This week I have exposed myself to all kinds of media outlets in order to gain more news concerning the aftermath of Katrina and the damage this hurricane has caused around the gulf. And I have found myself often frustrated with and then sympathetic towards many reporters as they struggle about what they need to discuss. There are some right down in the midst of everything discussing how we can free these people who are stranded without fresh water. Then you have individuals such as the guy who’s paid to covering sports talking about where the New Orleans NFL teams will play their games with all the destruction to the Superdome.

As aforementioned, at first this frustrated me. I thought, “How in the world can he go from hearing that people are stranded and dying daily to where the city’s football team will play?” Then, however, I became a bit sympathetic, for this guy is paid to talk about sports and is struggling to do his job in a way that makes him look as compassionate as possible. But whatever task any reporter had, it seems that all understood in their hearts that some things must be priority. Some things must be dealt with before other things. In fact, there might be a number of things important for discussion, but they will only be fitting conversation after some other things have been dealt with first.

We find the same thing in this letter of 2 Corinthians as we have been looking at it for the past three months. For Paul was writing to a people who were hearing some of Paul’s opponents whispering in their ears, bringing charges that Paul wasn’t a true apostle, suffered too much, was manipulating them, was greedy for money, etc. And in the midst of all of this, one of the things that Paul was dealing with was the need to collect money from the Corinthian church so that he might provide aid to the church in Jerusalem.

Paul, however, as we have seen, knew that some things must come first. Therefore, he begins the letter by explaining suffering, illustrating how God uses trials, describing the ministry to which he had been called, and defending himself in order that the Corinthians might all see that he is a true apostle and his message is the only message which is the power of God to salvation – the gospel. Such writing on Paul’s part led up to somewhat of a climax at the end of chapter seven as Paul praises the majority in Corinth for having repented and dealt with those who had turned against Paul.

Now, though, because those things had been dealt with and had been given correct priority in the letter, Paul turns in chapters 8-9 to deal with this collection of money which needed to be administered to the church in Jerusalem. Paul had dealt, in a more general way, with the need for believers to display repentance when they have sinned. At this point in the letter now, Paul points to a more specific response of relieving those in need.

Therefore, this morning as we look at our text (8:16-9:15), it is yet another opportunity to eavesdrop, if you will, on Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians in order that we might learn what we need to do and how we need to respond in our own lives. Thus, as we look at the text this morning I think we will find it helpful in giving us information that we need in order to live more holy lives before God and those around us.

The text can be broken down into four sections: 8:16-24, 9:1-5, 9:6-11a, and 9:11b-16. And, ironically, just as we have discussed the letter moving from general to specific in its exhortations, etc., so this text moves a bit from general to specific. Thus, as we look at the first section, we see something we need to know generally before dealing with some specifics regarding giving, and that is that …

Our decisions concerning how we think, act, and live must be guided by a desire to be pleasing to God and a desire to have unquestioned integrity before those around us (8:16-24)

This is what Paul wants the Corinthians to see about him in 8:16-24. It might seem as first glance that Paul is simply giving some needless details about what’s going to happen to take up the collection. Paul tells them in 16-19 that he is going to send Titus and another individual who has been appointed by the churches to travel with Paul and is upheld as one famous for preaching the gospel. Then, in 22-24 Paul tells them that there will actually be a third brother who will come as well and then boasts of his character. So, it might seem that nothing more is going on here than Paul saying, “Listen, here’s how it’s going to work. I’m not going to come get the collection together myself. Instead I’m going to send a team of three to get the collection together so that when I come I might not have to deal with it and I can just take the money to Jerusalem.”

These details, however, though important, are not the crux of the first section. The most important aspect of this first section is why Paul is doing this. He tells us in verses 20-21 as he writes, “We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us, for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man.”

The situation should be clear to us. Paul had a need to gather money from the Corinthians to supply for the church in Jerusalem and yet he had been accused of being a manipulator, greedy, deceptive, and possibly even a thief. Therefore, what could he do? His decision was to send down a team of three delegates whom all the churches have vouched are men of integrity who would oversee the collection without Paul even being near the process. Then, when he arrived there would be no need to take a collection himself. And he did this because though God knew his heart, he wanted to appear honorable before man as well.

This is why I think one thing we can learn from this first section is that our decisions must be guided by the desire to please God and a desire to have unquestioned integrity around us. In fact, when Paul writes to Timothy later to give him instructions concerning overseers or elders one qualification he gives is that these men must be well thought of by outsiders.

Thus, we need to see that it is important what those around us think about us. It is important that we do nothing that would allow them to question our integrity. This does not mean that we cannot do what is right because of the misguided thoughts of those around us. This kind of thing happened much with Jesus as he was ministering to sinners in order that they might come to know his Father and those around him thought he should hang around better people. His response, as we no doubt remember well, was that he had come not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. So, it does not mean that we disobey the commands of Scripture because of the misguided thoughts of some around us. For, remember that we first seek to please God.

It does mean, however, that we must factor in thoughts of appearance, etc. even if we know that God knows our hearts. It means that we cannot just say, “God knows my heart, who cares how this might appear to those around me.” This is why, for example, if I need to meet with another lady here at the church I make sure my wife or someone else can be here with us. It’s because appearance matters. Thus, one thing we need to begin (or to continue) to ask ourselves when making decisions is, “How this might appear to others.” And, if we are ever tempted to think, “Who cares about what this might communicate; God knows my heart, we might need to pause and think to see if we are compromising our integrity before the eyes of those around us.”

With that said, however, Paul turns to the Corinthians and their hearts for giving. Thus, in the next section (9:1-5) we find that …

One way in which we as believers demonstrate that we have been converted and declared righteous by God is in our desire and actions to meet the needs of those around us (9:1-5)

Paul writes in 9:1-5, “Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints, for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them. But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove vain in this matter, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be. Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated—to say nothing of you—for being so confident. So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction.”

Thus, it is indeed true that in this section Paul continues to talk about this team of men and their task of making sure they are ready, but he also comments on his confidence that they would respond with a generous gift. In fact, the heart of this section is Paul’s confidence in them. The men are coming to make sure they’re ready, but Paul has already told them they’ll be ready. In fact, he has even boasted among the Macedonians. Therefore, he wants them to be ready and show his boasting not to have been misspoken.

But why does he speak with such confidence? Well, first of all we should note that he has done this before. Paul had written in 7:14 that he had boasted to Titus that when he came with Paul’s letter calling for repentance that the Corinthians would indeed repent and feel quite sorrowful for their sin. In fact, as he thought about the sorrow it would cause them, it almost made him regret sending the letter. But when he heard of their repentance his regret quickly went away.

So, why had he boasted before to Titus? It was because Paul was convinced that a majority of the Corinthians truly were believers, and he knew the way the heart of a believer responded to being confronted with sin. Thus, he boasted that they would be sorrowful for their sin and repent.

Thus, if we turn back to the portion of our text we are now looking at in 9:1-5 and ask, “Why would Paul boast that the Corinthians would be eager to give to provide for those in need and would in fact follow through on such a desire?” we should get the same answer, I believe, namely, that Paul believed that they had truly been converted (i.e. given new hearts) and that one who is truly a believer will long to come to the aid of brothers and sisters in need and will in fact meet their need if possible.

Therefore, we can say from this text what we have already said, namely, that one way in which we as believers demonstrate that we have been converted and declared righteous by God is in our desire and actions to meet the needs of those around us. When describing believers we should be able to say, “They long to fight sin, pursue holiness, love their neighbor, etc.” And one of those things should be, “They long to meet the needs of their brothers and sisters in Christ and indeed do so.” In fact, one way you might test to see if your heart has been changed is to see if your heart is moved to meet the needs of those around you to the extent that you indeed do so, if possible.

As an encouragement in that desire, we see in the next section (9:6-11a), that …

For those who set their heart to give – and then give – God will enrich them with what they need to continue to live in such a way (9:6-11a)

Paul writes in 9:6-11a, “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 made up his mind, 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 for all your generosity.”

Paul’s goal for the Corinthians is that he wants them to give generously, willingly, cheerfully, not with regret or under compulsion. But how do you accomplish that? After all, Paul is writing this letter asking them to give and telling them that he has already boasted that they would give. So, how would they not give with the feeling of doing it under compulsion? Paul gives them the answer; it is by realizing the blessings of God in giving in such a way.

Paul compares their giving to sowing seed. Therefore, he uses a simple principle that just as if you sow sparingly you should not expect a big harvest and if you sow bountifully you should expect a great blessing, so it is with giving. That’s where Paul begins in verse 7. Then, he tells pauses for a moment to tell them how they should give, but then he returns to this note of blessing in verse 8 as he points out that God will give them what they need in order to bring about this good work of providing for their brothers and sisters. That is, Paul wants them to know that God is able to give them what they need in order to live a life of liberality and generosity toward others. He wants them to see that God can give them the ability to be content with what they have without being overcome by the desire to have more and more, that God can move their hearts to want to give, and that God can give them the material means to give. He will give them what they need spiritually and materially to live a life of generously providing for their brothers and sisters in need.

As support for this thought he references Psalm 112 in verse 9 of our text. It is a psalm in which God points us to the righteous man. And as he describes his life one detail is that he distributes from what he has freely, meeting the needs of those around him and that his righteousness endures (or goes on) forever. The idea of this verse is not only that this man acts righteously (shows in his giving), but also that God continues to enable him to live righteously. Paul wants the Corinthians to know that the same will be true for them.

Therefore, he returns to his point in verses 10-11a, saying much the same thing has said in verse 8 as he points out, “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 for all your generosity.”

The key here is that Paul does not say that he’ll supply seed for building bigger and bigger barns so that you may hoard it. But nor does Paul say that seed is not important and God will deal with other things. Rather, he points out that God will indeed supply seed, but it will be so that you might sow and display righteousness. In fact, God will enrich you in every way for (which I believe should be understood as, “for the purpose of”) your generosity.

Therefore, one way we are freed from being regretful in our giving to being cheerful and generous in our giving and provision of others is in realizing that God will enrich us in every way in order to allow us to continue to live such a lifestyle. Again, even as Nathan pointed out, for him it’s not in the form of dollars, but he often overflows with food and has given away millions of dollars of food in his lifetime. In fact, I have never seen Nate unwilling to load up his truck again and again to give away food. And we see what keeps happening, he keeps being supplied with the desire and means to do it again and again.

I think this goes back to the idea of what Paul had written to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 12-14. They were so caught up in who had certain gifts and how great they were. But Paul points out that such gifts were useless unless they had love. Therefore, he wrote chapter 13 to show them that what they need to seek is to have so much love for their neighbors that they want to minister to them, care for them, and meet their needs. Then they would be supplied with the gifts and whatever else necessary to meet them. In the words of verse 8 of our text here, “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.”

And it is true for us. Our primary concern should not be how we might gain means for providing but that we have hearts that want to provide for others and indeed, if supplied, will act to do so. That’s the kind of heart Paul says will see the Lord enriching in every way to enable a lifestyle of generosity toward others.

But why would God be so willing to do that? We see the answer in our final section (9:11b-15) as Paul shows us that …

God will enrich such people for giving because the end of their generosity will be thanksgiving to God and the praise of his glory and grace (9:11b-15)

Paul writes in 11-15, “You will be enriched in every way for all your generosity, 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 flowing 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!”

What happens from such giving is, first of all, that people’s needs are met. Secondly, however, once people’s needs are met they are going to realize that God was the one who supplied your contentment, your desire to give, and your means for giving. Then, they will thank God for his grace. They will glorify him for how great he is. They will thank God that he has indeed given you a heart to reflect his love and care and will long for you and pray for you out of thankfulness for what God has done in your life and out of a longing to see you live this way more and more.

No doubt we can all relate to this. Recently, Lili and I were given some money by a family that really met a need that would arise soon after. And I found myself immediately thanking God for his grace to move them to do that and to enable him to do that. Then, I found myself not only praying that God would bless them spiritually but also that he would bless them materially. Why? It is because I’ve seen their lives enough to know that they want to continue to live generously in meeting the needs of their brothers and sisters around them and I know that such a lifestyle will abound in thanksgiving and praise to God.

So why should we set our hearts to give? For God has said he will enrich us for such a life and because it will overflow in thanksgiving and praise to him even as the needs of those around us are met. And chiefly, we give because our lives have been changed because of the inexpressible gift that God has given to us (which Paul mentions in verse 15), namely, his Son who bled and died to pay for our sins and rose from the dead that we too might be raised to eternal life. Therefore, is it not fitting that as we come to the table to remember the gift that God has given for us in his Son that we also declare our desire to live lives of cheerful giving in order that the needs of those around us might be met to the glory of God? Indeed, I believe it is fitting. Amen.

SUFFICIENCY, SOWING, AND THE SUPREME GIFT OF CHRIST