God’s inexpressible gift (2 Cor. 9:15)

A few days ago, we opened our presents with a sense of gratitude. If someone asked us what we received we would be able to tell them. We could also specify which person gave them to us. Others would think we were ungrateful if all we could say was that we received some gifts from relatives and friends. Our response would imply that we had not thought at all about them. 

What would the person think if we said to him that one of the gifts was so wonderful that it was indescribable? Would he expect us to say nothing else about it? I suspect he would do the opposite and say to us, ‘Well, you can tell me some details about it, surely!’ That is the meaning of inexpressible. We cannot use it of something that is not worth talking about.

Paul has been encouraging the Corinthians to complete their contribution to a collection he was gathering from other churches to help the church in Jerusalem which was in great need at that time. One of the motives that he uses to stimulate their giving is the gospel that saved them and all other Christians. If the gospel brought them together as God’s people, it was obvious that they should help one another when they could. Because the reality was that all of them had received the greater gift, therefore they could give lesser gifts.

Who should be thanked?
When Paul uses the word ‘God’, he means the Heavenly Father. In saying this, Paul wants their expressions of thankfulness to be precise.  We know that God is a Trinity, and each of the divine persons has particular roles. It is possible and desirable that we address each of the divine persons as they are revealed in the Bible. So here Paul thanks the Father.

Why should he be thanked?
The Heavenly Father should be thanked for giving an inexpressible gift. There is some debate over what Paul had in mind. I think we can ignore all suggestions apart from two. One of them is that Paul means Jesus when he uses the word ‘gift’ and the other is that he means salvation when he uses the word.

If he meant Jesus, then we can regard this verse as Paul’s equivalent of John 3:16 which says that God so loved the world that he gave his only Son in order for believing sinners to be saved. The apostle could also have in mind the statement in Isaiah 9:6 which says that ‘to us a child is born, to us a Son is given.’

Personally, I think we should combine both suggestions because, after all, a Saviour must also have salvation. Paul himself does this in Romans 8:32: ‘He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?’

What can we say about the gift?

Paul says that the gift is inexpressible. The word that Paul uses here is not recorded in ancient Greek writings prior to the time of the apostle, and indeed it is only found afterwards in Christian writings. So it looks as if Paul could have coined the word. He probably has the same idea in mind in verse 8 of this chapter when he says that believers have become rich through the coming of Jesus into our experience and doing something incredible about it.

The word ‘inexpressible’ refers to the amount of blessings that is found in the gift. It would also refer to the sense of amazement that we should have as we look at the gift and see what it contains. Added to this, the word also points to the degree of anticipation we should have as we apply the contents of this gift to ourselves and wonder what benefits we should receive from it.

Going back to the friend we were speaking to, what would we say to him about our indescribable gift? Here are some suggestions. First, we would mention features about Jesus. We could begin with where he was before time began and we would talk about his eternal existence. Then we could mention some of the things that he did – he was involved with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the work of creation at the beginning when all things were made out of nothing. The next detail that we could mention about him was that he controlled events after that, either by overruling or enabling what was done. Our friend would realise that we had been given a great gift.

Second, we would speak about what happened when he became a human, how he was conceived in the womb of Mary by the activity of the Spirit. We would say that he was born sinless and remained sinless all his life. Perhaps we would mention some events in the Gospels or some of his wonderful teachings and promises. Our friend would realise that we had been given a great gift.

And then we could speak about his death on the cross of Calvary, how there he paid the penalty for our sins, and did so because he had gone there at the behest of his Father in order to pay the penalty that would be imposed by his Father. It is important to mention how Calvary was a world of divine love as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit brought about the divine payment for human sin. Our friend would realise that we had been given a great gift.

We could also speak about his resurrection from the dead three days later, and then his ascension to heaven to reign at God’s right hand for the benefit of his kingdom which is composed of his people. And we would want to mention his return at the close of history as we describe it, and what he will do on that day when his people are raised from the dead and the new heavens and new earth are brought into existence. Our friend would realise that we had been given a great gift.

Our friend might say to us, ‘I thought you said it was inexpressible. You have told me a great deal.’ But we would have to say that each detail we mentioned could be expanded greatly. It is not just that Jesus in his entirety is inexpressible, so is he in each detail. Our friend now realises that we had been given a great gift, one that is inexpressible. But there is more to say.

Then we could tell our friend about the personal blessings that are given to each person whom becomes a follower of Jesus. There are four that I would like to mention, although others could be included. The four are justification, adoption, sanctification and glorification. Let’s think about them briefly, because each is connected to believing in Jesus.

Justification means that we are forgiven our sins and that the righteousness of Jesus is reckoned to us. It has to do with God the Father as a judge. He looks at those who have believed in Jesus and sees them as righteous as Jesus. This sounds to good to be true, but the word to use is inexpressible.

Adoption means that we are made members of God’s family. Yet the Father has an unusual family and not only because it numbers in the billions. It is also unusual because all of them become full heirs of his inheritance. In a large earthly family, even if the parents are very wealthy, the heirs cannot each have all of the inheritance. If one of them has all, the rest have nothing. The Father gives this status as part of his amazing gift. This sounds to good to be true, but the word to use is inexpressible.

Sanctification means that believers become increasingly Christlike through the work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts. He makes them alive in a spiritual sense and then continues to deal with the remaining sin that they have. They are now new creatures and they exhibit the fruits of the Spirit. Having being changed, they become the opposite of what they were before they were converted. This sounds to good to be true, but the word to use is inexpressible.

Glorification is what is going to happen to believers when Jesus returns. Those who have died will be resurrected and those still living will be glorified without dying. Glorification will be inward and outward. It includes status because they will reign with Jesus. But it also includes experience because they will have the fullness of the Spirit and they will be continually transformed as they make progress forever. What it means no one can describe now. This sounds to good to be true, but the word to use is inexpressible.

How should the Father be thanked?

We know that it is appropriate to thank the person who gives a gift to us. We also know that the thanks should be given appropriately. If Granny knew that her grandchildren had to be cajoled into writing the thank you letter for the present they thought they received from Santa, she would not be too happy. When it comes to responding to the inexpressible gift, what is appropriate thankfulness?

Here are five suggestions, although no doubt we can think of more. We should thank the Father thoughtfully. In our words, we should have something to say about the gift, something like inexpressible, confessing that our limited minds cannot find words to explain fully what we want to say.  Still, we should use thoughtful words.

We should thank the Father joyfully because those who have such an amazing salvation should be full of his joy. It is true that we have sin within us, but its presence is a reason to be joyful because we are being sanctified and one day we will be glorified. And there are so many promises connected to this gift.

We should thank the Father lovingly. One of the reasons why the Father gave such an inexpressible gift was in order that we would have the experience of divine love within us. The love of God is poured into our hearts, but it is a kind of love that is connected to his amazing gift. We can love God for creating us, but we love him more for recreating us and working for us in order to make us like his beloved Son.

We should thank the Father strongly. The psalmist calls for everything within him to bless the name of the Lord. Among the ‘everything within him’ is his heart. Surely our hearts should be full of love to God. And we should want our expressions of gratitude to be earnest and strong.

Lastly, we should thank the Father penitently. Paul reminds us that the goodness of God should lead us to repentance. His gift, after all, was only given to sinners. We thank him by thoughtful faith,  with a love and joy accompanied by sorrow for our sins. After all, we have been given an inexpressible gift.