24 The Path to Prosperity

(2 Corinthians 9:6–15)

Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 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; 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! (9:6–15)

To the three American “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence our society would add a fourth: the right to the pursuit of prosperity. The headlong pursuit of wealth is the consuming passion of the age. Self-styled financial gurus churn out a bewildering plethora of books, infomercials and other TV programs, Web sites, newsletters, and magazines. Some offer sound advice; most promote dubious get-rich-quick schemes. But they all claim to have the road map to the modern-day El Dorado—the mythical city of gold the Spanish Conquistadors so eagerly sought. People today pursue their own El Dorados with the ruthless single-mindedness that characterized the Conquistadors—and often just as unsuccessfully.

Sadly, the church has fallen prey to the world’s relentless pursuit of materialism. Some Christians view wealth as a sign of God’s blessing, and thus consider financial success to be an essential qualification for church leaders.

The most outrageous example of materialism in the name of Christianity is, unquestionably, the heretical Word Faith movement, or Health and Wealth Gospel. Its proponents unabashedly proclaim that God’s will is for all believers to be rich. If they claim riches by faith and speak positively of them, that verbal confession itself creates the wealth. Word Faith teachers insist that God is obligated to deliver the goods believers request. They are so bold as to replace the sovereign God of Scripture (cf. Ps. 103:19; 1 Tim. 6:15) with the sovereignty of the believer who wields creative power to make himself healthy and wealthy by his own faith. God becomes a utilitarian genie who grants believers’ every desire. (For a critique of the Word Faith movement, see John MacArthur, Charismatic Chaos [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992]; D. R. McConnell, A Different Gospel [Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1988].)

But believers cannot, in spite of what Word Faith deceivers shamelessly proclaim, create their own reality for their own indulgence. Such a self-centered, prideful desire does not ever characterize genuine believers. It is true that some godly men, such as Job and Abraham, were very wealthy. Yet Paul described himself as “both hungry and thirsty, … poorly clothed, … roughly treated, and … homeless” (1 Cor. 4:11), while Jesus said of Himself, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Luke 9:58). The church has always consisted of both rich (cf. Matt. 27:57; Acts 4:36–37; 8:27; 10:1–2; 16:14–15; 17:4; 1 Tim. 6:17) and poor (cf. Acts 6:1; 1 Cor. 1:26; 2 Cor. 8:2) people, because according to His own sovereign purposes “the Lord makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts” (1 Sam. 2:7).

Rich or poor, however, the Bible warns against “the deceitfulness of riches” (Mark 4:19), and exhorts, “Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, cease from your consideration of it. When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings like an eagle that flies toward the heavens” (Prov. 23:4–5). In Matthew 6:24 Jesus declared, “You cannot serve God and wealth,” while in Luke 12:15 He warned, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed.” Greed characterizes unbelievers (Ps. 10:3; Rom. 1:29; 1 Cor. 6:10; Eph. 5:3), especially false teachers (1 Tim. 6:5; Titus 1:11; 2 Peter 2:1–3, 14–15; Jude 11), and is a form of idolatry (Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5). In sharp contrast to the materialism promoted by prosperity teachers, Jesus commanded, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal” (Matt. 6:19–20).

God has a very different plan for financial soundness than that of worldly or pseudo-Christian materialism. Instead of trying to speak wealth into existence, God’s plan involves hard work, wise investment, and careful saving. But in contrast to man-centered self-indulgence, the means for prosperity is not greedy accumulation—but the opposite, generous giving:

Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine. (Prov. 3:9–10)

There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, and there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want. The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered. (Prov. 11:24–25)

One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his good deed. (Prov. 19:17)

He who gives to the poor will never want. (Prov. 28:27)

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.” (Mal. 3:10)

“Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” (Luke 6:38)

The point of those verses is clear: The more one gives, the more God gives back in return.

In this passage Paul expressed that principle using familiar agricultural imagery: Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Every farmer recognizes that the size of the harvest is directly proportionate to the amount of seed sown. The farmer who sows seed sparingly will reap a meager harvest; the one who sows bountifully will … reap a great harvest. In the spiritual realm, the principle is that giving to God results in blessing from God; bountifully translates eulogia, which literally means “blessing.” Generous givers will reap generous blessings from God, while those who hold back selfishly fearing loss will forfeit gain.

In chapters 8 and 9, Paul sought to motivate the Corinthians to complete their giving for the needy members of the Jerusalem church. First, he reminded them of the example set by the Macedonians (8:1–9), then he gave them a direct exhortation (8:10–9:5), and in this section he pointed out the potential benefits. God graciously promises a harvest in accord with what believers sow. The appeal is not, of course, to self-interest. The promise is not that God will reward generous givers so they can consume it on their own desires. The real purpose of God’s gracious rewarding of believers will become evident as the passage unfolds.

To motivate the Corinthians to give, Paul gave a fivefold description of the harvest that would result: love from God, generosity from God, glory to God, friends from God, and likeness to God.

LOVE FROM GOD

Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (9:7)

It is hard to imagine a more precious promise than to be the personal object of God’s love. All the world’s acclaim, honor, and rewards given to all philanthropists put together does not come close to this privilege of being loved by God. Yet that is what He promises the cheerful giver. God loves the world in a general sense (John 3:16), but He has a deeper, more wonderful love for His own (John 13:1; 1 John 4:16), and a special love for each one of His who gives cheerfully.

Cheerful giving comes from inside, from the heart, rather than from external coercion. It begins by giving just as one has purposed in his heart. Once again, Paul stressed the truth that Christian giving is strictly voluntary (see the discussion of 8:3 in chapter 21 of this volume). But though it is not forced, neither is it casual, careless, or a mere afterthought. Proaire? (purposed), used only here in the New Testament, has the idea of predetermination. Though there is spontaneous joy in giving, it is still to be planned and systematic (1 Cor. 16:2), not impulsive and sporadic. Nor is giving to be done grudgingly. Lup? (grudgingly) literally means, “sorrow,” “grief,” or “pain.” Giving is not to be done with an attitude of remorse, regret, or reluctance, of mourning over parting with what is given. And, as noted above, it is not to be under compulsion from any legalistic external pressure.

The giving that God approves of comes from a cheerful giver. Cheerful translates hilaros, from which the English word hilarious derives. Happy, joyous givers, who are joyous in view of the privilege of giving, are the special objects of God’s love.

GENEROSITY FROM GOD

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; you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, (9:8–11a)

While it is possible to give without loving, it is not possible to love without giving. God gives His Son to all believers, but as previously noted, He blesses in a unique way generous, cheerful givers. In fact, He blesses such believers on such a grand, immense, staggering scale that it beggars language to express it. Trying to convey the magnanimity of God’s generosity, Paul resorted to hyperbole, using a form of the word pas (all) five times in verse 8. God’s gracious giving has no limits; it is off the scale.

Since giving naturally seems to result in having less, not more, it takes faith to believe that giving will open up God’s blessing. Christians must believe that what God has promised to do He is able to do. Dunate? (is able) literally means “has power.” God’s power is great (Deut. 4:37; 9:29; Neh. 1:10; Pss. 66:3; 79:11; Jer. 32:17; Nah. 1:3; Rev. 11:17) and is exhibited in creation, providence, miracles, salvation, the resurrections of Jesus Christ and believers, and in the eternal destruction of the wicked in hell. Not surprisingly, then, Paul expressed his concern “that [the Corinthians’] faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:5).

Human wisdom teaches that prosperity comes from grasping for wealth, not from giving it away. But faith trusts in God’s promise to bless the giver and in His ability to keep His promises, knowing that He is able to “do exceeding abundantly beyond all that [believers] ask or think” (Eph. 3:20), guard and preserve them (2 Tim. 1:12; Heb. 7:25; Jude 24), help them when they are tempted (Heb. 2:18), and raise them from the dead (Heb. 11:19). Believers, like Abraham, must be “fully assured that what God [has] promised, He [is] able also to perform” (Rom. 4:21).

God gives back magnanimously so as to make all grace abound to Christians who give generously. He gives so freely and abundantly that His children will always have all sufficiency in everything. In this context, that refers primarily to material resources, because the harvest must be of the same nature as the seed. Having sown material wealth by their giving, believers will reap an abundant harvest of material blessing in return. God graciously replenishes what they give so that they lack nothing; He will continuously provide the generous giver with the means of further expressing that generosity.

To the Cynic and Stoic philosophers of Paul’s day autarkeia (sufficiency) meant independence from people and circumstances. They viewed such independence as essential to true happiness. But the believer’s sufficiency does not come from independence from circumstances but rather from dependence on God. As Paul wrote to the Philippians, “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).

The reason God gives back to those who give is not, as prosperity teachers falsely imply and exemplify, so people can consume it on their own desires with bigger cars, homes, and jewels. God supplies them so they will have an abundance for every good deed. The Lord will fully supply cheerful givers with what they need to use for what is good work to the honor of the Lord. He constantly replenishes what they expend so the cycle of giving and ministering to others can continue. Generous givers are the people whose lives are most full of righteous deeds.

Lest anyone think this was some radical new social welfare plan he had concocted, Paul cited Psalm 112:9 to show this has always been God’s plan. The phrase as it is written is the standard New Testament way of introducing an Old Testament quote (Mark 1:2; 7:6; Luke 2:23; 3:4; John 6:31; 12:14–15; Acts 7:42; 15:15; Rom. 1:17; 2:24; 3:4, 10; 4:17; 8:36; 9:13, 33; 10:15; 11:8, 26; 15:3, 9, 21; 1 Cor. 1:31; 2:9; 10:7). Because the generous giver scatter[s] abroad and gives to the poor, his righteousness endures forever. God will replenish and reward him both in time and eternity.

Deuteronomy 15:10–11 also illustrates this point. In verse 10 God declared through Moses, “You shall generously give to [the poor man], and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings.” Those who were generous to the needy received God’s material blessings. But the purpose was not so that they could be like the rich fool in Jesus’ parable, who said, “This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry’” (Luke 12:18–19). Verse 11 reveals the purpose of God’s blessing. Moses reminded his hearers that “the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’” God’s constant resupply allowed them to continually give to meet the needs of others.

Paul reinforced his point with a third Old Testament quote, this one from Isaiah 55:10. That generous giving will impoverish no one is evident since He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply their seed for sowing. God is the One who supplies seed to the sower because He created all the earth’s vegetation (Gen. 1:11–12). Thus He provides the grain that provides bread for food. The same God who provides seed for the harvest in the natural world will multiply generous givers’ seed for sowing. They sow the seed and then reap the harvest, which in turn provides more seed for sowing in an ever-expanding cycle. The ultimate harvest of generous giving is not only eternal reward, but also temporal blessing in this life for those who “sow with a view to righteousness, [and] reap in accordance with kindness” (Hos. 10:12). They will be enriched in everything, equipping them for all liberality in their giving.

GLORY TO GOD

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 (9:11b–13)

The noblest goal of any human endeavor is that God be glorified (cf. 1 Cor. 10:31). The Corinthians’ generous liberality was already, through Paul, Titus, and the others involved in collecting the offering, producing thanksgiving to God from the people benefited. When the Jerusalem saints received the Corinthians’ gift, they too would praise and exalt God for motivating the Corinthians to this generosity.

The human race is like a thankless child, and God is deeply grieved and offended by those who do “not honor Him as God or give thanks” (Rom. 1:21). On the other hand, giving thanks brings glory to Him (2 Cor. 4:15). In verse 12 Paul described the Corinthians’ ministry of giving with the word leitourgia (service), which refers to priestly service (cf. Luke 1:23). The collection was not primarily a social program but a spiritual service to God.

So generous did Paul expect the Corinthians’ offering to be that he anticipated it would be capable of fully supplying the needs of the saints. The word translated fully supplying consists of the verb plēroō with two prepositions added to it for emphasis. The apostle again stressed the large size of the Corinthians’ gift, which he had earlier referred to as a “generous gift” (8:20). That suggests that the Corinthians were relatively well-off financially. Corinth was an important commercial city, and persecution evidently had not affected the church there as it had the impoverished Macedonian churches. The Corinthians’ generosity would meet needs, but more importantly, it would also result in many thanks givings to God when the poor believers in Jerusalem praised God for the Corinthians’ gift.

That gift would also give evidence of the genuineness of the Corinthians’ salvation. Because of the proof given by the ministry (the Corinthians’ gift), people would glorify God for that church’s obedience to their confession of the gospel of Christ. Jewish believers in the early church were often suspicious of Gentile converts. Many in the Jerusalem church were appalled at the news that Peter had preached the gospel to Gentiles (Acts 11:1–3), and it was only with difficulty that they were persuaded to accept them as brothers in Christ (Acts 11:4–18). It must have been especially difficult for them to believe that the Corinthians’ faith was genuine. The city’s reputation for immorality was widespread in the Roman world, and the chaotic condition of the Corinthian church would have done little to allay Jewish believers’ suspicions.

But the Corinthians’ sacrificial giving tangibly demonstrated love for their fellow believers, that mark of genuineness (1 John 2:10; 3:17–18; 4:20–21). It proved they were “doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:22; cf. Eph. 2:10). The Corinthians’ obedience proved the genuineness of their confession of the gospel of Christ. Their good works did not save them but gave evidence that they possessed a living faith, not a dead faith that is unable to save (James 2:14–26). All who heard of the liberality of the Corinthians’ contribution would give “thanks … to the glory of God” (2 Cor. 4:15).

FRIENDS FROM GOD

while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. (9:14)

Some may think that poor believers have nothing to offer rich ones, but that is not the case. The prayers of the poor are the reward of the rich, and the believers in Jerusalem would repay the Corinthians’ generosity by offering prayer on their behalf. And not only the Jerusalem saints, but also other believers would hear of the Corinthians’ genuine faith and pray for them. Real unity in the church is founded on sound doctrine and mutual prayer. The Corinthians’ gift would enlarge the circle of friends who were committed to praying for them; as Jesus said in the parable of the unjust manager (Luke 16:1–13), they would make “friends for [themselves] by means of the mammon of unrighteousness, so that when it fail[ed], they [would] receive [them] into the eternal dwellings” (v. 9).

Not only would their fellow believers pray for the Corinthians, they would also yearn for a deeper, more intimate fellowship with them. That desire would be stimulated when they saw the surpassing grace of God in the Corinthians. Other believers would long both to pray for and to have fellowship with those in whom God’s grace was working so mightily.

LIKENESS TO GOD

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (9:15)

This simple concluding benediction is one of the richest statements in Scripture. God’s indescribable gift is, of course, His Son—the most magnanimous, glorious, wonderful gift ever given, the gift that inspires all other gifts.

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa. 9:6)

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” (John 3:16–17)

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (Rom. 8:32)

But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law. (Gal. 4:4)

By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:9–10)

God’s gift of the Lord Jesus Christ is the basis for Christian giving. Jesus was the “grain of wheat [that] falls into the earth and dies, … but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24). God, as it were, planted Him as a seed and reaped a harvest of redeemed people. Believers are called to “be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Eph. 5:1), and they are never more like Him than when they give.

Subsequent history reveals how the Corinthians responded to Paul’s plea in chapters 8 and 9 regarding the offering. Sometime after writing 2 Corinthians, Paul visited Corinth as he had planned (2 Cor. 12:14; 13:1–2). He remained there about three months (Acts 20:1–3), during which time he penned Romans. In that letter, Paul revealed that the Corinthians had responded positively concerning the collection:

Now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things. (Rom. 15:25–27)