Manifold and Abundant Grace

UV 1281/10,000 Manifold and Abundant Grace
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:
2 Corinthians 9 v 8

God ‘s grace is sufficient for each of us and all of us. His grace is never in short supply. He is able to multiply His grace and peace in our lives. We are expected to abound in faith, gracious speech, knowledge, all diligence and all manner of love. It is referred to in scripture as the manifold grace of God that manifests itself in many ways. It will be sufficient to meet our every need as well as to be generous in giving to good causes and to do good works. We cannot work hard to get grace. Grace is a gift from God and God alone.
Our faith though it is sufficient to save us by grace, should be expressed in good works. The relationship between faith and good works in God ‘s plan of redemption for mankind is that faith is the root while good works are the fruit. The branches that bear the fruit are diligence, gracious speech, knowledge, diligence and different forms of expressing love. We have received freely of grace and therefore, we too need to give freely. Diligence or persistent efforts after thorough planning is needed for grace to run its course. It is not a hands off approach where we can say, “ let’s relax and let God take control.” Faith is a mustard seed not a full grown tree. It needs to be planted in different situations of need. It needs to be drilled into our minds and hearts to take deep root. It needs to be continually watered and fertilized. It needs to be trimmed and pruned. It needs to be fenced and protected. It needs to be harvested and stored. Gracious speech is needed to express our thoughts and emotions and desires. Knowledge of scripture is needed to know which verse is a seed for which specific situation or need and how best to apply or claim it. Knowledge of who God is will deal with our insecurities and fears that make us store more than we need and be unwilling to share it with others. Love is needed to be able to share the harvest of blessings and God’s provision with others, to be able to bear one another’s burdens.

Giving to the needy is also an essential grace. The early believers despite their afflictions and relative poverty they were liberal in giving to meet the need of others. When we give to the poor, it is written in scripture that we are lending to the Lord. He is no man’s debtor and so He will return it to us through manifold grace in a variety of ways and blessings. We are commanded to test the Lord by giving our first fruit of our harvest or our earnings to the Lord and He will open the windows of heaven and bless us so abundantly that we will not have room to store it. It is not just a reference to financial provision but to an overflow of God’s blessings in our lives. We will suffer no lack. We will lack no good things for the Lord will fill our mouth with good things not just to taste but to speak of. The measure we use will be the measure God uses but He will give us multiple times the measure we use.

Prateep V Philip