Reading for November 18th

Read 2 Corinthians 9.1-15
In 9. 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, 22.
In verse 5: Voluntary gift: It should be like Christ's gift (8.9).
In 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 upon the Septuagint version (the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures) 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 1.53).
For Paul, it especially enables human generosity.
In verse 9: Ps 112.9.
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 verse 14-15: God's graciousness is the ultimate reason to give.
Comments or Questions..