Let us turn once again to the
Word of God, and turning to 2 Corinthians 9, and verse 15. That last verse that we read
in the portion of Scripture that was read just now, 2 Corinthians
9, 15, Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift. thanks be unto God for his unspeakable
gift. A few weeks ago I remarked on
what some of the theologians call the pericopes of scripture
and what they mean by that word. I never had met the word until
I read it just a while ago in in a book on law and gospel and
as I understand it a pericope is a verse or a number of verses
in scripture that contain the most profound truth And these
perikopes, they say, ought to be passages that we would return
to again and again as such striking statements of the truth that
God is pleased to set before us here in his holy word. Well, if any short verse of scripture
is a perikope, Surely this text this morning is such. Thanks
be unto God for His unspeakable gift. And we know, I'm sure,
what that gift is. It is, of course, the gift of
His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so that's the
theme that I want to take up for a while as we come to this
part of Holy Scripture, God's unspeakable gift, or the inexpressible
gift of God. Now, we read something of the
context, not only this ninth chapter, but also the first part
of the previous eighth chapter, and you will have gathered, I
trust, something of the context in which the Apostle makes this
profound statement. He's speaking in chapters 8 and
9 of collections that were being taken for poor believers, believers
who were in dire circumstances. Back in Acts chapter 11 we read
of a certain prophet called Agabus. Remember at the time of the New
Testament the ministry of Christ and of his apostles, there were
also those who were raised to be prophets in the Church. God's Word was not then complete,
it was not entire. The Scripture was still being
given, the Holy Ghost himself was still active, moving men
to declare the truth of God, those holy men of God, who spake
as they were moved by the Spirit of God, as Peter says. And amongst
them was a man called Agabus. And there at the end of Acts
11 we're told, And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem
unto Antioch, and there stood up one of them named Agabus,
and signified by the Spirit that there should be a great dearth
throughout all the world which came to pass in the days of Claudius
Caesar. Then the disciples, every man
according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren
which dwelt in Judea, which also they did, and sent it to the
elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul, or Paul, as he subsequently
becomes known. Here then we read of a great
dearth throughout all the world that would be the world of the
Roman Empire occurs during the days of Claudius Caesar and provision
was made this becomes quite a practice in amongst those early Christian
believers we know that they had all things in common they certainly
had a mutual concern one for the other so intimate was their
fellowship with one another and Here in 2 Corinthians, in these
chapters that we were reading earlier, Paul deals with the
whole matter of ministering to the necessities of the saints. And in the opening words of chapter
8, he speaks of the churches in Macedonia. We think of Greece,
with the region of Macedonia in the north and Achaia in the
south. and Corinth in the southern region,
in the region of Achaia, but there in Macedonia there were
also churches. And what does he say in the opening
words of the 8th chapter? We read the verses, he says,
Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed
on the churches of Macedonia, that in a great trial of affliction
the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto
the riches of their liberality. For to their power I bear record,
yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves, praying
us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift and take
upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints." There
had been obviously collections there in those churches in the
north, and they want the Apostle to receive these gifts and to
minister to those who were such needy saints. And Paul writes
to this church at Corinth reminding them then of those in the northern
region of Macedonia and he wants to encourage the church at Corinth
to join in this ministry. as he were representative of
the southern region of Achaia. And so when we come into chapter
9, as touching the ministry to the saints he says, it is superfluous
for us to write to you for I know the forwardness of your mind
for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia that Achaia was
ready a year ago. and your zeal hath provoked very
many. This then is the context in which
Paul makes his remarkable profound statement at the end of chapter
9. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable
gift and as he speaks of this whole matter of their support
of needy believers How he wants that it should be that that is
spontaneous, of a willing mind, as we see there in verse 12 of
chapter 8, if there be first a willing mind. it is accepted
according to that a man hath and not according to that he
hath not and then here in the ninth chapter and verse seven
every man according as he purposeth in his heart so let him give
not grudgingly or of necessity for God loveth a cheerful giver
he's dealing with the whole matter then of giving which is of course
a duty of those who are the Lord's people and then when we come
to the words at the end we see really a touch on that that should
motivate them in all that they give thanks be unto God for his
unspeakable gift or what has God given has not God given His
only begotten and His well-beloved Son. So, let us come to consider
what is being said in this 15th verse, to say something with
regards to the gift of God. And that gift, as I say, is Christ.
Think of the language that we have in the Old Testament, Isaiah
42.6, I the Lord, it says, will give thee for a covenant of the
people. addressing himself, as it were,
to his only begotten Son. That's what the Lord God says,
I will give thee, the person of God, the Son, I will give
thee for a covenant of the people. And it reminds us that the Lord
Jesus Christ is that one who is the mediator. He is the mediator
of the grace of God. And this is the gift that is
being spoken of. the gift of grace, the unspeakable
gift. Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable
gift. Now what are we to understand?
I suppose in some ways that expression unspeakable is one of those words
that seems to be always changing its meaning. Literally what we
have here is something inexpressible. It's something that's beyond
telling, it's beyond words. That's the force of the word
that we have here in the text. What has God given? Well, the
gift of God is really God Himself. Because the Son is equal to the
Father, equal to the Holy Spirit. The Son is very God, of very
God. And this expression of the grace
of God is really so matchless. Oh, it is matchless grace. How
can we begin to understand or to explain exactly what it is
that God gave when he sent his only begotten son? We know the
scriptures without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh.
God was manifest in the flesh. Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel, which, by
interpretation, is God's with us." Oh, that one that was born,
born of the virgin Mary. Think of the language that we
have in that great 53rd chapter of the book of Isaiah the prophet.
who shall declare his generation. Well, how can we explain the
way in which he was given, the manner in which he came into
this world? How that he was conceived by
the Holy Ghost in the womb of a virgin and that human nature that was conceived
there in Mary's womb is then joined to the eternal Son of
God. And as we've said many a time,
He is never anything less than God. He never ceases to be God
when He becomes a man. He is always God and He is always
man. That is the great mystery. His
generation is not only miraculous when we think of the manner in
which he receives that human nature, but when we think of
who he is as the eternal son of God. It's an eternal generation. Who shall declare it? Who shall
declare it? Whose goings forth, says the
Prophet, have been from of old, from everlasting. Oh, when there
were no depths, He says, I was brought forth. When there were
no fountains abounding with water, before the mountains were settled,
before the hills was I brought forth. The Word made flesh, says
John, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father. full of grace and truth, the
only begotten. He is God's, the Eternal Son,
the Son of the Father in truth and in love. This is the one
that God gave. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth His Son. made of a woman, made under
the law. And what great truth is contained
in that passage that I suppose in many ways is certainly the
most familiar passage in the New Testament. Not sure that
we can say it's the most familiar passage in the whole of the Bible
because I would reckon Psalm 23 is the passage that is most
familiar to people when we think of the totality of Scripture.
But when we come to the New Testament those words of John 3, 16, God
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. I
think of that as one of the great pericopes of Holy Scripture,
and what a statement is in that. Most people would be familiar
with those words of John 3.16, but what was it that God gave?
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. This is that unspeakable gift.
This is that gift that is inexpressible. We can't describe it. We can't find words adequately
to say just what it was that God so readily and so willingly
gave. And God gives this gift so freely. That's the force really behind
the word gift here. Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable
Gift, it's a free gift. It's a free gift. Salvation is
free, isn't it? Whosoever will, let him take
of the water of life freely. Those words amongst the very
last words of Holy Scripture in Revelation 22, the whosoever,
whosoever will. It is whosoever, but of course
men will not come. to the Lord Jesus Christ that
they might have life. But there's a freeness there
because they can take of that water of life freely. All think then of the freeness
of the gift that God has bestowed in the person and the work of
the Lord Jesus Christ. We're told that every good gift
and every perfect gift cometh from above and cometh from the
Father of lights with whom there is no variableness nor any shadow
of turning. This is the way in which God
gives. His giving is perfect giving. What motivates God in His giving?
It's because He's the God of love. He's the God of mercy. He's the God of grace. And thou
all must be received from him. A man can receive nothing, says
John the Baptist, except it be given him from heaven. Again, look at the language that
we have there in 1 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 7. Who maketh
thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou
didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it,
why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it? Everything
that we have, all that we are, is from God. He is the one who
has given us life. And He is the one who constantly
gives us that that sustains our lives. The very air that we breathe
is the gift of God. Every good, every perfect gift
comes then from above. And though the Scriptures constantly
emphasize that truth, our complete indebtedness to Him, our utter
dependence upon Him. Again, there in 1 Corinthians
2.12 Paul says now we have received not the spirit of the world but
the spirit which is of God that we might know those things that
are freely given unto us of God. That is the mark of the Christian
he knows. All that he has has been freely
given unto him by God. The gift then. The gift is great. The gift is free, but as I said,
the wonder is that the gift is God Himself. The gift is to be
discerned in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father's gift of His Only Begotten and His Eternal Son. Again Romans
8.32, "...he that spared not his own son," says Paul, "...but
delivered him us delivered Him up for us all, as shall He not
with Him freely also give us all things? If God has given
His Son, what will God withhold? He could give nothing greater
than that gift. And with that gift then surely,
says Paul, He will freely give us all things. This is why when
we come and pray to God, we're not to limit Him. we do limit
him because of our unbelief how often we're so straightened in
our own spirits because we have such poor views of God and the
goodness of God and the gift of God and we forget that God
is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think
it's not just that we're so limited in our asking But in our minds,
in our thinking, we're unable to conceive how willing God is
to give. It is more blessed to give than
to receive, says the Scriptures. And all these gifts of God, they
come to us through the Lord Jesus Christ. They're all mediated
through Him. Oh, remember, God has given Him
to be a covenant those words that we have in Isaiah 42 6 I
the Lord give thee for a covenant of the people everything is mediated
through the Lord Jesus Christ thou hast ascended on high says
the psalmist thou hast received gifts for men yea for the rebellious
also all the gifts that God gives
him come by and through Christ, the only mediator between God
and men. And those words of the psalm
that I just referred to, Psalm 68, how they are specifically
applied onto Christ there in Ephesians 4.8. He has received
gifts for man. And what are the gifts? What
are the gifts that have come through Christ, that have been
bestowed by the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, the numerous Christ, he
gave his life. He gave his life. He made that great sacrifice.
He has that office of priest, and as a priest he comes to make
a sacrifice. That was the business of the
priest of Aaron, was it not? They serve God there at the brazen
altar, presenting the various sacrifices, the burnt offerings,
the sin offerings, the trespass offerings, the peace offerings.
And the Lord Jesus Christ is a fulfillment of the priestly
office. He comes as a sacrificing priest. But He is not only the
priest, He is also the sacrifice. He
is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, that
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, slain in the eternal
purpose of God. Oh, this is why He comes. This
is His ministry. Even the Son of Man came not
to be ministered unto, He says, but to minister and to give His
life a ransom for many. There is the gift. He comes to
give His life. Oh, we read those words, verse
9 of chapter 8, You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor,
that ye through His poverty might be rich. What has He done then? He has taken to Himself all the
wretched sins of His people. and He has borne that punishment
that was there just as earth. He has nailed those sins to the
cross and in exchange for those sins He has enriched His people
because He has given them all His righteousnesses. That's the
blessed exchange that we have in the Gospel. All we can give
to Him is sin but all we receive from Him is love and mercy. and pardon and acceptance with
God. Christ mediates sin and what
does He give as a mediator? He gives Himself. He offers His
life as a sacrifice for sins. But then the Lord Jesus Christ
as a priest gives more than Himself as a sacrifice. Doesn't the Lord
Jesus also as a priest give His prayers? because the business
of the priest was not simply to offer sacrifice, they were
to supplicate. They were those who came between
the people and God. They didn't just minister at
the brazen altar, they ministered also at the golden altar, where
the incense was to be burnt. And that incense, of course,
a type of the prayers ascending onto God. they were praying priests
and the Lord Jesus Christ is the same we see him in his life
praying and now he prays for his people that great high priestly
prayer of John 17 I pray for them he says speaking of his
disciples I pray for them I pray not for the world but for those
which have us given me out of the world Oh yes, the people
that were given to Him by the Father in that covenant, He's
the mediator of the covenant, and those that the Father has
given to Him, He is ever praying for. And there in John 17, it's
not just His disciples, those that followed Him during His
days of humiliation here upon the earth, but He goes on to
say something more. I pray not Neither pray I for
these alone, he says, but for them also which shall believe
on me through their word. Oh, he prays for those who are
going to believe, all believers through the generations, believing
the word of God. He prays for them. And what a comfort that is. Oh,
we come and we seek to present our prayers, and they are such
poor prayers, and we feel it so often. We cannot adequately give expression
to our needs when we come before God sometimes. We're so burdened,
so troubled. We only come with our sighs and
our groanings. But our confidence is that the
Lord Jesus Christ is that one who is able to interpret our
poor prayers. He's able, we're told, to save
them to the uttermost. that come unto God by him. For
he ever liveth to make intercession for them. All his very session,
his presence there in heaven, it is a constant prayer on their
behalf. And let us not forget that the
Lord Jesus Christ has also given that great gift of the Holy Ghost. When he leaves this scene, he
doesn't leave his people comfortless, but he speaks of another Comforter,
even God the Holy Ghost. And how the Lord sheds him abroad,
there on the day of Pentecost. How Peter declares it in his
preaching, being by the right hand of God exalted, speaking
of Christ, by the right hand of God exalted, having received
of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost. He hath shed
forth this which ye now see and hear. And how we need that gracious
ministry of the Spirit of God in all things. And certainly
we need that ministry in our prayers. Oh, as Christ has gone
to heaven to be an intercessor, so there is one that he has given
to dwell in the hearts of his people. who makes intercession
for them with those groanings that cannot be uttered as we
read there in Romans chapter 8 it's the gift of Christ God the
Holy Ghost and doesn't the Lord encourage us even to come and
ask for that blessed gift if he being evil he says know how
to give good gifts unto your children how much more will your
Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask O ask,
and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find not,
and it shall be opened unto you. O the Lord Jesus Christ, He gives. He gives Himself, He gives His
life, He gives His prayers, He gives the Holy Spirit, He gives
faith. He gives faith. By grace are
ye saved through faith unto yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works. lest any man should boast, for
we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, to good works
which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them."
Created in Christ Jesus. Where does the faith come from?
It comes from Christ. All that faith that is looking
to Christ comes first from the Lord Jesus Christ. we are to
be ever looking on to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith
we are taught He gives faith and as He gives faith so He also
gives repentance He must got exalted with His right hand to
be a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance to Israel and
the forgiveness of sins all these things that come to us through
the Lord Jesus Christ well ultimately we see it of course when we think
of the way in which at the cross he altogether gives himself he
makes that great sacrifice once and for all and what comes as
a result of the sufferings of Christ Well, there comes the
blessing of reconciliation with God. Those who by nature were alienated
from God and enemies to God by wicked works, what has Christ
done in His dying? He has reconciled the sinner
to God. He has made a way whereby the sinner can now approach God. In Him we receive all the blessings
of the Atonement. Remember the language that we
have in that fifth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans. In
Romans 5 at verse 10 and then verse 11 also. He says, If when
we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son,
much more being reconciled we shall be saved by His life. reconciled
by his death, saved by his life. The life that he is speaking
of there is that life that Christ now lives in heaven, where he
is exalted as the great high priest. He is the mediator. And
salvation is the gift that he bestows. And he bestows it through
those gifts of faith and repentance but he continues in verse 11
and not only so but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus
Christ by whom we have now received the atonement well this is a
gift you see that he has bestowed he has given himself and so he
gives to those who trust in him the atonement or the reconciliation
no more at a distance from God but now they're made nigh by
the blood of his cross or they were once in that state of Edmonton
but now they're at peace with God and they can come and they
can address him as their God and as their Father in heaven
all these blessings the gift of God If He spared
not His own Son, how shall He not with Him also freely give
us all things? All this gift, it is unspeakable,
it's inexpressible. We cannot begin to describe the
wonder of it. There's a hymn we sometimes sing,
746. It's one of Joseph Hart's hymns. but there are certain verses
that are omitted in Gadsby's I suppose really it's not always
possible to include every verse of all those verses written by
the various hymn writers if you're composing or compiling a hymn
book one would have to be selective and do some little editing but
there's a verse that's sadly omitted in 746 and it's this Jesus, all our consolations flow
from Thee, the Sovereign Good. Love and faith and hope and patience
all are purchased by Thy blood. Freely Thou delight'st to give
them to the needy who have none. Freely Thou delight'st to give
them to the needy who have none. Or with nothing of ourselves,
but all the fullness of the grace of God comes to us only through
the Lord Jesus Christ and so we read of those which receive
the abundance of grace the abundance of grace of His fullness of all
we receive says John and grace for grace that great opening
chapter of His Gospel, in verse 16, of His fullness, that is
the fullness of Christ, of all we received, and grace for grace. Oh God, what does He do? It's
been said that He gives salvation to the elect and He gives it
then for nothing. It's a free gift. Thanks be unto
God for His unspeakable gift. The gift of God then is what
Paul is speaking of. But then also, what's the consequence
if we're those who have truly received this gift? Will there
not be thanksgiving? And do we not see thanksgiving
here? Thanks be unto God, he says. Thanks be unto God. And that's the context, isn't
it? The immediate context. Verse 11, he speaks of them being
enriched in every good thing to all, bountifulness, which
causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration
of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is
abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God. Oh, how is it that
we thank God? Well, we thank God In at least
two ways, probably many more, but I'll mention just two ways
this morning. First of all, surely we give
expression to our thanks to God when we come together to worship
Him. Thanks be unto God, he says. for His unspeakable gift. All glory to God. Why? Because salvation is of
the Lord. For of Him and through Him and
to Him are all things to whom be glory forever and ever. And those words occur at the
end of Romans 11 after those remarkable chapters 9, 10 and
11. And it all leads up to that great pion of
praise of Him, through Him, through Him, of all things, to whom be
glory forever and ever. And again, we see it repeatedly,
do we not, in the language of the Psalmists? Those Psalms,
they are praises to God, they are prayers to God, There's thanksgiving
expressed there in the psalm. Psalm 54 verse 6, I will freely
sacrifice unto thee, I will praise thy name, O Lord, for it is good. Oh, he will freely sacrifice.
How will he sacrifice? By praising the name of his God. Let them sacrifice the sacrifice
of thanksgiving, says the psalmist. as we come together isn't this
the purpose of our worship that we might come to render our thanks
unto God and to magnify his name in our hearts by him therefore
let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually that
is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name or the simplicity
of the language that the Apostle uses as he exhorts and encourages
these believers, these who had come to faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ, that who offer the sacrifice of praise. We are priests. But as priests we do not make
bloody sacrifices. The great blood sacrifice has
been made. That precious blood of Christ
has been shed. There's no more need for any
sacrifice. The very concept of the Romish
Mass, it's an awful blasphemy. It's a dangerous deceit. That's
the language of the Reformed Church of England, and now those
Reformers were right. But that doesn't mean there's
no sacrifice. There is. we are to be those
who would offer the sacrifice of prize the fruit of the lips
the fruit of the lips giving thanks unto God or do we not
desire to show forth his prizes in the singing of our hymns and
psalms and spiritual songs but as we are to thank Him by our prizes, by
our worship so we must also be those who would thank Him by
our walk the way in which we live our lives, the way in which
we conduct ourselves God be says walk worthy of your Lord and
view your glorious head in all you do or if we did but view
the glorious head, the unspeakable gift, the Lord Jesus Christ and
all that God has laid up in the person and work of Christ. How
would we then live our lives? Remember the sacrifices of God
are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart
they will not despise. If we rightly view the Lord Jesus
Christ and the wonder of that great love that he has for sinners,
having loved his own which were in the world, he loves them to
the end, he loves them to the death of the cross, he willingly
goes that way of the cross? When we view that cross and all
that it cost him, the sufferings, and not just sufferings at the
hands of men, but all the intensity of all that he had to endure
of the wrath of God, how would we then view our sins? Would
we not be humbled we will not know a real contrition, a true
compunction the sacrifices of God a broken spirit a broken
and a contrite heart God doesn't despise how are we to walk? we are to walk humbly or we should
be humbled when we think of what we are as sinners and all that
the Lord Jesus Christ is as that one who is the great Saviour
and there is a pattern to us Oh, it says, let this mind be
in you which was also in Christ Jesus. The mind of Christ. He thought it not robbery to
be equal with God, yet made himself of no reputation, took upon him
the form of a servant, was made in the likeness of men, and found
in fashion as a man he humbled himself, even to the death of
the cross. That's the mind of Christ. Lowliness of mind. That's how
we're to walk. In our sin, of course, we're
such proud creatures. We see sin there in the fall
of our first parents. Unbelief, pride, all mixed together
there in the garden. The paradise of God. When Satan
comes and says to Eve, ye shall be as gods. And that's in us. That's in us. We're we're the
seed of Adam and Eve and we're sinners and we need to know the
mind of Christ to be humbled to be contrite but then we're to also walk in
that way of separation isn't that what the apostle exhorts
to when he comes to the practical parts of his great epistle to
the church at Rome. In those former chapters we referred
just now to 9, 10 and 11, but all that has gone before from
the very opening chapter, the great doctrinal truths, the great
doctrines of the Gospel unfolded to us by the Apostle in Romans
from 1 right through to 11 and then It comes to the practical
part, as the Puritans would say. What's the implication of believing
these doctrines? I beseech you, therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God which is your reasonable
service. Oh, it's not just a sacrifice of praise, it represents our
lives, a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, Paul says,
and that's your reasonable service. Be not conformed to this world,
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye
may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of
God. Who are we those who desire in
all things that that will of God might be done in our lives
we want that spirit of real submission as well as separation from the
world to submit to God and God's way thy will be done in earth
as it is in heaven and that that will be done in us that we be
submissive in all things and bow before the divine sovereignty
and wait upon God to make our way plain And then also here,
in the walk, there's humility, there's contrition, there's separation. There's a
sacrifice of our very life to His service. And then there's
kindness and generosity. And that's the context, isn't
it? That's the context of what Paul is saying in this text this
morning. as he addresses his church there
at Corinth in Achaia in the southern part of Greece he says, as touching
the ministering to the saints it is superfluous for me to write
to you for I know the forwardness of your mind for which I boast
of you to them of Macedonia that Achaia was ready a year ago when
your zeal hath provoked very many, or that we might be that
people then who have a right zeal, a zeal for God, a zeal
for His glory, a zeal for the good of His saints, a zeal for
the good of sinners, or a desire to see Christ Himself glorified
yet in the salvation of many souls. Thanks be unto God for
His unspeakable gift. May the Lord be pleased to bless
His Word. Let us close our worship this
morning as we sing the hymn 184. The tune is Lordate Dominium,
911. The fullness resides in Jesus
our Head, and ever abides to answer our need. The Father's
good pleasure is laid up in store, a plentiful treasure to give
to the poor. 184 June 911.