2 Corinthians 9:15 — the short line that closes two chapters about money
15Thanks be to God for his ineffable gift.
One line to close two chapters about a collection. The difference in scale is the effect: after all that arithmetic, Paul ends by thanking God for something he never names.
Short answer
2 Corinthians 9:15 is a single line closing two entire chapters about the collection for the poor Christians in Jerusalem. After all that talk of money, Paul ends in thanks. The gift goes unnamed, and the adjective he picks belongs to something you never finish describing.
- Written by
- Raphael Navarro Schmitt
- Reviewed by
- Maria Luisa Navarro Schmitt
- Published on
- Reading time
- 2 min read
Chapters 8 and 9 form the longest stretch in the New Testament about raising money. Paul is organising aid from the Greek communities for the poor Christians in Jerusalem.
He argues by example, by deadline, and even by a friendly embarrassment between congregations. This verse is the last line of that block.
Two chapters of practical argument end in a sentence of thanks that explains nothing. It is as though, after so much talk of accounts, he remembered where the account began.
The text does not name the gift, and the gap is part of the sentence. Christian tradition reads Christ there, and the context supports it; even so, the verse leaves it open. Ineffable is precisely the adjective for something a person gives up on finishing.
The line works as a full stop to money conversations that have gone tense: a tight budget, giving, a shared bill. It resolves none of them. It puts the argument back inside a larger economy, where whoever contributes had already received before giving.
Where this verse appears
Chapters 8 and 9 form the longest stretch in the New Testament about raising money. Paul is organising aid from the Greek communities for the poor Christians in Jerusalem.
He argues by example, by deadline, and even by a friendly embarrassment between congregations. This verse is the last line of that block.
What it says
Two chapters of practical argument end in a sentence of thanks that explains nothing. It is as though, after so much talk of accounts, he remembered where the account began.
The text does not name the gift, and the gap is part of the sentence. Christian tradition reads Christ there, and the context supports it; even so, the verse leaves it open. Ineffable is precisely the adjective for something a person gives up on finishing.
What to do with it today
The line works as a full stop to money conversations that have gone tense: a tight budget, giving, a shared bill. It resolves none of them. It puts the argument back inside a larger economy, where whoever contributes had already received before giving.
A prayer to carry with you
Lord, thank you. I cannot even name properly what I received, and that is exactly why I am thanking you. Let my hand come to resemble yours. Amen.