God's Indescribable Gifts

  Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!  2Co 9:15

As I have thought about the idea of thanksgiving the last weeks, this verse just kept coming to mind. Paul says that God's gift is indescribable, unspeakable

God’s greatest gift is beyond description.The ultimate gift from God is Jesus. Paul was overcome with thanksgiving, and just did not have words to communicate the revelation that he had.

I have noticed that many of God’s gifts are described as beyond our ability to describe or understand.

Php_4:7  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1Pe_1:8  Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,

Eph_2:7  so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Rom_11:33  Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

Eph 1:6-8  to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight

Eph_3:10  so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

Rom 11:33  Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

Eph 3:19  and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Eph 3:20  Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,

2Pe 1:4  by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises,

These words show that the gifts of God are more than we can understand.

1Co 2:9  But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"—

BUT

1Co 2:10  these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

 

God wants us to know the unknowable. He wants us to comprehend the incomprehensible. He wants us to understand things that are beyond understanding, To search out the unsearchable.

 Paul expressed this as he prayed for the Ephesians

 “ that God  would give them the spirit of wisdom and of revelation…“that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might.” Eph 1:17-19 

Paul clearly expected that God would reveal to them things that were above their human understanding. These things are only understood by revelation of the spirit.

And, there is always more to learn and experience, much more. That is the attitude Paul expressed.

Php 3:14  I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

He was always pressing on, never satisfied with where he was.

Until the very end of Paul’s life, he never stopped pursuing. His very last letter which he wrote in prison when he knew that he was about to die, to be martyred. He wrote to his faithful spiritual son Timothy.

 
2Ti 4:6-9  For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day. Do your best to come to me soon.

But look at what Paul tells him next.

2Ti 4:13  When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments.

Why the books and parchments? Because there was more to learn, more to accomplish.

 As we talk in this season about giving thanks, we are mindful that we are commanded to give thanks. I believe that gratitude is like joy, it is a decision we make. We put off grumbling and complaining and put on thankfulness. We choose to thank God in every circumstance.

I also believe that the more we know of the magnificent gifts of God, the more thankful we will naturally be.

 

The Transformed Mind

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Rom 12:2 

Renewal also means renovate. Paul does not mean just to change the things that we think about, but to completely change the way our mind works.

The word repent means to change your mind, but not just about sin.

Mat 4:17  From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

In this verse, Jesus was not addressing sin. He was telling the Jewish people they needed to change the way they thought about the kingdom of heaven. They were looking for an earthly Messiah to come to restore the kingdom of Israel, a king like David who restore the glory of that earthly kingdom. Jesus is telling them that they had to change their way of thinking about the kingdom, because the true kingdom of God was right there.

Not just change what you think about, but change your entire way of thinking.

We need to view reality from God’s perspective.  Without repentance we remain locking into carnal ways of thinking. When the Bible uses the word carnal, it doesn’t necessarily mean obvious, disgusting sin.

1Co 2:12-14  Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

We need to have the spiritual mind to understand the things of God.

Right now in the room you are in, movies are playing all around. If you had the right receiver or satellite dish, you could pick them up. Just because you can’t see the waves passing through doesn’t mean they aren’t there. With the right receiver you could watch all kinds of TV shows, ball games, movies, or listen to music on the radio, even listen to private conversations on cell phones. But without the proper receiver, you can’t pick up anything.

The Bible says that the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God. If God is speaking on FM radio and we are on AM, we can turn that dial all the way from the left to the right, turn the volume all the way up, but we are not going to receive God’s message.

1Co 2:9  But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"—

I love this verse. I have often quoted it, and reflected on it, considering that we cannot even imagine the glorious things that God has prepared for us. But I just recently caught what the next verse says.

1Co 2:10  these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

The wonderful things that God has planned for us, things that no eye has seen, ear has heard, or mind has imagined; those things God has revealed to us.

I am personally convinced that God has much more for us than we currently experience. Peter spoke of joy that is inexpressible and full of glory (1 peter 1:8). Paul spoke of peace that passes understanding (Phil 4:7) and being content no matter what the circumstances are (Phil 4:11). Paul prayed that we would we would have spiritual wisdom and understanding to be able to comprehend the breadth, length, height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge (eph2,3). Jesus said that we would have power to proclaim the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons. (Matt 10:8, Luke 9:1, Acts 1:8)  Paul said that we can do anything in Christ (Phil 4:13). He also told us to do all things without grumbling or complaining (Phil 2:14). Everything that God commands us to do, He also empowers us to do…love our enemy, do good to those who hurt us, forgive all the time, love unconditionally, live in unity with our brothers, care for other people more than for yourself.

Maybe we don’t experience everything that God has for us because we are stuck in an old mindset, an old way of thinking.
 We need a renewed mind. How often do we default to an old way of thinking?

“I can’t be happy until I have enough money to pay all the bills.”

“I won’t be fully satisfied until I am married.”

“I can’t forgive the person who hurt me, the hurt is just too deep. “
“I am not able to share the gospel with someone. I am just too shy, too afraid, don’t know enough. “
“I can’t pray for someone to be healed because I don’t know if God wants to heal and I might be embarrassed. “
“I am just in a bad mood. I can’t help that. “
“You made me so angry. “
“I am not smart enough to understand the Bible”

All of these are lies. If we listen to lies, we will have hard time hearing God. The lies are like a storm that will cause interference on our TV receiver. We have to clear out the interference so that we can receive the revelation of God. This is where repentance comes in. We need to repent, to change our way of thinking, and really BELIEVE what the Bible says. We need to turn on the receiver that God put in us so that we can hear God and understand the things that He says.

2Co 10:3-6  For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.  We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

How?

First, acknowledge, or confess, “My mind is set in old patterns.”
Ask God to show you what you believe that does not line up with His truth.
Any thought pattern that brings a feeling of guilt, condemnation, shame, discouragement, fear, confusion, anger, hate, bitterness, depression, resentment, darkness…is not from God, does not line up with his truth. 
When you realize that the things you are thinking are taking you there, stop. Confess, repent, make the decision to line up your thinking to God’s truth.  Ask God to show you, to speak to you, to reveal Himself to you.