But God is able to make every gracious gift abound towards you, that, having in every way always all-sufficiency, ye may abound to every good work
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
according as it is written, He has scattered abroad, he has given to the poor, his righteousness remains for ever.
Paul is pressing the Corinthians to give, and he backs the appeal with a line from Psalm 112. That line describes a man with an open hand. It raises two questions. Why is generosity called righteousness and not kindness? And what is it that lasts forever?
The words come from Psalm 112, a portrait of the person who fears God and is blessed under His rule. One writer holds two things together. Christians have new and higher privileges. Yet God has not changed how He treats open-handed people.
William KellyIt is true that God has now revealed Himself in Christ according to His own nature, with heaven and eternity in view. It is true that He has given us life in His Son, redemption through His blood, and union with that glorified man at His right hand... But this does not stop the way God governs, or the pleasure He takes in blessing large and generous hearts. It was so of old; it is so now. Special privileges do not cancel His general principles.
Another writer looks at who this psalm describes.
Leslie M. GrantPsalm 112:9 is quoted in verse 9 for the generosity of the man that Psalm calls "a good man." It will be the character of the godly in Israel in a future day. They will be identified with their Messiah, and their hearts will be widened by grace toward others. The results abide forever.
Some have softened the word here into "benevolence." One writer resists that and defines the term instead.
William KellyThere is no need to change the meaning of "righteousness" here or anywhere else. It does not mean "benevolence"... but it includes it. Righteousness means acting in keeping with the relationship you are in. Those who admit that everything in their own case is of grace should generously remember the needs of others, above all in the household of faith. What could be more consistent than that?
That one word changes how a Christian should think about the money that leaves his hands.
F. B. HoleFirst of all, notice that giving is not a matter of charity. The Old Testament passage quoted in 2 Corinthians 9:9 reads, "He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness [not his charity, his righteousness] endures forever." That plainly shows that for a Christian to give is not charity in any sense. It is common, ordinary righteousness. God has poured in so much upon us that it is only righteous for us to hand out blessing to others.
The picture is of seed thrown wide, not stored up. One writer traces what God then does for the sower.
F. B. HoleHe who sows seed by dispersing abroad what he has to give has to do with a God "who is able to make all grace abound." ALL grace, note it — grace of every kind, grace in spiritual things and grace in material things. So the generous giver is "enriched in every way to be generous in every way." God enriches him so that his giving may go on and expand. This enrichment may not come in material things. God may choose to enrich him in spiritual things instead. Then the man who began by giving a little money may end by handing out a rich store of spiritual blessing.
Where does a free hand come from? One writer points to what the giver already owns.
James BoydLater in this letter we hear of the righteous man, who shows the moral characteristics of God. He scatters widely and gives to the poor, and his righteousness remains forever. Only wealthy people can afford to give away. We are made wealthy in the favour of God; there we are more than satisfied. And in the things of God, giving does not make you poor: "One gives freely, yet grows all the richer."
If giving is righteousness, then holding back is more than a missed opportunity.
F. B. HoleIf the Christian gives, no one should treat it as something wonderful and unexpected, deserving high praise. The case is rather that if he does not give he is unrighteous. It is plainly wrong for him to receive such a wealth of blessing from God and give out nothing as a result. It is not only wrong but dangerous. If a reservoir has a large intake and a choked-up outflow, a disaster of some sort is certain.
- Received — everything the believer holds came in as grace first. That intake is what makes giving normal, not heroic.
- Righteousness — the word means acting in keeping with your relationship. Remembering the needy is not charity; it is plain right dealing.
- Scattered — the giver is a sower, and God supplies him again. Sometimes with money, sometimes with a richer store of spiritual blessing.
- Blocked — a large intake with a choked outflow ends in disaster. Not giving is not neutral; it is unrighteous.
- Forever — God still blesses large and generous hearts, and the results of such giving last.
Now he that supplies seed to the sower and bread for eating shall supply and make abundant your sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness
Paul is finishing his appeal for a collection to help poor believers in Jerusalem. He steadies the Corinthians by pointing them away from their own accounts and toward God's supply. Two questions run through the verse. Is it a prayer or a promise? And what is the harvest God multiplies?
An older English translation reads the verse as a wish. Kelly says Paul is not wishing but stating a fact, and he points the reader to Isaiah 55:10.
William KellyThis is not a wish or a prayer, as the older English version makes it… Compare Isaiah 55:10. It is an assurance. The God who richly provides for us loves to give us both the means and the openings to bless others. He delights to acknowledge and reward these fruits of righteousness as if they were ours, though in truth they come from His grace and are His work through us.
Paul draws the picture from farming. A gardener knows how fast human effort runs out. One writer makes the point from an ordinary garden.
Frank WallaceIt is God who provides the seed so that things can grow and fruit can appear. God is the real source of all fruitfulness and blessing… We can provide the very best seed for our gardens. We can dig the ground. We can do everything the gardening books tell us. But if the rain does not come and the sun does not shine, nothing will happen.
Paul names two supplies: bread is for eating, seed is for scattering. So what God adds has a purpose beyond your own table.
The Bible TreasuryGod did not give these blessings to make His people comfortable in this world. He gave them so that they would be enriched in every way and made generous, so they would have something for anyone in need.
Here "righteousness" means the way a believer acts. The setting shows why giving to fellow believers counts as righteous and not just kind.
The Christian's FriendPaul is dealing with the care of poor believers in Jerusalem. Remember that the apostle John plainly ties that kind of care to love between believers… So when we acknowledge the duty to love God's people and act on it by meeting their need, as here, that is righteousness… This side of righteousness — practical righteousness, as it is sometimes called — is too often forgotten. Yet it fills a large place in Scripture.
What do "multiply" and "increase" promise? The reaping is real, but God chooses the currency, and the enrichment has a purpose — more giving.
F. B. HoleIf he gives sparingly, he reaps sparingly. If he gives generously, he reaps generously. Either way he reaps, and usually in spiritual things… God enriches him so that his giving can go on and grow. That enrichment may not come in material things. God may choose to enrich him in spiritual things instead, so that the man who began by giving a little money ends by handing out a rich store of spiritual blessing.
The harvest does not stop once the need is met. Kelly follows what such a gift produces in the people who receive it.
William KellyIt meets their needs, but it also overflows and rises into many thanksgivings to God. Those who receive it praise God, because such giving shows submission to His name… It stirs them to pray, with deep longing for the people who show such grace.
- Supply — God gives both the bread you eat and the seed you sow. The verse is an assurance about Him, not a wish about you.
- Sowing — The seed came from His hand, so scattering it is safe. He gives both the means and the openings to bless others.
- Separation — Bread is for eating; seed is for sowing. God gives more than you need so you will have something for someone else.
- Increase — The harvest is certain, but God does not measure it in money. He enriches the giver, often in spiritual things, so the giving can keep growing.
- Thanksgiving — The fruit does not stop when the need is met. It overflows into praise and prayer offered back to God.
enriched in every way unto all free-hearted liberality, which works through us thanksgiving to God.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.