The doctrine of glorifying God, Part 11, John 15:8.

Title: The doctrine of glorifying God, Part 11, John 15:8.

 

j. Giving with right motivation glorifies God, 2 Co 9:13.

 

The Corinthians had promised a gift to Paul’s ministry in Macedonia a year prior, but then they thought better of it, and the gift didn’t arrive. The Corinthians out of fellowship thought of the gift grudgingly. Paul had already boasted about the graciousness of the Corinthians so in order to save them the embarrassment he writes to them the law of giving.

 

No one can get around the Law of Giving. All of us and in every dispensation, reap what we sow.

 

The reason why giving is a law is that it is a part of the essence of God. God is love and love motivates Him to give. But this law cannot include the human type of love since all of God’s essence is governed by Justice. Human love is selfish and self motivated, but under God’s Justice love must follow rules of divine perfection.

 

Any giving by the believer must be motivated by divine agape love and not human love, therefore the right attitude in giving can only exist by means of doctrine and the Spirit.

 

Since divine love can only exist within us by means of the word and the Spirit then giving essentially must follow the same pattern, as Paul communicates by means of the Spirit in this passage.

 

2 Cor 9:6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully.

 

If this turns into a little game with God and your true motivation in giving is to get dividends from God then your motivation is selfish and not based upon grace. The sower is given the seed, the water from the sky, the proper soil, etc. God provides it all. So what we’re giving was never really ours to begin with.

 

Go back to:

2 Cor 9:5 So I thought it necessary to urge the brethren that they would go on ahead to you and arrange beforehand your previously promised bountiful gift, that the same might be ready as a bountiful gift, and not affected by covetousness.

As I mentioned, the Corinthians had promised a gift to Paul for the poor in Jerusalem, but maybe being caught up in the moment or whatever happened, after Paul left Corinth they thought better of it and didn’t send the gift. Paul had already bragged about the graciousness of the Corinthians to the other churches in Asia and so Paul reveals to them the true principle in giving, and that is that the giver receives more than the receiver.

 

 “gift” - euvlogi,a[eulogia] = grace giving, which under the Law of Giving is an even greater blessing to the giver.

 

Acts 20:35

remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

 

“not affected by covetousness,” refers to giving with strings attached or giving with some hope of reward in return.

 

2 Cor 9:7Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart [giving is based on a system of thinking from grace and therefore it is based in doctrine]; not grudgingly or under compulsion [no pressure, no gimmicks, and no compulsion]; for God loves a cheerful giver.

 

2 Cor 9:8And God is able [powerful] to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed [giving and all other functions that glorify God];

 

2 Cor 9:9as it is written [PSA 112:9],

"He scattered abroad [in eterity past], he gave [in time] to the poor [all of us - the helpless],

His righteousness abides forever."

 

We are all poor in the sense of being helpless without God. God’s giving includes the materialism and wealth that we need to live, but we could all be billionaires and still lack what is important, which is eternal life.

 

The illustration is simply God’s gift to mankind. He became a man and dwelt among us and He went to the cross so that He would deliver us.

 

“His righteousness abides [meno] forever,” refers to His character in doing what is right, and in this case, what is right is being a gracious giver. God desires us under election to share in His highest and best so He desires us to be gracious.

 

He desired it so much that He gave us all the materialism to be gracious with.

 

This anticipates verse 10 where He supplies us with every material thing as well as everything we need to also walk in that righteousness that makes us gracious givers. The most important thing you need is to have an attitude of grace through faith in doctrine. The materialism, whether it be much or little, will always be there to follow your gracious attitude.

 

2 Cor 9:10Now He who supplies [epichoregeo] seed to the sower and bread for food [logistical grace], will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness;

 

 “supplies” - evpicorege,w[epichoregeo] = a wealthy man that supplied the money for the chorus in a Greek drama = God the Father.

 

The epichoregeo had to be wealthy and he had to be interested in the drama he was producing. God the Father is both of these. The intimation is that we are on the stage of the AC and we are bankrolled by God in logistical grace support as well as a mental attitude of grace from doctrine. If we follow the Law of Giving we will reap abundantly and operate in righteousness.

 

God provides the money to give, but He also provides the doctrinal teaching that produces a gracious attitude as well as faith in the Law of Giving.

 

The greatest example of this is the widow’s 2 copper coins.

 

 

 

 

After being asked by certain spies sent to Him by the leading priests and scribes whether it was right to pay taxes to Caesar, the Lord took a brief walk to a part of the temple building where the court of the women was visible to Him. He watched from afar the people who were giving.

 

Luke 21:1 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury.

 

It is estimated that 0,000 [in today’s dollar] was donated per year to the temple treasury in the Lord’s day.

 

The rich were given certain privileges in the temple for their large gifts.

 

Luke 21:2And He saw a certain poor widow putting in two small copper coins.

 

Women were not required to pay the temple tribute of half a shekel. This is the voluntary offering. She has no husband to support her and since all she has to live on is two copper coins, together 196^th of a days wage it is probable that she has no sons to support her either. She is most likely a housecleaner who will gain more money the next day, but for today, all she has are two Perutahs or pennies, and one was not allowed to give less, so she couldn’t give one and keep the other, yet I’m sure that was never on her mind anyway.

 

Luke 21:3 And He said, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them;

 

Luke 21:4for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on. "

 

She gave sacrificially and without a clue that anyone was watching her. Little did she know that she would become famous and the ultimate example of gracious, sacrificial giving in the church. She won’t know anything about it until the judgment seat of Christ.

 

None of us will know the full impact of our “attitude” in giving until it is revealed at the judgment seat of Christ.