and balanced, Biblical understanding of this subject. With regard to this verse he writes: ‘Let us never think that if we give to the Lord we will suffer loss. When a farmer sows seed in the ground, the seed is not lost – it turns into a harvest! God is able to make all grace abound to us – in all things at all times (see Matthew 6:31-33; Philippians 4:19…). What an amazing promise! God be praised!’ (Applied New Testament Commentary).

‘Even if I give the whole of my wealth to Him, He will find a way to give back to me much more than I gave.’ C.H. Spurgeon

 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ESVUK

Writing about verses 6-15, Tom Wright says, ‘Paul rounds off his careful and cautious appeal about the collection by standing back from the details of travel plans and other arrangements and outlining the world-view within which generous giving of the sort he has in mind no longer seems awkward or peculiar…As always, Paul’s vision of God’s people is firmly rooted in the Bible…’

The evangelist, Lindsay Clegg, apparently paraphrased verse 7 as ‘Hallejujah. Here comes the plate!’

In preaching on this passage, David Pawson said that what it means in practical terms is that we enjoy this part of the service. People may say that they enjoy the singing, or the sermon etc. But do we enjoy the offering?

Do you ever feel a sense of excitement about the opportunity and privilege of giving? May God grant that our giving should be a delight to us, even as we seek to bless others – that we might be like the Macedonians in feeling it is a ”favour” done to us, to be permitted to give (see 8:4).

‘Our service, our giving, must be done generously; our acts of mercy must be done cheerfully (Romans 12:8). If when we give we are not happy about it, then we are not giving in the right way. Let us remember Jesus’ words: ”It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Jesus said: ”Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8).

”…God loves a cheerful giver” because He Himself is ”a cheerful giver”. His self-giving in Jesus is the great example in these chapters: ”Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (15).

 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. ESVUK

This is such an important Biblical principle.

Giving our money and material possessions for the Lord’s work is like sowing seed in the ground. If we are generous in our giving, God will give to us generously in return. There will be a harvest.

”One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” (Prov.11:24,25; see also Prov.22:9).

However, Tom Hale writes wisely: ‘As a man sows, so will he reap. This principle applies not only to material things, but to spiritual things as well – such as forgiveness, judgment, and sin (see Matthew 6:12,14-15; 7:1-2; Galatians 6:7-10…).

Jesus said: ”And if anyone gives a cup of cold water to one of these little ones…he will certainly not lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42). But if we selfishly give to others only to gain a reward, we shall lose the reward. We must give unselfishly and generously, without any thought for our own benefit. If we give in this way, God will surely bless us both in this world and the next (see Proverbs 19:17; Matthew 25:34-40; Luke 6:34-35; 14:12-14).”

I really don’t need to write to you about this ministry of giving for the believers in Jerusalem. ² For I know how eager you are to help, and I have been boasting to the churches in Macedonia that you in Greece were ready to send an offering a year ago. In fact, it was your enthusiasm that stirred up many of the Macedonian believers to begin giving.

³ But I am sending these brothers to be sure you really are ready, as I have been telling them, and that your money is all collected. I don’t want to be wrong in my boasting about you. ⁴ We would be embarrassed—not to mention your own embarrassment—if some Macedonian believers came with me and found that you weren’t ready after all I had told them! ⁵ So I thought I should send these brothers ahead of me to make sure the gift you promised is ready. But I want it to be a willing gift, not one given grudgingly. NLT

Although Paul fundamentally believed that the Corinthians would make good on their previous desire and intention to give, it appears that he was not totally confident. So we see him treading a diplomatic line, or so it seems to me, between saying, ‘I really believe in your good intentions’, and ‘Don’t let me – or yourselves-down!’

The key thing is that whatever they (or we) give should be ”willing” and not grudging. It is important to stress that Paul wasn’t asking them to do anything new, but just complete what they had already expressed they wished to do. So he wanted them to get the money together before his arrival, so that there could be no suggestion that they were giving with one arm twisted up their backs: only giving because the apostle was standing over them.