2Co 9:15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
The word translated unspeakable (anekdiegetos) is used only here in the Bible.
Thayer defines it as the unspeakable, indescribable
James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages describes it as indescribable, beyond words (neb), unspeakable (kjv, asv), inexpressible (rsv), beyond all telling (njb), beyond all praise (reb)
Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary says: Incapable of being adequately expressed or uttered, unspeakable, inexpressible, unutterable, ineffable
Though I am able to speak with the tongues of men and of angels I am yet unable to explain and describe God's gift that came wrapped in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The appearance of the glorified Christ beggars description as John's use of human words fails in his effort to convey what he saw in Revelation 1.
God's gift came to us wrapped in human flesh, wrapped in Mary's womb, wrapped in swaddling bands. He was stripped of his clothing and unwrapped on Calvary releasing His life for all mankind. How can you refuse Him?
In what way is God's Gift unspeakable?
1. HE IS UNSPEAKABLE IN HIS PRESENTATION
Well expressed in Mary's question: How shall this be seeing I know not a man? His Incarnation was in a way totally impossible to man! Luke 1:30-37 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
How indeed? As Paul said: And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. 1 Timothy 3:16 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Colossians 2:9
How can we begin to understand the mystery of God Manifest in the flesh? Looking at the tiny baby wrapped in swaddling bands lying in a manger can you grasp the concept...that Almighty Eternal God had integrated Himself within a human baby? It may be a million times easier to visualize holding all the world's oceans in a tiny teacup! For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Colossians 2:9 Or as the Amplified version renders it: For in Him the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form [giving complete expression of the divine nature]. Colossians 2:9 AMP
Yes! His very coming into the world was in a manner indescribable! Unspeakable in His presentation! If good things come in small packages then by comparison there was never a package so small and the thing in it so good! And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Luke 1:35 KJV
Illustration: The Unspeakable Gift
Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and good king. He loved his people. He wanted to know how they lived. He wanted to know about their hardships. Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar, and went to the homes of the poor. No one whom he visited thought that he was their ruler.
One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse food the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him. Then he left. Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying, “I am your king!”
The king thought the man would surely ask for some gift or favor, but he didn’t. Instead he said, “You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart! To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!”
2. HE IS UNSPEAKABLE IN HIS PRICE
In spite of the saying that it's the thought that counts and not the gift or its price many still asses a gift by it's value. What can we say about the value of the Gift of God? What value can we put on His gift to us? The Bible says: For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16:26 KJV
If one soul is so costly that the whole world cannot buy it...then consider that the Gift of God's Son is able to pay the price for the billions of souls that have passed their life on earth...and consider that when God decided to give, He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Romans 8:32 KJV
It is more than the world’s wealth Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 1 Peter 1:18-19 KJV
3. HE IS UNSPEAKABLE IN HIS PERSONALITY
The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. John 7:46
And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Mat 7:28-29
And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son? Luke 4:22
And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. Mark 7:37
Consider this description and then ponder on what Christ means to you!
The Incomparable Christ
He came from the bosom of the Father to the bosom of a woman. He put on humanity that we might put on divinity. He became man that we might become the sons of God. He came from Heaven, where the rivers never freeze, winds never blow, frosts never chill the air, and flowers never fade. They never phone for a doctor for there no one is ever sick. No undertakers and no graveyards for no one ever die - no one is ever buried.
He was born contrary to the laws of nature, lived in poverty, reared in obscurity; only once crossed the boundary of the land of his childhood. He had no wealth or influence and had neither training nor formal education. His relatives were inconspicuous and un-influential.
In infancy He startled a king; in boyhood He puzzled the doctors; in manhood He ruled the course of nature. He walked upon the billows and hushed the sea to sleep. He healed the multitudes without medicine and made no charge for His services. He never wrote a book, yet not all the libraries of the country could hold the books that could be written about Him. He never wrote a song, yet He has furnished the theme of more songs than all the song writers combined. He never founded a college, yet all the schools together cannot boast of as many students as He has. He never practiced psychiatry, and yet He has healed more broken hearts than the doctors have broken bodies. He never marshaled any army, drafted a soldier, nor fired a gun, yet no leader ever made more volunteers, who have under His orders, made more rebels stack arms or surrender without a shot being fired.
He is the Star of astronomy. The Rock of geology, the Lion and the Lamb of zoology, the Harmonizer of all discords and the Healer of all diseases. Great men have come and gone, yet He lives on. Herod could not kill Him, Satan could not seduce Him, Death could not destroy Him, the grave could not hold Him.
He laid aside His purple robe for a peasant's gown. He was rich, yet for our sake He became poor. How poor? Ask Mary! Ask the Wise Men! He slept in another's manger. He cruised the lake in another's boat. He rode on another man's ass. He was buried in another man's tomb. All failed but He never. The ever perfect One - He is the Chief among ten thousand. He is altogether lovely. He is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
-- Samuel Porter Jones
He stands forth upon the highest pinnacle of heavenly glory, proclaimed of God, acknowledged by angels, adored by saints, and feared by devils, as the living, personal Christ, our Lord and Saviour!
4. HE IS UNSPEAKABLE IN HIS PURPOSE
He came to die, to take my place, to minister to me, to love me in spite of what or who I am!
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. Matthew 20:28 KJV
Who can comprehend God dying in our place because He loves us so? Even the centurion at the crucifixion recognized that he was witnessing something extraordinary!
Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. Matthew 27:54 KJV
Who can understand the agony and suffering as Christ suffered the gut wrenching, heart tearing separation from His Father that caused Him to cry out in despair? And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Matthew 27:46 KJV and yet at the same time we read this in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 KJV 18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:16-17 KJV
How can we not love Him who loved us so much? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39 KJV
A young father, whose wife had just died, took his daughter on a cruise to begin the recovery process. As they huddled together on the deck of the ship, the little girl asked her father, “Daddy, does God love us as much as Mummy did?”
At first, the man didn’t know quite what to say. But he knew he couldn’t sidestep the question. Pointing across the water to the distant horizon, he said, “God’s love reaches farther than you can see in that direction.”
The man then looked up at the sky, and said, “God’s love is higher than the sky, as well.” Finally, he pointed down at the ocean and reflected, “It’s deeper than the ocean, too.”
After hearing her father speak, the girl responded: “Oh, just think, Daddy. We’re right here in the middle of all that love.”
Right there in Christ we are found in the middle of all that love! Right there in Christ we are wrapped in the warmth of His Love. And like the Apostle Paul I would also like to say:
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21 KJV
