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Part 4: A Theology of Christmas Presents

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Introduction

In the light of all the foregoing, we should therefore not be surprised when we find we must affirm the goodness of the material world. This should be obvious, but tragically many Christians find it easy to slip off the point. When the Creator God created and fashioned everything, it was His good pleasure to declare it all good or very good (Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, and 31). In the second place, the Incarnation of Christ was a permanent reality. The second person of the Trinity took on flesh (Jn. 1:14) and dwelt among us. He will be Immanuel always. He is our priest forever, making intercession for us always (Heb. 7:25). And third, we were not promised immortal souls, but rather a resurrection from the dead. We will be embodied creatures forever (1 Cor. 15:12).

The Text

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 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. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:11–13).

Summary of the Text

The apostle Paul is thanking the Philippians for the financial support they had sent to him, but he hastens to add that he would have been alright regardless (v. 10). He was content before their gift arrived, and he was grateful and content after it had done so (v. 11). This is something that the apostle had to learn, and we may be assured that we must learn it also. But then when he starts to explain the lesson, we see how much we have to learn. He had to learn in both directions, and we tend to assume that we only have to learn in one direction. Paul had learned to be abased and he had learned how to abound (v. 12). He was instructed on how to be full and how to be hungry (v. 12). He had learned to abound and to suffer want (v. 12). He can do all things through Christ, the one who gives him strength (v. 13).

We think we need lessons for our afflictions, of course, but we assume that we have abundance nailed. We have that down. But I am afraid we do not. We must still learn contentment when we have never had it so good, and simply going without won’t teach us that.

Two Basic Errors

On the one hand is the error of the “health and wealth” preachers, those who say that godliness should be an automatic path to wealth (1 Tim. 6:5-6). On the other hand are an abundance of suspicious gnostic teachers, who despise the material world. If you let a devil teach you, what will he teach? “Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving” (1 Tim. 4:3–4).

“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17).

Learning Gladness and Gratitude Is No Trifle

“Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee” (Deut. 28:47–48).

When Israel went down in defeat before her enemies, why was this? When Israel was hauled off into exile, what was their sin? Their sin was an inability to rejoice in their stuff in the presence of God. The carnal heart cannot bring those two things together. The carnal heart wants to come to church and give the good Lord His due, and then sneak off to enjoy whatever idolatrous tidbits it can off on the side. But God will have none of it. He wants us to come before Him and rejoice in what He has given us there.

Faith is the Eye

But we are not to look at our faith through our goods. Rather we look at all our goods through faith. Faith is what sees. Faith is the eye. What we have, or do not have, is what we are supposed to see in faith.

Faith does handle adversity well. But faith also handles affluence well. We mark the great heroes of the faith for their accomplishments, some of which the world would call success and some of which the world would call humiliating defeat. What do we call it and why? We call it whatever faith teaches us to call it.

Sometimes faith subdues kingdoms, works righteousness, obtains promises, stops the mouths of lions, quenches fire, escapes the sword, grows strong when weak, became valiant in war, repulsed invaders, and received the dead back to life (Heb. 11:33-35a). And other times faith is tortured, mocked, scourged, imprisoned, stoned, sawn in two, tempted, slaughtered with the sword, wandered in the wilderness, impoverished, afflicted, tormented, and living in caves (Heb. 11:35b-38).

O So Merry and Bright

And so this is something we all of us must learn. The material world is good. The material world is very good. The stupidity of our sinfulness tried to wreck it, but despite our best efforts, has not succeeded. The world is broken, but still with plenty of goodness to go around. And the main thing that is wrong with it—look in the mirror—has been put to rights in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. He did that so that we might be recreated in His image.

“Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10).

So as you bake, and as you shop, and as you wrap, and as you smuggle contraband into the house, and as you decorate the tree, and as you set the table, and as you invite people over, and as you deliver cookies to friends, and as you tighten your belts this year, and as you give a lavish gift that is ten percent beyond wise, and as laugh over dinner, and as you come here to sing carols, remember that Christ is in all of it. All of Christ for all of life. As the poem by Hopkins has it, Christ plays in ten thousand places.

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Troubled Peace and Christmas

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The Texts

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 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, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Pet. 1:6-9).

“Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’ 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'” (Lk. 2:10-14).

“Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: 18 ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.'” (Matt. 2:16-18).

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7)

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Part 3: A Theology of Christmas Presents

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Introduction

As we consider the whole question of gift-giving at Christmas, we have been studying the background. What does the Bible teach about giving and receiving generally, and how can we apply these general principles to specific situations—like Christmas shopping and presents?

So we started with the ultimate gift of Christ, the unspeakable gift that God gave to us, and how that relates to the training God puts us through in order to equip us to imitate Him. We then moved on to the nature of giving, and how it was more blessed to give than to receive. But we also noted that to be blessed in giving is to be a receiver. And so this week we are going to examine the nature of receivingin greater detail. Next week we will look at the goodness of the material world.

The Text

“And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat” (Matt. 10:7–10).

Summary of the Text

Jesus was sending His disciples out on a preaching mission, telling them to stay away from the Gentiles and Samaritans for the present (v. 5). They were to go to the lost sheep of Israel (v. 6). The message they were to preach as they went was this—the kingdom of heaven is at hand (v. 7). They were told to give as they went in particular ways. They were to heal the sick, cleanse lepers, raise the dead, and cast out devils (v. 8). They were to do this in the spirit of “freely they had received,” so also they should “freely give” (v. 8). As their intake had been, so also their output should be. Jesus then tells them not to take any provisions along with them (vv. 9-10) because a workman deserves his pay. This is quite striking because Paul quotes this in his teaching on ministerial pay (1 Tim. 5:18). So Jesus is teaching His disciples a lifestyle of both giving and receiving and giving some more. This is like a reciprocating engine with plenty of fuel.

By Definition

We have already considered the fact that creatures are receivers, by definition. “For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Cor. 4:7, NKJV). Ponder this. What do you have that you did not receive as a gift? And if that is the case, what is the ground for self-sufficient pride?

Gladness and Gratitude

There are many believers who are diligent in giving, but they have a very hard time in receiving anything—even thoughtful gifts. The initial impulse of self-reliance is good (Gal. 6:5), but the same passage also teaches us that we should bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2). This is like breathing in and breathing out. We receive, which means that we are enabled to give, which means we need to receive again. Allow me to say it again—we give to get in order to give again.

It is frequently the case that when people have real trouble receiving help from others, it is because of a hidden root of pride. Someone who gives all the time might simply be generous. But he might also be very proud. He wants to be the alpha, the ring-giver, the one who bestows. He is haughty. He might give everything to the poor, and still be a man of pride (1 Cor. 13:3).

What would you think if you got the perfect Christmas gift for your overly-pious son or daughter, and found that he had thrown it away without opening it? When you (understandably) asked about this curious behavior, he said that the only thing he really cared about was his relationship with you, and he didn’t want anything to get in the way of that relationship. Value the giver, not the gift, you see. You might reply, and you might even be peeved when you replied, that him throwing a perfectly good fifty dollar present away might conceivably interfere with your relationship. You might even have to prevent your wife from chasing him out to the trash cans with a belt in hand.

Golden Rule

This kind of thing is found everywhere in Scripture. I said in an earlier message that God gave us a set of training wheels in the tithe. But that is not the only training guide He has given us. He has given us our joy in receiving as a valuable indicator of how much joy for others we should seek in how we give to others.

The golden rule operates this way (Matt. 7:12). The second greatest commandment requires us to love others as we already love ourselves (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:39). Husbands are supposed to love their wives as they love their own bodies (Eph. 5:28-29). We are to extend forgiveness the same way we want to receive forgiveness (Matt. 6:14-15).

So one of the disciplines you should set before yourself in learning how to give is the discipline of setting your mind to rejoice in every gift you receive—every last one. Receive them with gladness. Receive them with gratitude. Receive them with humility. As you do, you are establishing a benchmark in your soul that will enable you to give to others as you ought to do. If you are a constant critic, with an eye always peeled for the inappropriateness of presents given to you, you are actually damaging your ability to give. How you receive illustrates for the principalities and powers what kind of giver you are.

The Headwaters of All Receiving and Giving

And the central place where we are being grown up into true givers is here, at the Table of the Lord. To be a true giver, you must become a true receiver. “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread” (1 Cor. 11:23). True receivers are being equipped to give. You are filled in this meal, and then sent out into the world in order to overflow.

You have been taught before that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not simply cognitive head knowledge. They already knew it was wrong to disobey God. And neither did it mean the experience of sin because God Himself had the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 3:22). Rather, the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was fruit that would equip them for dominion and rule, which is what they were destined for (1 Kings 3:10; 2 Sam. 19:35; Is. 7:14-16). Their sin consisted of grasping for that rule prematurely.

But here is the glorious thing. Adam disobeyed at that tree. The Lord Jesus obeyed on that same tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thus restoring all things, which includes restoring our access to the tree of life. And so we are summoned here every week to eat the fruit of that tree—His body which is broken for us. Receive it. And in the receiving we are equipped for dominion and rule, which is another way of saying that we are equipped to give it all away.

“Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s” (1 Cor. 3:21–23).

We have been given the world. Why did God do this? Why have we received the world? So that we might have the glory of giving it away. And whatever direction we look, whether behind or before us, we see Christ.

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Good Tidings of Great Joy

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The Text

“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:8-14 ).

  • What content of the Angel’s proclamation makes the tidings “good”?
    • Location
    • Heritage
    • Title
    • Outcome
    • A Babe
  • How does this content relate to our creeds, what we believe?
  • Does Great Joy come as just a gift to be received or is it a result of the gift giver receiving us?
  • If the Joy of the Lord is your strength, what does Great Joy look like in your life?

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Part 2: A Theology of Christmas Presents

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Introduction

In the first message of this series, we considered that there are three basic kinds of gifts—the mandatory gift of the tithe, where God is teaching us how He runs the world, the free will gift of the offering, where the student demonstrates that he is beginning to grasp the lesson, and the celebratory gift, which God has placed deep within our nature.

So we already considered the ground of our giving, which is the ultimate gift of Christ, the gift that God gave to us in order to restore the world that we had ruined. We have now come to the second point, which is the nature of giving. In future messages, we will look at the nature of receiving, and the goodness of the material world.

The Text

“And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:32–35).

Summary of the Text

Our text here is the conclusion of Paul’s exhortation to the elders of the church at Ephesus. He is reminding them that his dealings with that church were entirely aboveboard. He first commends them to God and the word of God’s grace, which can do two things. First the grace of God can edify them and build them up (v. 32). And second, the grace of God can give them an inheritance among the sanctified (v. 32). His interest is in them receiving their inheritance, and he moves seamlessly into the next point, which is that he had been no apostolic bandit among them. During his time there at Ephesus, Paul had coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or clothing (v. 33). He calls the elders of the church as witnesses—they know this (v. 34). Paul could hold out his hands and tell them that they know that “these hands” supplied the needs of Paul himself, along with his entourage (v. 34). They did not leech off the church. What Paul taught them to do Paul also did himself (v. 35), showing them how Christians ought to work in a way as to support the weak (v. 35). And Paul then quotes the Lord Jesus, and this is interesting, because it is a saying that none of the four gospels records. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Both giving and receiving are most necessary, as we will see by next week, but if you have to choose between them, choose to be among those who give. It really is more blessed to give than to receive. But as we shall see, because of our finitude it is not possible simply to give.

So Not So Fast . . .

Now notice something here. The Lord Jesus did not say that it is “more proper to give than to receive.” He did not say that it is “more noble to give than to receive.” And He did not say that it is “more polite to give than to receive.” No, not at all. Jesus said that it is more blessed to give than to receive. But what is it to be blessed? It is to receive. There is no way to receive the blessing associated with not being a “receiver” except by receiving. A blessed man is a recipient of a blessing, given by another. In this case, the giving is done by God.

It is therefore more blessed to receive by giving than to receive by receiving. We are finite creatures and this means that some kind of receiving is inescapable.

Everything we give away is on loan to us from God, and when we give to Him, we are simply returning to Him what He has given to us. We are like little children buying our father a Christmas present at the dollar store, using a dollar that He gave us for the task.

The word for blessed (makarios) means to be happy, fortunate, enviable, one to whom God has extended His benefits. Another way of seeing this is to understand that for every finite creature, there is a built-in reciprocity for every act of generosity. Like one of Newton’s laws of motion for the spiritual realm. If we are creatures who want to live in the favor of God (which is to say, if we want to live in Christ), there is no escape from giving and receiving.

A System That Cannot be Gamed

So the thing that distinguishes an ungodly giver from a godly one is not the fact that they get from giving. The issue is what they want to get from their giving. When carnal men give anything (with their carnal eye on the carnal prize), they receive what they wanted and they already have their reward. So they already have their reward (Matt. 6:2), and it comes to pieces in their hands. “And he gave them their request; But sent leanness into their soul” (Psalm 106:15).

When spiritual men give anything (with their spiritual eye on the spiritual prize), God honors and blesses them. They refuse to do what they are doing in order to be seen by men (Matt. 6:1). But notice what happens if they sin in this matter, and are showboating for the grandstands. What do they lose? They lose their reward from our Father in heaven (Matt. 6:1).

Now when Paul gave to the Corinthians, he was jealous to protect that reward. “But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void” (1 Cor. 9:15).

Back Around to Christmas Presents

So bring this back to the matter of Christmas presents. That is what we are supposedly talking about, right? What is the difference between a carnal prize and a spiritual prize? To make matters really confusing, sometimes the prize itself can appear to be identical. You shopped long and hard to find that “perfect gift” for your father, and the difference between joy at Christmas and misery in Christmas is to be found in that dark little ego-center of your heart. Compare: “That is just what he wanted—God must be rejoicing to see my father rejoicing” over against “That is just what he wanted—I’m glad I found it before my sister did.”

The Joy Set Before Him

Jesus endured the agonies of His trial and crucifixion because He knew what was in store for Him on the other side of the agony.

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds” (Heb. 12:1–3).

And we are told, in all our trials, all our striving, all our struggles, all our pilgrimage, all our shopping, to imitate Him in this. We are to look to Jesus, considering His behavior, as we look to modify our own behavior. Otherwise, we are going to grow weary and faint in our minds. We are going to grow weary and faint in our giving, and this applies to giving of whatever magnitude. Do you think anybody grows weary and faint in the Christmas rush, forgetting the whole point?

So everything is to be cruciform—but not a crucifix. And the difference between the two is this. Every cross is a cross in a story, and every Christian story has the blessedness of joy at the end of it. In all your giving, try to give like Jesus did. But also, in all your giving, repent of the folly of trying to be more spiritual than Jesus. He did not remain on the cross because the joy was before Him. We are not supposed to seek to remain there either. We must not try to evade the cross, and we must not try to perpetuate the cross. The story is a cruciform story, not a crucifix story.

And Christ is the one who shows us.

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