2 Corinthians Chapter 9
Showing all 15 verses for 2 Corinthians Chapter 9.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"For as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you: "
"When it comes to this gift for God's people, I really don't need to write to you about it."
Sometimes the kindest way to encourage someone is to affirm the good you already see in them, rather than lecturing them as if they need convincing from scratch.
"For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many. "
"I know how eager you are - I've been bragging about you to the Macedonians, telling them Achaia has been ready since last year, and your enthusiasm has spurred a great many of them on."
Let good example spread - your genuine enthusiasm for doing what's right can quietly encourage other people towards it too, often more than you'd expect.
"Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be ready: "
"Still, I've sent these brothers ahead so that our bragging about you doesn't turn out to be empty - so that, as I said, you'll actually be ready."
Back up your good words about someone with practical help that actually makes those words come true - don't just leave people to sort it out alone.
"Lest haply if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you unprepared, we (that we say not, ye) should be ashamed in this same confident boasting. "
"Because if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we - not to mention you - would be embarrassed after being so confident about you."
It's honest, not weak, to admit when your own credibility is tied up with someone else keeping their word - that kind of openness is what real relationship actually looks like.
"Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness. "
"So I thought it best to urge these brothers to go ahead of me and get your promised gift ready in advance - so that it's prepared as a genuine gift, not something squeezed out of you at the last minute."
Give in your own time, from a genuinely settled heart, rather than scrambling at the last minute to avoid looking bad - the state of your heart matters just as much as the gift itself.
"But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. "
"Here's the principle: whoever plants only a little will only harvest a little; whoever plants generously will harvest generously."
What you sow into other people's lives tends to come back around to you in some form - holding tightly onto everything shrinks your world, while genuine generosity expands it.
"Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. "
"Everyone should give what they've decided in their own heart to give - not reluctantly or because they feel forced - because God loves someone who gives with joy."
I'm not interested in gifts squeezed out of guilt or pressure - give because it genuinely makes you glad to help someone, and if it doesn't yet feel that way, it's worth asking why, rather than giving anyway through gritted teeth.
"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: "
"And God can pour out more grace than you need, so that you'll always have enough of everything, with plenty left over for every good thing you want to do."
Don't let the fear of running out stop you from giving - trust that there's more than enough for you to keep on doing good, both for yourself and for others.
"(As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. "
"As it says in scripture: he has scattered his gifts freely, given to the poor - and his goodness lasts forever."
What you give away outlasts what you keep for yourself - that's the kind of wealth that actually stands the test of time.
"Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) "
"The one who supplies seed to the farmer and bread to eat will also supply and multiply what you plant, and grow the harvest of your generosity."
What you have isn't just for keeping - think of it as seed, meant to be planted in other people's lives, trusting that more will keep being supplied.
"Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. "
"You'll be made rich in every way, so that you can be generous in every way - and that generosity, carried out through us, results in people thanking God."
Let what you've been given flow outward until it becomes someone else's gratitude - that's really what it was for all along, not for you to simply hold onto.
"For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; "
"This service doesn't just meet people's practical needs - it also overflows into a great deal of thanksgiving to God."
When you meet someone's real need, you're doing more than you might realise - you're opening a door to gratitude that reaches further than just the two of you.
"Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men; "
"Through this proof of service, they'll praise God both for how you've lived out your faith in the gospel, and for how generously you've shared with them and with everyone."
Your generosity can be the clearest sermon you'll ever give - people tend to believe what you actually do far more readily than what you merely say.
"And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you. "
"And they'll pray for you, longing to meet you, because of the extraordinary grace of God at work in you."
Generosity doesn't just move money - it moves hearts towards each other, even across real distance and real difference, so never underestimate what a gift can build between people.
"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. "
"Thank God for his gift that is beyond words."
Everything you give is really just an echo of what you've already been given - let gratitude, not obligation, be the real engine behind your generosity.