When I hear the phrase “spared no expense,” the first thing that comes to mind is John Hammond advertizing his Jurassic Park. But recently I heard it twice in a completely different context — in two different sermons just a couple Sabbaths ago. In one message, the speaker was talking about showing hospitality, and in the other the subject was David’s generous offering when he welcomed the Ark in to Jerusalem (1 Chr. 16:1-18).

But anything humans can come up with when we “spare no expense” can’t begin to compare with what God can accomplish when He “spares no expense.”

With One Sacrifice

We all know John 3:16 — probably have it memorized. But please take the time to read it again with me.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Talk about sparing no expense! God delivered up His only Son to die in our places. Let’s think about this for a moment. We believe that God and the Word are Eternal and didn’t have a beginning point — They’ve always been there. It follows, then, that God the Father had never been alone before. Imagine how long those three days that Jesus spent dead in the grave must have seemed!

And now think of it from Christ’s perspective. He was the Word who “was with God, and the Word was God. … All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1, 3). He had equality with God and the power needed to make all things. And what did He do with that power?

made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Phil. 2:7-8)

Christ gave up all this power, and risked His eternal life (for if He had failed there was no one else to sacrifice for sin), all to save us. That sacrifice was so valuable that “by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (Heb. 10:14). His life was so precious — so “expensive,” if you will — that it could cancel out forever the debts of the whole world. Christ and the Father truly “spared no expense” in freeing us from captivity.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Rom. 8:31-32)

Given All Things

What does “all things” in Romans 8:32 include? Well, having given the most valuable thing they could — Jesus Christ Himself — the Father and Son continue to “spare no expense” in blessing us. We touched on this last week when talking about god rewarding prayer, and promising “no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly (Ps. 84:11). Eternal life is one of these gifts, and a direct result of Christ’s sacrifice.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 6:23)

Another extremely important gift that God gives through Jesus is His Holly Spirit. Peter calls it “the gift of God” in Acts 8:20, and John 7:39 notes that the Holy Spirit was only given after Christ was glorified, tying it directly to the greatest gift.

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! (Luke 11:13)

You can finds lists of some spiritual gifts which God gives in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 and Romans 12:6-8. Jesus told His disciples, “it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,” so all His teaching to us are also a gift (Matt. 13:11). James says we can ask God for anything we lack, like wisdom, with faith because God “gives to all liberally and without reproach” (James 1:5). We don’t have to worry about God thinking our requests are silly or not worth His time. He wants to give us things.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.  (James 1:17)

God is happy to pour good things our on us. Having already given us the most valuable gift ever — eternal life through Christ’s sacrifice for sin — He just keeps giving us more and more of the good things we want and need.

Present Yourselves

Our response to God’s generosity should involve following His example of giving. With this context, the following verse takes on some additional significance, I think.

So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Cor. 9:7)

This is typically read in the context of monetary giving. But God is not focused on giving us physical prosperity (though that does happen sometimes), so why should we only focus on giving God physical things?

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (Rom. 12:1)

Paul describes sacrificing ourselves as “reasonable.” Knowing God has freely given us “all things,” it does seem reasonable that we should freely give Him all that we are and have, particularly since He promises to increase His generosity to us as our generosity increases toward others.

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)

We see a perfect example of this in Matthew 25, where Christ tells us how He will divide the sheep from the goats. The people who gave food to those who were hungry, water to the thirsty, and clothing to those who needed it, who took in strangers and gave up their time to visit prisoners — those are the people Christ will have in His kingdom. Giving sacrificially of our time and resources to any of Christ’s brethren counts as giving it directly to Him.