Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Ephesians 3:20-21 comments: exceeding abundantly

20  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21  Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Another thought that we’re given by Paul on God’s abundance toward us is this one.

Philippians 4:19  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

And then, a promise by Jesus Christ Himself to His Jewish disciples when He warns them about pursuing the wealth of this world system. Mammon is a Syriac word personifying money and the financial system of the world.

Matthew 6:19 ¶  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22  The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 24  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

    25 ¶  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28  And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29  And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

According to the power of the Holy Spirit that lives inside each believer God by virtue of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross at Calvary and His resurrection from the dead can and will provide what we need in a far greater and more abundant way than we can ask or even think. Our problem is that we want and think we need some worldly things that are destined to burn up in the conflagration that will precede the creation of the new Heavens and the new Earth before we seek the Kingdom of God or without seeking it at all.

  2Peter 3:8 ¶  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

    9 ¶  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

    11 ¶  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Throughout all ages of future time, throughout eternity, the church will be the glory of God as He shows His love and kindness to a called out assembly of Jews and Gentiles whom He has made spiritually alive and granted eternal life with Him.

Ephesians 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

But, right now, God is capable of providing everything you need. If you take the view from eternity what you need right now is a deeper and better understanding of who God is, what He has done, and what His will is. It is very important for a Bible believing Christian to read through his or her copy of the Authorized Version also called the King James Version or King James Bible from cover to cover repeatedly.

The Bible is the principal way that God speaks to the believer. This is in direct contradiction to the humanist whose principal guiding light comes from his or her conscience. But, we believe that sin can sear the conscience and make it unresponsive to God’s calling so the postivist’s “Inner Light” is usually just inner darkness. It is beneficial and good to read the Bible without commentary, to read it with good commentaries, to do Bible studies, and to listen to good preaching that is faithful to doctrine and the word itself. Good preaching also has the benefit of calling you to action or contemplation, imparting information about God and God’s will you had not thought about or knew or perhaps reviving a cold spirit into a renewed faith and purpose. It is a vehicle by which God can speak to your spiritual heart.

Bible reading is the foremost means by which a believer allows the Holy Spirit, unfiltered, into his or her spiritual heart to change and mold, to sanctify the believer into the man or woman that God wants them to be. Of course, like being affected by preaching, this result requires that the person believe what he or she is hearing or reading and wanting to be changed by it. It is also a great thing to listen to the Bible on CD or other device like an Mp3.


God has abundant riches to offer you if you are submitted to His words written in His Book applied to your heart each day. But, He can and will supply all of your needs today. Look to Him first. 

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