Does God have a charity or an economy?
God is rich
We know that God is rich and that he wants to display his riches in the believers (2 Cor. 8:9, Eph. 2:7). We also know that these riches are imparted via the gospel (Eph. 3:8, Col. 1:27), because these riches are God Himself imparted through his word (John 1:1 Psa. 119:72, 127, Psa. 19:9–10, Psa. 12:6, Luke 8:11, 1 Pet. 1:23, James 1:18). We experience the gospel as the hearing of faith (Rom. 10:17), whereby we receive the Spirit (Gal. 3:2). The hearing of faith is the means by which God supplies us with the Spirit (Gal. 3:5), and the Spirit is the means by which the believers are empowered to speak the gospel (Acts 2:4, 17–18). As more people hear the gospel and become believers the more the Word of God “grows” and “multiplies” (Acts 6:7, 12:24, 19:20). Which growth is God Himself increasing in the believers (John 3:30, Col. 2:19, 1 Cor. 3:6, Eph. 2:21, Eph. 4:15–16).
God has an economy
- Eph. 1:9–10 God having made know to us the mystery of His will … which is for the economy (plan) to reach the fullness of the times, with the goal of heading up of all things in Christ.
- Eph. 3:8–9 (Paul) was given to announce to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel and to enlighten all that that they may see what the economy (administration) of God’s mysterious plan is.
- 1 Tim. 1:4 (Do not) give heed to myths and endless genealogies, which produce questionings rather than God’s economy (plan), which is in faith.
The Greek word here is oikonomia (οἰκονομία), translated as economy. Its meaning is as follows:
This is similar to our modern definition of the word economy.
But what is being exchanged? How can you have an economy if nothing of value is being exchanged? If there is no exchange we should be speaking of “God’s charity” and not “God’s economy.” Does God have a charity or does He have an economy?
Seeing God’s economy
To see God’s economy we need to read Phil. 3:7–11. Paul said that he “counted as loss” those things which were valuable to him “on account of Christ.” What things did Paul count as loss? “My own righteousness which is out of the law.” Furthermore Paul was willing to enter into the “fellowship of Christ’s sufferings, being conformed to His death.” He bore in his body the putting to death of Jesus and was even willing to bear in his body the brands of Jesus (2 Cor. 4:10, Gal. 6:17).
God’s economy required that Paul give up (forget) his past accomplishments so that He might gain Christ (Phil. 3:13) and it also required that Paul fill up the afflictions of Christ for the building up of Christ’s Body (Col. 1:24). Eventually Paul was brought to the point where he no longer even accounted of his life as precious to himself but cared only to “finish (his) course and the ministry which (he) received from the Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:24). Finally toward the end of his life he wished only to die and and be with Christ but continued to live for the sake of the other believers (Phil. 1:21–24). This is a picture of a man who has given up everything of himself, his natural life, natural strength, his accomplishments, his achievements, for what? For Christ.
By this we see that God has an economy not a charity.
