"Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!" 2 Cor. 9:15

Recently we studied 2nd Corinthians chapter 9 with its emphasis on giving and ministering, not out of compulsion or pressure, but with a willing heart and a kind, generous spirit.  And Jesus, as always is the example who, you remember, told us, "It is MORE blessed to give than to receive."  Acts 20:35  We were "ordained to walk in good works" Eph. 2:10 so we should live a life of good works with a willing heart, serving the Lord.

        The chapter ends with this marvelous verse of God's grace, "Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!" 2 Cor. 9:15  How can it be that Christ not only saves us and takes us to glory, but actually comes to live within us:  "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Col. 1:27

"Christ liveth in me." Gal. 2:20

        Listen to John Piper, writing in Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ:

1. "Christ does not exist in order to make much of us. We exist in order to enjoy making much of Him. . . . To know the glories of Christ is an end, not a means. Christ is not glorious so that we get wealthy or healthy. Christ is glorious so that rich or poor, sick or sound, we might be satisfied in Him.    "He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness." Psalm 107:9   He quenches the deepest soul thirst of all humans--that he is ultimately what all people long for."

2. The glory of who Christ IS in Himself–His excellencies, His attributes, His perfections and His beauty, e.g.  "The first particular glory that upholds all the rest is the . . . eternal existence of Christ. If we will simply ponder this as we ought, . . . Sheer existence is, perhaps, the greatest mystery of all. Ponder the absoluteness of reality. There had to be something that never came into being. Back, back, back we peer into endless ages, yet there never was nothing. Someone has the honor of being there first and always. He never became or developed. He simply was. To whom belongs this singular, absolute glory?  "The answer is Christ, the person whom the world knows as Jesus of Nazareth. . . . ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almghty" Rev. 1:8  ". . . There is no ‘before’ God and no ‘after’ God. He is absolutely there, no matter how far back or how far forward you go. He is the absolute, ultimate Reality. He has the honor of being there first and always. To Him alone belongs this unique glory. He is the Great IAM. The very name for God Yaweh is built on the verb "to be."

3. . . . Jesus Christ is the Creator of the universe. He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. Jesus Christ the Person, never had a beginning. He is absolute Reality. . . .He never came into being. He was eternally begotten. He is God, the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature. Heb. 1:3

4. Seeing and enjoying Christ and His glory is the goal of our salvation. "Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me" "which I had with you before the foundation of the world. John 17:24 To feast on this truth forever is the aim of our being created and our being redeemed."

5. Think of the works of Christeternal life. The life of joy (15:11; 16:24; 17:13) and peace (14:27; 16:33) and purposefulness (17:18; 20:21) which we have begun with him in this age will be perfected for ever and ever and ever.

6. He has given us eternal life. The life of joy (15:11; 16:24; 17:13) and peace (14:27; 16:33) and purposefulness (17:18; 20:21) which we have begun with him in this age will be perfected for ever and ever and ever.

7. Jesus removes our guilt and makes us a completely new creation.  He takes away the guilt of all who trust in him; he takes the sting out of death and offers eternal life and resurrection and everlasting glory and joy to all who believe.  He transforms fearful, greedy hearts into peaceful, loving hearts and gives us a deep-seated sincerity that we didn’t have before. He puts all relationships, especially husband-wife and parent-child relations, on a new, solid footing; and  He satisfies our deepest longing for beauty and wonder."

 

         "I appeal to your own self-knowledge. Does not your heart instruct you that if your inner self is the end point and measuring rod for all authenticity and purpose, apart from anything ultimate, life is meaningless? If there is no ultimate reference point by which you can gain your bearings in the world, then your inner life is a pointless bubble on the ocean no matter how much harmony there is with your outer life. Is it not true that the authenticity you desire is to fit perfectly with some ultimate reality? Isn't what we long for that our inner life not drift and float and be tossed and blown, but that it have a genuine, permanent identity, by virtue of being rooted in and formed by some ultimate reality. The great irony of secular humanism is that it can never satisfy the human heart. For it is written on our hearts that we are inauthentic until what we are within corresponds to the eternal reality that gives meaning to all things."  And that eternal reality is Jesus Christ.

–in Creation, in human history, in His providence in your life.