2 Corinthians
INTRODUCTION One of the most common traditions at
Christmas is the giving of gifts. At our house we start out with the opening of
our stocking gifts. These are usually things like candy, surfboard wax, sunscreen,
makeup, and gift cards for Starbucks, funny trinkets, and various small items.
After this we begin unwrapping the gifts under the tree and always save the
best gift for last as the grand finale. After Christmas, we will undoubtedly be
asked by someone what we received for Christmas and will be proceed to describe
each gift that we received. But when the Apostle Paul thought about gifts there
was one gift that he had received that he could not describe, he calls this
gift inexpressible. In our text this morning,
in
I. IT IS INEXPRESSIBLE BECAUSE OF THE INFINITE GENEROSITY
OF GOD’S GIFT The prophet Isaiah
spoke of this inexpressible gift. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and
the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah
II. IT IS INEXPRESSIBLE BECAUSE
OF THE GIFT ITSELF-JESUS CHRIST The embodiment of
God's greatest gift is Jesus. Who can
begin to describe God's tiny present, lovingly wrapped in swaddling clothes on
that first Christmas morning? Within
Jesus' fragile frame, undiminished deity and true humanity existed together as
God's supreme gift of grace to us-a gift too wonderful for words!' How can I
begin to describe such an indescribable Person? If the heavens could open and
we could all get a glimpse of Christ in His glory, we would be struck
speechless and would fall at His feet as if we were dead (Revelation 1:12-17). We cannot begin to imagine the
splendor, the glory, and the riches that Jesus Christ has and gave up to come
to this earth. We can rightly say,
A. None was richer than
Christ was. He was rich in supremacy and power: “He is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in Him all things were
created, both in the heavens and on the earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created
through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:15-16). He was rich in glory:
“And He is the
radiance of His glory, and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds
all things by the word of His power”
(Hebrews 1:3). He is one with the Father, having shared His glory before
the creation of the earth (John 10:30; 17:5). He
receives the worship of myriads upon myriads of angels, who bow before His
throne proclaiming, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His
glory” (Isaiah. 6:3). Of Isaiah’s vision John wrote, “These things Isaiah
said, because he saw His [Christ’s] glory, and he spoke of Him” (John
12:41). We cannot begin to imagine the riches of Jesus Christ before He
came to this earth. Yet,
B.
None became poorer than Christ became. “For you know the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he
became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)
Jesus became poor in that He voluntarily gave up the use of certain
divine attributes during His earthly life. He did not cease to have these
attributes; He simply gave up His use of them. He could have struck His persecutors
dead on the spot. He could have done many other things as God, but He chose not
to. Instead, He took on human flesh and became a servant, obedient to death on
the cross. Paul profoundly speaks of this in Philippians
2:5-11, “Christ Jesus, who, though he was
in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but
made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness
of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death, even death on a cross.” He could have been
born in a palace; He was born in a stable. He could have been born with a
superhuman body, not subject to pain, hunger, and tiredness; He was born with a
body like ours, except for sin. He could have come to earth as an adult, strong
and ready to assume power; He was born as a weak infant, who had to be rescued
from Herod’s murderous threats. He could have been born into wealth, where His
hands would never be rough from calluses; He worked as a carpenter. He could
have begun His ministry as a miracle-working child or young adult; He waited
until He was about thirty. He could have been waited on by a contingent of
servants; He became a servant. Good men rightly should have died for Him; He
died for sinners. Who can describe the chasm between the glory of heaven and
the humiliation of the cross? If billionaire Bill Gates were to give up his
wealth and possessions and go to
III. IT IS INEXPRESSIBLE
BECAUSE JESUS SATISFIES OUR DEEPEST NEEDS God’s gift is also inexpressible for the effects it produces. This is unmeasurable by human beings. The gift of God accomplishes everything in those who believe. At Christmas many are thinking about their felt needs as they think
about gifts and advertising and the media and a therapeutic society don’t
exactly help. Marketers, salesmen, therapists, self-help gurus, and popular
religion all pander to our felt needs (which our corrupt nature is deceived to think
are our actual needs); but God’s determines and therefore knows our deepest
needs and His gift of Jesus Christ meets and satisfies our deepest and real
needs:
1.
The need for salvation: The Bible says, "All have sinned and fallen short of the
glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "It
is appointed to man once to die and after that comes judgment."
(Hebrews 9:27). We will give an account to God for our lives. Jesus
Christ came and suffered and died and rose again from the dead to pay the price
for our sins. The angel told Joseph “Jesus… will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21) and the shepherds “For unto you is born
this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”(Luke
2:10-11) .When we trust him as Lord and Savior of our lives we have
peace with God, our sins are forgiven, and there is no more condemnation (Romans 5:1; 8:1; Ephesians 2:13-16).Jesus is God's
inexpressible gift to meet this need
2.
The need for eternity with God: The Bible is clear on this: there is
a heaven and there is a hell. Both last forever. And where we spend eternity is
chosen in this life. And Jesus is the way to heaven, the only way. "For God so
loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes on him
should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Jesus is God's inexpressible gift to
meet this need.
3. The need to satisfy our empty hearts: Jesus said, "I am the bread of
life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall
never thirst" (John 6:35).Everybody is thirsty. Everybody is
searching for a fountain of everlasting joy. When you find Jesus the search is
over. Jesus is God's inexpressible gift to meet this need.
4.
The need to know God: We can know God — just as personally and intimately as
you know anyone in this world. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were
made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. . . And
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have
beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father" (John 1:1-4,14). God in the person of His Son has
become flesh - human. And Jesus said to Philip, "If you have seen me you have seen the
Father" (John 14:9). Jesus is God reaching out to us. God wants
to be known. He wants to be loved. He wants to be a Father and a Friend. And
though he is great beyond all imagination, he came near in Jesus so that we
could know him. "If
you had known me, you would have known my Father also; henceforth you know him
and have seen him" (John 14:7).
Jesus is God's inexpressible gift to meet this need
5.
The need to change: Paul said, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no
longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the
flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for
me" (Galatians 2:20). And the
life Paul lived by faith in the Son of God was an incredible life of love and
sacrifice and joy for the good of people and the glory of God. Paul had no
doubt at all that there is a power that really changes people. Namely, the
power of Jesus Christ when we trust in him. Jesus is God's inexpressible gift
to meet this need.
IV. OUR EXPRESSIVE RESPONSE TO GOD’S INEXPRESSIBLE
GIFT A four-year-old
boy asked his father, “Daddy, what does ‘ignore’ mean?” His father explained
that it meant not to pay attention to someone. The boy responded, “I don’t
think we should ignore Jesus.” Puzzled, the dad replied, “I don’t either.” Then
the boy explained, “But that’s what the Christmas carol says, ‘O come let us
ignore Him.’” Many people really sing it that way, don’t they? Could you be
ignoring Jesus this Christmas? Would you slow down to take the time to reflect
and respond to God the Father in the only appropriate way to respond to such an
indescribable gift of His Son Jesus? I close
with this thought. Even though the gift of God in Christ is "inexpressible",
it is nevertheless to be spoken of.
And the primary reason is because it is so wonderfully, profoundly, amazingly,
inexpressible.
To whom shall we speak of it?
Well, to God first of all! This is the other half of the text, for 2 Corinthians 9:15 does not speak merely of God's gift. It says, "Thanks be to God
for his inexpressible gift." Have you thanked God for his great gift of
salvation through Jesus Christ? Have you thanked God for anything? At Christmas
you and I thank will thank all kinds of people for gifts. But what of God? If
that gift is as great as the Bible says it is, then we should literally cry out
with Paul in worship, praise, and thanksgiving, "Thanks be to God for his
inexpressible gift!" Thanks be to God for Jesus! And when we are crying
out thanks, let us not forget that the best thanks are not in word alone. Thanks are expressed in deeds too that
express our love and gratitude towards Him. What deeds? If you have never received the Lord
Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, your first deed should be to
receive him and worship him, as the shepherds, wise men and others of the
Christmas story did. That is, you should receive and take the gift God gives
you. “Yet to all
who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human
decision or a husband’s will, but born of God”( John 1:12). Do not think of it in terms of your worthiness. You are
not worthy and never will be worthy.
Just take it. Let it be yours. Receive it as that treasure in the field
or that pearl of great price for which the wise men and women of this world
sell all that they have. Secondly, you can
also express your thanks by service. You have much, but there are others who have little. Reach out to them
in Christ's name. Let God's generous gift be the pattern for your giving
of your money, possessions, time, self, and your very life and his service be
the pattern for your service. Finally, know that you are not merely under obligation
to speak to God about his
indescribable gift. You have an obligation to speak to others also. I notice that in the Christmas
story nearly everyone spoke to others
about God's gift. The wise men said, "We have seen his star in the east and have come to
worship him" (Matt. 2:2). The
shepherds "spread the word concerning what had
been told them about this child" (Luke 2:17). Simeon "praised God" (Luke 2:28). Anna, the
prophetess, "gave thanks to God and spoke about
the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of