Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Corinthians 9:10
Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for [your] food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
10. Now he that ministereth ] The word used twice in this verse has the original signification of leading a chorus. Hence it came to mean to defray the expenses of a chorus, since when a wealthy man was appointed to any office of importance in his city, it was usual for him to provide festal displays for the citizens. Hence it came to have the general meaning of furnish, provide, as here.
both minister ] In the best MSS. these verbs are in the future indicative, i.e. will minister; will multiply; will increase (so Wiclif and Tyndale); not, as the received Greek text, in the optative.
bread for your food ] In the Greek these words seem to belong to the former verb, ‘Now he that supplieth seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply,’ &c. The words here are a quotation from the LXX. version of Isa 55:10.
increase the fruits of your righteousness ] Cf. 1Co 1:30; 1Co 3:6. The words are taken from the LXX. version of Hos 10:12. The metaphor is taken from the natural processes of growth just referred to. God supplies the seed of works of mercy; He multiplies it, and good works in plenty are the crop.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Now he that ministereth seed to the sower – This is an expression of an earnest wish. In the previous verses he had stated the promises, or had shown what we had a right to expect as a consequence of liberality. He here unites the expression of an earnest desire that they might experience this themselves. The allusion is to the act of sowing seed. The idea is, that when a man scatters seed in his field God provides him with the means of sowing again. He not only gives him a harvest to supply his needs, but he blesses him also in giving him the ability to sow again. Such was the benevolent wish of Paul. He desired not only that God would supply their returning needs, but he desired also that he would give them the ability to do good again; that he would furnish them the means of future benevolence. He acknowledges God as the source of all increase, and wishes that they may experience the results of such increase. Perhaps in this language there is an allusion to Isa 4:10; and the idea is, that it is God who furnishes by his providence the seed to the sower. In like manner he will furnish you the means of doing good.
Minister bread for your food – Furnish you with an ample supply for your needs.
Multiply your seed sown – Greatly increase your means of doing good; make the result of all your benefactions so to abound that you may have the means of doing good again, and on a larger scale, as the seed sown in the earth is so increased that the farmer may have the means of sowing more abundantly again.
And increase the fruits of your righteousness – This evidently means, the results and effects of their benevolence. The word righteousness here refers to their liberality; and the wish of the apostle is, that the results of their beneficence might greatly abound, that they might have the means of doing extensive good, and that they might be the means of diffusing happiness from afar.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 10. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower] The sower, as we have already seen, is he that gives alms of what he hath; and God, who requires him to give these alms, is here represented as providing him with the means. As in the creation, if God had not created the earth with every tree and plant with its seed in itself, so that a harvest came, without a previous ploughing and sowing, there could have been no seed to deposit in the earth; so, if God had not, in the course of his providence, given them the property they had, it would be impossible for them to give alms. And as even the well cultivated and sowed field would be unfruitful if God did not, by his unseen energy and blessing, cause it to bring forth, and bring to maturity; so would it have been with their property: it could not have increased; for without his blessing riches take wings and flee away, as an eagle towards heaven. Therefore, in every sense, it is God who ministers seed to the sower, and multiplies the seed sown. And as all this properly comes from God, and cannot exist without him, he has a right to require that it be dispensed in that way which he judges best.
The word , he that ministereth, is very emphatic; it signifies he who leads up the chorus, from , to, and to lead the chorus; it means also to join to, associate, to supply or furnish one thing after another so that there be no want or chasm. Thus God is represented, in the course of his providence, associating and connecting causes and effects; keeping every thing in its proper place and state of dependence on another, and all upon himself; so that summer and winter, heat and cold, seed time and harvest, regularly succeed each other. Thus God leads up this grand chorus of causes and effects: provides the seed to the hand of the sower; gives him skill to discern the times when the earth should be prepared for the grain, and when the grain should be sowed; blesses the earth, and causes it to bring forth and bud, so that it may again minister seed to the sower and bread to the eater; and, by a watchful providence, preserves every thing. The figure is beautiful, and shows us the grand system of causes and effects, all directed by and under the immediate guidance and government of God himself.
There is a fine exemplification of this in the same figure thus produced by the prophet. Ho 2:21; Ho 2:22: I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens; and they shall hear the earth; and the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel. See the note there.
The fruits of your righteousness] Your beneficence; for so is here to be understood. See Clarke on Mt 6:1, already referred to.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The God, whose providence and blessing maketh rich, and who giveth this seed to the sower, supply you with whatsoever you stand in need of for this life, and give you a heart to multiply that spiritual seed, by which the fruits of your righteousness shall be increased. Some Greek copies read these words in the future tense, according to which reading they are a formal promise, both of good things, whereby they might show their charity, and also of a free and large heart, disposing them to that exercise of grace. Our translators render it in the form of a prayer; which yet being the prayer of the apostle, put up in faith, doth virtually contain a promise both of a temporal and a spiritual increase.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10. Translate, as in Isa55:10, “He that ministereth (supplieth) seed to the sowerand bread for food” (literally, “bread for eating“).
ministerrather future,as the oldest manuscripts, “Shall minister (supply) andmultiply.”
your seedyour meansfor liberality.
the fruits of yourrighteousnessthe heavenly rewards for your Christian charity(Mt 10:42). Righteousnessshall be itself the reward, even as it is the thing rewarded (Hos 10:12;Mat 5:6; Mat 6:33).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Now he that ministereth seed to the sower, and bread for your food,…. For so the words ought to be pointed and read, as is clear from Isa 55:10 to which they refer; and are a “periphrasis” of God, who so blesses the seed that is cast into the earth, that it brings forth such an increase, as that there is a sufficiency of bread for food to the eater for the present year, and a sufficiency of seed to sow with again the next year; and that God, that does this every year, is able “to minister to”, or supply your present necessities;
and to multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness; though some consider these as a wish or prayer of the apostle’s, that God would do all this for them. Some copies, and the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions, read all in the future tense, “he will minister” to you, or “supply” you, “and will multiply your seed sown”,
and will increase the fruits of your righteousness; and so contain a promise of a divine blessing, encouraging to liberality with cheerfulness, by strengthening their faith in the providence of God; who as he multiplies, not the seed expended in the family, or sold at market, or as in the barn, or laid up for a better price, but the seed sown in the field, so he will multiply the substance of men; not what they lay out on themselves and families, or lay up in their coffers, but what they give away, or bestow on Christ’s poor: and all effects which follow acts of liberality, and which are here designed by “fruits of righteousness”, such as a good name among men, blessing, praise, thanksgiving, and prosperity in things temporal and spiritual, these God will abundantly increase; some of which are mentioned in the following verses. So alms with the Jews is not only called , “righteousness”, but “seed sown”. Thus Jarchi interprets Ps 37:26 “and his seed is blessed”, he that
, “sows” righteousness or alms, its end shall be for a blessing, or in the end he shall be blessed; and the phrase, “rain righteousness”, in Ho 10:12 is by the Septuagint rendered, , “fruits of righteousness”, the same as here, from whence it seems to be taken.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Supplieth (). Late Koine compound verb from and , just below (1Pe 4:11). is old word for leader of a chorus (, ) or chorus-leader. The verb means to furnish a chorus at one’s own expense, then to supply in general. N.T. examples of are 2Cor 9:10; Gal 3:15; Col 2:19; 2Pet 1:5.
Shall multiply (). Future active indicative of , old verb from , fulness. Cf. Ac 6:1.
Fruits (). Correct reading (from , to become) and not (from , to beget). This spelling is supported by LXX where Thackeray shows that in LXX refers to vegetables and to animals. The papyri support this distinction (Moulton and Milligan’s Vocabulary).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Ministereth [] . Rev., supplieth. See on add, 2Pe 1:5. Both minister bread, etc. Construe bread with supplieth, as Rev., supplieth seed to the sow and bread for food.
Minister and multiply [ ] . The correct reading is the future, corhghsei kai plhqunei shall supply and multiply. The fruits [ ] . Lit., what has been begotten or born. Used of men, Mt 3:7, A. V., generation, Rev., offspring. Elsewhere of fruits, as fruit of the vine, Mr 14:25.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Now he that provideth seed to the sower “ (ho de epichoregon sperma to speironti) “now he who provides seed for the sower;” through his grace-gift of sunshine and rain, Isa 55:10-11.
2) “Both minister bread for your food,” (kai arton eis brosin choregesei) “will supply or provide both bread for food,” for you all – you will not be impoverished by giving to the cause of God, Mat 6:33.
3) “And multiply your seed sown,” (kai plethunei ton sporon humon) “and will multiply your seed that you have sown;” It will return to the sower, after many days, of blessings to others and to God, Ecc 11:1; Luk 6:38; Gal 6:6-8.
4) “And increase the fruits of your righteousness,” (kai auksesei ta genemata tes dikaiosunes humon) “and he will increase the fruits of your righteousness,” of your righteous deeds, done through his gifts to you, Jas 1:17; 1Th 3:12; 1Th 4:10.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
10. He that supplieth. A beautieth circumlocution, in place of the term God, and full of consolation. (724) For the person that sows seed in the proper season, appears when reaping to gather the fruit of his labor and industry, and sowing appears as though it were the fountainhead from which food flows forth to us. Paul opposes this idea, by maintaining that the seed is afforded and the food is furnished by the favor of God even to the husbandmen that sow, and who are looked upon as supporting themselves and others by their efforts. There is a similar statement in Deu 8:16 —
God fed thee with manna — food which thy fathers knew not: lest perhaps when thou hast come into the land which he shall give thee, thou shouldst say, My hand and my strength have gotten, me this wealth; for it is the Lord that giveth power to get wealth, etc.
Supply Here there are two different readings, even in the Greek versions. For some manuscripts render the three verbs in the future — will supply, will multiply, will increase. (725) In this way, there would be a confirmation of the foregoing statement, for it is no rare thing with Paul to repeat the same promise in different words, that it may be the better impressed upon men’s minds. In other manuscripts these words occur in the infinitive mood, and it is well known that the infinitive is sometimes used in place of the optative. I rather prefer this reading, both because it is the more generally received one, and because Paul is accustomed to follow up his exhortations with prayers, entreating from God what he had previously comprised in his doctrine; though at the same time the former reading would not be unsuitable.
Bread for food He mentions a two-fold fruit of the blessing of God upon us — first, that we have sufficiency for ourselves for the support of life; and, secondly, that we have something to lay up for relieving the necessities of others. For as we are not born for ourselves merely, (726) so a Christian man ought neither to live to himself, nor lay out what he has, merely for his own use.
Under the terms seed, and fruits of righteousness, he refers to alms. The fruits of righteousness he indirectly contrasts with those returns that the greater number lay up in cellars, barns, and keeping-places, that they may, every one of them, cram in whatever they can gather, nay, scrape together, so as to enrich themselves. By the former term he expresses the means of doing good; by the latter the work itself, or office of love; (727) for righteousness is taken here, by synecdoche, to mean beneficence. “May God not only supply you with what may be sufficient for every one’s private use, but also to such an extent, that the fountain of your liberality, ever flowing forth, may never be exhausted!” If, however, it is one department of righteousness — as assuredly it is not the least (728) — to relieve the necessities of neighbors, those must be unrighteous who neglect this department of duty.
(724) “The words ὁ ἐπιχορηγῶν βρῶσιν are a periphrasis of God ( i.e., the Good Being) ‘who giveth us all things richly to enjoy.’ It is formed on Isa 55:10.” — Bloomfield. — Ed.
(725) “The Vatican MS. reads with the futures — χορηγήσει ( will supply,) πληθύνεῖ, ( will supply,) and αὐξήσει, ( will increase) ” — Penn. — Ed.
(726) Our Author has here very probably in his eye a celebrated passage in Horace — “ Nos numerus sumus, et fruges consumere nati;” — “We do but add to the numbers of mankind, and seem born only to consume the fruits of the earth.” (Hot. Ep. 1:2, 27.) — Ed.
(727) “ L’assistance laquelle on fait par charite;” — “The assistance which one gives in love.”
(728) “ Comme a la verite s’en est vne des prineipales;” — “As in truth it is one of the chief’.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(10) Now he that ministereth seed to the sower.Better, he that giveth bounteously. The Greek verb (epichorgein) has a somewhat interesting history. Originally it expressed the act of one who undertook to defray the expenses of the chorus of a Greek theatre. As this was an act of somewhat stately generosity, the verb got a wider range, and was applied to any such act, and was so transferred in like manner by the Apostle, probably, as far as we can trace, for the first time, to the divine bounty. It may be noted that it was not so used by the LXX. translators. The word indeed occurs but once in that version, in Sir. 25:22 (if a woman maintain her husband). In its higher sense it becomes a somewhat favourite word with St. Paul (Gal. 3:5; Col. 2:19), and is used by St. Peter (2Pe. 1:5; 2Pe. 1:11) after he had become acquainted with St. Pauls Epistles, and possibly enriched his vocabulary through them.
The phrase seed to the sower occurs, with a different verb, in Isa. 55:10. In the words that follow, the fruits of righteousness, there is an obvious reminiscence of Hos. 10:12, and Amo. 6:12. The phrase occurs again in Php. 1:11. The construction, according to the better MSS., varies somewhat from that of the Authorised version. He that bounteously giveth seed to the sower and bread for food (the beneficence of God thought of, as shown both in seed-time and harvest) shall give bounteously, and multiply your seed, and increase the produce of your righteousness. Righteousness is taken, as before, as specially presented under the aspect of alms-giving.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
10. Now may he Words of prayer for his liberal-hearted Corinthians.
Your seed sown Your liberalities bestowed.
Righteousness Your piety in the form of benevolence.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
And he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, will supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness, you being enriched in everything unto all liberality, which works through us thanksgiving to God.’
And the consequence will be that the One Who on a continuing basis supplies seed to the sower (which supply is evidence of previous blessing) and bread to the eater, will be sure to multiply their ‘seed’ (their wealth) so that they may have more to sow and can give even more. He will ‘increase the fruits of their righteousness’, that is, in context, that he will provide them with more and more benefit (fruits) for the continual carrying on of their righteous behaviour as revealed in their generous giving. They will be enriched in everything so that they can be even more liberal.
Note how Paul’s promise is not that they will themselves become personally prosperous, but that they will be provided with the means to be able to give more and more, and to be more and more generous. Unlike many today who promise to donors that if they give they will thereby become personally prosperous, Paul is not concerned with the growth of their personal wealth, but with the growth of their spiritual generosity. He wants them to abound, not their wealth.
The thought is taken from Isa 55:10 (compare also Hos 10:12 LXX for ‘the fruits of their righteousness’) where the idea is of the carrying forward of God’s final purposes as His word goes forth to accomplish His will, so that Paul is not only making a general practical application but showing in these results the fulfilment of God’s eternal plan. As a result of their generous giving they will be caught up even more in the continual going forward of God’s saving process.
‘Which works through us thanksgiving to God.’ And the result of all their liberality will result through the bearers of their gifts (‘us’) in thanksgiving to God by those who receive them. Thus are they contributing to increased worship of God.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
2Co 9:10. Now he that ministereth, &c. Now may he that ministereth seed to the sower, and bread for food, both minister and multiply your seed, and increase the fruits of your beneficence. See Isa 55:10 and Mat 6:1.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
2Co 9:10 . The progress of the discourse is this: able is God, etc., 2Co 9:8 ; but He who gives seed, etc., will also do it . The description of God introduced by contains the ground of this promise, which rests on a syllogism a minori ad majus .
Who supplies, seed to the sower and bread for eating , is a reminiscence of Isa 55:10 , which is very suitable to the figure prominent in the context (2Co 9:6 ; 2Co 9:9 ). On , actus edendi , differing from , cibus , see on Rom 14:17 ; 1Co 8:4 ; Col 2:16 .
Chrysostom, Castalio, Beza, and others, including Hofmann, rightly connect with what follows. Erasmus, Luther, Calvin, Estius, Elzevir, and others, including Ewald and Neander, think that . should go together. This would be at variance with Isa 55:10 , and would destroy the symmetrical relation of the two parts of the vers.
[290] . ] i.e. dropping the figure: will give and increase the means, with which you distribute benefits . What is given away benevolently by the readers, is the seed which they scatter ( ); hence Rckert’s idea is arbitrary and unnecessary, that here two clauses, and , are blended into one. Rckert also inappropriately thinks that Paul is not speaking at all of the present, but wholly of the future , of the blessed consequences of their beneficence now asked, and that , therefore, does not denote what they were now to give away, but what God will further bestow on them . At variance with the entire course of the passage (see on 2Co 9:8 ff.); and the very in 2Co 9:11 ought to have prevented the excluding of the present time. Paul intends by the means for the present work of collection, and only with does he promise the blessing thence arising for the future. This . . . . corresponds to the preceding : and will make the fruits of your righteousness grow (see on 2Co 9:9 ), i.e. and will cause that the blessing, which proceeds from your ( what blessing that is, see 2Co 9:11 ) may become always larger. Paul abides by the figure. Just as God causes to grow from the natural seed, so from the , which the beneficent scatters through his gifts of love, He likewise causes fruits (blessings) to grow; but because this had been sown by the beneficent man in virtue of his Christian righteousness , the fruits produced are the , just as the bread-fruits, which the husbandman obtains from his , are the of his diligence. Hence Theodoret rightly remarks: .
, in the sense of vegetable fruit , according to late Greek; not to be written . Comp. on Mat 26:29 . On the figurative expression . . ., comp. Hos 10:12 .
[290] . and . are distinguished simply like the German darreichen and reichen, dargeben and geben [ give forth and give ].
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
His righteousness endureth for ever ] Never did a charitable act go away without the retribution of a blessing. See Trapp on “ Mat 10:42 “
10 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
Ver. 10. And multiply your seed sown. ] He that soweth seemeth to cast away his seed, but he knows he shall receive his with usury. Isaac had a hundred-fold increase. In Egypt, so far as the river Nile watereth, the ground is so fruitful, that they do but throw in the seed, and have four rich harvests in less than four months. Temporalia, Dei servis impensa non pereunt, sed parturiunt. Si dedisses tres aureos, accepisses trecentos, said that bishop of Milan to his servant, that had not given so much to the poor as he had appointed him. (John Manlii, loc. com.) If we never sow we shall never reap, said that good poor minister that bade his wife give three pence (his whole stock) to a poor brother. Another good man having nothing left, and his wife desiring to know how he and his family would live, he answered, he would now put his bond in suit, pray over the promises, and not doubt of the performance. (Rogers.)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
10. ] Assurance that God will do this . But (introduces the new assurance) He that ministers seed to the sower and bread for eating (in the physical world: from ref. Isa., LXX. The Vulg., E. V., Luther, Calv., Grot., al., commit the mistake of joining . with , or – . , the act of eating : not = ), shall supply and multiply your seed (i.e. the money for you to bestow, answering to ), and will increase the fruits of your righteousness (from ref. Hos. the everlasting reward for your bestowals in Christ’s name, as Mat 10:42 ; answering to , which is the result of the sower’s labours).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
2Co 9:10 . “ . . .: and he that supplieth “seed to the sower and bread for food,” shall supply and multiply your seed, i.e. , your means of giving, for sowing (the A. V. not only follows the inferior reading, but conceals the quotation from Isa 55:10 ), and increase ( cf. 1Co 3:6 for the trans, use of f1 ) the “fruits” of your “righteousness,” i.e. , of your beneficence, as in the preceding verse. The phrase in ref. Hosea may be illustrated by , “the fruit of the vine” in the Gospels ( e.g. , Mar 14:25 ). This verse is the application, as it were, of the quotation in 2Co 9:9 , the connecting link being the word .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
ministereth. Greek. epichoregeo. Occurs elsewhere, Gal 1:3, Gal 1:5. Col 2:19; 2Pe 1:5, 2Pe 1:11. The prefix epi suggests God’s liberal supply. Compare Isa 55:10.
minister. Greek. choregeo Only here and 1Pe 4:11. The choregos was the leader of a chorus, and then came to mean one who defrayed the cost of a chorus at the public festivals. The texts put these three verbs in the future, instead of the imperative.
for. Greek. eis. App-1.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
10.] Assurance that God will do this. But (introduces the new assurance) He that ministers seed to the sower and bread for eating (in the physical world:-from ref. Isa., LXX. The Vulg., E. V., Luther, Calv., Grot., al., commit the mistake of joining . with , or -. , the act of eating: not = ), shall supply and multiply your seed (i.e. the money for you to bestow,-answering to ), and will increase the fruits of your righteousness (from ref. Hos.-the everlasting reward for your bestowals in Christs name, as Mat 10:42;-answering to , which is the result of the sowers labours).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
2Co 9:10. ) God.-, He that supplies, or ministereth) There is [implied an] abundance, inasmuch as seed is given; bread, which is a necessary, is therefore given first. Paul hints, that, in the promise of the seed, which is denoted by the verb he hath dispersed, the promise of bread also is presupposed; but he adds more: for there is in the text a Chiasmus;[57] God, who presents seed to the sower, will supply and multiply your seed: God, who gives bread for food, will increase the fruits [produce] of your righteousness, which feeds the soul. Righteousness is the food of the soul, Mat 5:6; Mat 6:31; Mat 6:33.-, to supply, or administer, is emphatic; but to give or minister, with the addition of , to multiply, implies more.-, the seed, i.e., resources [worldly means], so far as they are piously laid out: , the fruits, [the offshoots], i.e., the growth of all spiritual improvement and corporeal blessing, springing from that sowing. This mode of pointing has been already noticed in the Apparatus, so that the comma should be placed after , not after .- , and bread) Isa 55:10, ( ) , until the rain give seed to the sower and bread for food.-, will give) The indicative.[58] The Corinthians will afford scope [opportunity for exercise] to the divine liberality, and it will evince itself towards them.-) so the LXX., , Hos 10:12.
[57] See Append.
[58] Which is preferred both in the 2d Ed. and in the Germ. Vers. different from what had been the case in the first Ed.-E. B.
BCD() corrected later, fg Vulg. (but Fuld. MS. has prstavit-multiplicavit) Cypr. have -. G has -; and so Rec. Text. C has .-ED.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
2Co 9:10
2Co 9:10
And he that supplieth seed to the sower and bread for food, shall supply and multiply your seed for sowing,-Whatever is done through the working of Gods laws, God does. Through the laws of God, seed is given to him that sows. [When a man sows seed in his field, God provides him with the means of sowing again. He not only gives him a harvest, but blesses him also in giving him the ability to sow again.]
and increase the fruits of your righteousness:-God gives freely to him who gives freely to others. So God multiplies what is given and increases the means of doing good.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
he: Gen 1:11, Gen 1:12, Gen 47:19, Gen 47:23, Gen 47:24, Isa 55:10
multiply: 2Co 9:6, Pro 11:18, Ecc 11:6, Phi 4:17
increase: Hos 10:12, Mat 6:1, Eph 5:9, Phi 1:11, 1Th 3:12, 1Th 4:10
Reciprocal: Gen 26:12 – an hundredfold Lev 25:21 – I will Psa 107:37 – which may Psa 112:9 – dispersed Psa 132:15 – bless her provision Son 4:16 – the spices Mat 13:23 – some an Joh 15:5 – same Joh 15:8 – is Jam 3:17 – full
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE SEED AND ITS LESSONS
He that supplieth seed to the sower and bread for food, shall supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness.
2Co 9:10 (R. V.)
It is remarkable that the metaphor of sowing and reaping, so familiar to us in its widest moral and spiritual application in the gospels, is in the epistles employed almost exclusively in reference to contributions and alms. In the passage before us, the Apostle is immediately concerned with the Christian duty of cheerful liberality, and according to his wont, he is illustrating this duty from the laws which govern production in the world of nature. The same God Who presides over physical increase is pledged to bring about spiritual increase. As certainly as He supplies man with seed to sow, and therefore with power to multiply and perpetuate the gift of His daily bread, so certainly will He take care that the seed of charitable and merciful deeds shall not fail.
I. The fact set forth in the text.God, says St. Paul, supplieth seed to the sower, and bread for food. It has been thoughtfully said that if the annual growth of seed is not in itself a perpetual miracle, it is the perpetual evidence of a miracle that has been once wrought. It is a thing which tells clearly and unquestionably of a Divine provision for the life of man, and, indeed, it comes to him year after year as the direct gift of God; for it is incapable of imitation or reproduction by all the thought and ingenuity which men can bring to bear. The continuance of the race is actually staked upon that redundance of increase which leaves seed for the sower after supplying bread to the eater.
II. The capacity of germination and growth, which belongs to the seed, requires certain influences to bring it into actioninfluences external to it. The potential life inherent in it cannot become actual until it is in a medium which develops it. In the passage from Isaiah which St. Paul has in his eye, the rain and the snow from heaven stand for the sum of those developing forces without which, in Christs words, the seed abideth alone. They represent the fertilising influences of earth and air and light, as well as the moisture, the most obvious and powerful of all.
III. Having contemplated Gods part, let us look at mans.Man sows and eats. God has assigned to man just that amount and degree of co-operation with Himself which dignifies and yet humbles. Man must plant and then God gives the increase. His provision, bounteous and complete as it is, will not feed man unless man exerts himself. And this human foresight and labour, which God has made a sine qua non of our existence here, is no flaw or defect: it is the very perfection of His plan. Seed for the sower and bread for food. Sowing and eating are closely related in the economy of our life.
IV. Observe what a counterpart this whole scheme of provision for our physical life finds in the spiritual sphere.There also Gods gifts and mans labour must combine. It is God Who gives the seed. God has ordained that if one generation does not sow, the next must suffer famine. No man may live to himself in the family of God. He has a duty to those who shall follow him. It is a distinct and solemn charge to every age of the Church and to every member of the Church, not only to use the seed for its or his own nourishment, but to plant it for those who shall come after.
V. Man must not only sow this Divine seed, but he must eat of it.When the Word of God ceases to be used as a sustenance to the soul, it soon ceases to be sown for the good of others. Let us ask ourselves what we are doing with His unspeakable gift.
Rev. Canon Duckworth.
Illustration
We are told that within the dark recesses of Egyptian tombs, wrapped in the cerements of the dead, wheat has been found, the produce of harvests gathered in thousands of years ago, which, when committed to the soil, has sprouted and sprung up, and reproduced itself a thousand-fold. You and I, as English Christians, inherit a system which has had just such a history. The Word of God, which is our own priceless heritage, lay hidden for long ages where no light could penetrate and no fertilising virtue reach. Embalmed in a strange tongue and guarded with an ignorant devotion, its heavenly light was arrested and held in suspense, but it was neither destroyed nor impaired, and when the great upheaval of the Reformation rent its tomb, our fathers discovered it with the joy of one who findeth great spoils, and started it on a new career of blessing as seed for the sower and bread for the eater.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
2Co 9:10. And he that supplieth seed to the sower and bread for food, shall supply[1] and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness. What 2Co 9:8 said that God was able to do, it is here said, He will do.
[1] The future here is clearly the true reading.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Some look upon these words as a prayer, others as a promise, that as Almighty God blesseth the increase of the earth so largely, that it sufficeth for the nourishment of men, and for seed to sow again; in like manner would he supply all their wants, and grant them ability to supply the wants of others, and plentifully reward them for all the fruits of their righteousness and mercy: and they being thus enriched by the goodness of God, and exercising all bountifulness towards their brethren, much thanksgiving and praise upon that occasion is given unto God.
In these last words is couched an argument farther to press the Corinthians to this liberality; namely, that it would cause both the ministers of Christ, the dispensers of this charity, and also the poor saints, the receivers of it, to offer up incessant praises and thanksgivings to God for the same.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Verse 10 God causes the farmer to receive a harvest which provides for his needs and gives him seed to use the next time. n the same way, the one who sows the seed of giving will see needs taken care of and see provided for future giving.
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
2Co 9:10-14. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower By making the earth fruitful; and bread for your food (So Bengelius reads,) namely, all things needful for your souls and bodies. May he supply and multiply ( ) your seed sown Your ability to help others; and increase the fruits of your righteousness The happy effects of your love to God and man: or may he make an ample return for what you have liberally bestowed on the indigent, and abundantly increase and reward your works of mercy and charity. Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness Plentifully furnished with all things that may enable you to exercise the greatest bounty, 1Ti 6:18. Which causeth through us thanksgiving to God Both from us who distribute, and them who receive your bounty. For the administration of this service Which we have undertaken, and in which we do as it were officiate for you, in the presentation of this acceptable offering; not only supplieth the wants of the saints In their present exigency; but is abundant by many thanksgivings Which it occasions, to the glory of God. The word , rendered service, in the first clause of the verse, intimates that their contributing to the relief of the poor saints in Judea, was to be considered not merely as an act of humanity, but of religion, most pleasing to God, and suitable to the nature of the gospel. See Heb 13:16. While by the experiment Or proof by experience; of this ministration This generous contribution; they glorify God Giving him praise; for your professed subjection This open testimony of your sincere obedience; to the gospel of Christ Which so strictly enjoins works of charity; for your liberal distribution Or communication of your goods to them in their present distress; and to all men In the like circumstances. And by their prayers for you It also produces many prayers to God for you from the poor saints; who long after you Have a great affection for you, and are very desirous of your welfare; for the exceeding grace of God in you Which produces fruits so much for the glory of God, the good of your fellow-creatures, and so highly ornamental to Christianity. The reader will observe, that in this passage, the apostle mentions four different fruits of alms-giving: the relief of the poor, thanksgiving to God from the poor for that relief, the honour done to God by good works, and lastly, the prayers of the poor for their benefactors, proceeding from gratitude and love.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
And he that supplieth seed to the sower and bread for food, shall supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness [and he that, in the economy of nature, makes returns to the sower, so that he not only has his seed again, but bread for food, shall in like manner in the domain of grace, supply and multiply the seeds of charity which you sow, so that you will not only be able to do again the deed of charity which you have done, but he will also bless all your other acts of righteousness by making them fruitful]:
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Verse 10
He that ministereth seed to the sower; he who is the Fountain and Source of all human supplies.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
9:10 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for [your] food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the {i} fruits of your righteousness;)
(i) There is no inheritance as good to the godly as bountifulness is.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Paul applied this promise to his readers, and we can apply it to ourselves. However notice that what God promised is seed for sowing, the opportunities and resources to make further investments of good works. He did not promise wealth for our own consumption.
Preachers of "prosperity theology" have used these verses to support their contention that God will inevitably give you more material goods if you give what you presently have to Him. They often urge their hearers to give to God through their ministries. However Paul was comparing what God does on the physical plane with what He does spiritually. The farmer who plants a crop gets back more seed than he sowed. Similarly, Paul argued, those who sow spiritually by giving sacrificially to others will receive more spiritual seed, namely, divine enablement to help more people (2Co 9:8-9). Moreover God will not just supply more spiritual seed, but He will multiply it.
Generally what we give away is what we get back. That is the principle in view. However this is not a promise that we will inevitably get more wealth if we give away our wealth. The opposite usually happens. In Gal 6:7 the emphasis is on "that" rather than "reap." Paul’s point there was that we reap in kind what we sow (cf. Gal 6:8). He did not say that we will get back more of whatever we sow. "In everything" implies that God may give generous Christians more material resources that they can pass on to others. However, we should remember that the context is primarily dealing with righteousness that comes back to the person who sows righteous acts, not Rolls Royces and Rolex watches. [Note: For an evaluation of "prosperity theology," see Jim Kinnebrew, "The Gospel of Affluence," Mid-American Theological Journal 9:2 (Fall 1985):49-65, and Ken L. Sarles, "A Theological Evaluation of the Prosperity Gospel," Bibliotheca Sacra 143:572 (October-December 1986):329-52.]
"There is no hint here of a ’prosperity theology.’ Enrichment, like ’overflowing’ (2Co 9:8), is metaphorical, and is not at all motivated by self-interest." [Note: Barnett, p. 443.]
Another result of the Corinthians’ benefaction would be that the Jerusalem saints would thank God when the gift came to them through Paul and his associates.