4 – The Richest of His Grace

Reading 4

by A. Fontes

“THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE” Ephesians 3:16

 

All of the wealth that we possess comes from God, and Paul in his letter to the  Ephesians presents us with two  of the greatest  riches-grace  and glory.

To what does the word “riches,”  which Paul used constantly, apply? To abundance, so that all human beings  will hear and understand that God’s grace is inexhaustible.

There are people on this planet  who are so wealthy that they cannot calculate  the  enormity  of their  fortunes;  and they  could  eradicate  hunger on the planet, clothe  everyone in the world, buy entire countries, and change  politics everywhere.  But  Paul addresses  only one  class of people – those who kneel and pray to  God. According to the richness of His glory, He is the Creator  of everything-of all of the planets, galaxies, and everything that exists. That is God’s wealth. Ephesians 3:16.

We have a God who is Lord of lords, King of kings, Creator, and Owner of everything! “But  my God shall supply  all your need  according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19.

Therefore, beloved, we will not  let the enemy rob  us of this certainty of knowing that  we have a God  who has compassion  on His children  in this world, who, through this wealth of glory, supplies  all our needs. And what are these needs in one’s life and in the  life of his family? It may be wisdom, favor, health, finances, love, forgiveness, unity, etc.; and we are rewarded  according to God’s benefits, such as goodness, patience, and longsuffering. Many of the needs that He supplies in our lives are not even acknowledged in our prayers, even though He grants them  to us every day in His goodness and mercy. We are surprised  by God’s providences in our behalf – things that  often  we do not  even imagine. Are we paying attention and recognizing these riches?

GOD’S TWO GREATEST RICHES

We  are privileged to  receive two  of God’s  great riches, as I  already mentioned -grace and  glory. God  thus  grants  us much  more  than  any wealth in this world, even though  we do not deserve it.

First  is  the  wealth   of  grace, “in whom we  have  redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to  the  riches  of  His  grace.” “That  in the  ages to come  He might shew   the   exceeding  riches   of   His grace  in  His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 1:7; 2:7.  Nothing can  be  compared  to God’s  grace  and  unconditional  love. It is our greatest  wealth.

We are redeemed by Him, according to the richness of His grace. He provided the  blood of Jesus to free us from the power  of sin and to trans­ port us by Christ’s representation into the kingdom of His dear Son.

Following is  a  list  of  several  aspects   of  God’s   grace:   Salvation   is by  His  grace;  inheritance in  heaven is by the  grace  of God; the  fact that we  are  children of  the   kingdom is grace; God’s  protecting care that  we receive  every  day  is grace;  having  a home  is grace;  the  work  of Christ  in us and for us is His grace; and reign­ ing  with Christ  in glory  is grace.  “For by  grace  are ye saved  through faith; and  that  not  of yourselves:  it is the gift  of God.” Ephesians 2:8. Thus we can categorically state  that  Christ  is the grace of God to a world of sin and sinners.

Look  at these  inspired  words:  “As your soul yearns after God, you will find more  and  still more  of the  unsearchable riches of His grace. As you  con­ template these  riches, you will  come into possession ofthem and will reveal the merits of the Saviour’s sacrifice, the protection of His righteousness, the fullness of His wisdom, and His power to present you before the Father ‘with­ out spot, and blameless.’ 2 Peter 3:14.” The Acts of the Apostles, p. 567.

Second is the wealth of God’s glory. “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope  of His calling,  and what the riches of the  glory  of  His inheritance in the  saints,”  “That He would  grant you,  according to  the  riches  of  His glory, to  be  strengthened with might by His Spirit in the  inner man.”  Ephesians 1:18; 3:16. Through  the  power of God, we see the glory  of Him who sustains us and works miracles in our lives. There is no  greater  wealth than to contemplate this glory.

When  we speak of God’s glory, we are speaking of  God  Himself.  He  is not visible to human eyes, so His presence is recognized as the  manifestation  of His glory. Habakkuk  describes His splendor  and majesty  as His glory, holiness,  and uniqueness.  “God came from Teman, and the  Holy One from  mount  Paran. His glory  covered the heavens, and the earth was full  of His praise. And His brightness was as the light; He had horns coming out of His hand: and there  was the hiding of His power. Before Him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at His feet.” Habakkuk 3:3-5.

The prophet Isaiah describes the holiness and glory  of God that he saw in vision: “In the year that  King Uzziah died  I  saw also the  Lord  sitting  upon a throne,  high  and lifted up, and  His train filled the temple. Above  it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered  his feet, and with twain he did  fly. And one cried unto  another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the  Lord  of hosts: the  whole earth is full of His glory.” Isaiah 6:1-3.

God  also manifested Himself  in the  midst  of the  people of Israel in the shekinah, which means “the  habitation or presence  of God.”  It was the visible manifestation of God’s presence and glory among  His people. What a joy for Moses!  II And he said, I beseech Thee, shew me Thy glory. And He said, I will make all My goodness pass before  thee, and I will pro­ claim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. And He said, Thou canst not see My face: for there shall no man see Me, and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by Me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while My glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with My hand while I pass by: And I will take away Mine hand, and thou shalt see My back parts: but My face shall not be seen.” Exodus 33:18-23.

In the very beginning, God created man to be a participant in His glory and thus to become like Him; but He also left man free to choose whether or not he wished to participate in that glory.

JUSTICE AND MERCY

He separated himself  from  God by disobeying the  divine command. Adam  used his freedom to  yield to  sin by transgressing  God’s  law! The inspired  word explains that God cannot collude  with sin.

“The righteousness  of Christ will not  cover one cherished  sin. A man may be a law breaker in heart; yet if he commits  no outward act of transgression, he may be regarded by the  world as possessing great integrity. But God’s law looks into the secrets of the heart. Every act is judged by the motives that prompt it. Only that which is in accord with the principles of God’s law will stand in the judgment.”  Christ’s  Object  Lessons, p. 316.

It is impossible for a sinful person to  endure the presence of the holy God. He is righteous, and man’s sinful condition made  it impossible for him to  participate in the  divine glory, for he sold himself  to sin and became the servant of Satan.

Why  is it not  possible  for  a slave to  save himself?  Because he sold himself  and would have to  be purchased.  How possible  would  it be for a slave to purchase his freedom when everything that he has belongs to his master? What right does he have? None. The person who is begotten of Adam  receives sin as his master. Moreover, sin as a master rewards its slaves with death; this is the reality.

And  that  is not  all. Man  committed more  than  one unrighteous  act against God. God is righteous, and He cannot  live with unrighteousness. In fact, it was not  enough  for Him to  buy the man; he had to  repair the unrighteousness. This illustration  shows that  it always was and still is impossible for man to save himself.

It was Jesus who accomplished this. He put  aside His glory, was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the virgin Mary, became man, and was tested as all human  beings  are. As man, He also had to believe  in the  Father and obey  Him, because  unbelief was the sin that Adam  committed; he did not believe,  and he did not obey  God.  Finally, when the time  came, Jesus died for sinful man; He shed His blood, and He laid down His own life, as the ransom for humanity.  “In whom  we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness  of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” Ephesians 1:7.

“To His church, Christ has given ample  facilities, that He may receive a large revenue of glory from His redeemed, purchased  possession. The church, being endowed with the righteousness of Christ, is His depository, in which the wealth of His mercy, His love, His grace, is to appear in full and final display. The declaration in His intercessory  prayer, that the Father’s love is as great toward us as toward Himself, the only-begotten Son, and that  we shall be with  Him where  He is, forever  one with  Christ  and the Father, is a marvel to the heavenly host, and it is their  great joy. The gift of His Holy Spirit, rich, full, and abundant,  is to be to His church as an en­ compassing wall of fire, which the powers of hell shall not prevail against. In their  untainted purity  and spotless  perfection, Christ  looks upon  His people as the reward of all His suffering, His humiliation, and His love, and the supplement of His glory-Christ, the great center from which radiates all glory. ‘Blessed are they which are called unto  the marriage  supper  of the Lamb.”‘  – Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 18.

ABUNDANT GRACE

If one lays down his life for a righteous man, it is grace; but Christ gave His life for sinful men and women, thus demonstrating the infinite  riches of His grace. The apostle Paul speaks of the riches of divine  grace in the plural.

If Jesus had left His throne of glory and come to this world to be treat­ ed like a king, that would already have been  amazing  grace; but  no, He did  much more than that!  He came to this world  as a servant. He came to serve those  who had voluntarily sold themselves  as slaves. He came to serve, and not only those who were imprisoned. Jesus came to rescue the slaves of sin!

“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet  for  your  sakes He  became  poor, that ye through His poverty  might  be rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9.

“The  progressive Christian  has grace and love which passes knowledge, for divine insight into the char­ acter of Christ takes a deep hold upon his  affections.  The  glory  of  God   revealed above the ladder can only be appreciated by the progressive  climb­ er, who is ever attracted higher, to nobler aims which Christ reveals.” -Manuscript 13, 1884.

Thank God for sending His Son and fulfilling His mission. Grace is in Him, and  it  came  through Him.  He  is all grace. May God help us to accept and rejoice in this grace!

We   conclude  with   the   inspiring words  of Romans 11:33, 36: “0 the depth of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and knowledge of God!  how un­ searchable are His judgments, and His ways past  finding out!”  “For  of Him, and  through  Him,  and  to  Him,  are all things:  to  whom  be  glory  for ever.

Amen.”