“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.” (2 Cor 9:15)
So far in this series, we’ve been looking at Isaiah 9:6,7 in order to understand the depth and breadth of what Paul describes as Jesus’ “Indescribable Gift,” the gift we celebrate this Christmas. We have seen that Jesus is our individual salvation, He is the solution to sin, He is the ultimate world leader, He gives us counsel, His ways are outside of human understanding, He brings us a picture of the almighty God, the Father, and He brings us peace. It’s already beyond our comprehension, yet there is more to the gift.
Let’s look at another famous text from Isaiah to find even more clues as to what Jesus’ “Indescribable Gift” entails: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me…” (Isaiah 61:1a)
What is the significance of this?
We know from the story of Jesus’ birth that Jesus was conceived through the Holy Spirit. Thus He had a special anointing of God’s Spirit from His birth (see Luke 1:35); but we also see that He was given an extra portion of God’s Spirit at the time of His baptism: “After Jesus was baptized, just as he was coming up out of the water, the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming on him.” (Matt 3:16, NET).
What does this have to do with Jesus’ “Indescribable Gift?”
Just before returning to Heaven, Jesus promised His disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit:
“While he was with them, he declared, ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait there for what my Father promised, which you heard about from me. For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.'” (Acts 1:4,5).
Thus, the gift of God’s own Spirit is part of Jesus’ “Indescribable Gift,” yet so many of us leave this part completely unwrapped. Let’s receive the gift of God’s Spirit this Christmas.
The next lines of Isaiah 61 are this: “Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor, He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted…” (Isaiah 61:1b)
The message of this part of Jesus “Indescribable Gift” to us is clear. Are you poor? Are you brokenhearted?
As you look through history you see that most religions have aimed at the wealthy. And yes, the rich need the gospel message as much as anyone. But Jesus came to give His “Indescribable Gift to not just the rich, but to the poor. No one, friends, is beneath the gospel message. Jesus did not just come to save your neighbor from sin, He came to heal your broken heart, He came to share the gospel with–you!
“To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;” (Isaiah 61:1c)
An integral part of Jesus’ “Indescribable Gift” is simply this: To liberate those who are being held captive.
What? You aren’t in prison?
You may or may not be in a physical jail, yet sin and addiction hold most of us captive. But Jesus came to this earth not just to save us from our sin, but to free and to liberage us from the one who has so long held us captive.
Are you still struggling with that addiction? Do you still feel bound by the sin that you just can’t seem to break? The problem is that we make our addictions our reality. When we make Jesus’ “Indescribable Gift” our reality, those chains crumble away. Don’t hesitate to unwrap this portion of Jesus’ “Indescribable Gift.” His death on the cross broke the chains of sin and addiction forever!
I pray you will join me in completely unwrapping Jesus’ “Indescribable Gift” this Christmas: In receiving His Spirit, in receiving His healing for our broken hearts, and in receiving His deliverance from our addictions and sins.
As incredible as all this already is, can there be still more to the “Indescribable Gift” that God gave us through Jesus at that first Christmas? Join us on Saturday, after Christmas, for Jesus’ gift isn’t just for one day of the year, but for a lifetime: “The Indescribable Gift,” Part 5.
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, with Answers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.
* www.Dictionary.reference.com
** http://www.jesus.org/is-jesus-god/names-of-jesus/wonderful-counselor.html
(To access the entire “Indescribable Gift” mini-series, please click here.)