THE KEY TO CHEERFUL GIVING AND RECEIVING

Philippians 4:14-23
Bob Bonner
October 26, 2008

A young man from a wealthy family was about to graduate from high school. It was the custom in that affluent neighborhood for the parents to give the graduate an automobile. Bill and his father had spent months looking at cars, and the week before graduation they found the perfect car. Bill was certain that the car would be his on graduation night.

Imagine his disappointment when, on the eve of his graduation, Bill’s father handed him a gift-wrapped Bible! Bill was so angry that he threw the Bible down and stormed out of the house. He and his father never saw each other again.

It was the news of his father’s death that brought Bill home again. As he sat one night going through his father’s possessions that he was to inherit, he came across the Bible his father had given him. He brushed away the dust and opened it to find a cashier’s check, dated the day of his graduation—in the exact amount of the car they had chosen together.

Sometimes, being a cheerful receiver is even harder than being a cheerful giver. The difficultly in either receiving or giving cheerfully is usually based in our pride. This morning, we are going to witness through the Apostle Paul’s life the key to giving and receiving cheerfully, as we turn one last time to our study of the conclusion to Paul’s letter to the Philippians.

This epilogue of Paul’s letter to the Philippians begins with 4:10 and carries through to the end of the chapter. As I mentioned last time, up to this point in his letter, Paul has not directly thanked the Philippians for their financial support. He has hinted at it several times earlier on, but not until now has he come right out and thanked them for their financial support over the years. After all of Paul’s corrective instruction to them in the previous chapters of this letter, about their need to become less consumed by personal or selfish interest and to be more one-minded in jointly pursuing the advancement of the Gospel, these last positive words will be that which is left in their mind--that their financial support of him was a sweet smelling sacrifice, pleasing to God.

As we saw in our study last time of verses 10-13, Paul commends the Philippians on their renewed support of him financially. He explains to them that he fully understood why they were not able to support him in recent years. Furthermore, he makes it clear that he was not disappointed in them for the past years of no support coming from them. Most importantly, he explains to them that the Lord had been teaching him a lot about how to live with humble means. He could have in fact managed with no support from them. God had been teaching Paul that He is always his ultimate provider.  He is the one who makes it possible for us to give and to get. Hence, it has nothing to do with us, but all with Him. Therefore, we can be cheerful whether we are receiving or giving, because we all know from whom it ultimately comes. God is our ultimate provider. 

However, having just heard Paul’s initial words read to them, from 4:10-13, the Philippians might have thought that Paul was not as grateful to them as one would have expected him to be. He had just announced to them how he could manage with on very little or no support from them. They could have misunderstood his words to take on an arrogant tone of “I don’t need you!” Hence, he immediately begins verse 14 with the conjunction “nevertheless” to transition between his comments about God’s divine provision to his appreciation for the Philippians’ role in making his ministry possible. Paul writes:

¹⁴Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction.

¹⁵You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of

the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the

matter of giving and receiving but you alone; ¹⁶for even in Thessalonica

you sent a gift more than once for my needs. ¹⁷Not that I seek the gift

itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. ¹⁸But I

have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply

supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a

fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. ¹⁹And my

God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ

Jesus. ²⁰Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever.

Amen.

In verse 14, Paul begins his affirming comments of the Philippians by rejoicing over their most recent, present gift to him, brought to him in Rome by Epaphroditus. He simply states, “Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction.”  This term “affliction” is used most often in the New Testament to describe situations that come about as a result of putting Christ first by serving or suffering for Christ. And of this affliction, Paul says that they participated or “shared” with him in this. This word “shared” is a unique word. Its root word is the Greek word for “fellowship,” except here it has an added Greek preposition on the front of the word, which intensifies the meaning of this fellowship. It means a deep partnership of two committed to going in the same direction. In other words, Paul was recognizing the extent of their effort to send Epaphroditus all the way to Rome, a months-long journey, to meet his physical needs, literally sharing in his hardships in spreading the gospel. Their mutual suffering for his ministry was evidence of their willingness to deeply partner with him for the cause of Christ. He is letting them know how grateful he is to them, that he definitely is a “cheerful receiver” of their ministry to him.

God loves a cheerful giver, but I believe we also need to stress that God loves a cheerful receiver as well. Cheerful receivers make giving and receiving a joy. It is especially important that the called workers of the church--not just paid staff but heads of ministries, like nursery workers, greeters and ushers, Sunday School teachers, women’s and men’s ministry leaders--all learn to be gracious, cheerful receivers. This is not necessarily an easy task, because our pride can become so quickly involved. The art of being a gracious, cheerful, thankful receiver may be even more difficult than that of being a cheerful giver. If we learn to accept the compliments and the special personal gifts or awards, like the receiving of an honorary servant towel, we make giving and receiving a joy for ourselves and for others. Paul is doing everything he can here to express his heartfelt thanks as a cheerful receiver.

From here, Paul moves in verses 15-16 from his rejoicing over the Philippians’ most recent gift to him, to expressing his gratefulness for their many previous gifts and long-term support of him over the past twelve years. He does this to dispel any doubts they may have had about the genuineness of his gratitude. He says,

¹⁵You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of

the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the

matter of giving and receiving but you alone; ¹⁶for even in Thessalonica

you sent a gift more than once for my needs.

After leaving Philippi, Paul traveled to Thessalonica to preach Christ in the Jewish synagogue. He spent three weeks there before the Jewish leaders caused a riot due to their hatred for Paul and the Gospel. From there, Paul went to Corinth, where he spent a year and a half. He then travelled to Ephesus and elsewhere. All along the way, Paul survived financially by either working as a leather maker or living off the financial aid of the Philippians. The Philippians even traveled ninety-five miles to Thessalonica to give him their first gift of financial support. No other church financially supported Paul in his ministry—just this small Philippian church. Paul gave of himself to other churches, but none gave back to him, except the little church at Philippi. Not even the large and wealthy churches in Thessalonica, Corinth, Ephesus, or the many churches in the district of Galatia participated in this. Furthermore, the fact that Paul accepted the Philippians support reveals how close he felt to them and the significance of their mutual friendship. They had been true partners in the Gospel with him from the very beginning.

Here’s an interesting historical note I came across: There is good evidence from the Greco-Roman world that the actual expression of “thank you” was not a part of friendship as such. As strange as it may seem to us, true friends did not need to express thanksgiving directly in order for it to be received. What Paul is most likely doing here in keeping with social convention is thus expressing his “thank you” indirectly, by rehearsing their historical involvement in his ministry.

This small church of Philippi was a jewel during the first century. There were much larger churches in Ephesus, Corinth, Jerusalem, and Rome, but not like the church at Philippi, even with the present conflict that was going on among them. There are similar churches like it today across this country, churches that few others know about, small huddles of believers who will never be written up in the paper, seen on TV, or maybe even be noted much by their own denominations. But these small churches have a wonderful fellowship and heart for the things of God. God may not be blessing them in the ways that many in this world measure success, but nonetheless, God blesses them in marvelous and wonderful ways. 

Outside of the church in Jerusalem, this is the first church in history to be a missionary sending church. Paul was their missionary to plant churches in their part of the world, very much like Harry and Carol Olsen are our missionaries to plant churches in our part of the world, in the Northwest corner of the United States. Just as the Philippians loved to be a part of Paul’s work, I hope you have been able to personally get to know and participate in the work of Harry and Carol Olsen in their church planting ministry in the Northwest. By the way, they will be in town over the Thanksgiving week, and we have invited Harry to preach while he is here.

In verse 17, Paul returns to rejoicing over the Philippians and to pointing out how pleased he is that their efforts will result in their promised rewards from the Lord that will be useful to them throughout eternity. He says, “Not that I seek the gift itself, [meaning their commitment to ongoing financial support] but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.”

With another “not that,” Paul interrupts with yet another qualifier against any possible misunderstanding concerning his motives. What he is looking for is not a gift of their financial support but a benefit to their future, meaning that the “fruit” or “profit” of their labors on earth will cause eternal rewards put to their account by God.

Just in case you don’t think eternal rewards was an important subject to Paul, notice how many common business terms Paul used in these verses: “the matter of giving and receiving,” “profit” (NASB) or “credited to your account” (NIV), verse 17; “received . . . in full” (NASB), verse 18. Paul was very aware of business matters and the importance of being a wise investor in the things of this world. But even more important to Paul is his concern, as revealed in his writings, over wisely investing one’s life and assets in that which will yield the greatest in long lasting returns—in other words, eternal rewards. Because he knew the hearts and practices of these Christians in Philippi, he is rejoicing for how they have rightly invested their lives in that which will be of most importance throughout eternity. 

So excited is Paul about the fact that their hearts had been in the right place concerning their giving to the Lord, seeking after what was most important in life, that Paul goes on to affirm them and the quality of their giving. He writes, “But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.”

Paul uses three verbs to describe the impact their financial gift had upon him personally. First, he says that he received a full payment, meaning that he was missing or lacking nothing. Then he tells them that he received more than he could have expected. Their gift, in other words, came with a huge tip, over and above his actual living expenses. Third, because of their sacrificial giving he is now in a financial position that he is without need.

After speaking of the impact their gift had on him, Paul then describes the impact that their gift had on God. Paul speaks of their gift in Old Testament terms that suggest a reminder of proper and holy sacrificial offerings given to God. First, he calls their act of sacrificial giving a “fragrant aroma.” In the Old Testament, there were five different offerings: burnt, meal, peace, sin, and trespass. (Leviticus 1:1-5:10). Only the first three, the burnt offering, the meal offering, and the peace offering, were sweet savor offerings, meaning offerings mixed with a sweet-smelling incense.

Then he describes their gift as an “acceptable sacrifice,” which was a specific expression describing those offerings that were not mandatory but freely or voluntarily given from a life totally dedicated to God. This reminds me of Paul’s words in Romans 12:1-2 that describe how Christians should logically respond to God, realizing all that He has done for us through Christ. He has not just forgiven us for our sins, He has not just saved us by His mercy, He has not just permanently accepted and approved of us in Christ, but He has made a commitment to love us forever. In addition, God gave us riches in Christ that enable God to transform our lives to be more like Christ. As a result of this, Paul writes of a life that is appreciative and totally dedicated to God. He says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” This was the heart behind the giving of the Philippians to Paul’s ministry. These Christians realized what was at stake when God saved them, and they wanted so much for God to save others. They were so grateful to Paul and to God for using him in their lives, that they wanted Paul to share the truth with others freely, without the distraction of trying to making a living.

Finally, Paul calls their voluntary heartfelt sacrificial gifts to his ministry “well- pleasing [or highly honoring or glorifying] to God.” These were not simply a donation made to Paul’s ministry, but ultimately made to God. And because of their actions and attitude in giving, they have truly brought honor to God.

With these three Old Testament expressions, Paul is telling the Philippians and teaching us that as individual Christians or as a group, our giving is like a priest making an offering to God. When it is made in the right spirit, it is more than just taking up a collection. It becomes a gift, filled with a sweet aroma to God, that delights the Lord. It’s a gift that demonstrates to Him our gratefulness for our own salvation and our desire that others know what we have experienced in being reconciled to God through His love.

In closing, Paul does what he typically does; he points his readers back to God. He writes, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Because of the genuineness and purity of heart in their giving, Paul promises them that God will supply “all your needs (not “greeds”) according to His riches,” which are endless. Because God’s riches are lavish, so are his blessings. 

But how can Paul promise that God will bless them as a result of their proper giving? It is possible because his promise to them is based on Scripture. For instance, Proverbs 11:25 states, ^“A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” That’s a promise. If your attitude is righteous and not self serving, that is “I give to get,” then God promises to refresh you, which is a statement referring to meeting your needs for rest, food, and having your basic needs met. Jesus put it this way in Matthew 6:33. He said, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” The “all these things” refers to what Jesus had just been teaching on previously in Matthew 6, the basic needs of our lives and why we don’t have to be anxious about having them met. Hence, Paul has every right to make this promise to them and us.

But in view of this promise, it forces an obvious question: “Why do so many Christians suffer or lack for food, clothing, or money throughout the world? Why is just getting by so hard for so many?” I don’t pretend to have the complete answer to that, but perhaps this is a partial answer. Maybe it is because some of our greatest needs are not material or physical. Perhaps the only way for God to get a hold of us, to stop us long enough so that we might consider what our greater needs are, the ones that really count in light of eternity, is for Him to call us through the bullhorn of our pain or physical need to show us these other spiritual or soul needs are more important. In order to reveal and then to meet these greater needs, God sometimes does not make us rich or even financially comfortable. He may even at times take away what we have to make us uncomfortable so that we will see what our greatest spiritual needs are.

Remember too that according to these two verses, God only promises to refresh those who seek Him first and those who are generous givers.

Paul concludes this warm, positive epistle with some greetings and a final benediction to cement good relations with the Philippians and to encourage good relations with every believer among them, even those they may meet in passing through their town. He leaves them with words pointing to the only One who deserves their allegiance, Jesus Christ. He writes, “Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”

What would be the signs in your life that you are a cheerful giver or receiver? Last week, we took a special offering for our missionaries. Like Paul, some of our missionaries live in difficult areas of the world and are often in need of support from us. Sometimes the support is financial, sometimes it is prayer, and sometimes it may just be letters filled with words of encouragement to those who are giving their all for Christ. How have you been a humble giver to the Lord and to His frontline workers?  If anyone were to look at your check register, would they see that you support missions regularly? Our church encourages support of the Gospel Rescue Mission, the Pregnancy Care Center, Rhoda Scherrer, Jim and Linda Doss in Mexico, Bill and Leeann Hoppe in Thailand, Doug and Noel McClure in India, Mark and Kerry Kellond who work with Cadence ministries reaching out to high school and junior high students on army bases around the world, Terry and Susan Hayes as chaplains in the army, Roberta Williams in Ireland, and Harry and Carol Olsen.

If you are serving in a ministry here or elsewhere, have you thanked people for their affirming words, or gifts, or statements of support?

Being a cheerful giver and receiver comes from realizing that whichever end of the giving or receiving we are on, the ultimate source which knits us together is not the giver or the receiver, but our shared Lord, Jesus Christ. Giving well and receiving well is a reflection of how closely we are connected with Christ.

back to top