But this I say, He who sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
All Commentaries on 2 Corinthians 9:6 Go To 2 Corinthians 9
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
He which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Literally, he which soweth in blessings, i.e, liberally scatters, as it were, seeds among the poor, shall reap of them again. For God, who reckons that to be done to Himself which is done to the poor, does not suffer Himself to be surpassed in liberality, but to the liberal is far more liberal, and repays them in greater abundance, both corporal and spiritual gifts. For parallel expressions, cf. Joshua 15:19; 1 Samuel 25:27; Genesis 48:25. In this last passage, Jacob hints at the reason why the Hebrew calls beneficence blessing. It is because, by a pious form of speech, they wish to point out that the beneficence of God, which is the fount and origin of all ours, flows from His benediction. With God to bless is to do, and is the same as to benefit, and therefore God by His word alone bestows on us all good things. (2.) Another reason is that the Patriarchs and early Christians, such as the hermits and other Saints of the New Testament, were wont to distribute the gifts with solemn prayer and blessing, and for this reason to call them by the name of ευ̉λογία. (3.) A third reason is that it is pleasanter, both to giver and receiver, to call the gift an act of benediction rather than of beneficence. Hence poor honest men, when asking for alms, call them benedictions, extenuating their importance, and rich givers in their turn do the same. Theophylact adds that S. Paul by this word stimulates them to cheerful giving, reminding them by it that what they give is a blessing to him that gives and him that takes. No one is saddened by giving such a blessing, but cheerfully imparts it. Cf. also Proverbs 22:9; Ecclesiastes 11:1-3.
Notice also the use of the words "sow" and "reap." Almsgiving, like other good works, is a seed which produces a harvest of grace, and even of temporal good things, as is explained in vers8,10. Hence you may infer against Calvin that good works effect and merit a reward, for seed, by its natural powers, produces its proper fruit at harvest-time; therefore almsgiving produces truly its reward, not physically, as is evident, but meritoriously.
