Living in the Abundance of God (4 page)

God, through Moses, brought deliverance to His people through His gracious provision for their greatest needs, starting with their salvation.

The Lord Jesus Christ came to earth and offered Himself as our sacrificial Lamb. It was at the cross, through the shedding of the blood of the spotless Lamb of God, that the grace of God was offered not to one man, not to one nation, but to all who would receive Him. “But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many” (Romans 5:15).

The Bible teaches us that all men died spiritually when Adam sinned. God, through Jesus Christ, brings life to all who will receive Him. His grace is out of all proportion to the fall of man. The first Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam (Jesus) was made a life-giving Spirit. “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17).

Through the grace of God, we have received the Spirit of Christ. We are no longer dead in our trespasses and sins. We have received an abundance of grace. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11).

The prophet Jeremiah foretold the restoration of God’s people. He could see the church of Jesus Christ through the eyes of faith. “For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the L
ORD
; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart” (Jeremiah 24:6–7).

God has looked upon His church, and we have found grace in His sight! The prophet Isaiah also saw the glory of the church. “ ‘As for Me,’ says the L
ORD
, ‘this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,’ says the L
ORD
, ‘from this time and forevermore. Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the L
ORD
is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the L
ORD
will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you’ ” (Isaiah 59:21—60:2).

Isaiah prophesied that there would come forth a stem of Jesse and the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon Him:

Isaiah said that Jesus, this stem of Jesse, would not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears (Isaiah 11:1–4). God sent Jesus into the world that we might become like Him. He is our perfect example. He dwelt among us that we might know Him. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God…. And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:12–13, 16–17).

By the grace of God that came through Jesus Christ, we have the power to become the sons of God. We can be led by the Spirit of God. We can have the spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. We do not have to judge after what our eyes see or our ears hear. Our direction comes from within us—through the Spirit of God who resides in our spirits.

We cannot earn the grace of God. We cannot work for His favor. We can never make ourselves acceptable to God. We must receive His grace through faith and come to God as we are.

The Bible teaches us that while we were dead in sin, Jesus made us alive. A dead man cannot work! A dead man cannot earn anything! “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised
us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:4–9).

We are saved by grace through faith; that is by believing that salvation is a free gift.

Grace is a gift of God. We cannot boast about it.

Grace originates with God. It cannot be achieved by works. “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (Romans 4:4–5).

We must stop working and trying to be justified and start believing that we
are
justified! That is when God counts us righteous.

When we receive Jesus Christ, we receive the total grace of God. In every situation in which we realize we need grace, Jesus is the source.

We are no match for the enemy in our own strength. Our emotions and our minds and our wills are not the tool with which we defeat the devil. We do not have the power to live the Christian life on our own.

God’s grace begins where our ability ends. When the situation is impossible, if you will believe, you will see the grace of God manifested.

If you are tempted to be angry, allow Jesus to demonstrate His peace (Colossians 3:15).

If you are tempted to doubt, remember the life you now live is by faith in Him (Galatians 2:20).

If you are tempted to give up, believe that you have His strength to go on (Philippians 4:13).

God’s grace is always sufficient! “Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in
reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:8–10).

Should we not say as Paul said, “I take pleasure in the midst of my need, because I know that His grace is sufficient. God will meet my needs, whether they are spiritual, physical, mental, marital, or financial. Not only will He meet my needs, but through this experience I will gain confidence in knowing Him.”

“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

There is no insufficiency in Jesus. His grace is sufficient in all circumstances.

We reign in life as kings through the abundance of grace!