January 11, 2008
AN ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE
Philippians 4:14-20
Today we come to the final paragraph of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. However I do want to spend one additional week in the book of Philippians. Next week I will attempt to do an overview and summary of the letter and explore one final time the question of Paul’s theme.
But today we want to focus on this final section of this wonderful little letter. As I pointed out last week, this last section of the letter reveals to us one of the underlying purposes Paul had in writing to the Philippians. He is writing to thank them for a generous financial gift that they had sent to him through Epaphroditus. In the process, he first of all reveals his own attitude and philosophy toward material and financial resources. We looked at that in the message last week. In the message today, we want to focus on Paul’s teaching on the matter of giving to the Lord and to his work. But in order to keep it all in its context, let’s listen to the whole section together.
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 14 Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction. 15 Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. 16 For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. 17 Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. 18 But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God. 19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
20 Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 21 Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you. 22 All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar's household. 23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
In the process of thanking the Philippians for their gift, Paul instructs them on the importance of Christian giving. When Christians gather for worship, usually at some point in the service an offering is taken. Most of us understand the necessity of the offering. After all, the church has to pay its bills and its staff. But for many, it is a kind of housekeeping chore. Let’s do it quietly and efficiently and unobtrusively and then let’s get back to the real purpose of the church, and that is to worship God.
I think sometimes we may miss the fact that the offering time is one of the most significant parts of any worship service. In this passage, Paul actually gives us three different ways to understand giving from a Biblical perspective.
First of all, Paul portrays Christian giving as a partnership. In the KJV, in verse 14 and 15, he states that the Philippians “have communicated” with him in his affliction. The NIV translates these two phrases with the word “shared.” When we dig into the original, we find our word koinonia, or “fellowship” again. Giving is a practical expression of Christian fellowship or partnership. Way back in Philippians 1:4-5, Paul stated, “I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. It is the same word. This gives us the clue that the Philippians’ gift and their regular financial support for him and his ministry was on his mind from the very beginning of the letter. This sharing and this partnership was deep and had many facets, but one of its most concrete expressions was in financial giving and support.
When we give to the Lord, to the church, to missions, to God’s work, we are expressing our partnership, our solidarity in Christ. There is an important personal link established between churches and individuals. In II Corinthians 8:24, Paul urges the Corinthian church to give in order to “show these men the proof of your love.” Giving binds the body of Christ together in love. It is a link of partnership in the work and ministry. When Paul received the gift from the Philippians that Epaphroditus brought, it was a tangible expression of their love to him and their ongoing partnership in his ministry, and as such, it brought him great joy.
When we consider this in the context of our ministry here at ECC, we find that this partnership works on various levels. When we give to the general fund of the church, we are expressing our partnership in the ministry of this church. This is our church. It is a gospel partnership, a gospel fellowship. As members of this partnership, we want to do our part and carry our share of the load of ministry. When we give to the building project, we are expanding the partnership. As most of you know, there are approximately 20 different congregations that share this facility. When we give to the project, we are not just providing a place for our church to meet. We are also joining in partnership with these other 19 congregations, so that they will also have sufficient place and facilities for their expanding ministries. And then we designate 15% of our giving that goes to ministries beyond ECC and the center. We are partners in ministry with Pastor Mohan and Pastor Kumar and the Lucases in India, with Ross in Bulgaria and Karen George in Pakistan, and I could go on. Our giving enables us as a church to have an impact, through our partnership, in places and countries where it would be impossible for most of us to go personally. But we can be partners in our giving. So giving is first of all a partnership, a practical expression of our fellowship in the gospel.
The second way Paul describes giving is to portray Christian giving as an investment. What is more, according to Paul it is an investment with a very high rate of return. One of the intriguing things about this passage is Paul’s heavy use of financial, even book-keeping terminology. In verse 15, he speaks of “the matter of giving and receiving.” This is pure bookkeeping language. It is how you would describe setting up an account with debits and credits. Then in verse 17 he speaks of “looking for what may be credited to your account.” He uses the language of interest or return on an investment, accrued value. Then in verse 18 he speaks of having “received full payment.” These exact words are common on financial records and documents of the day, almost a formalized phrase for an account that has been paid in full.
From this language, we learn that there is a heavenly bookkeeping system. Money given to the Lord and to his work is not just money scattered to the winds. It is money invested. It is money that is recorded and tracked. It is money that is accruing value. In fact, Paul says that his main joy in the gift he received from the Philippians was not the gift itself, but his delight in the “credit” or blessing that the Philippians would receive for having given. This language of reward is clearly echoed in Paul’s words in II Corinthians 9:6: Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. In that passage, Paul uses the metaphor of farming, whereas in Philippians he uses the language of investing and “credit”, but the principle is the same. There is a reward promised for our giving, and it is quantitative. The more we sow and the more we invest, the more we will reap and the greater our returns.
When we think of giving as an investment, though, what kind of return should we be looking for? This is a question that often stirs up interesting discussions among Christians. Should we expect earthly rewards or heavenly rewards? If they are earthly rewards, are they physical blessings or spiritual blessings? I would like to make a Biblical case that they are all of the above.
First, I believe that faithful, Biblical giving does carry with it the promise of temporal, earthly reward. We find this in the passage in front of us in Philippians 4:19: And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. This is another of those verses that is often wrenched out of its context. This promise is specifically given to the Philippian church, and it is given in a context of giving, and after they have given generously to Paul. They had apparently given so generously that there was a legitimate question as to whether they would have enough for their own needs. Paul writes to reassure them. My God will meet all your needs. The language is very specific. In verse 18, Paul writes “I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent.” The KJV reads, “I am full.” In verse 19, Paul uses the very same Greek word only here it is translated “my God will meet…” KJV translates, “my God will supply all your needs.” But it is a clear play on words. We might paraphrase it this way, “Just as you filled me up with your gifts, so God will fill you up by meeting all your needs.” Paul is confident that the Philippians will in no way suffer from their generosity. God is no man’s debtor.
This teaching is found elsewhere in Paul’s writings in II Corinthians 9:8: And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. And the same truth is expressed in different words in II Corinthians 9:10: Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed…
I believe, as we give generously to the Lord we can expect financial reward for our giving. God will not only replace our supply of seed, but he will increase our store. The law of sowing and reaping applies. It is an investment worth making. But that is not the only kind of reward we can expect for our investment. We can also expect spiritual rewards; less tangible, but no less real spiritual benefits that we will experience as we give to the Lord and his work. If we look back at II Corinthians 9:10, let us finish the verse: 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 made rich 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 that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. That is a passage rich in promise! Not only will the physical needs of God’s people be met, but we will grow in righteous character, and great thanksgiving will be given to God. There are tremendous spiritual blessings for us and for the church of Jesus Christ when we give faithfully and generously to the Lord.
But we are not done yet! There are also heavenly, eternal rewards promised when we give generously to God. Surely this is what Jesus is teaching in Matthew 6:19-20: Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. How do we lay up treasure in heaven? Is it not by giving our resources now to God and to his work? Eternal, heavenly reward is promised in return for our investment of earthly resources in the Lord and his work.
What an investment opportunity! It is difficult to think of anything we can do that carries a greater promise of reward than giving to God and the work of his kingdom. We have a promise of our earthly needs being supplied, rich spiritual blessings, and treasure in heaven.
There is one more word picture that Paul uses to convey to us the importance and significance of giving. In this final picture, Paul compares giving to a sacrifice. I don’t mean sacrifice in the sense of sacrificial or giving up something, although it may include that. I mean sacrifice in the Old Testament sense of offering a sacrifice as an act of worship. In Philippians 4:18, Paul describes the Philippians’ gifts to him as a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. Sacrifices were an important part of the Old Covenant system of worship. There were sacrifices for sin. When we enter the New Covenant, we find that there is no longer any need for sin sacrifices, because Christ sacrificed himself for us, once for all, the all sufficient sacrifice. But there were other sacrifices which the Israelites were commanded to offer; sacrifices of thanksgiving and worship and praise. Many of these involved incense, sweet smelling aromas before the Lord. This is Paul’s image here. He compares the Philippians’ gifts to these incense offerings, fragrant, sweet smelling, acceptable to God and pleasing to him. Giving is a wonderful way to express our worship and thankfulness to God. It is a way to tell God we love him in a very tangible way.
I hope you are beginning to see that when we take the offering each week, we are doing far more than just paying the church’s bills. This is not just a routine, house-keeping exercise of the church, like a club collecting dues. There are few opportunities in our lives which offer richer promise than the simple act of giving toward the Lord’s work. It is an expression of our gospel partnership, linking us together with the rest of the church and the larger body of Christ. It is an opportunity for investment that carries the promise of physical, spiritual and eternal rewards. And it is a chance to engage in a very personal act of worship, and to tell God just how much you love him. Let us not despise the opportunity we have every week as the offering bags pass quietly up and down the rows.
With so many rich promises attached, it is no wonder that the Bible refers to Christian giving as a privilege. If we are honest, I think most of us would admit that we tend to think of giving to the Lord as a duty, a responsibility, maybe even an obligation. It is all of these. But are we beginning to recognize that it is also a wonderful privilege? And I would hasten to point out that it is a privilege that is not reserved just to the rich and those with a surplus of this world’s goods. It is clear the Biblical giving is a privilege that every believer can participate in. Look at II Corinthians 8:2-4: Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.
Did you catch that? The Macedonian Christians were poor, yet they pleaded for the privilege of sharing, and their overflowing joy and extreme poverty resulted in rich generosity. Paul goes on in II Corinthians 8:12: For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. God’s heavenly book-keeping system is calibrated to our resources. God weighs our hearts and our motives and our willingness. That is why Jesus was more impressed by the widow’s mite than he was with the Pharisees’ bags of money. Every Christian can experience the joy and the rewards of generous giving, no matter what our resources, when we do it out of a heart of love and obedience.
In fact, this spirit of joyful giving is often most apparent among those who have the least. I grew up in Africa, and spent many hours sitting in African church services. My favorite part of the service was the offering. In part, this was because it was often a chance to get up and move around, because it was often the custom for people to come to the front of the church to present their offering. But it was also entertaining to watch what people gave. This was not a cash economy. Most of the people were subsistence farmers. How could they give? And so I would watch. Some women would carefully untwist a corner of their “kanga” or cloth wrap, and pull off a few copper coins to put in the basket. Others would reach into a basket and pull out a few ears of maize or corn, and lay it on the altar. Others might carefully unwrap and present an egg or two. My favorite, though, was when a worshipper would reach into kikapu or basket and pull out a trussed, but still very alive chicken and pass it matter of factly to the elder or usher supervising the offering. The gift is acceptable according to what one has.
Several years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Mohan, one of our missionaries in India. I noticed that at offering time in the churches, many of the women brought stainless steel containers, with screw-on lids and left them on the table at the front of the church. After the worship service, I watched the ushers open these containers. They contained uncooked rice. The ushers would dump the rice into a common, larger container. Then the worshippers would come up after the service and collect the empty container to take home. I asked Mohan what was going on. He explained that many of the people were very poor. If they could find work at all, they might be paid only 3 dirhams or 5 dirhams for a full day’s work in the rice fields. Oftentimes they were paid in rice. Cash was in desperately short supply. Yet they were being taught to give. What these believers do is to keep a container for the Lord near their cooking fire. Whenever they take out rice to cook a meal for their family, they would take a handful first and place it into the container for the Lord’s work. This was the container they brought with them to church on Sunday to present to the Lord.
The gift is acceptable according to what one has…an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God.
What a wonderful privilege is ours each week as we pass the offering bags. Don’t miss out on the blessings!