Our Generous God
As we near the end of 1 Corinthians, Paul has several more important topics to discuss.by Sarah Wootten Corinth Missionary Baptist Church
In the coming weeks, we will examine Paul’s encouragements regarding giving in many different areas of life — finances, hospitality, time, and orienting your life to meet needs.
It may seem at first as you read through the last chapter of 1 Corinthians that these topics are random because Paul is simply discussing what is going on in his missionary journey and the ministries of those around him.
But as I read through this chapter in preparation for writing, I noticed a common theme running through each of these encouragements.
That theme was generosity.
It seems to me that Paul and his ministry partners lived lives that were full of cheerful giving.
But before we can see his encouragement to us, we need to understand the basis of why Paul and the other believers could be so generous from the heart.
Our God is abundantly generous to all of His creation.
Throughout the Bible, we see His loving hand towards all He has made.
A Psalmist wrote, “[God causes] the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart” (104:14-15, ESV).
Psalm 104 describes God’s majestic works towards sustaining creation and causing it to thrive.
He’s not a God who does the bare minimum to sustain life.
He gives abundantly for the world’s good and thriving.
Look at the two verses above. God could have just provided food and breath, but He did much more than that.
He also gave for our joy. He is by no means stingy in His provision. God delights in giving bountifully.
But, of course, there is an even greater abundance that God has given to mankind.
It is the gift of His Son.
When we consider God’s generosity to mankind through His Son, we have so much more to be thankful for.
While we were still rebels against the One who created us, God sent His Son—His only Son whom He cherishes and loves—to pay the penalty for the sin that we owe (Romans 5:8).
For all who believe, His death not only paid the debt owed, it also reconciled us to God. And through this restored relationship, we experience the blessings of God in unending measure.
For example, Christians know God as our Comforter.
If we will run to Him in our trials and anxieties of life, God will graciously give us a peace that is completely foreign to human reason and logic (Philippians 4:6-7).
He is eager and ready to give us this peace that can only be found as we lean upon Christ.
But we also experience His generosity in physical provision, in wisdom, in forgiveness, in spiritual guidance, in rest, in endurance, and in so much more.
Why would God be so generous?
Why would God be so giving to sinners who have scorned His name?
Those are great questions with many correct answers.
But to close, consider this passage, “And I will put the fear of Me in their hearts, that they may not turn from Me.
I WILL REJOICE IN DOING THEM GOOD, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all My heart and all My soul” (Jeremiah 32:40b-41, ESV, emphasis added).
One of the many ways in which His love is expressed towards believers is through His generosity, and it is His absolute joy to give abundantly to us.
It is with this character of God in mind that we can begin to walk through Paul’s example and a few instructions of how Christians should be generous with their time, money, homes, etc.
Just as God’s generosity is a reflection of His love and delight towards those He loves, our cheerful generosity should also reflect our love towards God and a gratefulness of all that we have been generously and graciously given by God.
