In today’s episode, I would like to give you a new year message entitled Your Richness in Christ. Let us read from Ephesians 2:6-7
God hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
God showed exceeding riches of grace in his kindness through Jesus Christ. Remember that truth for this year. God’s abundant grace is available to you. In Greek, Apostle Paul wrote,
ὑπερβάλλον πλοῦτος τῆς χάριτος
ὑπερβάλλον πλοῦτος τῆς χάριτος
Hyperballon: Hyperbole
Note that word hyperballon. Our English word hyperbole comes from this Greek word. It means extravagant exaggeration. We use hyperboles all the time. I will swim the ocean for you, I will give my whole fortune for a cup of this coffee, I will run like a bullet train etc. We know that they are not literally true. But for God, hyperbole is truthful. If God says, I will divide the ocean, He literally means that. God never boasts about things He cannot deliver.
ὑπερβάλλον πλοῦτος τῆς χάριτος
God shows exceeding riches of grace towards His children. Hyperballon: Beloved Apostle Paul used this word four times in His epistles.
Surpassing Glory (2 Corinthians 3:10)
Surpassing Inheritance (Ephesians 1:18)
Surpassing Knowledge (Ephesians 3:19)
Surpassing Grace (2 Corinthians 9:14)
That is what God bestowed upon us. Surpassing Glory, Surpassing Inheritance, Surpassing Knowledge, and Surpassing Grace.
What did this grace do for us? It made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. The glory of God and the grace of God. Lord Jesus Christ said, not a single hair from your heads will be lost (Luke 21:18). You can trust those words because He has promised us surpassing glory, surpassing inheritance, surpassing knowledge and surpassing grace. God is rich in his grace.
In the Epistle to Ephesians, we read about the riches of God. God is rich in four things.
First, God is rich in His Grace. What a wonderful God we worship! He is rich in his grace. Why did Lord Jesus shed his precious blood for us? How are we redeemed? What brought us the forgiveness of sins? It is the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us.
Note that word, ‘lavish’. We say, such a lavish party, such a lavish dinner. God showered His grace upon us so lavishly. He is rich in grace. He is called God of all grace (1 Peter 5:10).
You might ask, what does grace do for me?
Lord Jesus Christ is said to be full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
Out of his fullness we have all received grace for grace (John 1:16).
Jesus tasted death for every man by the grace of God (Hebrews 2:9)
Grace and peace come to us from God and Christ (Romans 1:7)
We are justified freely by grace (Romans 3:24; Galatians 2:21; 5:4; Titus 3:7).
Grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life (Romans 5:21).
You are called into the grace of Christ (Galatians 1:6).
We are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:5)
Grace is given to everyone who loves our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 6: 24).
Grace leads every believer in this world (Colossians 4:18).
How does Apostle Paul greet his readers? Grace and peace from God and our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:2; 1 Timothy 1:2; Revelation 1:5). Because you cannot have peace with God without the grace of God. You cannot have peace in your life without the grace of God.
Is Jesus the only way?
We are saved by grace. In a New York Times interview, Nicholas Kristof asked Beth Moore about salvation through Christ. He said, “One element of evangelical principles that I find at odds with that message of love is the notion that only people who have accepted Jesus will end up in heaven. I recoil at the idea of Gandhi, who was Hindu, writhing in hell.”
Beth Moore replied, “There are things I obviously cannot explain. But I don’t believe anyone is getting into the presence of God except through Christ. That is the spine of my faith.”
That is an interesting question. Beth Moore answered it the right way. How can we say that even Gandhi needs the grace of God to be saved? Imagine you were caught in a building which was on fire. A fire broke out in that building and you had no clue how to escape from the building. A firefighter came to rescue you. He looked at you and said, ‘Just follow me. I will save your life.’
What would you do? Would you say, ‘I am a very good person like Gandhi’, ‘I am a very generous person’, ‘I have a PhD’, ‘I am the richest man in the world’. You would not say such things because fire and explosion do not care who you are or how rich you are or how beautiful you are or how generous you are. They are all irrelevant to the fire engulfing the building. The only way to save yourself is to humbly follow the firefighter.
Lord Jesus came to us like a firefighter. He said, ‘For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost’ (Luke 19:10). Jesus came to save you. Sin is like fire. It will destroy every one. It does not care whether you are Gandhi or Lincoln or Mother Teresa.
That is why everyone needs grace., For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
You are saved through faith, not by works. So, you need the grace of God to be saved.
1 Peter 3:7 says, We are heirs together of the grace of life. Grace of life. In your family life, you need grace. In your marriage, you need grace. 2 Corinthians 8:7 says, Abound in His grace. Abounding in grace motivates us to do good works (2 Corinthians 9:8). Life of faith is the life of grace and life of grace is life of good works.
Secondly, God is rich in Mercy. 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. Ephesians 2:4
God is so rich in mercy, that is why, even when we were dead in our sins, He made us alive with Christ. Who would go to care for a dead person? Only someone who is rich in mercy.
Θεὸς πλούσιος ὢν ἐν ἐλέει
Theos plusios en yen eleei
God showed mercy to Abraham (Genesis 24:12,14). Abraham was ready to die. God told him, ‘Abraham, I will show you mercy’. Abraham thought, ‘My life is done. I have no children.’ God told him, ‘It is not over. I will give you a son’. Abraham was hopeless, but God gave him hope. God’s mercy gives hope to the hopeless.
Thirdly, Ephesians 3:17, the Riches of His Glory.
πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης
πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης
God is rich in glory. When we think of glory, we usually imagine lots of light. But glory is more than light. How did Isaiah see the glory of God? God was on a throne, high and lifted up. He saw angels praising God in heaven, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory’ (Isaiah 6:3).
God is on his throne. The whole earth is full of His glory. When Isaiah saw the glory of God, he was overwhelmed by his own unworthiness and utter shamefulness (Isaiah 6:5). The glory of the Lord endures forever (Psalm 104:31).
Today as you face a new year, let the glory of God fill your life. Let the glory of God fill your future.
Fourthly, Ephesians 3:10, the unfathomable riches of Christ.
πλοῦτος τοῦ Χριστοῦ
πλοῦτος τοῦ Χριστοῦ
The riches of Christ. We’ve seen the riches of God’s grace, the riches of God’s mercy and the riches of God’s glory. They all came to us through the riches of Christ. How can we get rid of the spiritual poverty in our lives? We should draw from the riches of Christ. Colossians chapter 2, verse 2 makes this clear.
That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God.
Note these words. Attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding. Through understanding you get full assurance. Through full assurance you will live a rich life. In other words, without understanding this truth, you will never get full assurance and without full assurance, you will never enjoy the riches of Christ.
Where does that lead you? Your hearts are encouraged and you’re knit together in love. What is more blessed than to stay in the love of God?
πᾶν πλοῦτος τῆς πληροφορίας
pan ploutos tes plerophorias
All Riches of the Full Assurance
That is what you need in the new year. Full assurance, full confidence and full hope. You want to cook a meal. You went to the market to buy some groceries. You looked at onions and their prices. You looked at tomatoes and their prices. You looked at green vegetables and their prices. Let us say that you have money in your pocket and you know that you have money. You buy those groceries with confidence.
But let us say, you don’t know that there is money in your pocket. You thought you were bereft. You thought you were penniless. Then you would be scared to look at those vegetables. You say, I can’t afford them. If I told you, ‘Hello, do you realize that there is money in your pocket?’, your disposition will change. You will buy what you need with confidence.
That is what God told us. I put the riches of Christ in your pocket. You can face all challenges of life with hope and confidence. All your disappointments, depressions, anxieties, phobias and fears, hopeless situations, sicknesses, loneliness and abandonments. You can face them with the riches of Christ. Satan tells you, ‘You are poor and broke. There is no way you can face this tragedy. There is nothing worthy in your life’. But we should not listen to the demonic world. God says, enjoy all riches of the full assurance in Christ.
πᾶν πλοῦτος τῆς πληροφορίας
pan ploutos tes plerophorias
All Riches of the Full Assurance
That is plerophorias: Living every day with assurance and hope using the abundance of God’s grace, mercy and glory provided to us through the riches of Christ.
God wants us to live with plerophorias. His grace is sufficient for all our needs. Now, I don’t have to worry about my physical needs because God is rich in his resources. I don’t have to worry about my salvation because God is rich in mercy. I don’t have to worry about my ignorance because God is rich in wisdom. I don’t have to worry about my feebleness because God is rich in power.
My God shall supply all your need
according to His riches in
glory by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19
Note those words: My God shall supply all your need. Your physical needs, your spiritual needs, your employment needs, your family needs, your church needs….God shall supply all your need according to His riches.
I hope and pray that you will enrich your life with the riches of God provided to you in Lord Jesus Christ. Happy New Year.