I'm going to read now a portion of 2 Corinthians chapter 9.
! I'll pick up reading from verse 6 and then read to the end of the chapter, verse 15.
So 2 Corinthians 9, this is page 1164 if you have one of the Red Church Bibles.
Remember this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.
And whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give,
not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things, at all times,
having all you need, you will abound in every good work.
As it is written, they have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, their righteousness endures forever.
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed,
and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
You will be enriched in every way, so that you can be generous on every occasion.
And through us, your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
This service you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord's people,
but it is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.
And through the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience
that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing
with them and with everyone else.
And in their prayers for you, their hearts will go out to you because of the surpassing grace
God has given you.
Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift.
Amen.
This morning I noticed the fact that love seems to be the thread which binds the Bible together.
So too, this word that we see both in chapter 8 and chapter 9 of 2 Corinthians is a key link throughout the Bible.
2 Corinthians 8 verse 9 and 2 Corinthians 9 verse 8, these are the two texts that I'm going to be focusing on.
And in my memory, I find it easy to remember both of them just because of the reversal of the numbers.
8 verse 9 and 9 verse 8.
Chapter 8 verse 9, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich,
yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
And then 2 Corinthians 9 verse 8, and God is able to bless you abundantly, or God is able to make all grace abound to you.
It captures the same theme and the same word, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need,
you will abound in every good work.
You see, grace is very difficult to illustrate because it's so unique to God that it's difficult to explain what it looks like apart from what God himself says.
Yesterday, I was at a wedding, Kirstie Ann McPherson and Tom Cox, and the ring bearer was a small child.
Now, I've done a lot of weddings, and I've had dogs as ring bearers, I've had small children as ring bearers.
As a rule, dogs are more reliable, they're more likely to get the ring to the right place at the right time,
but it became quite clear that there was an agreement between the groom and the ring bearer.
The groom had a packet of stickers in his pocket, and he made it quite clear to his nephew that should the ring be delivered at the appropriate time,
in the appropriate way, that he would exchange the stickers for the ring, and it worked a treat.
Because at the right time I asked for the rings to be given, young Tommy came forward with the rings,
and with a handout for the stickers.
A quid pro quo.
But that's not what grace is like.
You see, we're used to things like that where you do something and you get something.
You give something and you receive something.
So, every month, the Free Church of Scotland generously puts money into my bank account.
But that's not grace.
That's my salary.
I do something in return for my salary.
So, when it comes to illustrating grace, it's really difficult because all of the illustrations that we might think of don't really capture it.
You see, when we think about God and his nature, he is so different than we are.
You see, God, for example, is inexhaustible.
You know, you and I, we expend energy and we get tired.
God expends energy and he never gets tired.
God's resources are inexhaustible.
You see, if I give you 10 pounds, you're 10 pounds richer, but I'm 10 pounds poorer.
God expends resources, but he's never impoverished.
I can't explain that.
I can tell you that it's true, but I can't explain it how it's true.
Because every idea that I have is that if you give something, that means you no longer have it.
Whereas God gives and gives and gives and never has less.
God works and works and works and is never tired.
And we come to this text.
And before we get to the two texts that I've highlighted, let me just give you a little bit of the flavor or a little bit of the context.
Because the context is quite remarkable.
You see, Paul is writing to the church in Corinth.
And the church in Corinth has a lot going for it.
It's in a strategic place.
It's in a place where there's a kind of a crossroads, a trading crossroads.
It's quite a prosperous city.
And it's also a place where the gospel shines brightly.
Because the spirit of the age and the culture is so contrary to the gospel.
It's a place where immorality is high.
It's a place where spiritual light seems to be in short supply.
And yet the gospel takes root in Corinth.
It's kind of like that song of New York.
If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.
If the gospel can take root in Corinth, it just can take root absolutely anywhere.
But you see, the Corinthians, they may have had resources.
They were, generally speaking, a more affluent church than some others.
But you see, these were the kind of folks that would quickly make promises but not fulfill them.
They would make commitments quickly but find it difficult to keep those commitments.
And Paul, in chapter 8, at the beginning, he says,
And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches.
Grace.
Undeserved favor.
Unmerited love.
Again, it takes several words to describe this one word.
The grace that God has given.
In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.
Paul says, let me tell you a story.
Let me tell you a true story.
They're the most interesting ones.
Let me tell you a story, Corinthian Christians.
Let me tell you about a poor group of people who, by the grace of God, became generous.
And you think, that doesn't really make sense.
Poor people don't have stuff.
So therefore, poor people can't give stuff.
Well, yes and no.
Humanly speaking, yes.
But when God enters a situation, God has a way of doing impossible things in impossible situations.
And God has a way of transforming people.
He says, for I testify that they gave as much as they were able and even beyond their ability entirely on their own.
So Paul is teaching a lesson about giving.
That's the practical lesson here.
But he's teaching an even more profound lesson about grace.
This is what the grace of Jesus looks like.
And that's where he brings his argument to its kind of crescendo in verse 9.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
You see, Jesus Christ is full of grace.
Full of grace and truth.
As we heard this morning in John chapter 1, verse 17.
He is full of grace.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor.
The apostle Paul never gave us an account of the birth of Jesus.
We see that in Matthew.
And we see that in Luke.
So we don't have the Bethlehem story captured for us by Paul.
And yet we do have Paul here reflecting on the reality of the incarnation.
God is in heaven.
And now God in the person of Jesus Christ comes down.
And he dwells on earth.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That though he was rich.
Rich in glory.
Rich in heaven.
Right hand of the majesty on high.
All power.
All authority.
All wisdom.
All honor.
Was his.
By right.
But what did he do?
For your sake he became poor.
So the grace of Jesus is the rich one becomes poor.
Why?
So that the poor ones become rich.
So that through his poverty you might become rich.
This is what the gospel of Jesus looks like.
The one with all power.
With all authority.
The one with all majesty.
With all might.
With all glory.
And with all honor.
Takes a position.
A humble place.
You see that's why Jesus often preached that theme.
Remember?
He says those who humble themselves will be exalted.
And those who exalt themselves will be humbled.
You see Jesus practices what he preaches perfectly.
Every other preacher is inconsistent.
But this preacher is perfectly consistent.
He preaches about humility.
Being humble.
And he does exactly that.
He takes a position of humility.
Why?
So that others might be exalted.
Others might be raised.
He comes down so that we can go up.
And you see this is why it's so difficult to illustrate.
Because this is not the way things are.
This is not the way we tend to think of things.
We kind of love those rags to riches stories.
Poverty.
Difficulty.
Challenge.
So the man or the woman is in these difficult situations.
And all of a sudden they persevere.
They get an education.
They find an idea.
They start a business.
And all of a sudden they once were in the slums.
They're now in the palace.
But the gospel is the exact opposite.
This is not a story of upward mobility.
This is a story of downward mobility.
But it's deliberate.
That he becomes poor.
So that we as a people might become rich.
So you see when Paul is teaching a lesson.
He's teaching a lesson.
A theological lesson.
With a practical outcome.
And the foundation is none other than Jesus.
So you see when we want to know what it looks like to live the Christian life.
We look to him.
He's our example.
He's our motivation.
He's the foundation.
He is the object of our desire as a pupil.
He's the teacher.
We're the pupils.
We want to look more and more like him.
He took a humble place.
Why?
Because he had a care for others.
And what he did, he did uniquely.
We can't repeat that.
And yet there's a model here.
He becomes a model for Christian living.
He becomes a model of Christian discipleship.
Jesus became poor.
So that the poor could become rich.
So the Macedonian Christians are poor.
For example, Philippi is a city in Macedon.
If you know your ancient history, Philip of Macedon.
The father of Alexander the Great.
So a lot of cities are named after Philip.
And at the end of chapter 4 in Philippians, Paul said this.
He said,
It was good of you to share in my troubles.
Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel,
when I set out from Macedonia, Macedonian church,
not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only.
For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need.
Not that I desire your gifts.
What I desire is more be credited to your account.
Strange, isn't it?
The Macedonian churches gave to Paul.
That means they had less.
And Paul says,
Actually, no.
That means you have more.
You know, I used to be an accountant.
Most ministers,
Alec MacDonald accepted,
most ministers become ministers because they're not able to do much else.
Right?
So I wasn't that good at accountancy.
But I understand debits and I understand credits.
Debits is what you don't have.
Credits is what you do.
And Paul is saying,
What you've given,
which is a debit,
is actually now a credit.
So you see,
there's an economy here of grace,
which is difficult to explain
because it goes against standard accounting procedure.
He says,
Not that I desire,
but what I desire is that more be credited to your account.
I have received full payment
and have more than enough.
I am amply supplied
now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent.
They are a fragrant offering,
an acceptable sacrifice,
pleasing to God.
And my God will meet all your needs
according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
So Paul says,
I want to say thank you.
Thank you for your generosity.
Thank you for your gifts.
But these gifts actually are a credit to you.
And they're a credit in that now,
you can write a check
against the bank of Jesus Christ.
And you see,
the bank of Jesus Christ has an infinite balance.
It never decreases.
It's never at risk.
Economic crisis,
tariffs of one sort or another,
there's no danger here.
So Paul says,
I want to thank you for your generosity.
Not that I needed it,
but your generosity actually now becomes a credit to your account.
And he says,
my God will meet all your needs
according to the riches of glory in Christ Jesus.
I wasn't able to get there yesterday,
but yesterday was an open day at the Leith Church,
the new Hope Church,
Leith,
Castle Bank Street.
Derek and Katrina are the oldest church planters
in the free church in their 60s.
And it was an open day to see this newly refurbished church.
It's light,
it's bright,
it looks new,
it's exciting.
But one thing I'm often reminded of
when I'm in Derek's company
is that Derek often repeats this phrase.
He says,
God is no man's debtor.
God has a way of giving back
in a way that is completely out of proportion
to whatever might be given.
Spurgeon captured this 150 years ago.
He said,
in all my years of service to my Lord,
I have discovered a truth
that has never failed
and has never been compromised.
That truth is that it is beyond the realm of possibilities
that one has the ability to outgive God.
Even if I give the whole of my worth to him,
he will find a way to give back to me
much more than I gave.
So grace,
the economy of grace,
the accountancy of grace,
grace doesn't seem to make sense,
doesn't seem to fit with our understanding
of credits and debits.
But God has a way
of taking whatever might be given
and multiplying it to the giver.
Not just to the receiver,
but to the giver.
So you see,
if we grasp the gospel,
the incarnation of Jesus
is the rich one became poor.
Why?
So that the poor ones might become rich.
He in heaven now dwells on earth,
lives a life characterized by poverty.
He had nowhere to lay his head.
Almost immediately,
he was a political refugee.
He was fleeing with his family.
They had to go to Egypt
because it was dangerous
to stay in Judea.
So the one who had everything
had nothing
in order that we,
spiritually speaking,
who have nothing
might have everything.
So the grace of Jesus Christ
is the foundation
for all generosity,
all giving,
all Christian service.
He is the model.
He is the exemplar.
He is the goal of,
or he is the object
of our focus here.
But in the next chapter,
Paul goes on to describe
not just the grace of Jesus Christ,
but the grace of the people
of Jesus Christ.
You see this in verse eight.
And God is able
to bless you abundantly
or to make all grace abound
so that in all things
at all times,
having all that you need,
you will abound
in every good work.
There are five alls there.
Five everys there.
This is Paul saying
to the people of Corinth,
if you think that giving
makes you poorer,
if you think that expending resources
impoverishes you,
Paul says,
I want to tell you
something different.
When you give,
you receive.
And when you give,
you receive in such a way
as to make the giving
completely out of proportion.
Billy Graham,
the American evangelist,
put it this way.
He said,
God has given us two hands.
One is the hand
that we receive
and the other
is the hand that we give.
The gospel is a gift
that must first be received.
And we receive the gift
of God by faith,
with gratitude
and with thanksgiving.
And we then give
with the other hand.
He says,
we are not cisterns
made for hoarding,
but we are channels
meant for sharing.
And that's the argument
that Paul is making here.
He says,
here's the grace
of Jesus Christ
and here's the grace
of Jesus' people.
And it's the same measure.
The poor,
the rich one becomes poor,
the poor become rich,
and those that give
have a blessing
and have abundance
that's completely
out of proportion
to what they themselves
have given.
John Wesley
kind of paraphrased
this verse.
He says,
do all the good you can,
by all the means you can,
in all the ways you can,
in all the places you can,
at all the times you can,
to all the people you can,
as long as ever you can.
All grace abounds
so that all things,
all times,
having all that you need,
you will abound
in every good work.
You see,
as followers
of Martin Luther
and the Protestant Reformation,
when we look at the phrase
good work,
we are often inclined
to say,
good works do not save.
And that's true.
And the Bible makes it
quite clear
that good works
do not save us.
We are not saved
by what we do,
we are saved
by what Jesus does.
But most of the time
that we see this phrase
good work,
it's not negative,
as in this doesn't save,
but it's seen positively
as this is what
the outcome of
a saved life looks like.
Good work.
kindness,
generosity,
thoughtfulness,
care,
compassion,
not to be saved,
but because we are
already saved.
We have already
been set free.
So the grace
of Jesus Christ
prompts gratitude
and generosity
in the people
of Jesus Christ.
John Wesley
practiced what he preached.
He once said,
it's not how much
of my money
will I give to God,
but how much
of God's money
will I keep
for myself?
Through his writings
and through his sermons,
it was big business
then.
These,
George Whitefield,
John Wesley,
Latterley,
D.L.
Moody,
Sankey,
publishers
made a lot
of money
by publishing
reminiscences,
biographies,
autobiographies,
and it was
estimated that
during his life
Wesley earned
30,000 pounds
through his writings,
which exceeds
five million pounds
today.
And when he died,
the only possessions
he had,
he had a few coins
in his pocket
and a few coins
on his dresser.
So he gave away
all that he ever earned.
He gave away
all that he ever received.
He lived on approximately
30 pounds a week,
having earned
30,000
during the course
of his life.
Do all the good
you can.
You see,
as I stand here today,
I'm very much aware
of the passage of time.
Came to this country
at age 23,
I'm now 58.
If I live
another 35 years,
I would be 83.
That may or may not happen,
but time just goes
so quickly.
The opportunities
that we have
for service,
the opportunities
that we have
for witness,
the opportunities
that we have
to demonstrate
the goodness
and grace
that we have received
quickly pass away.
You see,
it's not so much
what we receive
or what we have
at the end of the day,
but what have we done
with what we've received?
What have we done
with the gifts?
What have we done
with the talents?
What have we done
with the time?
what have we done
with our resources?
It so happened
that the Corinthian church
was blessed
in terms of
practical or financial resources.
And they had a desire.
They made that desire
known that they wanted
to give.
They were one of the first
to sign up
for this contribution
for the needs
of God's people.
Paul had to remind them
that the offer
was great,
but actually
the reality
was even better.
Offering and doing
can be two very
different things.
There's a time coming,
as Jesus said,
night comes
when no one can work.
It's still daytime.
We still have time.
We still have resources.
So the people of God
are encouraged
to serve,
to give,
to speak.
Whatever your gifts,
whatever the talents
God has instructed you with,
he wants you to know
that he is able.
Not that you're able,
but he's able.
You see,
it's all of grace.
It's not what we do
for God,
but it's what God
does for us,
and then what God
does in us,
and what God
does through us.
God is able
to bless you abundantly,
to make all grace abound,
so that in all things,
at all times,
having all that you need,
you will abound
in every good work.
We live in an age
of skepticism.
We live in an age
of doubt.
People are not certain
that the Bible
is the word of God.
People are not necessarily
all that interested
in who Jesus is
or what Jesus did,
whether he was
a real person,
whether the actions
or the miracles
were genuine,
but something
is powerful,
and I think today,
more than ever,
when people see
lives that have
been changed,
hearts that have
been transformed,
priorities that have
been turned upside down,
they cannot but help
seeing the reality
of the gospel
in the lives
of the people of God.
By all means,
we invite people
to come to church,
we invite people
to come to Christianity
Explored,
but I think the great
challenge and the great
opportunity that we have
is wherever we go,
where you work,
where you study,
where you live,
wherever God places you,
that we bring the gospel
with us.
We bring the gospel
with us in word,
and we bring the gospel
with us in action.
Words are important.
God loves you.
Jesus Christ died
to forgive sin.
Jesus came into this world
to seek and to save
the lost.
These words are
incredibly important,
but when those words
are accompanied
with action,
when those words
are demonstrated
by the quality
of a life
changed and transformed,
watch out.
Watch out what God
can do.
Watch out how God
can use you.
You might think
that your gifts are few.
You might think
that your resources
are limited.
You might think
that your talents
are not many,
but when God works
in you,
by his grace,
he works through you
by that same grace
and by that same power,
and he can use
the small gifts
with which we have
been entrusted
to demonstrate
his great power,
his great mercy,
his great capacity.
We can take
the opportunity
that we have.
Each one of us
has opportunities
that are unique.
Opportunities to speak,
opportunities to serve,
and opportunities
to give.
And when we take
God at his word,
we have every guarantee
that he indeed
is able
to make
all grace
abound.
He,
when he says,
when Paul says,
my God will meet
all your needs
according to the riches
of his glory
in Christ.
Whatever your need,
whatever your lack,
whatever you are
requiring,
God is able
to provide,
and God is able
to work in such a way
that it's beyond
illustration.
It's not what you can do,
it's not what you can,
how you,
God gives
and you give back,
it's not like that.
It's the grace of God
at work in the hearts
of people
that multiply
the work.
Whatever we might
give in his service
is so small,
but he can multiply
those small gifts,
he can multiply
those words
in such a way
to demonstrate
his power
and his grace
and his glory.
If we take him
at his word,
the grace of Jesus Christ
and the grace
of the people
of Jesus Christ,
you put those together
and watch
and wait
to see what God
can do in us
and what God
can do through us
because I'm convinced
that we are here
in this place
at this time
for a reason.
Just as there were
believers in Corinth
in the first century A.D.,
an unlikely place
for an unlikely setting,
the people of God
were gathered there.
Paul wanted
to encourage them
to practice
the generosity
of grace,
the grace received,
the grace given,
to demonstrate
the reality
of Jesus in Corinth.
Let's demonstrate
the reality of Jesus
on the south side
of Edinburgh,
in this city,
among these people,
a people skeptical,
a people who doubt,
a people who do not
read the Bible
but who see us
as the people of Jesus.
Let us be credible witnesses
to the grace of God,
a grace received
and a grace shared
and a generous people
will be a people
that will know
the blessing of God
and whatever might be expended
will be returned
manyfold.
that's the grace
of Jesus Christ
and that's the power
of the gospel
and may he richly
and abundantly
bless us
and make us
a blessing
in the lives of others.
Let's pray.
Father in heaven,
we come to you
in that precious,
powerful name of Jesus.
We recognize
that he had everything
and he placed himself
here on earth.
He gave up
all of his privilege.
He gave up all
of his riches
in order to make
a poor people rich.
We thank you
that in his humility
we have been exalted
and he is now exalted
to that place
of ultimate honor
and glory
at your right hand
and as we come
to you in his name
we come in the name
in that powerful name
of Jesus
asking that you might do
as you have promised
that you might make us
vessels in your hand
that we might be used
by you
that you might work
in us and through us
and that the grace
of Jesus
might be demonstrated
in the words
that we speak
in the lives
that we give
and in the actions
of our hands
that you might indeed
make all grace abound
and these things
we pray
in the precious name
of Jesus.