Wednesday Devo
Scripture:
2 Corinthians 9
10 For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.
11 Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. 12 So two good things will result from this ministry of giving—the needs of the believers in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God.
13 As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For
10 For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.
11 Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. 12 So two good things will result from this ministry of giving—the needs of the believers in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God.
13 As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For
Commentary:
9:10 The promise that God will increase the harvest should not be understood in material terms but in terms of increasing your righteousness. Thus the quoted OT texts (Isa. 55:10; Hos. 10:12) refer specifically to the provision of God’s word for the redemption of his people. God’s promise is that he will use his people and their resources as instruments of his grace for the salvation of others.
9:11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way. God will provide for the Corinthians’ needs so that they can continue generously meeting others’ needs and giving resources to advance the gospel.
9:12–14 the ministry (Gk. diakonia) of this service (Gk. leitourgia). The collection is an integral part of the ministry of the gospel (cf. 3:7–9; 4:1; 5:18; 6:3) and an act of public worship (cf. also Luke 1:23; Rom. 15:27; Phil. 2:17, 30; Heb. 9:21), which causes others to offer thanksgivings to God as they see the work of God’s grace in the lives of the Corinthians.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2235.
9:11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way. God will provide for the Corinthians’ needs so that they can continue generously meeting others’ needs and giving resources to advance the gospel.
9:12–14 the ministry (Gk. diakonia) of this service (Gk. leitourgia). The collection is an integral part of the ministry of the gospel (cf. 3:7–9; 4:1; 5:18; 6:3) and an act of public worship (cf. also Luke 1:23; Rom. 15:27; Phil. 2:17, 30; Heb. 9:21), which causes others to offer thanksgivings to God as they see the work of God’s grace in the lives of the Corinthians.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2235.
Questions:
- Becoming a Christ follower means viewing everything in your life as something to be given, used and multiplied for God's Kingdom. It means a fundamental reshaping of your life around the emergency of the Gospel. How focused are you on the emergency of the Gospel? What are you doing to make Him known?
- While the immediate aim of Paul's collection is to help those in need, the ultimate goal is to bring honor to God. God uses you to bless others in a way that they thank God for you! Is this happening in your life? Are you being such a blessing to others that people are praising God as a result? If not, how do we get there?
Pray:
- That God would bless others through you.
- That you would be focused on the emergency of the Gospel.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
7. How can I trust that the Bible is still God’s Word today? I trust the Bible is still God’s Word today because Jesus rose from the dead, proving He was God and said His words would never pass away. Through the Holy Spirit, God inspired the writing of the Scripture, determined the canon of Scripture and protected the copying of Scripture so that we might know Him and worship Him to this day.
(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
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