Seder 156: 2 Corinthians 9---Better than the Prosperity Gospel

 The Bible affirms that those who are generous with their assets will tend to prosper.  One striking statement of this principle is given by the prophet Malachi:

"Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.  And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need" (Mal 3:10).

Purveyors of the 'prosperity gospel" like to quote this verse, promising people that they will get rich when they send in their contributions.  (Such preachers may also be hoping to get rich themselves, but they might not mention this.)

We can contrast the approach of the prosperity preachers with that of the apostle Paul.  In 2 Corinthians 9, Paul urges Christians in Corinth to follow through on their pledge to contribute to an offering for Jewish believers in Judea who had been going through a time of famine.  

This is a project that is important to Paul.  He believes that Gentile Christians should show honor to their Jewish brethren.  After all, the gifts of the Messiah and the Scriptures have come to them through the people of Israel (see Rom 9:4-5; 11:18).   

Paul begins his appeal by referring in verses 6-7 to Proverbs 22;8-9, another passage that links generosity and blessing.  He refers to the passage in the Greek Septuagint translation, which says, in part, "The one who sows what is worthless will reap evil things, and he will achieve a beating for his deeds.  God blesses a cheerful and giving man ... The one who shows mercy to the needy will be sustained, for he has given some of his own bread to the poor."  

Unlike the prosperity preacher, however, Paul is not proposing that the Corinthians be generous with the goal of accumulating wealth.  Instead, he says that God will make sure that they always have enough so that they can give even more (verse 8).

If they are continually giving, Paul adds, they will be like God (verse 9).  Here he quotes Psalm 112:9, which states that God "has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever."  

He goes on to say that God, the source of all good things, "will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness" (verse 10).  Remember that in first century Jewish thought, the word "righteousness" (Hebrew tzedekah) was connected especially with charitable giving.  So "the harvest of your righteousness" means the good done through your charity.  Again, God will supply the giver with more so that the giver can give more.  

Furthermore, Paul states, when they give more, the recipients of their generosity will thank and praise God because of them, and will go on to pray for them (vv 11-14).  

To summarize, Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 that when we give to others, 

• God will make sure that we have enough; 
• so that our giving will increase;
• so that people will thank God because of us;
• and pray for us.

This sounds like an even better deal than that promised by the prosperity preacher.  Clearly the gospel of Paul is greater than the prosperity gospel.