2 Corinthians 9:12-15 (HCSB)
For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many acts of thanksgiving to God. They will glorify God for your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with others through the proof provided by this service. And they will have deep affection for you in their prayers on your behalf because of the surpassing grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.
Is a good thing to give generously to the needs of others, especially our Christian brothers and sisters. But Paul points out two collateral blessings that the Corinthians will accomplish and experience because of their generosity.
The first is increasing God’s glory in the world. Many have missed this theme that is present throughout the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments. Everything God does is to bring glory to His name. Everything Jesus did while on earth was to glorify God’s name. And everything that the Holy Spirit has done since He was poured out on God’s people, has been done to bring glory to God’s name.
Some might see this as egotistical, but it is simply reasonable. Whom should God seek to glorify, since He alone is the source of all that has been created, since He alone sustains all creation with his mighty power, and since He alone is the all-powerful, all-holy God. No one else in the whole universe deserves to be glorified above Him.
And, just as Jesus glorified God through all His life and actions by doing His will perfectly (John 17:1-5), and in the process was Himself glorified, so God’s people must continually glorify him through all their lives and actions by doing His will completely. Thus, they will fulfill the purpose for which God has made them. By giving generously to the poor Christians in Jerusalem, the Corinthians will bring glory to God, and cause people to turn to Him and thanksgiving.
The second benefit they will experience is the heartfelt prayers of those Jerusalem Christians. When one has received a blessing from someone, especially a blessing that is obviously sacrificial, it opens a channel of love between them. And through that channel, loving prayers for blessing naturally flow.
Father, the Corinthians were preparing a financial gift, but Paul was encouraging them to look beyond the financial aspects of what they were doing, so that they could see the spiritual blessings that would flow as a result of their obedience. This is a great reminder that there is always more to our obedience, and even to our sacrifice, than those actions. And over everything else is the amazing knowledge that we are glorifying Your name by what we do. Help me to always obey with the understanding of the deeper significance of my obedient actions. Amen.