We’re totally unworthy of God’s favour Friends and yet His word is full of rich promises to His people because He’s a loving Heavenly Father and in Christ we are worthy!
One that I particularly love is this…
‘And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:’
This is in one of Paul’s letters to the Corinthian’s where he praises their generosity and tells us that God loves a cheerful giver.
The language in this verse always makes my heart swell with amazement at the generosity and thoroughness of God’s grace.
All grace, abound, always, all sufficiency, all things, abound, every!!
Let’s dig a little deeper.
Is able – dynatos – powerful, mighty, strong!
The next bit is really interesting, to make all grace abound is four Greek words perisseuo pas charis perisseuo
As you can see this phrase has the same word at the beginning and end, repeated words were their way of emphasising a point. So we have…
perisseuo – to superabound, in excess, superfluous, enough and to spare, overflow!
‘ “Abounding” is used of a flower going from a bud to full bloom.’
pas – all, any, every, the whole, whatsoever, whosoever, the whole, daily.
charis – grace, graciousness, especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; benefit, favour, gift, joy, liberality, pleasure.
(Interestingly this Greek word charis comes from the word chairo which means ‘joy, cheerful, calmly having ppy, to rejoice exceedingly’ and this is it what God’s grace does Friends, it enables us to live our lives for His glory and to do His will joyfully.)
Then we have perisseuo again – superabound, in excess, superfluous, enough and to spare, overflow.
Friends, God is powerfully and mightily able to give us the grace we need.
He has abundant, excessive, overflowing stores of grace.
God has ALL the grace we need, every day, for whatsoever we need it for, so that we can abound in doing His will joyfully!
And this grace is towards you believer!
‘that ye always having ALL sufficiency in ALL things,’
Ye always – pantote – at all times, ever.
Having – echo – to hold, posses, ability
all – pas – all, any, every, the whole, whatsoever, whosoever, the whole, daily.
sufficiency – autarkeia – self-satisfaction, i.e. contentedness, or a competence, contentment, sufficiency.
things may abound – here we have perisseuo again, to superabound, in excess, superfluous, enough and to spare, overflow!
Friends, God’s grace is always flowing, at ALL times, for whatsoever situation we’re, towards whosoever we need that grace and it’s available daily!
It’s free, it’s something we can have and hold.
Then there’s the sufficiency of God’s grace that He makes available to us. Interestingly this word also means contendedness and competence,
God makes His grace abound toward us so that we’ll always have enough and so that we can always have contentment and competence in doing His will, doing the good works He has called us to and living for His glory if we’ll just look to Him for it!
And that may not be great things Friends, so often it’s cheerful, loving faithfulness in the day to day tasks we need the most grace for.
So God’s grace overflows towards us that our lives might overflow with His love towards others in the things we do and say.
Whatever God asks us to do He has overflowing supplies of grace that He freely gives us so we can joyfully, contentedly do His will.
Will you draw from this ever flowing stream today Friend?
2 Cor 9:8.
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