9 As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” 10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, 11 while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.
9:9
As it is written:
Paul now cited Psalm 112:9 (from LXX) as evidence of God’s sufficiency. The subject of Psalm 112 is “Blessed is the man who fears the LORD.”
“He [God] has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor [day-laborer];
God is in the business of providing for His own and even to the poor. Generosity is an expression of God’s own righteousness.
His righteousness [beneficence] endures forever.”
God will never forget a righteous act that benefits others. It reaps an eternal reward.
9:10
Now may He who supplies seed to the sower,
God provides seed to the sower. God is the source for the money the believer gives. This phrase and the next may be an allusion to Isaiah 55:10.
and bread [necessities] for food,
God’s grace gives bread to the poor. The idea is that the believer does not here sow his seed for his life’s necessities; this seed does not multiply. God wants the Christian to have his needs met, but that is not the point here. However, the money given beyond one’s necessities is given on the grace principle.
supply and multiply the seed you have sown
God would bless the Corinthian church for their act of giving to the poor in Jerusalem. He would not only “supply” for their need but “multiply” their capacity. Only what the believer gives is multiplied. The more money he gives, the more money God supplies for him. Thus, God multiplies the believer’s giving; that is, the seed sown for others. He does not multiply the funds kept for oneself.
and increase the fruits [harvest] of your righteousness [open handedness],
God will reward those who give to those in need. There was no reason to fear that the Corinthian generosity would cause want in their lives. Those who sow righteousness will enlarge their harvest. This phrase may be an allusion to Hosea 10:12.
All of the believer’s spiritual and material blessings originate with God. The Lord also multiplies those blessings. The reference here is to God’s sovereignty: He provides both the seed and the harvest. As God provides for the believer, the believer should provide for others. The seeds that the believer sows are only a small part of the seeds he will receive in the harvest. He can depend on God to sovereignly manage the situation.
9:11
while you are enriched in everything for all liberality [generosity],
A reason God enriches believers with His grace is that they will be liberal or generous in their giving. The word “enriched” is the Greek passive voice, which alludes to God as the agent who does the enriching.
The word “enriched” does not imply that God gives financial success to satisfy selfish desires. The idea is that the Corinthians should be generous. The present tense indicates that God is in the process of enriching believers in their giving. The Corinthians were channels of God’s blessing. The person who practices grace-giving will always have the material resources he needs.
Once again, we have the Greek word for “all” in the word “everything” and “all” in this phrase. God never closes His hand to people who give some of their resources to others. Their means of providing will increase so that they can continue their generosity.
which causes thanksgiving through us to God.
Generous giving shows how God sovereignly provides for His own. This, in turn, causes thanksgiving to God. God brought the gospel to the Corinthians so that they could thank God.
PRINCIPLE:
The more a person provides for others, the more God enriches him to give further.
APPLICATION:
We can see God’s all-sufficiency throughout 2 Corinthians (2 Co 1:9, 21; 2:14, 16; 3:5-6; 4:5, 7, 10; 6:6-7; 9:8-11; 10:17; 12:7-10; 13:4). Giving pivots around God’s all-sufficiency to expand our capacity to give.
Selfish people are not rich. Their money exists solely for their own needs. It is feasible to give without loving but not to love without giving.
