THE HEAVENLY BLESSINGS OF AN ACCEPTABLE GIFT

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on June 11, 2025 under AM Bible Study |

Wednesday AM Bible Study; June 11, 2025 from Philippians 4:18-20

Theme: A good earthly gift—given acceptably in Christ—results in great heavenly blessings.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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There are verses in the Bible that are familiar even to those who don’t read the Bible. They’ve even become part of the world’s common catalog of quotes—such as “Judge not, that you be not judged”; or “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil”; or “God is love”. Unbelieving people may not understand what those verses really mean; but they certainly seem to know them and quote them nevertheless.

Well; here’s another one: “It is more blessed to give than to receive”. Almost everyone knows and repeats those words at seemingly appropriate times. But what many people may not know is who it was that first said them. It was none other than the Lord Jesus Himself. Those words are found at the end of Acts 20:35—as a final admonition that the apostle Paul gave to a group of pastors from the city of Ephesus. He told them: “And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (Acts 20:35).

We don’t know when it was—or under what circumstances—the Lord Jesus first spoke those words. They aren’t recorded in any of the Gospels. But the fact that Paul told the pastors to ‘remember’ what the Lord said to them must have meant that they heard it before Paul quoted them. And we can be very grateful that the Holy Spirit has preserved them for us through Paul’s ‘reminder’ of them. It has become one of the most beloved and oft-repeated sayings of all time.

But what exactly did our Lord mean by them? Did He mean that it’s more blessed to give in only a sentimental, earthly sort of way? Obviously, there are temporal ‘blessings’ that come from the act of giving when viewed with only an earthly perspective. There’s the happiness it brings to those who receive it. There’s a sense of satisfaction that it brings the giver when a need is actually met. And there’s even a sense of appreciation that it may inspire in others who hear of it. But those ‘temporal’ blessings wear out and fade away rather quickly, and are forgotten by those who were not directly impacted by them. If viewed only in an earthly respect, it would seem that—in the long run—it’s more blessed to receive than to give.

The phrase ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’ can only be true in the sense that our Lord Jesus would have meant it—and in the way He Himself truly modeled it—if the giving is done with eternal realities in mind. If the gift is given with a God-ward focus, then such giving truly does have an eternal impact … and is truly ‘blessed’ in an eternal way.

And that leads us to consider the words that the apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:18-20. He spoke of a generous gift that the Philippian believers sent to him; and he said,

Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen (Philippians 4:18-20).

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Paul, as we remember, wrote those words while interred in a Roman prison for preaching the gospel. From a worldly standpoint, he was in a very dire condition. But his dear believing brothers and sisters in faraway Philippi had heard about his situation; and their love for him in the Lord Jesus compelled them to collect a financial gift together, and send it through a believer in their midst named Epaphroditus with the hopes that, by it, he’d have relief in his time of need.

Much of what we find in the last chapter of his letter involves his deep expression of gratitude for this wonderful gift that they sent him. But Paul’s words make clear that he didn’t view this gift as if it were merely given and received with only earthly realities in view. Instead, he chose to recognize the spiritual realities that were true of this gift; and to highlight the eternal blessedness it would bring about for those who gave it.

And it’s these eternal realities that Paul celebrated in our passage this morning. His words remind us that as followers of Jesus—as those who have been redeemed from our sins by faith in Him and are now destined to share forever in His eternal glory—as those who are now the children of a loving heavenly Father who is our great Provider, and who are now indwelt by the Holy Spirit who guides our steps according to the word of Scripture and who empowers us for all that God calls us to do—there is literally nothing in our lives that can ever be considered ordinary, or common, or just strictly ‘earthly’. For us, everything now bears the color and flavor of heavenly realities. Even the seemingly ‘common’ and ‘earthly’ things that other people do and concern themselves with—the seemingly ‘mundane’ matters of life—now have, for us, a heavenly significance; and should be viewed from an eternal perspective.

And that includes acts of giving. In these remarkable words of ‘thanks’ from the apostle Paul, we’re shown that a good earthly gift—given acceptably in Christ—results in great heavenly blessings.

How are the blessings of giving ‘eternal’ in nature for the believer? One way is by how Paul shows us that, when a gift is given in the name of the Lord Jesus …

1. IT MEETS THE NEEDS OF GOD’S BELOVED PEOPLE (v. 18a).

In the first half of verse 18, the apostle Paul told the Philippian believers, “Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you …” He wanted them to know that it truly met his needs … and even abundantly so.

Paul was a man who was characterized by sincere gratitude. He knew that it had cost the Philippian believers dearly to send this substantial gift. And he wanted them to know that the gift had done the job. He even spoke in very assuring terms that he had “all”, that he “abounded”, and that he was “full”. That must have made them very happy.

But he was also very careful to tell his Philippian brethren that, as much as he appreciated and valued their act of kindness to him, he wasn’t ultimately depending on it for his own sense of contentment. In verses 10-17, he wrote;

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account (vv. 10-17).

He told them this because—in the end—he really wasn’t so much concerned about the gift itself as he was the reward they would receive from the Lord for their faithfulness in having given it to someone who served in the Lord’s name. He turned their attention to heavenly realities in his expression of how it met the earthly needs of someone in Jesus’ service.

One great lesson we can learn from Paul is always to be genuinely thankful to people who serve us and send us help—and to be deliberate in expressing our appreciation. It’s a terrible thing to neglect the giving of thanks to others for the good things they do for us—especially when it’s done in the love of Jesus. But Paul made it clear that he was not the only one who knew about this gift. The Lord Jesus knew about it as well. And what Paul wanted to impress upon the Philippian believers—far more than just how much he appreciated their gift—was that such acts of service are known by God Himself. As Jesus Himself said in Matthew 25:40

“Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40).

and as the writer of Hebrews said in Hebrews 6:10,

For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister (Hebrews 6:10).

Obviously, we should serve one another out of a sincere spirit of genuine love—and not merely for how we might think that the Lord would reward us. But it is a part of our eternal perspective to know that the Lord also takes notice of such things—and that He does indeed reward them! This is a great eternal blessing that results from such giving—to know how it pleases Him that it meets the needs of those He Himself loves!

Another reason that Paul shows us why such giving results in a great eternal blessing is that …

2. IT’S A SACRIFICE WELL-PLEASING TO GOD (v. 18b).

In the second half of verse 18, Paul described the Philippians’ gift as “a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.” And this is a truly ‘heavenly’ way to describe the gift that they had sent to him.

When Paul referred to the gift that they sent to him as “a sweet-smelling aroma”, he was drawing a picture from out of the Old Testament priestly ministry. That’s how the offerings were described that the Levitical priests offered up upon the altar to God. The burnt offering was an offering of complete sacrifice; and as Moses described it, it was “a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD”. That’s, in fact, how many of the offerings were repeatedly described—as “an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD” (see Exodus 29:18, 25, 41; Leviticus 1:9, 13, 17; 2:2, 9; 3:5; 8:21, 28; 23:13, 18; Numbers 15:10, 13, 14; 18:17; 28:6, 8, 13, 24; 29:36). Paul was thus telling the Philippians that their sacrificial gift to him was like that burnt offering made upon the altar in the tabernacle of old—something that the smoke of which ascended to heaven unto the Lord, and that was ‘breathed in’ by Him as a sacrifice that which pleased Him greatly.

Further, Paul called it “an acceptable sacrifice.” In the Old Testament, not all sacrifices that people may have wanted to offer to the Lord were acceptable. People couldn’t, for example, bring a lame or ceremonially unclean animal as an offering. They couldn’t offer an animal that was really of no use or value to them—or perhaps something that they just wanted to get rid of.  To be ‘acceptable’, it had to be a clean animal—an animal that God Himself specified as acceptable. And it had to be spotless and without blemish. It couldn’t be marred or crippled. And if the offering was a grain offering, it had to be of the best of the harvest; and had to be prepared in accordance with God’s specifications. Paul was telling the Philippians that the gift they sent to him was an offering not made ultimately to him, but rather to God; and that, because it was offered in a pure and holy way, God accepted it as an act of service to Himself.

Paul even goes so far as to say that it was “well-pleasing” to the Lord.  The act of gathering this collection and sending it to help Paul in his time of trial was to offer a sacrifice to God Himself; and that it was an offering that truly pleased Him. And this reminds us of what the writer of Hebrews said in Hebrews 13;16;

But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased (Hebrews 13:16).

A third reason why such a gift results in great eternal blessing is because …

3. IT LEADS TO FURTHER TRUST IN GOD’S RICH PROVISION (v. 19).

Verse 19 is a wonderful verse. In fact, in a sense, all of the other promises of the Bible to God’s people can be summed up in just this one. Paul told the Philippians, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” All our needs!

Most scholars believe that the reason Paul said this to the Philippian believers was because they had sent to him far more than—humanly speaking—they could afford to give. It’s very possible that they had knowingly placed themselves in a state of need by meeting Paul’s needs. It’s very reasonable to suspect this because they had a reputation for doing that sort of thing. Philippi was a leading church in Macedonia. And in 2 Corinthians 8:2-4, Paul wrote this about the churches in Macedonia;

that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints (2 Corinthians 8:2-4).

The fact that they ‘implored’ Paul and his co-workers to receive this gift was because—at first—Paul and his ministry team must have tried to talk them out of it. It would have put them in need; but they insisted! And what’s more, he went on to write this about the way they gave:

And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God (v. 5).

When God knows that we are truly His, and that we can be trusted to faithfully use the things that He gives us for His glory, then He may well ask us to give much more than we think we can afford to give. From a strictly “worldly” standpoint, it doesn’t seem to make sense. But from a heavenly standpoint—one in which we see ourselves as completely dependent upon, and wonderfully provided for by, an immeasurably rich heavenly Father—it makes perfect sense.

And this means that we can safely give far more than we think we can. Do you notice what this promise from the apostle Paul says? He says that God doesn’t supply our needs merely “from out of” His riches in glory—as if He gives us only a portion of His riches. Rather, God will supply our needs “according to” or “in proportion to” His riches in glory. Our own personal needs would have to exceed the infinite riches of God our Father in heavenly glory before He would be unable to meet them … and that will never happen. All of the riches of His kingdom are ours already through His Son Jesus Christ—a supply that is infinitely greater than our ability to give! Jesus once told us in Luke 6:38,

“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38);

and as He said in Luke 12:32,

“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide for yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:32-34).

Truly, our God shall supply all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

And there’s one more way that a gift given acceptably in Christ results in great eternal blessing; and that is that …

4. IT RESULTS IN GOD RECEIVING THE GLORY (v. 20).

In verse 20, Paul closed off his expression of thanks with this doxology, “Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever.” Paul acknowledges that it was ultimately God the Father Himself who had moved upon the hearts of the Philippians to give as they did; and what’s more, that it was He who had supplied them with all that they needed in order to give as He commanded. The Philippians certainly deserved thanks for their obedience to God and for their love to Paul; but Paul reserved his greatest thanks and praise to God Himself as the great Author of that gift. And he invited the Philippians to join him in the thanks and praise to God.

And this is truly a wonderful reason to give or serve the saints in the love of Christ! It results in multiplied praises being offered up to God the Father. Think of what the apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 9. He was encouraging the believers in Corinth to send a sacrificial gift to the support of some other believers in need. And he told them something that not only spoke of the praise to God that would result, but also of the other heavenly blessings we’ve already considered. He wrote;

Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:10-15).

A gift given acceptably in the love of Jesus Christ would result in the meeting of the needs of the saints, would result in a sacrifice that is well-pleasing to God, would result in further trust in the supply from the Father, and would result in praise and thanks and worship! Truly, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”

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That “indescribable gift” is, in a very real sense, the wonderful gift of being able to give in such a way as to bring about such great eternal blessings. May God help us to see the giving of such a gift from heaven’s perspective—and to truly rejoice in faithfully giving it at God’s call.

That’s when it truly becomes infinitely “more blessed to give than to receive.”

AE