John Calvin Commentary 2 Corinthians 9:8

"And God is able to make all grace abound unto you; that ye, having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto every good work:" — 2 Corinthians 9:8 (ASV)

And God is able: again, he provides against the base thought which our unbelief constantly suggests to us: “What! Will you not rather have regard for your own interest? Do you not consider that when this is taken away, there will be so much less left for yourself?” To drive this away, Paul arms us with a choice promise—that whatever we give away will turn out to our advantage.

I have said already that we are by nature excessively miserly—because we are prone to distrust, which tempts everyone to retain with an eager grasp what belongs to them. To correct this fault, we must lay hold of this promise—that those who do good to the poor provide for their own interests no less than if they were watering their lands.

For by almsgiving, like so many canals, they make the blessing of God flow out toward themselves, so that they are enriched by it. What Paul means is this: “Such liberality will deprive you of nothing, but God will make it return to you in much greater abundance.” For he speaks of the power of God not as poets do, but in the manner of Scripture, which ascribes to Him a power put forth in action, whose present efficacy we ourselves feel—not any inactive power that we merely imagine.

That having all sufficiency in all things: he mentions a twofold advantage arising from that grace, which he had promised to the Corinthians—that they should have what is enough for themselves and would have something over and above for doing good. By the term sufficiency, he points out the measure which the Lord knows to be useful for us, for it is not always profitable for us to be filled to satiety. The Lord therefore ministers to us according to the measure of our advantage, sometimes more, sometimes less, but in such a way that we are satisfied—which is much more than if one had the whole world to luxuriate in. In this sufficiency we must abound, to do good to others, for the reason God does good to us is—not that everyone may keep to themselves what they have received, but that there may be mutual sharing among us, as necessity may require.