Monday Meditation
February 01, 2016
From the desk of A.J. Higgins
The Gift of God
“Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift”
2 Corinthians 9:15
The subject of giving permeates 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. In chapter 8 the wondrous self-impoverishment of the Lord Jesus is held out to believers as the standard for sacrificial giving. Now, as Paul concludes his exhortation to the believers, he returns to the example of divine persons. But now it is not the Son in His sacrifice, but it is the Father in His immeasurable gift Who is presented.
At least three things mark out this gift:
The Unlikely Source
“Thanks to God … ” is literally how Paul expresses it. The idolatrous gods of the heathen did not “give” to their worshipers spontaneously. The worshipers did not even expect it. The normal mode of business was to placate or sacrifice to the god and then hope for an answer. Rarely do even great men give spontaneously and freely.
Add to that, is the fact that an offended deity was to be feared and appeased by any means possible – for his “gifts” were normally, misfortune and destruction.
But our God, the God Whom we offended and hated, of His own will, out of the inherent, essential character of His heart, gave. No compulsion outside of His love; no constraint apart from grace; no coercion other than the demand of His mercy. The motivation for giving was all self-contained and self-constrained. He is a God who gives readily (8:11), abundantly (8:13), bountifully (9:8), and cheerfully (9:7). That God should be a giving God is a cause for awe and wonder.
The Unspeakable Gift
But God not only deigned to be a giver; what He gave is what magnifies His glory. His gift is “unspeakable.” The word could literally be translated as something which cannot be declared. Words are inadequate and could never quite quantify the measure of the gift. Words could not adequately describe the greatness of the gift. Human vocabulary reveals its inadequacy in attempting to fully tell out the wonder of God’s gift.
The Unexpected Gift
While some might feel that the gift mentioned in verse 15 is that of eternal life (Rom 6:23; Eph 2:8, 9), in the context, there seems little question that the gift is that of His Son. The God Who possesses all and could give universes, chose to give His Son. That He should give us life and breath (Acts 17:25) is a mark of His grace. That He should fill our mouths with good things (Ps 103:5) is a measure of His bountifulness. But when the gift He gives is His Son, and the ultimate of that gift is the Son given to die, and the wonder of that gift is that the Son is given to die for His enemies – there is little wonder that Paul would turn from all other giving, and worship the God Who is a giving God.
Consider
1. Think of all the things which the Scriptures detail of God “giving” to us.
2. Go back over 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 and notice how the believers were to give and the features of giving which mark God as well.
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