God Gives His Grace for a Purpose
The recent big storm was not a simple afternoon monsoon rain, was it? We happened to be out of town, so we missed all the excitement. But we saw pictures and video of streets overflowing with water…and pictures of the large park in our neighborhood that is set down quite a bit from street level filled higher than we have ever seen it. Overflowing water caused damage to homes and businesses and put a number of motorists in danger. No matter how much we need the rain here in the desert, this was not a good overflowing for people.
When the Apostle Paul wrote to Christians in the city of Corinth, he talked about overflowing…and he wrote in an exuberant, overflowing way about it too! But he was talking about a good overflowing a great overflowing an incredible, divine overflowing of grace from God to his people.
It helps us to know that just before the words in front of us, Paul wrote about the way a Christian gives offerings to God specifically, offerings that are planned and given joyfully. Then, in these verses, he tells us that God’s overflowing grace will make sure we’re taken care of. So we can give to God in all the ways that make him happy generously, joyfully, regularly and not have to worry. Listen again to the “why” we can give without worry:
8 God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will overflow in every good work. 9 As it is written: He scattered; he gave to the poor. His righteousness remains forever. 10 And he who provides seed to the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your seed for sowing, and will increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you may be generous in every way, which produces thanksgiving to God through us.
1. God’s Grace Overflows (8-11)
Many of you know that the word grace means undeserved love. God explains in his Word that it was his grace that moved him to send his Son to be our Savior from sin. Grace is what moved Jesus to offer his perfect life on the cross to pay for our inability to live perfectly before God. Grace is what moves the Holy Spirit to reach out to us and give us saving faith.
This all makes Grace a nice name for a church, doesn’t it? That name is a constant reminder that God had a special love for us when we didn’t deserve it and that he still loves us even when we continually don’t deserve it. So much love; so undeserved. But…this is who God is. He is perfectly loving going above and beyond.
Just look at how far above and beyond he goes! Listen to how Paul explains it. We’re advised to be careful when using all and every when we speak. You can’t just make sweeping statements that aren’t accurate or carelessly use them as if there are never exceptions. Maybe you’ve heard this when it comes to relationships. When there are difficulties between two friends or between husbands and wives, it is not wise (or accurate) to say things like…
“You criticize me ALL the time!” Or…
“EVERY time a store says something is on sale, you think you’re saving money when you are actually just spending money!” Or
“It never fails, EVERY time I do something nice for someone, I end up suffering for it. No good deed goes unpunished!”
All the time? Every time? Really? 100% of the time? No, these are exaggerations meant to hurt the other person…or give you an advantage in an argument… or make people feel sorry for you It’s pretty good advice to not to talk that way.
But God can get away with it when he talks about our relationship with him! He’s not like us. When he says all and every here, he means exactly that when it comes to how amazing his grace is. You heard it, but hear it again: God is able to make ALL grace overflow to you, so that in ALL things, at ALL times, having ALL that you need, you will overflow in EVERY good work.
God has all the grace needed to care for us! All things is all-encompassing, isn’t it?
All times there’s never a time where his grace isn’t reaching us. All that we need God knows exactly what we need and he provides it. All grace…all things…all the time…all that we need. And a few sentences later Paul says that he will make us rich in EVERY way. This is not hyperbole. There is no exaggeration when it comes to his love. He is not overstating his generosity. God’s grace overflows, providing for us physically and spiritually!
Let me ask you do you believe this? ALL things ALL the time ALL that you need?
Or is it true that you don’t trust that sometimes? Like when there is trouble in your life.
Or in those moments of fear because you’re not sure you’re going to get through this.
When you confuse what you really want with what you actually need. When you fail to give offerings to God in the ways he says to give them because you are afraid you won’t have something you want
Or fail to give as God says because you don’t trust him to give you what you need to get by.
I can confidently tell you that if we don’t recognize God’s overflowing grace, and we mentally or materially wander from the promise of his care, it is sinful EVERY time.
Simply remembering the word grace can help us though It reminds us that God loves us and forgives us. Grace reminds us that Jesus perfectly trusted his Father’s love and care for him. And that’s what earned our forgiveness for when we fail. Our repentance and trust in Jesus take those sins completely out of the picture, and the words in front of us then become our guide as we seek to change what was wrong. We have a new frame of mind that readdresses our trust in God and the way we give.
2. So that Your Grace (Generosity) Can Overflow (8b,11)
You didn’t miss the everys and the overflowings that apply to you and me, did you? This is where God’s purpose for giving us undeserved and overflowing blessings comes in. Most importantly, his grace overflows for us so that we will be saved.
But he also does it so that your grace and generosity can overflow! Listen again: God is able to make ALL grace overflow to you, SO THAT…you will overflow in EVERY good work. This is God’s other purpose in extending grace to you in such an overflowing way!
To show that God has always done this and to reinforce his point that God Gives His Grace for a Purpose, Paul quoted Psalm 112: He scattered; he gave to the poor. His righteousness remains forever. Along with the one just before it, Psalm 112 has to do with God pouring out blessings upon his people and describes the response of believers to God’s generosity that is, that they share what God has given them to bless others. So, the “he” that scatters and gives to the poor is actually the believer! This is the righteous work of a Christian, to keep blessing others out of what God has blessed them with.
He says it still another way: God will provide and multiply your seed for sowing, and will increase the harvest of your righteousness.You will be made rich in every way SO THAT you may be generous in every way. Remember, Paul is writing about the offerings they would give to the Lord that would be used to help the ministry to other people. Why did God give overflowing blessings to them? So that out of that abundance the Corinthians could give some back to God in order to help others He made them active participants in ministry.
All of this applies to us too. So, let’s make this real.
If you break it down, how little could you make it on? Take an inventory of the things you own and the food that you eat and the place you live and the financial blessings you enjoy. How much of that could be downgraded and you would still survive? How much could you just give away to someone else? Now, God never even says you have to live on the very minimum, but he does say to give out of your abundance to help others.
Since Paul was specifically talking about offerings given to serve people in the church, let’s do the same.
Has it been a while since you’ve thought about if you might beef up your offerings to God to support gospel ministry? It happens sometimes that we’re happy to see the emergency fund grow or our investments rise, but we fail to look back at our giving to God to see if it is generous and joyful and proportionate and regular, as he instructs us in other places.
You realize that our offerings are a response to God’s super-abundant grace to us, right? AND that they are a way we support hundreds and hundreds of people feeding hungry souls with God’s Word, assisting people in need, encouraging college students, providing professional and pastoral counseling at no charge, meeting a need for people in our community with our English training program. The list is long! Praising God and helping others. Have you been looking at your offerings that way as a generous response to God’s generosity to you and a way to serve other people? You can see that this is the way God wants us to view it.
What if our grace and generosity absolutely overflowed the way God’s does? Imagine the impact! How many lives could God touch through you? And what if all of you sitting in your pew responded that way? And what if we multiplied that by everyone in here?
I can tell you this—God would be thanked and praised and glorified exponentially! And meaningful ministry would impact the lives of even more people around us both physically and spiritually. And they would thank and praise God too! And our congregation would always be financially fit. This is actually God’s purpose in giving so generously to you so that your generosity can overflow also!
If some of this escaped you before today, it won’t anymore. God has pressed the point, hasn’t he, with his repeated all…all…all generosity to you and his command for you to abound in every good work and practice an every-way kind of generosity?
You’ll think about this when you’re sitting and it sinks in how blessed you really are. You’ll think about this when you’re working on your finances and realize your blessings. You’ll think about this when you hear or read about opportunities to support ministry at church. And you will respond with generosity and every good work.
This is what sanctified people of God do. That’s who you are. Out of love and gratitude to God, you’ll be generous, just like God has been to you. Amen.
Now the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.