2 Corinthians 9:8 - Grace and Giving.
2 Corinthians 9:8 - Grace and Giving.
2 Corinthians 9:8 (NKJV) And God is able to make all grace
abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all
things, may have an abundance for every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8 (TNIV) And God is able to bless you
abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need,
you will abound in every good work.
CONTEXT
Generosity Encouraged: 2 Corinthians 9:6-15.
COMMENTARY APPLICATIONS with Emphasis on v. 8.
Through his abounding grace, God can enable each Christian to
abound in generous deeds (see v. 11). [NIV SB 2008]
All believers are called to generous giving. Those who sow few
seeds will have a small harvest, and those who plant generously will
reap a large harvest... What you give is between you and God. Paul says
each person should decide how much he or she can give. The important
thing is not how much we give, but how we give. Give cheerfully!
Remember that you have nothing except what God has provided. Be joyful as
you give back to him... When you invest what God has given you in the
lives and ministries around you, he will use your gifts, no matter how
small, to help meet a need. Your attitude should be generous and
cheerful, not selfish and grudging. Consider it a joy to have a part in
building God's Kingdom! [The One Year Bible for New Believers re 2Co.
9:6-12]
No one has to give. In fact, Paul didn't want any reluctant
givers. A person who feels he has to give, or gives grudgingly,
shouldn't drop a single coin in the collection plate. God doesn't need the
money. And that kind of giving won't bring the giver any blessings at
all! But if we want to give--ah, then we reap tremendous blessings.
[The 365-Day Devotional Commentary re vv. 6-14]
You can never outgive God. While He invites your gifts and
offerings, He will always give you far more than you could possibly give
Him. He will never be a debtor to anyone.
Jesus declared that anybody who gave one of His followers even
a cup of water in His name would be lavishly rewarded (see Mark
9:41). He once illustrated God's generosity by describing how a wealthy
"Lord" rewarded servants with multiple cities in return for their
doubling the little bit of money he had given them. Peter once boasted to
the Lord, "See, we have left all and followed you" (Luke 18:28). He
probably expected a pat on the back. Instead Jesus told him, "Assuredly,
I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or
brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who
shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age
to come eternal life" (Luke 18:29, 30).
In one of the clearest examples of this principle in
Scripture, Jesus tells us, "Give, and it will be given to you: good
measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into
your bosom" (Luke 6:38).
It's just a fact: you can never out give God. [Life Principles
SB By Charles Stanley re 2Co. 9:8]
When you relate to God you always deal with abundance, for God
does nothing in half measures! This is true regarding His grace. The
Lord is not miserly when it comes to providing grace to His servants.
When you seek to perform a good work that God has asked you to do,
you will always find an ample supply of God's grace to sustain you.
If you begin to lose heart in the work you are doing, God's grace
upholds you and gives you the love for God and His people you require in
order to continue. When you face criticism and are misunderstood,
God's grace enables you to forgive your accusers and to sense God's
pleasure even when others do not understand what you are doing. When you
make mistakes in the work God has appointed you to do, God's grace
forgives you, sets you back on your feet, and gives you strength to
continue the work. When you complete the task God gave you and no one
expresses thanks for what you have done, the Father's grace surrounds you,
and He reminds you that you have a heavenly reward where everything
you have done in the Lord's service will be remembered.
God does not promise to provide all you need for your dreams
and projects. He does assure you that, for every good work you
attempt, you will never face a shortfall of His grace in order to
successfully complete the task God has given you. [Experiencing God Day by
Day by Henry and Richard Blackaby re 2Co9:8]
We all know how subtle the materialistic temptations are and how
convincing the rationalizations. Only by God's grace and with great effort
can we escape the shower of luxuries which has almost suffocated our
Christian compassion. All of us face this problem. Some years ago I spent
about fifty dollars on an extra suit. That's not much of course.
Besides, I persuaded myself, it was a wise investment (thanks to the 75
percent discount). But that money would have fed a starving child in
India for about a year. In all honesty we have to ask ourselves: Dare
we care at all about current fashions if that means reducing our
ability to help hungry neighbors? Dare we care more about obtaining a
secure economic future for our family than for living an
uncompromisingly Christian lifestyle?. . . We have been brainwashed to believe
that bigger houses, more prosperous businesses, more luxurious
gadgets, are worthy goals in life. As a result, we are caught in an
absurd, materialistic spiral. The more we make, the more we think we
need in order to live decently and respectably. Somehow we have to
break this cycle because it makes us sin against our needy brothers
and sisters and, therefore, against our Lord. And it also destroys
us. Sharing with others is the way to real joy. Ronald Sider [Time
With God SB]
This principle goes beyond financial giving. At work, for
example, you may donate toward the local United Way. But when a coworker
asks for some of your time to talk about a problem, what is your
response? Do you give your attention generously or grudgingly? When your
boss gives you a special assignment, do you give the project just
enough attention to get it over with, or do you jump in wholeheartedly
with energy and creativity?
What about your time and emotional energy after hours? When
your spouse or children need you, do you make yourself available
generously or grudgingly? Do you give a fair contribution of yourself to
assignments that you've volunteered for, or just a token effort?
We are constant recipients of God's generous grace. He
promises that if we will give of ourselves, He'll enable us to have an
abundance of resources for the work to which He has called us (v. 8).
[Word In Life SB re vv. 6-11]
MINI DEVOTIONAL VIDEO ON THIS PASSAGE
http://www.itiswritten.com/television#episodes/2609
