The verb dapanaō means to spend or expend — to use up resources, money, or energy. It appears in the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:14), where the son 'had spent everything.' It also appears in a striking context in 2 Corinthians 12:15, where Paul declares his willingness to be 'spent' entirely for the Corinthians.
Paul's use of dapanaō in 2 Corinthians 12:15 is one of the New Testament's most moving expressions of pastoral love: 'I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls.' This language of total expenditure — giving everything, holding nothing back — mirrors Christ's own self-giving on the cross. The prodigal's spending (Luke 15:14) is the tragic image of squandered grace; Paul's spending is the redemptive image of love poured out. The gospel calls believers from self-consuming excess to self-giving generosity.