God’s Indescribable Gift - Part 2

(part 2 of my meditation on 2 Corinthians 9:15 "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" Thanks to my friend Andy Spriensma, whose thoughts I have borrowed a lot here.)

God’s indescribable gift does not only make us generous. It also keeps us humble. Here we are going to focus on that word “indescribable.”

We need to understand that when Paul mentioned about God’s indescribable gift, he was referring to none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. He is God’s ‘indescribable gift.’

In preaching and teaching the Word of God, what is it that we do but tell of this gift. We describe this gift. And that is the proclamation of the gospel, the preaching of the good news.

Pastors like me have been trained to be preachers of God's holy Word in the pages of the Bible. The whole Bible reveals this gift of salvation. Preaching is especially the telling of that gift!

Probably no one understands this better than the apostle Paul himself. He has traveled vast portions of the known world of his time preaching the gift of Jesus Christ. He has proclaimed the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles, slaves and rulers, friends and foes. Yet he says that this gift from God, our salvation in Jesus Christ, is “indescribable” (ESV says, “inexpressible” while KJV “unspeakable”).

Now the word “indescribable” has an interesting background. First, it appeared only here in the whole New Testament. Second, it is not found in the Greek version of the Old Testament or in any Classical Greek literature. It was until later, near the end of first century, that an early Christian bishop used the word.

So did Paul just make the word up? If so, ironically here, Paul cannot find a word to express the fact that he cannot fully express or describe the gift of God in Christ.

Thus what Paul really meant to say in using that word is this: We cannot fully express God’s gift. Jesus Christ cannot be described in exhaustive detail. Even the paraphrase The Living Bible translates this verse this way: “Thank God for his Son - His Gift too wonderful for words.”

Now while the Living Bible is not an accurate translation of the original texts it grasped, however, the right meaning of the text. Paul is saying that the gift of God is too glorious and too wonderful for words to do full justice to it.

Paul has seen this gift in the person of Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. The Holy Spirit has revealed to him the great plan of salvation. He has entertained visions from heaven. He has witnessed the power of Pentecost in his work and he can testify that God’s promises are being brought to completion.

Because of this he has an even greater burden to put all this into human words. But certainly God’s glory cannot be contained in the Greek or the English language, not even in my own language or in any language of the world.

God’s marvelous works of grace cannot be limited to any language. The mystery of the gospel cannot be completely decoded in human language. No matter what distinctions or systems we make of it, the gift of salvation, the Son of God, is “indescribable.”

So in order to keep us from bragging how great and exhaustive our knowledge of Christ is and how effective teachers or preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ we are, Paul is reminding us that God’s gift is beyond our words.

As teachers or preachers, it is always enticing to hear from students and parishioners how good we are in explaining and applying the Word of God in their lives. That is why preachers and teachers of the Bible must remember that however splendid their sermon or teaching is, no matter how good their points are, no matter how well they have excelled in their interpretation and how creative and articulate the presentation of their ideas is, still, their glorious sermon or lecture pales in comparison to the glorious Gift they are called to proclaim and teach.

Jesus Christ and how He has saved us from our sins, how He was sent from heaven above according to the great electing love of God the Father to come down and rescue us from our sin and misery, to suffer in our flesh, and to die upon the cross for our sins, is too wonderful and too humbling for words.

Yet we speak about Him who was raised on the third day and who declared victory over sin and death, over Satan and the whole world, who has all the power and authority given to Him, and who is our only Savior and our great God. This is the Gift we speak about. And what or who we speak about will always be far greater than how we speak about Him.

This serves as a warning to all of us who think we already know Jesus Christ and do not need to study the Bible or hear about Him more. It keeps us humble because no matter how long we have been a Christian or no matter how long we’ve been reading, studying or teaching the Bible, still our knowledge of Christ is still lacking. We don’t fully know our Lord and Savior yet. Even the apostle Paul admits that God’s gift, our Lord Jesus Christ, is ‘inexpressible,’ ‘indescribable,’ He’s beyond description.

God's Indescribable Gift

2 Corinthians 9:15: "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

There is much that is said in this verse. Certainly, in the overall context of 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 the central focus is on giving and Christian charity. As you may remember, the church in Jerusalem was in need and the apostle Paul called upon the other churches to help.

The Macedonian churches had already helped, giving more than they could really afford. As 8:3 says, “…they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.”

Now the Corinthian believers had begun the work already a year ago, but had lapsed in completing the collection (see 2 Cor 9:2). They pledged to give to the poor Jerusalem church a year ago but there had been a problem of collecting the money that was pledged!

So in this letter Paul exhorts the Christians to give what they have promised. Paul is sending a team ahead of him to collect their pledge, knowing that they are ready and eager to fulfill what they have promised (2 Cor 9:5). In order to motivate the Corinthian believers for the collection, Paul reminds them of the grace and the gift they received from God.

Paul encourages them in this manner in chapter 8:9, exhorting them to pattern themselves after Christ, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” The same principle is said in 9:14b.

Then Paul concludes this whole section of his letter with a brief doxology saying, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” It is that last verse, that last sentence that I would like to focus on with you here. Let us consider how that truth might influence our lives and service to the Lord, especially in making us generous.

There are those times in our life when we read the Bible or listen to a sermon that the Holy Spirit turns on the light in our mind and we see clearly the glory of Christ. In one chapel devotion on this passage, I was drawn all the more to God’s gift, our Lord Jesus Christ.

As I was listening to the speaker, he came to this verse where Paul says God’s gift of salvation in Jesus Christ is “indescribable.” Suddenly it hit me. The reason why these Corinthians are so generous is because they understand that in Christ they have everything. In Him they lack nothing.

In Christ, God has given them the greatest gift beyond words. And with Him, they have been given everything they need. Nothing comes to us, no blessing – whether material or spiritual – comes to us apart from God’s grace in Jesus Christ. He is the greatest gift of God to you and me. When you have Christ you abound in many other things.

Read 2 Corinthians 8:9 and 9:8 and you’ll see that God grants us His gracious gift and He promises abundance to us. But take note also that God has a purpose in blessing us. And what is that purpose? Clearly God promises to supply abundantly so that we would be able to give generously to others. Paul wants the Corinthians to be free from the fear that generous giving will leave them impoverished or financially broke.

So don’t you ever think that when you give freely and cheerfully to others, especially the family of God, you will become poor and broke. No. The truth is, before God, you will be rich and you actually cause others to glorify God as you live generously by the grace of God.

Let’s move the thought a little further. Why does God promise material abundance to those who cheerfully and freely give? It is in order that "you may have an abundance for every good deed" (9:8b). Note how Paul uses a "string of universals" in verse 8. "God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed."

God’s blessings are not only intended for our own benefit but really for us to abound in every good work, particularly in doing good works to others, especially those in the household of faith.