I have shewed you all things, that thus labouring [we] ought to come in aid of the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Paul's farewell to the elders of Ephesus ends with a memory, not a doctrine. He quotes a sentence of Jesus that no Gospel records, and his own working hands stand behind it as proof.
A Saying Rescued From Outside the Gospels
These are words of Jesus, yet no Gospel writer records them. One commentator notes how the saying reached us, and what a single word in the verse shows:
Paul rescued for us one saying of our Lord that stands outside the Gospel records — and Luke himself wrote it down. His word "remember" shows that the saying was already in circulation before he quoted it.
Another writer pictures how the first Christians held it:
It was, no doubt, a sentence known and loved by these early Christians. Perhaps it had become something like a proverb in their minds.
The Hands That Backed the Words
Paul quotes the saying only after pointing to his own labour. He had every claim to be supported, and he gave it up:
In 1 Corinthians 9 the blessed apostle establishes his right to be supported beyond all question. Then he gives it up completely. "But I have made no use of any of these rights." He worked with his hands. Night and day he laboured through hardship, so as not to be a burden to anyone... Was he not entitled to support? Certainly he was. It ought to have been the joy of the church of God to supply his every need. But he never pressed his claim; rather, he surrendered it.
The Aim: Helping the Weak
Paul had a reason for working with his hands. He wanted the elders to learn something:
He had done this so that they might learn the blessed privilege of working in the same way to support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus. A touching reminder! It teaches so plainly that unless we are in the power of grace, we cannot truly be servants of Him who "came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many."
Wanting silver, gold and clothing belongs to the old nature. Love moves the other way:
The old nature covets silver, and gold, and clothing. All these serve the desires of the body as well as of the mind. Love serves others. Love with faith alone glorifies God. And it is well when those who teach these things are living examples of everything they urge on others.
A Verdict the Natural Heart Would Never Reach
The saying turns the ordinary scale of happiness upside down. It could only come from a God who delights to give:
We are led to feel that His giving is spontaneous. He gives because He delights to give. Is it not from His own Son that we have the words, "It is more blessed to give than to receive"? Would such words come from the natural heart of man? Like a leech, its cry is "Give! give!" To receive much is the height of blessedness to the natural man. God says, No, "it is more blessed to give"; and He makes Himself the supreme Giver.
Christ as the Living Proof
Jesus did not just state the principle. His whole path showed it. One writer traces His giving from glory to the cross:
We learn the free and hearty giving of Himself — Himself! True, He left the glory, and He refused every earthly dignity, place and honour. But He did more than give things up. He accepted the hatred and scorn of man, and He bore the judgment of God against sin — He gave Himself! He found, in all the sorrow and anguish of His path, the supreme blessedness of being a giver!
The words belong to Christ, and that shapes how we read them:
They are the words of Christ, and His life here below is the most blessed comment upon them.
Where It Lands Today
The saying speaks straight to how we handle money:
The Word of God provides an antidote so that we do not fall into the habit of doing nothing but saving. It is to give to others out of the material means the Lord has entrusted to us... Those who give find this principle always holds true in practice. It is much happier for us to give something than to receive a gift.
Summary
- Remembered — Paul does not teach this saying. He asks the elders to recall words the first believers already knew and loved, saved for us outside the Gospel records.
- Proved — He had a clear right to support and gave it up. He worked night and day, so the words came backed by his own life.
- Directed — The work had a target: helping the weak. Only the power of grace makes us true servants.
- Reversed — The natural heart counts receiving as the height of happiness. This sentence turns the scale over, because it comes from the God who delights to give.
- Embodied — Christ gave Himself, and found the supreme blessedness of a giver in the middle of anguish. His life is the commentary on His own words.