Otherwise, if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we--to say nothing of you--would be ashamed of having been so confident. OtherwiseThis word serves as a transition, indicating a consequence or alternative to what has been previously discussed. In the context of Paul's letter, it suggests a potential negative outcome if the Corinthians do not follow through with their commitment. The Greek word "mēpōs" implies a cautionary note, urging the Corinthians to consider the implications of their actions or inactions. if any Macedonians come with me
The mention of "Macedonians" is significant as it highlights the unity and cooperation among early Christian communities. The Macedonians were known for their generosity despite their poverty (2 Corinthians 8:1-2). Their potential presence underscores the importance of the Corinthians' readiness and the broader witness of the church. Historically, Macedonia was a region that had shown great support for Paul's ministry, and their involvement would add credibility and accountability. and find you unprepared
The phrase "unprepared" translates from the Greek "aparaskeuastos," which means not ready or not equipped. This is a call to spiritual and practical readiness, emphasizing the importance of being prepared to fulfill commitments. In a broader scriptural context, readiness is a recurring theme, urging believers to be vigilant and proactive in their faith and actions. we, to say nothing of you, would be ashamed
The concept of "ashamed" here is derived from the Greek "kataischunomai," which conveys a sense of dishonor or disgrace. Paul is expressing a concern for both his own reputation and that of the Corinthians. In a cultural context where honor and shame were significant social values, this statement underscores the potential impact on the community's witness and integrity. of having been so confident
The word "confident" comes from the Greek "pepoithēsis," meaning trust or assurance. Paul had expressed confidence in the Corinthians' willingness to contribute to the collection for the Jerusalem church. This confidence was not just personal but also a reflection of the trust placed in them by the broader Christian community. The potential for shame if they failed to meet expectations highlights the importance of living up to one's commitments and the trust others place in us. Persons / Places / Events 1. PaulThe apostle who wrote the letter to the Corinthians, addressing issues of generosity and readiness in giving. 2. MacedoniansBelievers from the region of Macedonia, known for their generosity despite their poverty, serving as an example to the Corinthians. 3. CorinthiansThe recipients of the letter, a church in Corinth being encouraged to fulfill their commitment to give. 4. Jerusalem CollectionThe event or project for which Paul is collecting funds, intended to support the impoverished church in Jerusalem. Teaching Points Preparedness in GivingChristians are encouraged to be prepared and intentional in their giving, reflecting a heart of readiness and commitment. Avoiding Shame through IntegrityPaul warns against the shame that comes from failing to fulfill promises. Integrity in our commitments, especially in financial matters, is crucial. The Power of ExampleThe Macedonians serve as a powerful example of generosity. Believers should look to positive examples within the Christian community to inspire their own actions. Community and AccountabilityThe presence of the Macedonians highlights the role of community and accountability in encouraging faithful stewardship and generosity. Confidence in Christian WitnessPaul’s concern about being ashamed underscores the importance of maintaining a confident and credible Christian witness through our actions. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the example of the Macedonians challenge or inspire your own approach to generosity? 2. In what ways can you prepare yourself to be more intentional and ready in your giving? 3. How does the concept of integrity in financial commitments apply to other areas of your life? 4. What role does community play in holding you accountable to your commitments, and how can you foster this in your church? 5. How can maintaining a confident Christian witness through your actions impact those around you, both believers and non-believers? Connections to Other Scriptures 2 Corinthians 8:1-5Paul previously commends the Macedonians for their generosity, setting a standard for the Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 16:1-4Paul gives instructions on the collection for the saints, emphasizing orderly and planned giving. Philippians 4:15-18Paul acknowledges the financial support from the Philippians, another Macedonian church, highlighting the importance of partnership in ministry. People Corinthians, Macedonians, PaulPlaces Achaia, Corinth, MacedoniaTopics Anything, Ashamed, Blush, Boasting, Confidence, Confident, Disappointed, Fear, Haply, Humiliated, Lest, Macedonia, Macedonians, Macedo'nians, Nothing, Otherwise, Ready, Respect, Shame, Speak, Unprepared, We-not, Won't, Yourselves, You-willDictionary of Bible Themes 2 Corinthians 9:4 5914 optimism Library December 25 Evening
Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.--II COR 9:15. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before his presence with singing. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.--For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily PathGod's Unspeakable Gift
'Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.'--2 COR. ix. 15. It seems strange that there should ever have been any doubt as to what gift it is which evokes this burst of thanksgiving. There is but one of God's many mercies which is worthy of being thus singled out. There is one blazing central sun which shines out amidst all the galaxy of lights which fill the heavens. There is one gift of God which, beyond all others, merits the designation of 'unspeakable.' The gift of Christ draws all other …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Praise for the Gift of Gifts
"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."--2 Corinthians 9:15. IN the chapter from which my text is taken, Paul is stirring up the Christians at Corinth to be ready with liberal gifts for the poor saints at Jerusalem. He finishes by reminding them of a greater gift that any they could bring, and by this one short word of praise, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift," he sets all their hearts a-singing. Let men give as liberally as they may, you can always proclaim the value of their …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 38: 1892 3D Day. All-Sufficient Grace.
"He is Faithful that Promised." "God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work."--2 COR. ix. 8. All-Sufficient Grace. "All-sufficiency in all things!" Believer! surely thou art "thoroughly furnished!" Grace is no scanty thing, doled out in pittances. It is a glorious treasury, which the key of prayer can always unlock, but never empty. A fountain, "full, flowing, ever flowing, overflowing." Mark these three …
John Ross Macduff—The Faithful Promiser Letter Lviii to the Duchess of Lorraine
To the Duchess of Lorraine He thanks her for kindnesses shown, and deters her from an unjust war. I thank God for your pious goodwill which I know that you have towards Him and His servants. For whenever the tiniest little spark of heavenly love is kindled in a worldly heart ennobled with earthly honours, that, without doubt, is God's gift, not man's virtue. For our part we are very glad to avail ourselves of the kind offers made to us of your bounty in your letter. But having heard of the sudden …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux 1872-1874. Letter from Rev. A. M. W. Christopher --Letter from Gulf of St. Lawrence-Mrs. Birt's Sheltering Home, Liverpool --Letter to Mrs. Merry --Letter from Canada --Miss
Letter from Rev. A. M. W. Christopher--Letter from Gulf of St. Lawrence-Mrs. Birt's Sheltering Home, Liverpool--Letter to Mrs. Merry--Letter from Canada--Miss Macpherson's return to England-- Letter of cheer for Dr. Barnardo--Removal to Hackney Home. Though human praise is not sought, we cannot but feel peculiar pleasure in giving the following testimony from a servant of the Lord so much revered as the Rev, A. M. W. Christopher of Oxford:-- "Of all the works of Christian benevolence which the great …
Clara M. S. Lowe—God's Answers How to be Admonished are those who Give Away what is their Own, and those who Seize what Belongs to Others.
(Admonition 21.) Differently to be admonished are those who already give compassionately of their own, and those who still would fain seize even what belongs to others. For those who already give compassionately of their own are to be admonished not to lift themselves up in swelling thought above those to whom they impart earthly things; not to esteem themselves better than others because they see others to be supported by them. For the Lord of an earthly household, in distributing the ranks and …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great Perhaps There is no Book Within the Whole Canon of Scripture So Perplexing and Anomalous...
Perhaps there is no book within the whole canon of Scripture so perplexing and anomalous, at first sight, as that entitled "Ecclesiastes." Its terrible hopelessness, its bold expression of those difficulties with which man is surrounded on every side, the apparent fruitlessness of its quest after good, the unsatisfactory character, from a Christian standpoint, of its conclusion: all these points have made it, at one and the same time, an enigma to the superficial student of the Word, and the arsenal …
F. C. Jennings—Old Groans and New Songs The Spiced Wine of My Pomegranate;
OR, THE COMMUNION OF COMMUNICATION. I would cause Thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate."--Song of Solomon viii. 2.And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace."--John i. 16. THE SPICED WINE OF MY POMEGRANATE. THE immovable basis of communion having been laid of old in the eternal union which subsisted between Christ and His elect, it only needed a fitting occasion to manifest itself in active development. The Lord Jesus had for ever delighted Himself with the …
Charles Hadden Spurgeon—Till He Come Meditations of the State of a Christian Reconciled to God in Christ,
Now let us see how happy a godly man is in his state of renovation, being reconciled to God in Christ. The godly man whose corrupt nature is renewed by grace in Christ and become a new creature, is blessed in a threefold respect--First, in his life; Secondly, in his death; Thirdly, after death. I. His blessedness during his life is but in part, and that consists in seven things:-- 1. Because he is conceived of the Spirit (John iii. 5), and is born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety The Work of the Holy Spirit
The Church of Christ. "It is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is ruth."--1 John v. 6. We now proceed to discuss the work of the Holy Spirit wrought in the Church of Christ. Altho the Son of God has had a Church in the earth from the beginning, yet the Scripture distinguishes between its manifestation before and after Christ. As the acorn, planted in the ground, exists, altho it passes through the two periods of germinating and rooting, and of growing upward and forming trunk and …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit Perseverance Proved.
2. I REMARK, that God is able to preserve and keep the true saints from apostacy, in consistency with their liberty: 2 Tim. i. 12: "For the which cause I also suffer these things; nevertheless, I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." Here the apostle expresses the fullest confidence in the ability of Christ to keep him: and indeed, as has been said, it is most manifest that the apostles expected …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology Sunday after Ascension Day
Text: First Peter 4, 7-11.[1] 7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore of sound mind, and be sober unto prayer: 8 above all things being fervent in your love among yourselves: for love covereth a multitude of sins: 9 using hospitality one to another without murmuring: 10 according as each hath received a gift, ministering it among yourselves, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God; 11 if any man speaketh, speaking as it were oracles of God; if any man ministereth, ministering …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II Of the Public Fast.
A public fast is when, by the authority of the magistrate (Jonah iii. 7; 2 Chron. xx. 3; Ezra viii. 21), either the whole church within his dominion, or some special congregation, whom it concerneth, assemble themselves together, to perform the fore-mentioned duties of humiliation; either for the removing of some public calamity threatened or already inflicted upon them, as the sword, invasion, famine, pestilence, or other fearful sickness (1 Sam. vii. 5, 6; Joel ii. 15; 2 Chron. xx.; Jonah iii. …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety Links 2 Corinthians 9:4 NIV2 Corinthians 9:4 NLT2 Corinthians 9:4 ESV2 Corinthians 9:4 NASB2 Corinthians 9:4 KJV
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