The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Superlatives"
In the moment of the new birth whereby God redeems a human heart by grace through faith, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within. Thereby, He brings with Him superlatives of grace from which we are to forever thereafter live.
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (I Corinthians 3:16).
"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).
"His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue" (II Peter 1:3).
"The grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus" (I Timothy 1:14).
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).
"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, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen" (Ephesians 3:20).
The list of superlatives could go on and on. As we read through Scriptures, keeping an expectant heart to the assurances provides a wonderful and powerfully enabling consideration. The living God dwells with and within us through the Holy Spirit. Accompanying Him are "all things that pertain to "life and godliness… all spiritual blessings… Christ in you, the hope of glory." Thus, believers actually live from inside out as we trust and submit to God. Our Father doesn't have to move a finger to provide enabling for His trusting children in Christ. He has already provided such grace. He rather moves within us through the Spirit of God to illuminate the truth that we live for God by living from God. "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" (II Corinthians 9:8).
It often does not feel or look this way, of course. The world is much with us, as are our fleshly weaknesses and the devil's attempts to discourage and distract us from God's truth and reality. Little wonder the Lord Jesus commanded, "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24). We best define "righteous judgment" as simply, "Whatever God says about anything and everything." What He says about us is that every believer exists as a supernaturally charged vessel of the very life of Christ Himself (Romans 8:9-11). We teem with His vital presence in the depths of our spirits. As we believe the truth, such grace enlivens our mortal bodies to enable our faculties of thought, speech, action, and most of all, relationship to God and people. We must believe this about ourselves, first, because it is true, and then because our experience of living for God by living from God depends on our response of faith and affirmation of the Reality in which we live, and which lives in us. "As thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee… He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief" (Matthew 8:13; 13:58).
Encounter a fallen believer lying wounded along the path of righteousness, and you can know he has forgotten, neglected, or never adequately knew the truth of superlatives we consider. No excuses exist for such a spiritual and moral calamity. However, correction and restoration rather than condemnation await our fallen brother as he responds to God's working to redeem. A huge part of such reclamation involves his coming to know that the power for walking in faith and faithfulness dwells within him through the living Spirit of Christ. He must know that God does not need to move a finger to provide such a grace already present and accounted for. Or perhaps, not accounted for? This is actually the issue. We must know, believe, and affirm the abundance of grace already given, and so frequently affirmed by the New Testament. We must "reckon" (account) ourselves to be alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:11). Yes, we live for God by living from Him. Let us keep our hearts attuned and expectant to such promise as we open the pages of our Bibles. Most of all, let believe the assurances whereby the teeming life of Christ within us becomes the vibrantly manifested glory of God revealed through us.
"For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."
(Romans 6:9-11)
"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
(John 10:10)
Weekly Memory Verse
In Him we live and move and have our being.
(Acts. 17:28)
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