So far, we’ve really only covered the first part of the first section of 2 Corinthians. Let’s talk about the second part. In 2 Corinthians 8-9, Paul begins by talking about raising money to support the church in Jerusalem. Why did this church need support? In a Jewish city like Jerusalem, Christians faced severe persecution from religious leaders and society. They were ostracized, lost jobs, business opportunities and their social standing (Acts 8:1-3, Acts 12:1-5). About 10 years before the writing of 2 Corinthians, during the reign of the Emperor Claudius, there was a severe famine in and around Jerusalem that continued to create issues for the local economy (Acts 11:27-30). The top 1% of the population of Jerusalem – Roman elites – controlled the most fertile land, and the non-elite bore the heavy burdens of rent and taxes. In addition, the majority of the church were already impoverished before joining the church and relied on the church for support (Source). Finally, unlike most of the churches in Gentile cities like Corinth and Phlippi, Jerusalem lacked wealthy patrons, benefactors and givers, which made them reliant on outside aid (Source). 

In 2 Corinthians, Paul is talking to a mostly wealthy church who has stopped giving. He starts by talking to them about the church in Macedonia, who is “being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.” (2 Corinthians 8:2, NLT). Paul goes on to remind them that they had made a commitment to give over a year ago and lovingly encourages them to complete what they had started (2 Corinthians 8:10-11). I encourage you to take some time to read 2 Corinthians 8-9 for yourself to understand exactly what Paul says, and the context in which he says it. A few weeks ago, I gave a 30,000 foot view of all the Bible’s definitions of prosperity. I want to zoom into the definition that Paul gives in 2 Corinthians 9:8-11:

“8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 9 As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” 10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God” (2 Corinthians 9:8-11, ESV)

First, Paul doesn’t say that God gives seed to the Christian. Nor does he say that God gives seed to the good person. Paul makes it clear that God gives seed to sowers. Sowing and reaping is a law that governs the universe. It’s like gravity. It just works. You can jump off a building and say you don’t believe in gravity, but gravity believes in you. A person can attempt to reap where they haven’t sown, but that doesn’t change the truth that reaping only comes after you sow first. That’s not what I want to focus on in this chapter. We’ll come back to it later in the book, but it’s worth thinking about. 

Paul gives us this simple definition of prosperity in verse 8: “all sufficiency in all things at all times, (so that) you may abound in every good work.” The Greek word for sufficiency that Paul uses here is the word αὐτάρκεια (autarkeia). αὐτάρκεια means “having enough of everything, not requiring support.” To prosper according to Paul means that you have your needs met, and that you also have everything you need to meet other people’s needs. 

New Testament Prosperity – I have everything I need, and I have enough to meet other people’s needs. 

Emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually and financially. The definition of sufficiency (αὐτάρκεια) is clear; having enough of everything. No exception. Period. It’s not just having enough for you. It’s having enough for you and the needs of others. 

What does it mean to have a need? Let’s look specifically at money. The problem with our thinking about money is that we primarily look at financial wealth through the lens of comparison. We think in terms of our ability to do what we can do today, compared to what we want to be able to do tomorrow. We compare our current financial state with our preferred financial state. We also tend to define prosperity as someone having more than what we have. If a billionaire “only” has $1 billion, but they “need” $2 billion for something they want to do, they might struggle to think of themselves as prosperous. Most of our thinking on wealth and prosperity is rooted in comparison.

Think about it in terms of median income. According to the most recent statistics, the annual median income in the United States of America, where I live, is $80,610 per year, and the average household size is 2.54 people (Source). If a household makes the median American household income, they are in the top 22% of income earners in the entire world (Source). In the part of Texas where I live, the median household income is almost double what it is for the rest of America, $145,914 per year (Source). If you live in Frisco, Texas and make the median American income, it may not feel sufficient. Yet, you are in the top 20% of the entire world, and are a part of controlling 90% of the world’s wealth. Nearly half of the global population, 3 billion people –  live on less than $7 per day (Source). If you make the median American household income, you make more than 31x what these people make per day. Where I live, the average coffee snob will spend more than the daily income of these 3 billion people on a pour-over without batting an eye. When you think about your prosperity – or lack thereof – what are you comparing it to? If your definition of prosperity is rooted in comparison with anything, it’s probably wrong. Do you share God’s definition of prosperity and pursue it?

These stats may shift or alter your perspective. Human beings tend to see wealth in a human way. Comparison. God doesn’t see things through the lens of a dollar amount. He sees things through the lens of sufficiency. This leads to another question for us. If you feel that what you have is insufficient for you, where does that lack of sufficiency come from? Mostly from our thinking which leads to our decisions. We’ll get to that.