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Not of Necessity but Willingly
Paul knows the Corinthians’ readiness and has boasted about it to the Macedonians, but he sends the brothers so that the gift will truly be ready. He wants it prepared as a generous blessing, not extracted at the last minute through pressure or covetousness.
Paul uses sowing and reaping to describe generosity without turning giving into a mechanical wealth formula. Each person should give as decided in the heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver—language closely related to the Greek Proverbs tradition. He then quotes Psalm 112:9 about the righteous person who scatters gifts to the poor.
Philemon’s benefit must be “not…of necessity, but willingly,” while 2 Corinthians rejects giving “of necessity” and calls for voluntary generosity.
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