Abounding Grace / Part 2

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Now, what does the word “grace” really mean? Somebody is going to say, “I know what it means. Grace means the unmerited favor of God.” If you say that, you are right. But although it is a true definition, it does not adequately describe this word. It misses its rich flavor and full meaning.

We need to take a closer look at this word for a moment. In the Greek language, “grace” is the word charis. “Charismatic” is an English word that has been derived from it. Charis is a high word. If you move it way back beyond the New Testament Greek (Koine Greek) and into classical Greek, you’ll find that there it also had a very rich meaning. Early in the Greek civilization, charis spoke of that which was outward. That thought is carried over in English when we say of a certain person, “Isn’t she graceful!” Gracefulness speaks of that which is outward. Some derivatives of the word are: beauty, loveliness, charm, kindness, goodwill, gratitude, delight, and pleasure. The Greeks in their mythology had three goddesses called “the Graces” who conferred everything that was good upon people. You see, “grace” is a word that speaks of everything that is good and fine and noble.

Now the Greeks were missionary-minded. Long before Christianity came to them, they wanted to impart their civilization, their culture, to other people so that they could enjoy it, too. For this reason, “grace” became a word that speaks of imparting something good and fine and wonderful to somebody else. When you do something wonderful for someone else, that’s grace. Then, when the time came for the Holy Spirit to select a language in which to write the gospel, the Greek language was chosen — God, of course, had created this vehicle. Greek was chosen for definite reasons. First, it was the universal language of the first century. By the time of Christ, Greek had disseminated throughout the world. It was the universal language to carry the universal gospel. Second, Greek is a peculiarly expressive language, having words like “grace” that are rich in meaning, and it can tell our God’s tremendous message.

So the Holy Spirit took the word “grace” and gave it a new luster, a new glory, as it was adopted by the Christian writers of the New Testament. My friend, the grace of God is His passion to share all His goodness with others. He delights today in doing good. God wants to give of Himself to others — that is His grace. This very moment God wants to do for you the very best — that’s His passion, His grace.

The fact of the matter is, this is the reason He saved us.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8)

We emphasize that we are saved by grace, and that is true. The reason God saves us is not because you and I are lovely, it is not because of some good in us, nor is it because He is obligated. He is not! God wants to save us and does save us simply because He wants to. He delights in saving sinners. He takes joy in it. That is grace. But there is more:
That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his
kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:7)

Some folk interpret this verse to mean that believers will be put in God’s showcase so that throughout the eternal ages we will be on display to show His grace. I do not object to this
interpretation at all, but if that is all you see there, I think you miss it, because what God really wants to do is save sinners. He just loves to save! He wants to give all that is good in Him, His best, His all, in order that He might bring sinners to heaven. But friend, that is not going to end it.

Heaven is not static. Throughout the endless ages of eternity, He will be bringing out something
new to give us because of His grace. That is going to be one of the glories of heaven. I think that every day the Lord will come forth with something new. When I was a boy, I used to enjoy visiting a certain aunt. She had more gadgets in her house for little boys to play with than anybody I’ve ever seen. And she never would give all of them to me at once. I would get one on one day, and the next day it would be another, and the next day something else. Oh, say, a week really passed fast when I went there to visit! Now, friend, eternity will be necessary because
God will be bringing out all the new and wonderful things He has planned for His own. Yes, we are there for display, to show His grace, but also, throughout the endless ages of eternity, He is going to continue to give of Himself. That is God, and that is grace!

In the early church, believers considered their own giving a grace. God gave so much to them that they in turn wanted to give. For them it was a passion, an overwhelming desire to share the things of God with others. We have rather lost that spirit, haven’t we? We have made giving very perfunctory today. We take up an offering, we pass the collection plates, and that ends it. Where is the passion, the overwhelming desire to share what God has done for us? Let me hasten to add this: the first-century Christians never looked upon their giving as charity. Rather, it was simply to be like God in wanting to share what they had with others.

There are two things we need to look at in this passage of Scripture if we are to understand what Christian giving really is. First of all, we must look at the local situation that existed at that time in Corinth, because Christian giving has a wonderful background. Second, we need to see the principles that are derived from the local situation, because these principles are still in existence today. They were articulated into the life of the early church, and they need to be articulated into your life and my life.

One of the objectives of Paul’s third missionary journey was not only to preach the gospel where others had not been, but it was to take up an offering for the poor saints in Jerusalem. We will see in a few moments why this was such a passion of his heart and why he was actually willing to die for the accomplishment of it.

Jerusalem is where missions began. The first church started there, and the gospel began in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. Our Lord said to His apostles that they would “be endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). He also told them, “Ye shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). However, these
apostles were not as missionary-minded as we might think they were. They locked their arms around their beloved city and did not intend to leave. So God sent persecution. In fact, it was persecution that drove them from the city, scattering them and sending them down the highways of Judea. They would still be in Jerusalem if persecution had not broken out.

Now, this persecution was a horrible thing. Many, beginning with Stephen, were martyred. Christians gave their lives, lost their jobs, and their possessions were confiscated. As a result, the church in Jerusalem was so weakened that it actually became poverty-stricken. Paul, on his third missionary journey, collected an offering for these poor saints. This is about the most revolutionary thing you can hear of. Imagine going to the mission churches and taking up an offering for the home church! If you want to know how revolutionary it is, suppose that your church started receiving gifts from all the places where you have missionaries. Suppose gifts started coming in from Africa, South America, Central America, and the islands of the seas. That would be a sudden turn of events! But the Christians in Jerusalem were in dire straits because of the persecution, and Paul took up an offering for them. This is the background of Paul’s instructions to the Corinthians regarding their gift.

Paul had not been to Corinth on his third missionary journey but had sent ahead Titus, instructing him to prepare the way of the collecting of this offering. From Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, we gather that the offering was to be taken before Paul even arrived on the grounds. Paul found that he was not able to come when he said he would, but would be coming
along later, and he wrote chapters 8 and 9 of the second Corinthian letter to give these people instructions relative to Christian giving.

Now, my beloved, the color of the local situation has been dissipated. You could not find it in Corinth today. It has long since disappeared. But the principles abide, and they are as sharp and fresh as they were in the first century. Notice some of these principles that Paul gave. Citing the Macedonians as an example in Christian giving, Paul provided the motive, the meaning, and the method of Christian giving.