2 Corinthians 9:6-15 Sow Bountifully

Format for Your Devotions

Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.

Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.

Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.

Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.

Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?

Step 5: Apply this to your own life.

Step 6: Prayer

My Example Devotion: May 8, 2020 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 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. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” 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!

(Understanding the Text) Paul first explains the relationship between giving our money to help others and our spiritual life.  He gives several points:

1. If you give only a little, God will only be able to give back a little to you, but if you give a lot, you can receive back a lot.  Paul is saying that we are not throwing our money away when we donate to help others.  He is saying that blessings will return to us.  He is also saying that the more we give, the more we help, and the more we help, the greater is the reward we have in heaven when we see the ones that we helped present there with us rather than lost and gone.
2. If you give, give freely with joy.  Don’t regret the giving.  Don’t give out of obligation.  Give out of the heart.  We are giving to God, not to that rude person who cusses at us while taking our money.  We are giving to God, not the clueless church official who wastes our money on projects that help no one.
3. God will take care of the giver so that he/she always has the sufficient supplies for every need in order for the giver to continue to keep working good works.

Paul quotes from somewhere:  “As it is written, ‘He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.'”  Paul is saying that when you give freely to the poor, that generosity endures for eternity.  It’s not lost in a moment and wasted, regardless of what is done with the money after it is given.   Paul dwells on this idea that when we give, we receive back abundantly.  The prosperity preachers focus in on this and say that we will receive worldly wealth, but I don’t think that idea is what Paul is speaking about.  Yes, Paul says that we will have all our needs supplied, but I think he is more focused on spiritual blessings being abundant, whether it is spiritual blessings here on earth or in the future.  In fact, Paul says that the harvest of their righteousness will be increased which sounds more like character transformation to me.

(Understanding the Text / Revelation of God) Paul says that two results happen when we give.  One is that people’s needs will be filled, and the people will praise God.  The giving results in thankfulness to God.  Thus, the Corinthians’ giving will encourage the Jewish Christians spiritually to turn to God more.  In the process of being grateful to God, the Jewish Christians’ hearts will be softened towards the Gentile churches, and they will lift up the Gentile Christians in prayer to God.  This is where the preachers get the idea that Paul’s project was partly to encourage connection and love and understanding between the Gentile and Jewish Christians.  “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.”  Paul is thinking that the Jews will praise God that he brought salvation to the Gentiles when they receive the great gifts from the Gentiles.  In some ways this is justified because something new was happening in the world.  It was common for people to think of giving to people within their own group.  Jews helping Jews made sense.  A Jewish queen bought grain (I think) for the Jews at this time to distribute to the hungry.  However, for a group of Gentiles with no connection or reason to give to the Jews, who as a rule treated Gentiles like they were dirty, was unimaginable.  Only the connection the Jews and Gentiles had through Christ made this possible.  This was a transformation of gigantic proportions.  It is no wonder that Paul was so intensely pursuing this goal.  He was seeing his “children” acting in unthinkable yet unbelievably exciting ways.  He expected the Jerusalem church to be amazed also.

(Understanding the Text) The problem with Paul’s thought process is that gratitude does not always bring closeness.  He is correct that gratitude to God could bring closeness, but among humans without God in between, it sometimes just brings resentment when a person takes charity but doesn’t want the charity from the source it comes from.  The Christian Jews were appropriately amazed and thankful, but unfortunately, if their treatment of Paul was anything to judge by, many of them did not let the Holy Spirit and the gracious actions of the Gentile converts soften their hearts.  They did not see their own need for repentance.  They clung to their own bigotry and fear of change and opinionated stance.

However, at this time, Paul was full of optimism.  After all, if the independent-minded, pleasure-seeking, argumentative Corinthians could repent and be transformed, why not the stubborn bigoted tradition-bound Jewish Christians?  I have the opposite problem.  I tend to be cynical about people’s desire to change.  I believe that if they repent, God can transform them.  I’m just cynical about their desire to repent.  Too many people refuse to see the need for transformation of their own characters.  They only see the problems in others, not realizing that their own weaknesses will kill them just as surely as the weaknesses they see in others will kill those other people.

(Application / Prayer) My application for myself is that I need Paul’s optimism and trust in God.  Yes, the visit to Jerusalem with the donated funds did not go well.  Yes, the Gentile churches eventually apostatized into the church of Constantine–force and power.  However, for Paul’s generation and for many later generations who have benefitted from Paul’s interactions with that generation, Paul was God’s ambassador to accomplish tremendous good on earth.  In his time, Paul was able to lead in establishing Jesus’ dominion on earth.  For his time, Paul was able to spearhead God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven.  As the years passed, his accomplishments continued to expand the kingdom of heaven on earth.  Paul was right to be optimistic, even if his optimism was focused on an immediate goal that was not accomplished, his ultimate goal did succeed.  Paul could not see the end from the beginning any more than I can, but he trusted God and followed the Spirit’s guidance wherever He led Paul.  That is what I need to do.  I know what I want, but I don’t know the end from the beginning, so I need to trust You to know what’s best.  I just need to follow Your leading in my life and follow where You lead.  Help me to do that.  Thank you.