God loves a cheerful Giver?

2Cor 9:7  So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; FOR GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER.
2Cor 9:8  And God is able to make ALL GRACE abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

(Amplified bible Translation) GRACE is translated as (EVERY FAVOR and EARTHLY BLESSING) come to you IN ABUNDANCE so that you may ALWAYS and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient. [Possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation].

ALWAYS means: good time, bad time, famine time, harvest time, whatever time in the world with the banking system up or down does not affect you.

The context of these verse is about material giving, and when reading (2Cor 9:7-8) we tend to have the Wrong impression that there is a condition that IF we do this THEN God will do this: “IF you are a cheerful giver, THEN God will release all Grace toward you.” Am I right to say this?

This is wrong: because it will mean, Grace is dependent on your giving cheerfully. While we know that God’s Grace is unearned / unmerited favor, which is not dependent on your deeds of goodness, nor on your obedience of keeping the Law; but Grace is totally the Free Gift & Goodness of God.

So how do we interpret these verses?

Firstly, Rich does not make you a generous giver. Many rich people are having stingy spirit, not generous giver. By now you should know that having a lot of money does not make you a generous giver. Sow bountifully is a generous spirit, so is Sowing sparingly is also a small spirit (2Cor 9:6). And Grace will make you a generous spirit of giving bountifully. Grace will make you a generous giver, a cheerful giver, a liberal giver.

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector (Luke 19:1-10) ; Jesus gave him Grace first, Jesus treated him with respect and honor although he did not deserve it. Zacchaeus was a traitor in the eyes of Jews, because as a Jews he helped the Roman Government to suppress people with tax, collecting on Roman’s behalf. People hated him, and yet Jesus came to look for him, calling him ‘Zacchaeus’ which in Hebrew means “Not Guilty”, as if Jesus was pronouncing him as ‘Not Guilty’, and came to eat together at his house. Because of this Grace, Zacchaeus became a generous giver.

Ps Joseph Prince knows what is it like to put people under Grace and what Grace has done to people’s heart. Based on the historical record of New Creation Church (NCC) Singapore; the highest attendance was recorded on the 3 Sunday services where people were pre-informed, dedicated for the giving of building fund (Miracle seeds) for the new Church building ‘the Star’. People from unknown places, happened to come to give money. This is extraordinary! People loves to give willingly and cheerfully to NCC church which is a Grace Church.

Back to this verse:
2Cor 9:7-8  So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; FOR GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER.  AND GOD IS ABLE TO MAKE ALL GRACE abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

Look at the underlined sentence, if you read in the English translation, you would have the wrong impression on the word “IS ABLE TO” , which sounds like a FUTURE TENSE, a Potential ability: “God is able to”; a conditional sentence: as if that: “IF you are a cheerful giver, THEN God is able to make all grace abound toward you”.

But is this NOT so in the Greek original language: (look at the actual TENSE in Greek and the word ‘Dunamis’ is more than just ABLE, but it is the POWERFUL ENABLING FORCE, like Dynamite-Power in English.

Incorporating the Greek translation:
2Cor 9:8  And God is continuously able to ENABLING / EMPOWERING (Greek: DUNAMIS “English: ‘dynamite’) (in the present active indicative tense) make all grace abound toward you,..

God is Not is going to do it, God did not just do it one time in the past, but He is continuously doing it; a present continuous action that God has started in the past, and presently continuously doing it and will continue to do it endlessly until undefined future – forever!

Even now as I speak right now, He is enabling and He is empowering ALL GRACE. When you know this, then the verse before this says: God loves a cheerful giver, you are the cheerful giver, Why? Because you know God is always suppling you, always multiplying favor to you, and you are so full always having all sufficiency in all things, and always have an abundance for every good work, and this automatically makes you a cheerful giver.

His Grace comes first, Grace opens your heart, Grace makes you a generous giver.