3, 4 Shall the Achaians have to blush before the Macedonians? Surely not, they will come through. If the Corinthians do not come through with an offering, Paul's boast of them has proved idle. Gould translates this verse, "But I sent the brethren in order that our boasting for you may not be made void in this respect" (p. 197). Paul does not want to be ashamed and embarrassed (kataischunthomen) or disgraced in the Corinthians, if they prove unprepared (aparaskeuastous) or not ready. He has great confidence (hupostasei) or assurance in them. Paul did not want to be humiliated, nor did he think the Corinthians wanted to be. This is a bold and daring challenge.
5 "Therefore, I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty (eulogian) or your blessing, of which ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness (pleonexian) or greediness." This is one of the reasons for Paul's epistle, he wanted Titus and the brethren to pick up their bounty or blessing. "(Paul) explains why he had chosen to follow this precautionary course - so that the Corinthian gift of money, already collected before Paul arrived, might appear to be a gift out of their love rather than an assessment extorted by Paul upon his arrival" (Yeager, p. 445). Paul preferred the word "bounty" or "blessing" rather than "extortion." He wanted the Corinthians to give a "free gift on their own," and not as something which Paul had wrung from them. Paul, however, literally rubs it in that the pledge was overdue.
6 "But this I say, He who soweth sparingly (pheidomenos) or sparsely shall reap also sparingly; and he who soweth bountifully (eulogiais) or with blessings shall reap also bountifully." The metaphor of the harvest implies that the more generous the gift the richer will be the return; and that "withholding more than is meet (fitting)" will only tend to poverty. The wise man wrote, (Proverbs 11:24), "There is he that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is he that withholdeth more than is fitting, but it tendeth to poverty." Proverbs 19:17 reads, "He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord, and that which he hath given will he pay him again." The heart must not only go with but anticipate the hand. "No farmer expects to obtain a bountiful crop from sparsely sown seed. Neither should any Christian expect to receive rich blessings in his life if he has a stingy attitude toward giving. The word 'bountifully' means 'with blessings,' and therefore conveys the spirit of giving as well as the measure of it. Where there is happy, holy generosity, there will inevitably be a commensurate harvest of blessing to the soul of the giver. Conversely, where there is meanness of spirit there will be leanness of soul" (The Sunday School Times, November 16, 1963, p. 8).
7 "Every man according as he purposeth (proertai) or decides in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly (lupes) or with grief, or of necessity (anagkes) or distress; for God loveth a cheerful (hilaron) or joyful giver." A gift out of compulsion is not good; however, the hilarious giver does so with laughter, song and cheer. After all God is not broke; He does not need our money. It is a privilege to give to the Lord's work. God blesses a heart that is filled with generosity. "An old lady in India was once asked the price of a temple in the process of building. She turned to the missionary and said, 'We don't know. It is for our god. We don't count the cost.' Let us not count the cost of any sacrifice for our Lord" (The Sunday School Times, November 16, 1963, p. 14).
8 - 11 "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye, always having all sufficiency (autarkeian) or enough in all things, may abound to every good work." God can give such abundant gifts that we will not feel the loss of a generous contribution to His service. The man who places all his trust upon God will be "perfect and entire, lacking (wanting) nothing" (James 1:4; Philippians 4:11, 19). Yeager points out "the superlatives in this verse - en panti, pantote, pasan - every gift, every situation, at all times, total self-sufficiency, every good work. God's oversupply of grace contributes to our oversupply of Christian service in every good activity. We need never fear that we will lack the resources to do all that He has marked out for us to do..." (p. 449). "The Christian reveals his faith by first honoring his duty to God and His work. Notice the 'overplus' of this verse: three 'alls,' two 'abounds,' one 'always,' and one 'every.' Read the verse through slowly putting the emphasis on these words; then realize that although they were written in the first place about money, they are true and reliable in all matters of life" (The Sunday School Times, November 16, 1963, p. 9).
Then Paul quotes from Psalm 112:9 which reads, "(The good man) hath distributed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth forever; his horn shall be exalted with honor." The Christian can not out give God; someone has said that God has a larger shovel. We shovel out blessings upon others, and God shovels out blessings to His children. Hughes says of this verse, "...The Christian believer has, if anything, an added incentive and obligation (over the Old Testament saints) because he is the beneficiary of the supreme gift of God's redeeming grace in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. 'Freely ye received; freely give' (Matthew 10:4) is the proper logic of his generosity" (p. 333).
It is Jehovah God Who "ministereth (epichoregon) or supplies seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply (plethunei) or increases your seed sown, and increase (auxesei) or gives the fruits of your righteousness." "The general thought is that God supplies to men the materials and the fruits of their work. And the particular seed which they are sowing is alms and blessings for the poor. God will then, according to the general law, supply and multiply the means for this good work" (Gould, p. 199). Even Isaiah extolled the greatness of God the Overproducer in 55:8 - 11 where Isaiah likens the word of God to seed, "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth, it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." "Being enriched (ploutizomenoi) or endued with wealth in everything to all bountifulness (aploteta) or generosity, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God." Paul and his associates are merely agents in collecting and distributing the gifts of the Corinthians.
12 - 14 "For the administration of this service not only supplieth (prosanatlerousa) or fills the want (husteremata) or that which is lacking of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; while by the proving or experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection (hupotage) or obedience unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal (aploteti) or generous distribution unto them, and unto all men, and by their prayer for you, who long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you." All this is in one elongated sentence. There are two results of the Corinthians' generosity: (1) it makes up the financial deficit of the poor, which is its local primary function, and (2) it also results in an overflow of praise to God of those who are grateful (Yeager, p. 456). When the saints at Jerusalem receive the offering, they will thank God, and He will get the honor and glory for the Corinthians' contribution.
15 Now Paul bursts forth with a "thanks be unto God for His unspeakable (anekdiegeto) or indescribable gift." Of course, the unspeakable gift is the Lord Jesus Christ; God's love through Christ is inestimable love (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; Galatians 2:20). Superlatives are not enough to describe God's gift to mankind - unspeakable, indescribable, undeclarable, inexpressible and unrelatable; (Thayer, p. 193) hence, it is of such great worth as to beggar description (Yeager, p. 459). "God's unspeakable gift is His grace in Jesus Christ, a beautiful fruit of which is this mutual love and good-will of Christians, though of different nations and far distant" (Gould, p. 200). Robertson says of this verse, "(It is) one of Paul's gems flashed out after the somewhat tangled sentence (vs. 10 - 14) like a gleam of light that clears the air" (p. 250).
Kistemaker comments on this verse as follows, "We see God's indescribable gift, namely, his Son Jesus Christ, in the development and progress of the church. In his lifetime, Paul saw God's kingdom advancing from Jerusalem to Rome and parts of the Roman Empire. In our times we witness its worldwide growth, power, and influence. Paul called attention to God's inexpressible gift of salvation and gave thanks. With him, we too express our gratitude to God for the coming of His son. On this earth we will never be able to fathom the depth of God's love for us, the infinite value of our salvation, and the gift of eternal life. God's gift indeed is indescribable! (pp. 322, 323).
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