Reading for December 9th

Read 2 Corinthians 9.1-15. In verses 1-5: Paul explains the purpose of the delegation. In verse 1: Ministry to the saints is another name for the collection (8.4, 20). In verse 2: Last year 8.10. In verse 3: The brothers are those mentioned in 8.18. In verse 5: Voluntary gift: it should be like Christ's gift (8.9). In verses 6-15: Reasons to give. In verse 6: The proverb expresses general experience (Job 4.8; Prov 11.24-25). In verse 7: The gift should be deliberate and voluntary (Philem 14). God loves a cheerful giver: This quotation is based on the Septuagint version (the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scripturas) of Prov 22.8a (see Sir 35.9. In verse 8: God's generosity toward human beings is a recurrent biblical Theme (Deut 30.9-10; Lk 1.52). For Paul, it especially enables human generosity. In verse 9: Ps112.9. In verse 10: Based on Isa 55.10. In verses 11-12 The more blessings, the more prayers of thanksgiving offered. In verse 13: Willingness to give is seen as an expression (and test) of one's confession of faith. In verses 14-15: God's graciousness is the ultimate reason to give. Comments or Questions..