God Loves A Cheerful Giver
It is easy for people to think that my continual emphasis upon joy is a secondary issue that a Christian can take or leave—it doesn’t really matter. If that is how you respond, prepare to change, for Paul shows beyond a doubt in 2 Corinthians 9:7 just how important our joy is.
In 2 Corinthians 8-9 Paul encourages the Corinthians to follow through with giving money, as they had promised to do (2 Cor. 8:10-11), to help support Christians in Jerusalem (Rom. 15:25-28; 1 Cor. 16:1-4) who are experiencing poverty due to the intense persecution.
To move the hearts of the Corinthians to give, Paul not only holds up the churches of Macedonia (Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea) as models of faithful and generous giving (8:1-5), he also puts front and center the gracious, generous giving of Jesus Christ Himself (8:9) as an example: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”
In 2 Cor. 9:6-7 Paul is ready to make his main appeal to the Corinthians to complete their giving: “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
I want to zero in on the last clause, “for God loves a cheerful giver.” The adjective translated as “cheerful” is the Greek term, hilaros. It is the origin of the word hilarious. Though it appears only here in the New Testament, it appears in Greek literature to speak of that which is greatly “cheerful,” “glad,” or “merry.” In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, it speaks of great delight a person would have in God the Almighty, when He is their great treasure (Job 22:25-26). As we see here in 2 Cor. 9:7, such cheerful giving is the opposite of giving “under compulsion.”
Why is this a kind of giving that God loves? There are a number of reasons that arise from the context:
Cheerfulness, that is joy, moves a person to give toward those things that are important to God, such as helping fellow Christians in need (2 Cor. 8:1-5).
The reason that Christians want to please God is because they love Him, since He first loved them (1 Thes. 1:3 [cf. 1 John 4:19]).
True love for and worship of God begin in the heart (Matt. 22:37) and one of the great movements of the heart that marks true love for and worship of God is joy (Ps. 100:1-2; Gal. 5:22; 1 Thes. 5:16-18).
It demonstrates the reality of a Christian’s faith in the gospel (2 Cor. 9:13), which has a significant impact upon others who witness this or benefit from such cheerful giving (2 Cor. 9:12).
It leads others to give thanks to and to glorify God because of your cheerful giving (2 Cor. 9:12-13). After all, as author and Bible teacher, John Piper, has famously said in his comments on Philippians 1:20-23: “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him” (see also John 14:12-14; 16:23-24).
God desires and commands us to give systematically and regularly (Mal. 3:10; Matt. 23:23; 1 Cor. 16:2) to fund His work and to benefit others. Since joy is a motivation for such giving, we see just how important it is.
May you join Him cheerfully and generously in the work He is doing!
Your Joyfully Giving Pastor,
Tom
In 2 Corinthians 8-9 Paul encourages the Corinthians to follow through with giving money, as they had promised to do (2 Cor. 8:10-11), to help support Christians in Jerusalem (Rom. 15:25-28; 1 Cor. 16:1-4) who are experiencing poverty due to the intense persecution.
To move the hearts of the Corinthians to give, Paul not only holds up the churches of Macedonia (Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea) as models of faithful and generous giving (8:1-5), he also puts front and center the gracious, generous giving of Jesus Christ Himself (8:9) as an example: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”
In 2 Cor. 9:6-7 Paul is ready to make his main appeal to the Corinthians to complete their giving: “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
I want to zero in on the last clause, “for God loves a cheerful giver.” The adjective translated as “cheerful” is the Greek term, hilaros. It is the origin of the word hilarious. Though it appears only here in the New Testament, it appears in Greek literature to speak of that which is greatly “cheerful,” “glad,” or “merry.” In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, it speaks of great delight a person would have in God the Almighty, when He is their great treasure (Job 22:25-26). As we see here in 2 Cor. 9:7, such cheerful giving is the opposite of giving “under compulsion.”
Why is this a kind of giving that God loves? There are a number of reasons that arise from the context:
Cheerfulness, that is joy, moves a person to give toward those things that are important to God, such as helping fellow Christians in need (2 Cor. 8:1-5).
The reason that Christians want to please God is because they love Him, since He first loved them (1 Thes. 1:3 [cf. 1 John 4:19]).
True love for and worship of God begin in the heart (Matt. 22:37) and one of the great movements of the heart that marks true love for and worship of God is joy (Ps. 100:1-2; Gal. 5:22; 1 Thes. 5:16-18).
It demonstrates the reality of a Christian’s faith in the gospel (2 Cor. 9:13), which has a significant impact upon others who witness this or benefit from such cheerful giving (2 Cor. 9:12).
It leads others to give thanks to and to glorify God because of your cheerful giving (2 Cor. 9:12-13). After all, as author and Bible teacher, John Piper, has famously said in his comments on Philippians 1:20-23: “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him” (see also John 14:12-14; 16:23-24).
God desires and commands us to give systematically and regularly (Mal. 3:10; Matt. 23:23; 1 Cor. 16:2) to fund His work and to benefit others. Since joy is a motivation for such giving, we see just how important it is.
May you join Him cheerfully and generously in the work He is doing!
Your Joyfully Giving Pastor,
Tom
Posted in Shepherding From a Joyful Pastor
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