2 Corinthians 9:6-11 “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. (7) So, let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. (8) And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. (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.”
As I have already mentioned, the second area that begins to change in our lives when we begin to trust God to prosper us, is that we start to become more liberal in our giving. The above quoted passage of scripture is specifically referring to the giving of finances, for the Holy Spirit speaks of our having all sufficiency in all things and giving to the poor. There are two things that the Holy Spirit teaches us from this passage that I want to highlight. Firstly, we can only reap that which we sow and the amount we reap is directly proportional to the amount we sow. And so it is so important for believers to begin giving as soon as possible after they come into the kingdom of God, and to continue giving throughout their Christian walk, so that they may enjoy a continual harvest. Someone said, but I can’t afford to give. There are many in body of Christ that are in dire financial need themselves, and so how do they begin to give? One way would be to fast one meal a week for example, and use that money to pay for a meal for someone less fortunate than yourself, and so that would be seed sown which God can use to multiply and give you a harvest. The point is to start sowing where you are and expect the Lord to give increase to your seed sown, for God always multiplies our seed sown. The second and more important thing that the Holy Spirit teaches us in the above quoted passage is that our attitude in giving is very important to God, for God looks on the heart. There are two ways that believers can give. They can either give from the flesh or they can give from the spirit. If believers give from the flesh, one or more of the following attitudes will be made manifest. They will either give grudgingly, because they believe that it is expected of them to give. Or they will give from necessity, because they believe that if they don’t give then God won’t bless them and He may even allow a curse to come upon them. Or they will give from an attitude of pride, boasting to themselves and to God, because of how much they give. None of these attitudes pleases God however, and so if believers find that any one of these attitudes are motivating them to give then they should rather refrain from giving, for God will not bless that and they will not reap a harvest. Those who give from the spirit however, will always give from an attitude of love i.e. love for God and love for others. And it is only when we give from an attitude of love that we experience God’s blessing, for the scripture teaches us that even though we bestow all our goods to feed the poor but have not love, it profits us nothing (1 Corinthians 13:3). The above quoted passage of scripture says that we are to give as we purpose in our hearts. So what does that mean? It simply means that the believer must want to give. In other words their only motive for giving is because they want to. Love gives expecting nothing in return.
2 Corinthians 8:12-15 “For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have. (13) For I do not mean that others should be eased, and you burdened; (14) but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack--that there may be equality. As it is written, "He who gathered much had nothing left over and he who gathered little had no lack.”
So how much should we give? In the previous passage of scripture we saw that God supplies both our seed that we sow and our bread for our food. Our bread for our food refers to our needs being met. It is in this area that Christians need to be careful that they are being led by the Spirit of God, for when God blesses us financially the temptation can be very strong to believe that we need more. What do I mean by that statement? For example, we may be living in a comfortable home where we are very happy and then we get an increase in our income, and the temptation then arises for us to look for a bigger home in a more affluent area. And so instead of the extra income that we have received becoming part of our seed that we sow, it has now become part of our need and our seed remains the same or even diminishes. Even in the world there are those who are extremely wealthy and yet live rather moderate lifestyles, i.e. they live in comfortable homes and not in extravagant palatial homes even though they can quite easily afford them. If those in the world can live like that, how much more should believers not get caught up in the lust for things in this life. Do not misunderstand me, God gives us richly all things to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17), but there is always a balance. You will recall the parable our Lord taught about the rich man that received great increase and built greater barns to store up his excess. Our Lord said that he was foolish, because he laid up treasures for himself and was not rich toward God (Luke 12:21). Therefore believers should always be led by the Spirit when it comes to determining what their needs are, for He has promised to supply all of our needs. And so after our needs have been met, our seed is the excess that we have left over. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit confirms this truth by telling the saints that they should give from their abundance to supply the lack of others. It is from our abundance that we must learn to sow bountifully, for in doing so we will reap bountifully. Notice that the scripture says that He who gathered much had nothing left over. And so it is scriptural to sow all of your seed and not hang on to your seed, but there is always a balance and we must be led by the Holy Spirit at all times.
2 Corinthians 9:9 “As it is written: "He has dispersed abroad, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”
Galatians 6:9-10 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. (10) Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
So who should we give to? In this section we will discuss the various areas where the saints should sow their seed, but ultimately the saint should be able to sow their seed into the local church and let the leadership of the church administer those finances as good stewards, i.e. they should then apportion the finances received in the church correctly, being led by the Holy Spirit. An example in scripture of a church operating in this area as God intended is the church in Jerusalem, for the saints in that church presented their offering to the apostles who in turn distributed those finances being led by the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:35). Scripture is very plain regarding who we should give to. We are to give to the poor and more specifically we are to give to the poor in the body of Christ. For we saw in the previous section, that our excess is meant to supply primarily the lack of the saints. And so the first category that the saints should give to, are the poor and primarily the poor in the body of Christ. The above quoted passages of scripture also confirm this truth for us, that we are to give to the poor and especially to those who are of the household of faith. When the apostle Paul and his ministry team met with Peter, James and John, to compare the gospels that they were preaching, both teams came away from that meeting not only agreeing on the gospel that each team was preaching but also agreeing that they were to always remember the poor (Galatians 2:10). The apostle James singles out widows and orphans among the poor as being particularly vulnerable and therefore deserving of the church’s care (James 1:27).
1 Timothy 5:16 “If any believing man or woman has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the church be burdened, that it may relieve those who are really widows.”
All local churches should have their own programs in place to assist the poor, particularly the poor in their own congregations. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul reinforces this truth by confirming that the church is meant to support the widows that are in the church. You will recall that the church in Jerusalem had a program in place that cared for the daily needs of their widows (Acts 6:1). And so saints that attend churches that have such programs in place should give into those programs. If however, your local church does not have such a program in place then the saints should look for other avenues to give to the poor and not sow all of their seed into the local church.
1 Timothy 5:17-18 “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in the word and doctrine. (18) For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain," and, "The labourer is worthy of his wages.”
Under the new covenant the second category that the saints should give to are the Lord’s ministers of the gospel, and more specifically those who are called to shepherd the local flock. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit is referring to the local pastors when He states that the elders who rule well should be counted worthy of double honour. Normally the local church leadership decides how much it gives to the local pastor, and so the saints are meant only to give into the church offerings. Obviously the church leadership use these offerings for the operation of the church as well. Nevertheless, saints should keep in mind that if their local church has no program in place that minister’s to the poor, that part of the saints giving should be given to the poor and not all to the church. The saints should be led by the Spirit to determine how to apportion their giving between the two.
Philippians 4:15-18 “Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. (16) For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. (17) Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. (18) Indeed, I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.”
The third category that the saints should give to, are travelling ministries. There are ministry gifts that the Lord uses to travel between churches e.g. the apostle, the prophet and the evangelist. Normally these ministry gifts are supported financially by the churches that fall within their sphere of influence. In the above quoted passage of scripture we see an example of the church at Philippi, sending financial support to the apostle Paul while he was in Rome. But it also not uncommon in the body of Christ, for the Lord to impress upon certain members in His body to financially support His travelling ministers. The saints Aquila and Priscilla are two such examples of saints that the Lord raised up to support the apostle Paul’s ministry (Romans 16:3-4). And so saints that are led by the Lord to support travelling ministries should also be led by the Spirit to determine how to apportion their giving in this area.
Michael E.B. Maher
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