“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15).
It seems appropriate for Paul the Apostle to end this portion of his letter to the Corinthian church by associating the gift for the churches of Judea with the One who is the ultimate Giver of all gifts. Although Paul does not identify the “indescribable gift” he mentions in this verse, there could only be one such gift: God’s gift of His Son.
The New Testament book of 1 John tells us, “Here is how God showed his love among us: God sent his only Son into the world, so that through him we might have life” (1 John 4:9 CJB). For Paul, there were no words to describe that gift- and much like the example of a young child who emulates his or her parents, we continue in the footsteps of our heavenly Father when follow His good example in giving to others.
The final verse of this chapter also provides us with an opportunity to look back at the message of 2 Corinthians 8:1-9:15 and look ahead to what follows in chapter ten. For instance, the following commentators highlight some important concepts from 2 Corinthians 8-9…
“…if a person really wants to be generous, God will see that he is given the opportunity.” (1)
“Paul’s logic is identical to that of our Lord in Matthew 6:33. When the temporal concerns of life are placed first, God is usually excluded. But when the kingdom of God is placed first, God sees to it that the temporal needs are included.” (2)
“God will give those who share their resources with Him, more resources. This abundance, however, is not for the personal use of the individual, but for the causes of Christ (cf. Eph_4:28). The Christian giver becomes a channel of God’s provisions for the needs of others.” (3)
However, there will be a decided change in Paul’s tone as we enter 2 Corinthians chapter ten. In the final four chapters of this epistle, Paul will turn to address those within the church at Corinth who continued to challenge his apostolic leadership and undermine his authority. Since it is often impossible to lead, teach, or help those who are unduly critical, ungracious, or disrespectful, Paul will forcefully engage with these so-called “super-apostles” (11:5) in an effort to protect the congregation from their false teachings.
This will lead to a direct and aggressive confrontation that serves to remind us that we may sometimes be called upon to challenge those who are disobedient (10:6), deceitful (11:13), unrepentant (12:21), or sinful (13:2).
(1) William Macdonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary Edited by Arthur Farstad Thomas Nelson Publishers (2 Corinthians 9:8)
(2) Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2357). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
(3) Dr. Bob Utley, Free Bible Commentary 2 Corinthians [9:8] Copyright ©2014 by Bible Lessons International http://www.freebiblecommentary.org/new_testament_studies/VOL06/VOL06B_09.html