<p>9:10 <i>And He that supplies seed to the sower and bread for food shall supply and multiply your seed for sowing- </i>Seed is multiplied in order to be sowed, and not to be hoarded. Paul is not simply saying that if wealth comes our way, it is in order to give it away. For he was writing (according to 1 Cor. 1) to those who were not &quot;mighty&quot; in this world or secular reckoning. He is writing to low wage earners, and encouraging <i>them</i> to be generous with what they had, and to believe that they will be given &quot;seed&quot; in order to sow it by being generous to others. If we want to be sowers, which is part of our Christian calling, then God will give us the seed to sow. God will empower us to meet the needs and fulfil the callings received. 2 Thess. 1:11 is explicit about this too: &quot;To which end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of your calling and fulfil every desire of goodness and work of faith, with power&quot;. The desire to do good shall be fulfilled by God's empowerment. This takes quite some faith to believe, and it seems the Corinthians also stumbled at it. But the principles here stand true as a challenge for all time.</p><p>Paul likens generosity to sowing seed. If we do this for our poor brethren, then God will multiply our seed for sowing (RV); He will give us yet more with which to be generous with. We are &ldquo;enriched unto all liberality&rdquo; (2 Cor. 9:11 RV)- this is <i>why</i> we receive anything, to be liberal with it. And thus he writes in conclusion of &ldquo;the proving of you by this ministration&rdquo; (2 Cor. 9:13 RV). This brief but vital teaching of Paul here is a proof of our spirituality. Our response to ministering to others is a proving of us. It&rsquo;s as simple and as clear as that. And remember that Paul was writing these words to a <i>poor</i> ecclesia, amongst whom there were not many wealthy folk (1 Cor. 1:26-28). Paul speaks of joy as a motive for generosity.</p><p><i>And increase the fruits of your righteousness- </i>The Old Testament allusions are to the LXX of Is. 55:10 and Hos. 10:12. These passages imply an eternal quality to the righteousness, just as God's righteousness abides for ever (:9). The fruit of our generosity in this temporal life is eternal.</p>