2 Corinthians (Program #44) – The Apostle’s Fellowship Concerning the Needy Saints (3)
The apostle Paul devoted two chapters in 2 Corinthians to the matter of taking collections for the needy saints in Judea. It must have been something weighing heavily upon him to devote the better part of two whole chapters. But actually these two chapters present all believers with some very profound principles that should guide and direct the matter of giving.
In chapter 8, Paul liken our giving to the gathering of manna in Exodus 16. In chapter 8 verse 15 he writes “..He who gathered much had no excess, and he who gathered little had no lack.” Then in chapter 9, our giving is liken a farmer, sowing seeds to produce a crop. Chapter 9 verse 6, “now this I say, He who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully;” But the verse that follows is the concluding word for both of these portions; chapter 9 verse 7, “Each one as he has purposed in his heart, not out of sorrow or out of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
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