Superabounding Grace!

Q: What does the Bible say about superabounding grace?

The Bible describes superabounding grace as God's unmeasurable favor toward sinners, highlighting His mercy and love in redeeming us through Christ. Superabounding grace, as mentioned in Ephesians 1:7-8, illustrates God's abundant mercy that covers all our sins. The richness of this grace is evident in how He forgives us through the blood of Christ, demonstrating that no sin is beyond His capacity to forgive. God's grace is not only sufficient but is depicted as superabounding, meaning it exceeds our greatest expectations and needs. Believers are assured that this grace extends to cover all sins, showcasing God's unwillingness to let our failures define us.

Q: Why is grace important for Christians?

Grace is essential for Christians because it is the foundation of our salvation and the assurance of God's continual love and forgiveness. Grace serves as the cornerstone of Christian faith, exemplifying God's unmerited favor towards us. According to the teachings in Ephesians, grace is what enables us to be accepted by God despite our sinful nature. It signifies that salvation is not achieved through our works or decisions but is a divine gift made possible through the sacrifice of Christ. Understanding grace is vital for living a life that reflects gratitude and acknowledgment of our dependence on God’s mercy, allowing believers to find immense peace and joy in their relationship with Him.

Q: How do we know that God's election is true?

God's election is affirmed in Scripture, asserting that it is His sovereign choice to save certain individuals, as seen in passages like Ephesians. The doctrine of election underlines the belief that God chooses His people according to His divine plan, illustrated in Ephesians 1:4-5. This idea is pivotal to understanding sovereign grace, illustrating that before the foundation of the world, God predestined certain individuals for adoption as His children. As evidenced in scripture, God’s sovereignty in election is not arbitrary but is based on His will and purpose rather than human effort or decision. This assurance of being chosen should bring comfort to believers, knowing that their salvation is rooted in God's unchanging purpose and grace.

Q: What does the Bible say about the mystery of God's will?

The Bible reveals that the mystery of God's will is centered around salvation through Christ, which He has made known to believers. The mystery of God's will, as expressed in Ephesians 1:9, denotes the divine plan of salvation that was hidden but is now disclosed through Christ. This mystery emphasizes God's grace and wisdom in providing a Savior for sinners. Understanding this mystery invites believers to grasp that salvation is not based on human understanding or effort but on God's purpose and pleasure. This revelation brings believers into a deeper relationship with God, highlighting the importance of relying on His wisdom and grace in comprehending His plans and His ways.

Q: Why do we need to be born again?

Being born again is essential for spiritual renewal and to embrace the saving grace of Christ, moving from death to life in God's kingdom. The necessity of being born again arises from the biblical truth that all men are dead in sin, as stated in Ephesians 2:1. This spiritual rebirth is a work of the Holy Spirit, allowing individuals to move from a state of spiritual death to new life in Christ. Jesus emphasized this transformation in John 3:3, affirming that no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. This rebirth signifies the beginning of a transformative relationship with Christ, where the awareness of sin and the need for a Savior becomes evident, ultimately leading to salvation through God's superabounding grace.

Okay. Again, open your Bibles if you would to Ephesians chapter 1. Continue our study in this book. Wonderful book. Praying that the Holy Spirit of God would illuminate the scriptures for us and teach us the things of Christ. The name of the message is super abounding grace. Super abounding grace. God's grace is super abounding. Grace to cover all my sins. That has to be super abounding grace, hasn't it? How many sins do we commit in a lifetime? Billions. So in each believer's life, God's grace is super abounding, but it's already super abounding even if it wasn't in our lives. God's grace and mercy can't be measured, can it?

And it comes to us in Christ, the Word of God, the second person of the Trinity. And it's through Him who created all things. Let's read verses 3 to 9 of Ephesians chapter 1. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestinated us into the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. Amen. to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted and beloved that's Christ in whom we have redemption we have redemption of all our sins forgiveness through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace how many sins all our sins oh my wherein now here we see wherein so it's tied into verse seven right So let's read verse seven, eight, and nine together. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself.

We see here, we're just receivers of the grace of God. It's planned and purposed by God, executed by God, applied by God. It's amazing. And today we'll look at verse eight, which again attaches itself to verse seven with the phrase, wherein. So it's it's directly attaches itself to according to the riches of his grace, wherein. So because of the riches of his grace. He has abounded toward us. in all wisdom and prudence. Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, which we never knew before, the mystery of his will is sending Christ to save sinners, right? Based upon nothing we do. Nothing we do. According to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself.

My, that sure takes the, takes to just make a decision for Jesus thing out of the way, doesn't it? People say, well, God wants to save you, but he can't unless you let him. No, no, not according to what the scripture says. No. It says, having made known unto us the mystery of his will, having made known to us that we're sinners who need to be saved, having made known to us that salvation's in Christ alone through his blood and righteousness, which we never knew before. And look at this. according to his good pleasure, which he had purposed himself. So if someone comes up to us and starts to get, you know, agitated about elections, say, well, you can take it up with God, because he did that according to his good pleasure and according to his will and purpose. If you don't like it, well, you're saying you don't like what God does. Plain and simple. People don't look at it that way, do they? But it's true. Their argument is not with us, beloved. And they may profess to believe the word of God, but they're denying it right there.

You can't get away with election, it's a biblical principle, right? God chose certain angels, others fell. God chose Israel out of all the nations, left everybody else in darkness. They're fine with that, aren't they? But as soon as it comes down to personal things, that God chose a people.

I was thinking about my mom and dad, and as far as I know, they weren't saved. But I was thinking about them the other day, and I thought, Lord, you're just. And I'm amazed you saved me. Because I was reading about Job, and they told him about his kids all dying and everything, and he says, well, it's the Lord.

Let him do what's right. We have to come to that state, don't we? And we only do by grace. We wouldn't be naturally like that. You know why people get mad at God? Because they're in their natural state. They don't know what the grace of God is. They don't have a clue. We can't get mad at God because of what he's done for us. He saved us from all our sins. And His will is done, and sometimes it catches us by shock, and sometimes we see it coming. But He's faithful and good all the time, isn't He? And His grace is super abounding grace towards us.

Look at this. Let's read verses 1 to 9 again. Again, realizing that the word we're in refers to the riches of God's grace. So it ties it in to the riches of God's grace in verse 7. And it's declared. The riches of God's grace is declared at the end of verse 7, right? declared that our salvation is according, look at this, in whom we have redemption, so that's speaking about our being bought and paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ through his blood, right?

Through his blood. The forgiveness of sin, there's a result of that. We can't pay for our sins, so Christ pays for all of them for us. Becomes a man, right? The Word of God can't die, so he becomes a man. God in the flesh. So he can die for our sins.

That's amazing. That's love. That's super abounding grace, isn't it? Look at that. The forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace. There it is. His super abounding grace. The riches of His super abounding grace. Wherein, there's the tie-in, He hath abounded toward us. Look at that.

Remember, we talked about that God's blessings are daily. We're just filled and daily have overwhelming benefits from him. Loaded down with benefits, it says in the Psalms. Things we just take advantage so that we do every day or even breathing. Who gives us air to breathe? It's His air, isn't it? Isn't that amazing?

My, it all comes from Him. So, He's abounded toward us, and this is talking about salvation, which is according to the riches of His grace, and which is in Christ Jesus. He's abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. Having made, now look at, He's gonna, He's gonna, the Holy Spirit's gonna unfold what this is all about.

Sister Marcia, we know things now that we didn't know before. And see, a bower toward us in all wisdom and prudence. Well, what's that? You know something now that you never knew before. We know we're sinners now. We know we need a Savior. We know He saved us from our sins, and we are so thankful. So thankful. It's wonderful. And how has He done that?

Well, having made known unto us the mystery of His will. Christ came to save sinners, Brother Charlie, and we're sinners. according to his good pleasure, which he had purposed himself. Do you remember when we were growing up, we never thought we were sinners?

Somebody called us up, let's go, man, time to fight. Now we own it now. Oh man, I'm the worst of the worst, man. Like that song you gave me. Tis a point I long to know. Oh man, we learn, don't we? Because we've been given wisdom and prudence. from God. So marvel at what has been declared here in verses 3 to 7. And verses 3 to 7 all tie in.

They have a central encompassing theme, beloved. And what is being predestinated, promised, given, accomplished, was done for the glory of God. For the glory of God. For the glory of His grace. Or therefore, we're assured that it is, what? The salvation of the elect. All these things occurred according to God's wisdom and purpose and plan for the salvation of God's elect. That's what we're being presented. And we're just receivers. Because we were graveyard dead in trespasses and sins.

This is wonderful. This is wonderful. My. And God is truly glorified through the death of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, when he's dying, and when he died and shed his blood, saved a multitude that no man could number called the elect of God. Isn't that amazing, Brother Travis? That is just amazing.

And, you know, Brother Tim James brought this out, that every attribute of God is honoured in Christ. Every attribute of God is honoured in Christ. His justice, right? His wrath, appeased, gone. His love. It's all honoured. His sovereignty. Salvations of the Lord. It's absolutely amazing. It's absolutely amazing.

Superabounding grace that has been given to us glorifies God in Christ. And grace is for sinners, right? Grace is for sinners. It's not for the self-righteous. Our Lord told us that. He said, I didn't come to save the whole, but sinners. Grace is for sinners, bonafide, bankrupt sinners.

My, and grace covers the elect from eternity to eternity. From eternity to eternity, grace covers us. And we had no clue. My. How? How does grace cover us from eternity to eternity? By the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how. That's how. It's the blood. It's the blood of the God man by whom we have forgiveness of all of our sins.

And we're just, Sister Barbara, we just received this wondrous grace, this super abounding grace from our great God. My, the scriptures proclaim that Christ redeemed his elect through the shedding of his blood. And we are made righteous by God. We are made righteous so that we can stand before the Father through the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And see, His work glorifies the Father. His work glorifies Himself, too, doesn't it? His work glorifies the Holy Spirit. And they all glorify each other. The Father chose us. Right? The Son redeems us. And the Holy Spirit quickens us. You must be born again. And that's all the work of God, beloved. And we marvel.

Somebody told me this week, it was funny, they told me, they said, well, what you guys believe, you believe that man doesn't have any will and he just never gonna come to God. And I said, no, we believe we got a will. That's a lie, somebody told you. Well, you Calvinists believe that, that it's all of God. I said, yeah, we do believe that, that it's all of God. Yes, we do. But I said, but I'll tell you what.

We believe the unwilling are made willing. We believe when you're born again and given faith to believe, you have one object, then, who you worship. And you do freely run to him, don't you? Thy people shall be made willing. We're willing all right, aren't we? So if somebody says to you, oh, you guys don't believe him. No, we believe our will is bound by our nature. So when you have a dead nature, all you're gonna do is choose sin. But when you're born again, who are you gonna choose?

Christ, the one who the spirit reveals. You see how it all just, it's all tied in, beloved. The unwilling are made willing. The rebels are made to praise the Lord Jesus Christ. That's good news for sinners, isn't it? Christ came to save sinners. The question is, are you a sinner? I'm a safe sinner. I stand before you. I'm a safe sinner. I sin more than I want to. But praise God, I'm saved. washed under the blood. My. And it's the blood of Christ that cleanses us from all sin. My. And think of this. How are we covered from eternity to eternity? Well, by the blood and righteousness of Christ. Right? We're made righteous by Christ.

We're sinners in ourselves, and yet we're recipients of God's superabounding grace. We're recipients of God's unmerited favor. See, a bunch of people think that they're meriting God by doing things, right? We realize that our works don't merit nothing but hell and damnation.

If we're real honest with ourselves, that's what we deserve. but we've received the super abounding grace of God in Christ now the debt has been paid right by one who did no sin and knew no sin the Lord Jesus Christ the lamb now remember from eternity to eternity slain from before the foundation of the world before there was ever a sinner brother Brian there was a savior the word of God Oh my, covered from eternity to eternity. But we're born dead in sins, aren't we? That's why you must be born again. Your new nature that willingly embraces Christ only because we've been given faith to believe on him, right?

Which is another gift. It's wonderful. So we who are the born-again blood-washed people of God have nothing to glory in save in the grace of God. That's what we have to glory in, the grace of God in Christ. This is sovereign grace. This is free grace. This is unmerited grace. This is unsought-after grace.

He seeks us. This is what makes it so amazing, isn't it? This is why, this is sometimes why we're perplexed when we're telling people, this is all free. This is all by Christ. And they go, I don't believe that. Well, you know, whenever I hear that, I'm thinking, oh, I was right there. I was right there. Because I thought it was all about me. Charlie, you remember that? Now we know it's all Christ. It's all Him.

Salvation's of the Lord, period. It's wonderful. Let's read verse 8 again, look at this. So according to the riches of His grace, wherein He abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. Note the word, note who has abounded toward us. It's God in Christ, right? God the Father has abounded to us, and in Greek means superabounding. Superabounding. He's super abundantly, His grace is super abounding grace that's been given to us all because of His Son.

All because He chose us in Christ based on nothing in us. We weren't even around. My, you ever stop and really ponder that? that we were chosen in Christ before the world ever was, at the same time Paul was chosen. You ever stop and really think about that? It'll make your brain go, it really will, it really will. But in a good way, though, you're just thinking, my, what mercy, why, what grace, because I don't deserve any of this.

So abound there, wherein he hath superabounded, is the Greek, toward us in all wisdom and prudence. He's blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ, he told us earlier up in the chapter, right? All spiritual blessings in Christ. Through God the Son's blood and righteousness, through the Lord Jesus Christ's blood and righteousness, according to the riches of his grace, he's told us that. And then the word abounding in verse 8 means super abounding, to go above and beyond what can be thought or asked for.

Has God not done that for us? Has he not gone over and above anything we could think of by saving us from our sins? You know, you look at all those gods of old, the man-made gods. You always had to do something to appease them. And then they'd still be mad at people. Our God sent his son to save us from our sins.

He did it all. And why did he do it? because he purposed to do it. Amen. And it was all according to his good pleasure, his will. Think about that this week, beloved. Let that just sink in your soul. Because it pleased him to do so according to his will and purpose. That does not include us except for him choosing us. See, does God need any counselors? Does he ask anybody permission to do things? No. Isn't grace amazing? Isn't grace super bounding towards us? It's wonderful, beloved. Oh, it's wonderful. My. This grace is more than anyone could ask for.

It can't even be measured. and marvel at this fact that God has super abundantly given his elect wisdom and prudence. That's what's being bought forth here. Brother Tim James bought that forth. This is what's being bought forth, that God has, in Christ, through the riches of his grace, has given us super abounding wisdom and prudence through his grace. Listen to Thayer in his Greek, what he writes about this word abounding.

He says, to exceed a fixed number or measure, to be over and above a certain number or measure, to exist or be at hand in abundance. That's why we're told to go to God's throne. where we'll find grace to help in time of need, in Hebrews chapter four.

And you can't exhaust that grace, beloved. We can go a hundred times a day, and we're never exhausted. We can go once a day and never exhausted. We can go a thousand times a week and never exhausted. And remember, prayer is just crying out to God, help me Lord, You know, I find myself doing that all through the day, just talking to the Lord here and there.

Oh, Lord, thank you for your mercy. I walk in the dog this morning. I'm looking at those maple trees going, wow, we've been here 10 years now. I've watched those trees grow. And it was a cloudless day this morning. The birds were chirping. Oh, my gosh. I'm like, Lord, this is wonderful. You brought us here. to be with our church family.

And look at, look what we get to, we get to hear the birds, and we get to see the things growing. And I'm looking at the trunk, and one maple tree's got two going off like that, but there's the main trunk, right? And everything comes up through that, right? Oh, there's the vine, and there's all those branches. What a picture of us. Oh my, it's wonderful. So verse eight, That word abounding is super abounding. So God's grace is super abounding grace. And we see the next word wisdom in our text, which means mental intelligence of the highest degree.

Why? Well, I know I don't have that kind of wisdom about worldly stuff, but you know, we do about spiritual things. Just knowing that Christ died for sinners is part of that wisdom. Just knowing that we're sinners who need to be saved is part of that wisdom. Now, what I know is just a little scratch on the surface as a preacher. I admit that. But that little bit I know came from God. That wisdom came from God. And it's super abounding wisdom, because you know what? Did we know it before the Lord saved us? Did we know anything about God before the Lord saved us?

No, we didn't, did we, sister? We could have sat in a grace church. We could have went in religion. We could have just been heathens. But we were all the same. We had no wisdom when it came to God. Now, we may have worldly wisdom, but worldly wisdom, you know, It's nothing like spiritual wisdom. You can learn worldly wisdom, right? But you can't learn spiritual wisdom. You must be taught of God. And who are we taught by? The same one who had Paul write these words? The Holy Spirit of God? He teaches us. Brother Charlie, everything we know about Christ came from him.

We can't even boast in that, can we? We don't want to. We want to boast in the one who we've learned of, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. We want to tell others about him. It's amazing. And we know that the elect of God are made up of every kind of individual, right? all different knowledge places in the world. Some smart, really smart. Some just normal folks like us. Some, you know, know a lot more about things. But when it comes to spiritual wisdom, we were all bankrupt. We thought we knew some stuff. I thought I was good. I sure found out I wasn't good. My, but I didn't know that until the Lord in his superabounding grace abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.

And again, think of this, God's people are out of every kindred, tongue, tribe, and nation? Their standing in this world has no matter in God's grace, does it? No. No, actually, God chose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, which is the common things of the world. Common people to confound the wise.

My. It's amazing. And God's people as elect are made up of people of differing intelligence, differing cultures, different in degrees of education, different political persuasions, and different goals and ambitions. We're a people washed in the blood of Christ.

All those other things don't matter. Not to the world they do, don't they? See what the world, they just cherish that stuff. Oh, you got this degree and this degree and this degree. I told Vicki, I said, I don't care. I'm proud of my son for what he got his master's, but I'm praying the Lord saves him. That's the most important thing to me. And my girl too. That's the most important thing. I'll be thankful for whatever stage they get at, but the most important thing to me is the salvation of their souls.

For what shall profit a man if she gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for a soul? Nothing. You can't exchange. You can have all the money in the world and it can't save you. You can have all the riches and precious gems in the world. It can't save you. Only Christ can save you. Only Christ can save you.

But think of this, in an instant, when we're born again, in an instant. Now, we don't know everything. We're babies when we're born again. But we know a few things when we're born again, don't we? Oh, I'm a sinner, but I'm saved by Christ Jesus our Lord.

We didn't know that before. We didn't know that. Now we know that. Isn't that amazing? Oh my. Oh, and we've been bestowed with mental intelligence, you know. I'm not saying we're higher than everybody, but we've been bestowed with knowledge now that we didn't know before. Isn't that amazing? And God's still teaching us, isn't he? Every day. That's why I say, always have a teachable spirit. Always be ready to learn from the Lord. Always.

You know, I've not arrived. None of us have arrived, have we? No. No, we hunger and thirst after righteousness. That's after Christ. It's wonderful. But see, we didn't do that before, did we? We didn't care a lick, did we? About God or about Christ or about anything. It was all about me. Now it's all about him. Look at the change.

Because we've been given knowledge that we've never had before. And knowledge doesn't save us, Christ saves, right? Christ saves. But the Holy Spirit will teach us about Christ. And that's knowledge. He gives us understanding of the scriptures. And we get a little nugget and we're just like, oh my goodness, look at this. This is amazing. This is incredible. And we glorify God. We glorify God.

Well, I'm going to have to continue next week. I only got through two pages. So, next week we'll pick up again with wisdom and prudence. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't it amazing that God's given us an understanding of things we never understood before? didn't have a clue. And now we rejoice in the salvation we have in Christ. Brother Travis, can you close us in prayer?

Superabounding Grace!

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about superabounding grace?

Why is grace important for Christians?

How do we know that God's election is true?

What does the Bible say about the mystery of God's will?

Why do we need to be born again?

Sermon Transcript

About Wayne Boyd

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Superabounding Grace!

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about superabounding grace?

Why is grace important for Christians?

How do we know that God's election is true?

What does the Bible say about the mystery of God's will?

Why do we need to be born again?

Sermon Transcript

About Wayne Boyd

Comments

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