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2 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 9 KJV WEB See previous page 2Cor 9,1-15 (130f) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Committed to caring for the needs of the body >> Committed to supporting one another – Paul has been leading up to 2Cor 9-6 since the last chapter, which is perhaps the most popular verse among pastors, convincing their parishioners to give their money. Paul has come full circle regarding the gifts, only this time he speaks about them in a more practical sense, praising them for their positive attitude about giving. In chapter 8 Paul wrote about giving in general, but in this chapter the subject of giving has been specifically directed toward money. He uses the word “zeal” to describe the Corinthians, so if a person is financial prepared to give, it is an indication of his ability to receive in more spiritual ways, but if a person’s faith never materializes giving from his earthly surplus, then neither will he spiritually receive from God. He would rather we be spiritual than successful by the world’s standards, and for this reason He seeks to reward our financial giving with spiritual blessings. Being spiritual was something the Corinthians wanted according to Paul’s first letter, and he told them that to get there they had to stop sinning (1Cor 15-34), but neither can they buy their way to a closer walk with God (Act 8,18-24). (189d) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Holy sacrifice >> Costly sacrifice – Paul sharply rebuked the Corinthians for their lack of generosity in supporting the saints later in chapter eleven, referring to their earlier days when he wrote his first letter to them. The Corinthian’s giving was holy to the Lord. They came together as a unit and pooled their resources and gave a lump sum to the Church to be distributed to those in need, as opposed to handing it to imposters and charlatans who take advantage of people’s gullibility. This is a common problem today. There is a great truth in this passage if we can weed the junk teaching of TV phonies and others that have tried to instill in us that we "give to get." It makes sense that the Bible would teach us to give, and it is a solid doctrine that we are rewarded for being a blessing. We should therefore give to our hearts content. God has a way of returning it to us in one form or another, but we don’t give to get. 2Cor 9,1-5 (8g) Responsibility >> Prepare to interact with God >> Preparing to receive from God -- These verses go with verse 8 2Cor 9,1-4 (122h) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Confidence in yourself as you die to sin >> Confidence in the Church through your ministry (130m) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Interdependent on each other >> Depend on your brother to walk in the gifts of God’s calling -- These verses go with verses 12-15 2Cor 9,2-4 (83l) Thy kingdom come >> Be on the alert >> Remain on duty >> Be ready (84d) Thy kingdom come >> Words of your mouth >> Boasting >> It needs to be said and no one is saying it >> Boasting of my accomplishments in Christ – Paul was proud of the Corinthians, though they were the most carnal of all the churches in his epistles. Did he say these things, hoping they would rise to the level of his expectations, or were they already there? It wasn’t Paul’s way to speak beyond a person’s faith (Rom 12-3; 2Cor 13-5,6). Rather, he met them on their level and sought to raise them higher in faith, but he didn’t talk down to anyone as a means of achieving this, which means that what he was telling the Corinthians in this passage is what he believed about them, that they were spiritual enough to give. Remember, though, that this is the second letter that he wrote to the Corinthians, whether he had that kind of confidence in them in his first letter is unlikely. Time had passed and perhaps his first letter performed a work in them that he intended, and they became more obedient to the truth than at his first letter. Paul had criticisms about the other churches too, but they were not as severe, and his complaints did not take up as much space on paper as his overall critique of the Corinthians. Moreover, Paul added a caveat that the Corinthians could potentially fail Paul, whereas the other churches he never doubted them, for they were always ready to give. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Cor 9-2 (11o) Servant >> Example of God’s people >> The Church (96i) Thy kingdom come >> Attitude >> Positive attitude about giving -- This verse goes with verse 7 (101b) Thy kingdom come >> Zeal >> For the manifestation of God’s kingdom >> Zealous for good works (179e) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Stir up the crowd >> Stir up the crowd for a godly motive 2Cor 9,3-7 (4e) Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >> Being accountable in your stewardship – God is not very materialistic, though the streets of heaven are made of gold, yet only to mock lovers of money, such as prosperity teachers, many of whom will not see heaven. They have the vision of God’s people growing richer and richer and giving more and more money to their ministry, but God rarely (actually never) involves money as part of His vision. He sees money as a necessary evil as we should too. Jesus was by no means materialistic, yet some prosperity teachers audaciously claim that He was a wealthy man. Heretics believe this! One thing is for sure, He could have been wealthy, but the more people gave to His ministry, the more He gave to the poor and to those who needed money more than Him. That’s the problem with these prosperity teachers; they need money too much! Jesus’ whole life was exemplar of how we ought to live; He lived like the poor so He could minister to them, and we ought to live like Jesus so we can minister to the poor in our day. If we want to lead an extravagant life, this is not something God will help us do, and if we have found a way to live extravagantly, we should not attribute our success to God, because we invariably sacrificed His will to attain it. See also: Prosperity teachers; 2Cor 9,5-15; 192d / Act 5,1-10; 25j 2Cor 9-3 (171d) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Outward appearance >> Vanity >> Vain experience >> Emptiness is where God isn’t 2Cor 9-4 (153k) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Shame >> Living for Jesus exposes sin >> Your walk with God puts others to shame 2Cor 9,5-15 (192d) Die to self >> Result of putting off the old man >> Gain by losing >> Receiving from God by substitution >> Wheeling and dealing in God’s spiritual economy – According to Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, it was clear they earnestly desired to wield the power of God, and Paul had to set them straight, not for wanting this, but for wanting it more than they wanted God, who would much rather reward us spiritually for the material gifts we use to help the saints, rather than simply give us back our money with interest. This is what the prosperity teachers have taught us over the years, dreaming up such doctrines through their greed. We’ve all heard it taught that giving is the process of receiving; Jesus taught this too (Luke 6-38), but it doesn't mean that if we give money we will get money. God is far more interested in our spiritual enrichment than He is in our financial prosperity. He promised to be our provider, but He left it open just how He would make sure we always had enough. One thing is for sure, the more spiritual we become, the less earthly treasures mean to us. So it seems God builds contentment in us as we grow into His likeness. Repaying our generosity with spiritual blessings is a favor both to Himself and to us, for we benefit by being more spiritual and He benefits by making it easier on Himself to provide our needs. See also: Prosperity teachers; 2Cor 9,3-7; 4e / Investing your seed; 2Cor 9,6-11; 206c (235d) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Tithing >> Offerings >> Help your weaker brother -- These verses go with verses 1-5. The subject of giving tends to be a high priority in most churches because of the high cost of Christianity today. People build giant cathedrals with the plan of paying for them off the backs of the congregation. Pastors, “tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger ” (Mat 23-4). It is nice to have a building dedicated to the ministry, but it is a very expensive way to conduct Christianity, and whether it is actually worth the expense is questionable, because there are alternatives. During the first and second century persecution was severe, so church was held in people’s homes. If they assembled in a public facility, their enemies would learn about it and have them all arrested and thrown in jail, their building confiscated and the leadership possibly losing their lives. The way they conducted church in those days was far more economical and effective in terms of interacting with one another in an environment of hospitality. When they did ask the people for a gift, almost the whole sum would go to people who needed it, but the way church conducts Christianity today, most the offering goes to paying the mortgage on the Church building and to the pastor's salary. See also: Building program; 2Cor 9,6-13; 34l (236h) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Invest your treasures into the kingdom >> Invest everything you value 2Cor 9,5-7 (2g) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> Keep your commitments with those who are committed to you -- These verses go with verse 13 2Cor 9-5 (8n) Responsibility >> Prevent sin from coming between you and God (21m) Sin >> Greed tries to satisfy man’s need for security >> The love of money (62k) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Being clever >> Making no provisions for the flesh KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Cor 9,6-15 (11g) Servant >> God’s standard is in proportion to our output 2Cor 9,6-14 (32k) Gift of God >> Father will honor your devotion to Him >> Honor a fruitful life (218h) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> Reaping the harvest of obedience >> The harvest of righteousness 2Cor 9,6-13 (34l) Gift of God >> Be generous like your Father >> Give to your brother – Paul, Timothy, Titus and o thers were fulltime workers in the ministry, who required support, though occasionally they stopped and supported themselves, but mostly they lived through the help of the Church. This gift that Paul received from the Corinthians went a long way in helping the poor among the believers and financing Paul’s missionary endeavors throughout the known world, because there was no church building mortgage payment acting like a black hole where all the donations would go. Some of the bigger churches sent missionaries into the field, and of course they were financially supported. In our contemporary day it is a huge undertaking to support missionaries in conjunction with paying the mortgage on the Church building. Often, the missionaries are neglected under the shadow of the building program, and they have to come home or find some other way to support themselves in the field, which takes up their time and energy that they would rather have devoted to the advancement of the gospel. See also: Building program; 2Cor 9,5-15; 235d 2Cor 9,6-11 (206c) Salvation >> God makes promises on His terms >> Conditions to promises >> Conditions to receiving in the natural >> Conditions to partaking in the natural realm – This is one of the more popular passages in the Bible about the promise of giving, having a blessing of enrichment appended to it, where the giver stands to benefit most in the exchange. This is what the Bible teaches from genesis to revelation, and it speaks the same about forgiveness. However, nowhere does it say that God will return the blessing to the giver in the same form that he gave it. For example, if he gave money, God does not promise to give money back to him, but perhaps something else. Compare that to the language Paul used to describe the resurrection in 1Cor 15-37,38, “That which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body just as He wished.” What we sow does not return to us in the same form, but in a form that He wishes," but to receive the blessing we must make the investment. See also: Investing your seed; 2Cor 9-7; 74g 2Cor 9,6-10 (23j) Sin >> Poverty (Oppression) >> The solution to poverty (127e) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Goodness >> Rewards for doing good >> Sow the seeds of goodness >> goodness yields a harvest of righteousness (230h) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Mystery of godliness >> Mystery of the trinity >> Obey the mystery of godliness like Jesus did 2Cor 9,6-8 (31j) Gift of God >> Gift of His grace >> Being responsible with it -- These verses go with verse 15 (116j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Through giving 2Cor 9-6 (226h) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Rewards of heaven >> Levels of reward >> God rewards us to the degree of our faithfulness -- This verse goes with verse 10. The Corinthians were leaders in giving. Paul praised them as examples of how to give, and was very proud of them, knowing that God would give them the desire of their hearts, which according to his first letter to them was to be spiritual. They wanted to wield the power of God and now they will have that opportunity through giving, but at the same time we cannot expect to buy the gift of God with money (Act 8-20). The Lord may send money our way as a reward for being generous, but generally God uses every opportunity to mold us closer to the image of Christ, and money simply doesn't have that effect. There were those in the Church who were poor; in fact the Bible says that the gospel was preached primarily to the poor, who were most receptive to the gospel, and for this reason there were many poor people in the Church. God uses the poor as opportunities for others with greater means to bless them, so God can in turn bless the giver with His own gift. Those with money feel no need for God, for the rich think they are God; this is why He thinks twice about using money as a "blessing." KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Cor 9,7-10 (90l) Thy kingdom come >> The called >> God’s purpose for us is to fulfill His calling >> Our purpose is to do God’s will 2Cor 9-7 (74g) Thy kingdom come >> Heart is central value system >> Man’s treasure chest – Paul taught that whatever is in our heart is how we should give and not to give beyond our means or desire, otherwise it wouldn’t be sincere. That which is real comes only from the sphere of our heart, in that later we may regret giving, and then we would resent it, which is a travesty. It is like poison in the stew, and if it is allowed to fester, would work to distance us from the body of Christ. That is, giving a bigger gift may seem better, yet it is better to give what we are willing to give than to give what we are not willing, for the reward is in the willingness, not in the gift itself. When the gift is greater than our heart, there is no reward, and the only benefit is the gift itself, which does very little to help anyone. Give money to the saints and all it does is help them live in this world, but our willingness helps them live for Jesus, for we have become their example of faith. For this reason God loves a cheerful giver. Our willingness blesses God, and our gift blesses the recipients with generosity. We bless God more than we bless the poor, in that blessing God we feed the poor and encourage them to live for Jesus, but in merely feeding them they have their reward in full. Perhaps giving money is the least spiritual thing we can do, yet it takes the most faith and has some of the best results. God is a giver, and without His gift no one has anything, so to give what we have to help others is to be like God. See also: Investing your seed; 2Cor 9,5-15; 192d (78n) Thy kingdom come >> Putting your heart on display >> The result of a renewed mind (87ia) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Those who obey believe in God >> Those who obey the Holy Spirit -- This verse goes with verses 10-13 (96i) Thy kingdom come >> Attitude >> Positive attitude about giving -- This verse goes with verse 2 (106n) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> (125i) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Joy is the result of giving 2Cor 9,8-12 (249d) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Wealth >> True perception of wealth >> Do not trust the carnal perception of wealth >> Do not try to hold on to your money – God gives a promise to those who give money, or perhaps even a cup of cold water in support of the saints. He promises to increase their abundance for every good deed. To those who share their good fortune with others, money is a gift from God, which increases their heart to do more good that multiplies for the glory of God, but those who think their money is their own, its value is based on the fair market, and when they buy something, they have their reward in full. Increasing the ability to do good is not about getting more money, and increasing wealth does not increase our willingness to give. Rather, the more money we have the less we are willing to part with it, but the more we give the more willing we are to give. If anyone has given to a charity and then had them call right back asking for more, they have done their homework; they have collected statistics and discovered that those who give are willing to give more, and they are trying to exploit this principle. The more we give, the more willing we are to give of ourselves and our time, of our energy and sweat and ultimately perhaps even our blood, like so many devout saints in the past. The more of ourselves we give, the more spiritual we become, and the more spiritual the less we care about money. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Cor 9,8-11 (31d) Gift of God >> God is our Father >> His favor enriches your life – God makes His grace abound to those who give, but He is not interested in giving His grace to people who will hoard it, as in the parable of the man who wrapped His mina in a handkerchief and buried it (Lk 19,20-26). This is an example of God giving His grace to someone who did nothing with it, his master calling him a worthless slave. There are people in the Church who give more than others, and there are others who don’t have money but give of themselves, their time and energy, and it is just as valuable as money. (46aa) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Subjecting your flesh >> Violent take it by force >> Taking the sinful nature by force (222k) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Do not give what is holy to dogs >> Give to him who has >> Whoever has shall more be given – Whatever fruit is the ministry of our giving begins with God giving to us, inspiring us to reciprocate in a snowball effect of giving and receiving. It is like the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand, handing the bread and fish to His disciples who distributed it among the people (Mat 14,13-21). God made available another loaf of bread and another fish when Jesus dipped His hand into the basket, because He was giving it, but those who dip into the basket for themselves will come up empty-handed. As we give, we receive, and what we receive is not always what we give. Jesus gave a loaf of bread and received another loaf to give, but He received more than that, a harvest of righteousness in the form of faith that He gave to His disciples. Giving is cause for God to manifest His power, and the disciples experienced this when He met their needs while they ministered to others. God is all about giving, and those who are chronic givers have God’s heart and His attention. When we give Him our heart and then give Him our possessions, God will give in overflowing expressions of grace, keeping our baskets primed with goods. We have finite resources, but we don’t need to twist God’s arm to give, because that is His specialty, not only replenishing the fruit of our giving, but also adding to our willingness to give, until the needs are met and God is glorified. 2Cor 9-8 (8g) Responsibility >> Prepare to interact with God >> Preparing to receive from God -- This verse goes with verses 1-5 (116h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Our adequacy is from God 2Cor 9-9 (141d) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Old Testament bears witness to the new >> It bears witness to Jesus >> Prophesy about Jesus’ ministry >> Jesus as the savior 2Cor 9,10-13 (87ia) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Those who obey believe in God >> Those who obey the Holy Spirit -- These verses go with verse 7 2Cor 9-10 (30d) Gift of God >> Prepare to receive from God >> God supplies our needs under certain conditions – God never promised He would increase our money supply but promised to increase the harvest of our righteousness. He promised to supply our needs while multiplying our seed for sowing, not for eating the seed, with the hope that righteousness sprouts from the seed of money we sow. Normally if we sow a corn seed we reap a corn plant, but God is not interested in corn. Too often these verses are interpreted as though God's aim were about money; instead, He expects righteousness to sprout from sowing money. God is not interested in making us financially wealthy, but spiritually wealthy, and righteousness is about being spiritual, and most of being spiritual is about giving, and part of giving involves money. So money plays a role, but it is not central. Money is a good thing to give, because the recipient can transform it into whatever he or she needs, but it can also be self-defeating for the same reason. (60h) Paradox >> Two implied meanings >> Seed—Money / Good works (76o) Thy kingdom come >> Desires >> Word is food >> Harvesting the word of God – Paul was using an analogy between the word of God and food, saying that the product of the seed is a plant that produces vegetables to eat and sustain our life, in a way similar to planting the word of God as a seed and it produces righteousness that sustains our life. The more we give ourselves to this good cause, the more evidence there is that our heart is filled with God’s word, guaranteeing a harvest of righteousness by which we can live and serve Him. (226h) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Rewards of heaven >> Levels of reward >> God rewards us to the degree of our faithfulness -- This verse goes with verse 6 (229f) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Kingdom grows by itself >> God causes the growth >> God uses us to cause the growth 2Cor 9,11-15 (82i) Thy kingdom come >> Prayer >> Thankfulness >> Giving thanks for His blessings – Another promise of giving is that we will enrich both the giver and the receiver, encouraging both to do good and increase their righteousness, producing thanksgiving to God. Paul spoke about praise as though it were a form of currency. Gratitude toward God completed the upward spiral of giving as an appropriate response to receiving a gift, and the ever increasing value of our gift is the hope of supplying those in need with everything they lacked, including faith and trust in God and a greater commitment toward each other. (131f) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Brother depends on you >> To do the will of God KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Cor 9,11-13 (120k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Contentment >> Content with your standard of living >> Free from greed 2Cor 9-11 (250b) Priorities >> God’s prerequisites >> Sequence of priorities >> In all things... >> Be obedient in all things – There are three elements of our giving: what we give, how much we give and to whom. These three must be under the control of the Holy Spirit in order to receive a full reward, and there is no better way for the Holy Spirit to interject Himself into other people's lives than through giving. The result of our giving will lead us down the trail of good works in ways we never considered. As in all things, it is better to let God direct us in our giving, for without direction we could be giving to a scoundrel, who will blow our gift on his vises; meanwhile the person truly in need is still suffering. The one who walks by the Spirit is guaranteed to be enriched in every aspect of his righteousness, and when we allow the Holy Spirit to make the big decisions in our lives, we will be enriched, and the domino effect that often occurs with the giving people is that doors open they didn’t expect would ever open for them. 2Cor 9,12-15 (117gb) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Eyes of your spirit >> Vision >> R eal-eyes God’s purpose for the Church >> Understand Jesus' exalted position with the Father – People will give the shirt off their backs for a cult, but what is wrong with a gospel-preaching church that is suffering financially? If we really believed in a certain ministry, we would give money to it, and it wouldn’t seem like a sacrifice. If we believed in our local church, tithing would be some of the most exciting acts of faith we did. People can give their time, their energy and their services of just about anything that is asked of them if they believe in the cause, but people will not give money to their local church outside of faith. Only faith can reach into pockets and pull out large denominations. People are willing to come to church every Sunday, stand up and sing God’s praises nice and loud, wear their best clothes and their biggest smiles without faith, but giving money requires genuine faith, and even more, vision. If a person had a vision of his local church, and trusted that it was headed in the right direction, and believed in the ministry that it was led by the Spirit, he might consider giving everything he has. It seems the only lack a cult suffers in with the truth; but a church tethered to the Scriptures people will not believe unless the pastor has God's vision, and that is so tragically the case. (123h) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Love >> Spiritual affection >> Ministry of the saints >> Caring f or each others needs (130m) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Interdependent on each other >> Depend on your brother to walk in the gifts of God’s calling -- These verses go with verses 12-15 (237j) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom >> Citizens of heaven – If the local church is doing exploits for God, cultivating faith in the word of God and establishing maturity in the people, that is all the reason we need to give our money to it. How valuable is the Church in the world? It is the local church where we can give of ourselves and be received by those of a common faith. Our brothers and sisters in the Lord know us better in the spirit than our immediate families. How valuable is a sense of belonging? We need to feel we belong somewhere, and the local church provides that. If our local church is a place where people go as a mere weekly activity and there is no real vision, then we could hardly blame anybody for not giving more than the bare minimum, but if our local church is a spiritual harbor, if faith in Jesus is nurtured there, if our local church is on fire for Jesus and is committed to the faith and devoted to establishing the Kingdom of God in the world, saving souls and maturing the body of Christ; if these things are happening in our local church, we must give our money to it. How can we put a price on it? It is worth everything we have! 2Cor 9,12-14 (142d) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> Having a good reputation >> A reputation of good works 2Cor 9-13 (2g) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> Keep your commitments with those who are committed to you -- This verse goes with verses 5-7 (150d) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Confessing the salvation of Christ >> Confessing Jesus because you are saved – This was the second epistle Paul wrote to the Corinthians; in his first epistle Paul was not so convinced of them. There was a lot of teaching in his first epistle about how to conduct oneself in the house of God and how to behave as Christians. In other words, First Corinthians is a good example of what the apostles and their helpers initially taught all the churches that they founded from infancy, and as they matured they would teach them such things as the contents of Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians. The Corinthians were a very immature people, and Paul in his second epistle to them in this ninth chapter, writing about making a financial contribution, finally sounded convinced that their faith was real, because they gave from their financial resources. (156c) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> Loving God is evidence of salvation >> Expressing your feelings toward Him (244i) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Literal manifestations >> Literal manifestation of God’s word >> Manifesting the righteousness of His kingdom – Paul wrote about proving the legitimacy of their ministry, and this freewill offering of the Corinthians gave legitimacy to their faith. What can prove our faith more than giving? People can talk big, but when it comes to genuine faith they often don’t have much to give. The fact that the Corinthians gave, though they were poor, yet their giving became to Paul proof of their faith as the genuine people of God. Some people pledge large sums of money, but Paul was never convinced until the giving actually happened. This money that they were able to collect was a literal manifestation of their faith. Now Paul knew the Corinthians were bona fide members of God’s Church; nothing convinced him of that more than this gift. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Cor 9-14 (36a) Gift of God >> Gifts from the Holy Spirit >> To him who has shall more be given (83c) Thy kingdom come >> Results of prayer >> Prayer unites the body (93i) Thy kingdom come >> Following Jesus >> Through men >> Follow the example of others (116b) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Through worship >> In prayer – There are those in the body of Christ who yearn for their fellow believers, yearning to enjoy their presence and ministry that God is building in their hearts. The next best thing to this is to pray for them, and in this way God is able to open a window where they can deposit spiritual gifts into them through prayer, developing a remote connection with them by faith. In the mindfulness of the Corinthians they remember the things they asked God to give them and by faith understood that they have come in possession of them and were walking in them, ready to share them with their fellow saints, because they prayed. They deposited gifts and ministries into the people as a means of communing with them, in hope that they will meet them in the flesh and see the gifts they requested from God on their behalf. (See: Rom 1-11; 1Cor 5,3-5.) (143i) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> Popularity >> Sought commendably >> Being sought for your relationship with God 2Cor 9-15 (31j) Gift of God >> Gift of His grace >> Being responsible with it -- This verse goes with verses 6-8 See next page