Study 2 Corinthians 9

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1. What did Paul say concerning his writing to them about giving to the destitute saints?

It was not actually necessary because he already knew their readiness of mind and was boasting about them to the believers in Macedonia.

2.What had Paul told the saints in Macedonia?

Achaia (the region in which the city of Corinth was located) was prepared to give since last year.

3.What effect did the Corinthians' zeal for giving have on the Macedonian churches?

It stirred up most of the saints in Macedonia.

4.Why then did Paul send Titus and the other two brothers?

So his statements about the readiness of the Corinthians to give would not be found to be empty boasting. Titus and the two brothers would assist the Corinthians with the gathering and organizing of their contribution for the poor saints in Jerusalem.

5. What did Paul wish to avoid?

If some of the Macedonian believers accompanied him to Corinth, Paul did not want his party to catch the Corinthians unprepared to give to the poor saints. Both Paul and the saints of Corinth would be ashamed after all the boasting Paul had done about them while he was in Macedonia.
It appears that Paul was developing competition between the Gentile believers of Corinth and those of Macedonia so that help might be given to his destitute countrymen (Christian Jews) in Jerusalem.

6. Why had Paul urged the three men to go before him to Corinth?

So they could make ready the promised material blessing that was to be carried to Jerusalem.

7.How did Paul want the collected goods and money to be regarded?

As a blessing and not as an extracting of their possessions against their will.

8.What principle of giving does Paul present?

The person who sows sparingly will reap sparingly; the person who sows generously as giving a blessing will reap generously as being given a blessing.

9.How should each saint give of his means?

As he purposes in his heart, not grieving about it or feeling obligated or compelled to give.

10. What kind of giver does God love?

A cheerful giver.
God enjoys people who come into His Presence with gladness, with joy, with singing, with praise. God is blessed when we take pleasure in righteousness and rejoice to perform His will.
For most of us, most of the time, it is possible to look on the hopeful side of our circumstances and to be cheerful and content. We make the decision to be cheerful and hopeful. Given the same set of circumstances we can choose to find reasons to praise God, or we can choose to find reasons to blame people and God for our irritations.

It is a wise, victorious Christian who continually is blessing God and praising Him for His goodness. This is not to say that we should accept everything that happens to us as being from the Lord. Rather, when we are afflicted we should pray earnestly and continuously for the solution to our problems. In everything we are to give thanks to the Lord, at the same time letting our requests be made known to Him.

It is easy for Christian people to drift into bitterness and complaining as did Israel in the wilderness. It is easy because this is the nature of Satan and his demons. They always are bitter and complaining and people who are influenced by them always are bitter and complaining.
Every believer in the Lord Jesus should continually make an effort to cease complaining. If we strive to avoid complaining and grumbling the Spirit of God will assist us. Gaining the victory over complaining is an important aspect of the Christian discipleship.

The Lord Jesus Christ, for all His tribulations, was a Man of tremendous joy and peace. Jesus loves to serve God. He delights to do the will of the Father.
God loves a cheerful giver.

11.What is God able to do?

He is able to cause every grace and gift to be given us abundantly so that we, always in every way having enough of everything, may be able to share in every good work.

12. Read

Psalms 112:9

13.What does the above passage teach us?

That the person who gives to the poor has an abiding righteousness and honor in the Presence of the Lord.
Paul is not concerned here about the support of the ministry. The eighth and ninth chapters of Second Corinthians have to do with giving to the poor, particularly the poor believers.
If Paul were referring to the support of the ministry he would have been using passages from Malachi, Exodus, Leviticus, or Nehemiah.
Perhaps today we need to pay more attention to aiding our fellow members of the Body of Christ and less attention to supporting various "Gospel" programs of dubious worth.
In any case, the application of the eighth and ninth chapters of Second Corinthians to the support of Gospel programs is at best a secondary application, and we must keep this in mind in order to correctly grasp Paul's meaning.

14.What does the Lord God supply to mankind?

Seed for the sower and bread for eating.

15.What will the Lord God supply to the liberal saints of Corinth?

He will supply and multiply their seed for sowing and will increase the fruits of their righteousness.

16.Why will God enrich the Corinthians?

So they may be able to give liberally.

17.What will their liberality cause to happen?

It will cause many people to give thanksgiving to God as Paul brings the money to them-particularly the poor saints of Jerusalem who will be fed and clothed.

18. What two things are being accomplished?

The needs of the saints are being supplied fully and many believers are offering the sacrifices of thanksgiving to the Lord.

19. What will many believers do when they witness the offering given by the Corinthians?

They will glorify God because of the subjection to the Gospel demonstrated by the Corinthians-a subjection that corresponds with their confession of faith in Christ. Also, God will be glorified because the Corinthians have shared generously with all God's people.

20. What will the Lord's people do, therefore?

They will make intercession to God on behalf of the believers in Corinth. They will long to have fellowship with them because of the surpassing Divine grace God has given to the Corinthians.

21. For what does Paul thank God?

A gift so wondrous, so blessed, so wise, that it cannot be described. The gift to which Paul is referring is God's love, which produces within the members of the Body of Christ the willingness to help one another in love. Such help results in widespread thanksgiving to the Lord and a binding together in love of the members of the Body.

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