It's a blessing and an honor
to be here and preach God's Word. As I said before, this is our
second home. We feel so loved and appreciated
here. Actually, it's everywhere you
go. God's people are so wonderful. And it's your family. Tonight
I'd like to preach on 2 Corinthians 3.5 is where the
main text will be. The message is called The All-Sufficient
God. The All-Sufficient God. Scripture
declares, as Brother Gene read in 2 Corinthians 3.5, not that
we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. Now the believer, the Christian,
boasts of the all-sufficient God. The atheist, he boasts of
the all-sufficient man. The self-righteous boasts of
the all-sufficient me. And many religionists boast of
the all-sufficient church, saying that they're the true church
and everyone else is wrong. But we as believers, I confess
myself to be the chief of sinners. The chief. I don't have to look
anywhere else. Yesterday, before we came, we
were on the job site. We do some clean up stuff for
a work or construction. And I heard a guy on the job
site. And every third word was a word that I wouldn't want to
repeat. And beloved, it was an indictment against myself. and
how I was before God saved me. It was an indictment. It made
me reflect back at where the Lord and what He's done. And
that if it wasn't for His grace He could have left me right there.
But I thank, I'm so thankful that the Lord saved me and took
me out of that. And I still sin, I struggle with
sin every day. All of us do. And Brother Don
and I were talking before, this afternoon, and we come, we confess
our sin daily. Daily. We know what we are. And that's why the believer,
Paul, when he started his ministry, he said, I'm Paul the Apostle.
Then he said, I'm the least of all saints. And then at the end
of his ministry, he said, I'm the chief of sinners. And that's
what we are. We confess ourselves to be the
chief of sinners. Now, no church on earth is capable
of meeting my needs of salvation or redemption or justification. or sanctification, or any other
spiritual need that I need. Any church claiming to be the
all-sufficient church is wrong. Salvation is not in the church,
it's in Christ. In Him alone. I find that none but Jehovah,
none but God, is able to suffice for all my needs. And I have
many, many needs. I therefore gladly number myself
among those who confess, as we see in the text, that our sufficiency
is from God. It's from God. It's not in ourselves. We boast in the all-sufficient
God. As preachers, we preach Christ
in Him crucified. He's all-sufficient for the needs
of the sinner. The sinner. And that's what we
see ourselves as. The sinner when God reveals to
us what we are. Do you remember the Pharisee
and the Publican? The Pharisee, the best that religion
can offer. Oh, I'm not like that guy there.
I'm not like him. And there's the Publican. Leaning
his head down, bowing his head down, saying, saying, Oh God,
be merciful to me, the sinner, the sinner, the sinner. But Christ is sufficient for
him. Now the Pharisee doesn't need Christ. He thinks he's sufficient
all in himself. And that's where everyone is.
That's where we all are. And when we come into this world,
self-righteousness If God doesn't move in our lives,
that's where we'll be. That's where we'll be. But God
is all-sufficient for the believer. All-sufficient. He is enough
for all things when marked by quality, scope, and power. He
fulfills it all. All of it. He alone is able to
meet all of the man's wants and needs. of any situation, not
just my salvation, but any situation that the believer might come
up against. Any. There's nothing that we go through
that he is not sufficient for. And that which is truly all sufficient
is absolutely and completely and eternally and perfectly enough
to meet any and all demands wants or needs of a situation, and
in no way lacking, sufficiency. And that's what the text talks
about, our all-sufficient God, the Lord Jesus Christ. To say
that someone or something is sufficient is one thing, but
to say that it's all-sufficient is completely another thing.
Things can be sufficient in what we do and in our work, but to
say that something is all sufficient, that's completely a different
thing. Look at what Paul says in verse
6, "...who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament,
not of the letter, but of the Spirit, for the letter killeth,
but the Spirit giveth." God has suited his ministers for the
ministry. to which he's called them. And
he will accomplish the work to which he calls his ministers
through no other agent but himself. But Paul does not speak of the
minister being the all-sufficient minister, does he? He declares
believers. Look at 2 Corinthians 9.8. Paul declares to believers that,
in 2 Corinthians 9.8, And God is able to make all grace
abound toward you, that ye have an all-sufficiency in all things,
may abound to every good work. It's all from Christ. It's all
from God. But this does not make the believer
the all-sufficient man. Rather, the believer confesses,
back in our text, not that we are sufficient of ourselves, To think anything as of ourselves,
but our sufficiencies of God. See, it's not us. It's not us. It's God. He does all the work. For otherwise, who is sufficient
for these things? None but God. None but God. The same is true of the Church
of Christ. Jehovah alone is the only sufficient
being in all the universe. Let's look at four points of
God being the all-sufficient God. Number one, Jehovah is all-sufficient
in His person. In His person. Turn with me if
you want to Exodus chapter 3. Jehovah is all-sufficient because
of His self-existence. Now before He made anything, He was content being God. We
don't add a thing to Him. Nothing. He is self-existent. And this
is indicated in his name when he says, I am who I am. Exodus chapter 3 verse 14, And
God said unto Moses, I am that I am. And he said, Thus shalt
thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto
you. And Moses said, I will now turn
aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And
when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto
him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses. And he
said, here am I, here am I. And he said, draw not hither,
not hither, put off thy shoes from off thy feet for the place
where thou standest is holy ground. Moreover, he said, I am the God
of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God
of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he
was afraid to look upon God. But look at verse 14, I am that
I am. This implies his self-existence. His self-existence. Genesis 17.1
says, And when Abraham was ninety years old, and nine, the Lord
appeared to Abraham and said unto him, I am the Almighty God.
The Almighty God. Walk before me and be thou perfect.
God Almighty, the self-existent One. Jesus Christ spoke of this
self-existence of God when He said that the Father hath life
in Himself. For as the Father hath life in
himself, so has he given to the Son to have life in himself.
John 5.26. All other things owe their existence
and life to him, since he gives to all life and breath and all
things. Turn with me again if you would
to Acts chapter 17. He gives life, even the ones
who curse him. He gives them the very breath
to breathe. He is all sufficient. Acts chapter 17 verse 23. For as I passed by and beheld
your devotions, I found an altar with the inscriptions of the
unknowing God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly
worship, Him declare I unto you. God that made the world, and
all things therein, Seeing that he is Lord, we don't make him
Lord, he's already Lord. He was Lord before he came, he
was Lord when he was here, and he's Lord right now. Right now. Seeing that he is Lord of heaven
and earth, well if not in temples made with ants, the universe
can't even contain the great king. Neither is worship with
man's hands as though he needed anything. You know, it sickens
me when I hear folks say, God has no hands but yours. What? Like you're bringing him down
to what we are? This is God. Neither is worship
with man's hands as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth
you all. All. Life. in breath, in all
things, in everything. Everything we have comes from
God. Comes from God. Number two, Jehovah is all sufficient
because of his divine perfection. He is all sufficient essentially
because of his freedom from all limitations in his essence and
in his nature. Scripture declares, great is
the Lord and greatly to be praised. And His greatness is unsearchable. We can't even plumb the depths
of it. Can't even plumb the depths of
it. He's all sufficient in quality because of His perfection. He
says, Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is
in heaven is perfect. He's all sufficient because of
His omnipresence. The eyes of the Lord are in every
place. We don't get away with nothing. Nothing. Beholden the evil and
the good. He's all sufficient in knowledge
because He's all-knowing. He knows it all. He knows the
end. I love that. He knows the end
from the beginning. He's all-knowing. Turn with me
again, if you would, to Romans chapter 11. All-knowing. God is all-sufficient for the
believer. All-sufficient. all sufficient. Romans chapter 11 verse 33 Oh
the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of
God how unsearchable unsearchable are his judgments in his ways
past finding out and looking you know kings and presidents
they have counselors that they go to Scripture declares, for
who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been his counselor? There is no one. There is no
one. Or who hath first given to him,
and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through
him, and to him are all things, to whom be the glory forever. Amen. He is all-sufficient in
power and strength because He's all-powerful. He's all-powerful. Jeremiah 32, 17, Scripture declares,
Our Lord God, behold, thou hast made the heavens and the earth
by thy great power and stretched out arm. And there's
nothing too hard for thee. Nothing. Nothing too hard for
thee. He is ever all-sufficient because
of His eternality. Scripture declares again in Isaiah
57, 15. For thus saith the High and Lofty
One, We are low, and He is high. He is high. For thus saith the High and Lofty
One that inhabiteth eternity. That inhabiteth eternity outside
of time and space. whose name is holy. I dwell in
that high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite
and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and
revive the heart of the contrite ones. He is unchangeably all-sufficient
because of his immutability. He says, for I am the Lord, I
have changed not. Therefore, yes, son to Jacob,
are not consumed. We add nothing to the Lord. He's all sufficient in resources
because the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the
world and they that dwell therein. I remember hearing a story about
a preacher that said, staring out at the mountains, I think
you might have heard it, and said, my father owns all of this
land. And somebody sitting there said,
well, I know who holds the deed to that, and it's not your father.
Yeah, my father owns it all. Owns it all. Owns it all. None but the perfect one can
be truly all sufficient. Now, Jehovah, point number three,
is all sufficient in his grace. In his grace. He says my grace
is sufficient for thee. And this is true because God's
grace along with his mercy is one of his perfections. The Lord
is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. Plenteous in mercy. Plenteous. God's mercy manifests his sufficiency
and providence to all creation. Psalms 145.9 says, The Lord is
good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works. Verse
14 in the same psalm says, The Lord upholds all that fall, and
raises up those that be bowed down, the eyes of all. The eyes
of all wait upon thee, and thou givest them their meat in due
season. all the animals, all creation. Scripture says, Thou
openest Thy hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. This is the King. This is the
All-Sufficient One in full control. He's not a peanut God. He's in
full control. And He reigns and He rules right
now. He ain't waiting to rule. He
reigns and rules right now. And He said, I'll make all my
goodness pass before thee. I will proclaim the name of the
Lord before thee. And will be gracious to whom
I'll be gracious and show mercy on whom I'll show mercy. His grace manifests his sufficiency
and salvation to his elect. As it is written, Jacob have
I loved, Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? That's a natural man. God forbid, Paul says, for he
said to Moses what we just read. I'll have mercy and I'll have
compassion on whom I'll have compassion. So then it's not of him that
willeth, scratch out free will. Nor him that runneth, scratch
out works. But of God that showeth mercy. God's grace being perfect like
himself, is all-sufficient because it is infinite, omnipresent,
eternal, immutable, all-knowing, and all-powerful. It is all-sufficient
in its resources because, Romans 5, 20 and 21 says, Moreover the
law entered, that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded,
grace did much more abound. That as sin reigned unto death,
even so might grace reign through the righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. And of course, reigning grace
is free and sovereign grace. That's what it is. And it's mercy
to whom you show mercy and have compassion on whom you will.
On whom you will. And we're on the trail of God's
sheep. Preaching the Word. Praying that God would save His
people. Draw them out of the Lord, we pray. We pray. Comfort
your people through your word. We can't comfort anyone, but
God can comfort his people through his word. He's all sufficient to meet every
need you go through. No matter what you're going through.
No matter how hard the trial is. He's all sufficient. All sufficient. None who know the grace of God
look for all sufficiency in man or in church. But we say Christ
is all. He's all. Last point is Jehovah
is all sufficient in his Christ. Turn with me if you would to
Colossians chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3. Verse 11. Actually, let's turn
over to chapter 2 quickly too. I want to just read a little
section there. Starting in verse 13. In Jude,
Paul's writing the believers. In Jude, Being dead in your sins,
that's the natural state of men coming into this world. Dead. Dead. Dead in your sins and the uncircumcision
of your flesh. Having quickened together with
Him, having forgiven you all trespasses. Oh, what great comfort. Blotting out. Obliterating. The handwriting of ordinances
that was against us, which was contrary to us and took it out
of the way, nailing it to his cross. And heaven spoiled principalities
and powers. He made a show of them openly,
triumphing over them. In the old, in the Roman days,
when they had a triumph, the general would come back after
a battle and he would be on a golden chariot. And behind him would
come the legions that were with him. And behind them in chains
would come the slaves. First of all, the leader of the
army that they defeated. And then in chains all the rest
of the army. And the Lord triumphed over it.
He triumphed over his enemies. In verse 3, Colossians 3.11,
it says, Where there is neither Greek
nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor
free, but Christ is all, and in all. Jehovah is all sufficient
and is Christ. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was
in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him,
and without Him was not anything made that was made. Christ made
it all. In everyone, in everything. But
to believe that Christ is all is much more than just a saying. It's a blessed sense. We rest
in Christ. In Him. In Christ are all spiritual
blessings. In Christ our sins are remitted. He paid the price that God demanded. And all spiritual blessings are
in him. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 3 says, Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in the heavenly places. In Christ. Nowhere else. Not in your works. Not in your
free will. Your will is bound by sin. But in Christ. and in Him alone,
according as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
Him alone, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will. There's only one free will in
this universe, and it's God's. Christ alone is all-sufficient
in and for salvation. Matthew 1.21 And she shall bring
forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. For he shall
save his people from their sins. He shall. He's all sufficient. Christ alone is all sufficient
in and for justification. Turn with me if you would to
Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5. All sufficient
for salvation, for justification. Romans chapter 5 verse 8. But God commanded His love toward
us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than being now justified
by His blood. We shall be saved from wrath. Again, through Him. Through Him. We're just recipients. Verse 10, For if when we were
enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son,
much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And
not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. It's done! It's finished! Christ alone is all sufficient
in and for the remission of sins. Matthew 26, 28, for this is my
blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many, not for all.
For many, though, A number that no man can number. For the remission of sins. Satisfaction. Satisfaction. The word for remission
is to release from bondage or imprisonment. The believer has
been released from bondage and imprisonment. We still struggle
daily and the love of Christ constrains us from sin. But as
far as the penalty? And the payment for sin is paid
for. Christ alone is all-sufficient
in and for cleansing from defilement. Revelation 1, 5, and 6 says,
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness and the
first begotten of the dead, unto the prince of the kings of the
earth, unto him that loved us, went before the foundation of
the world and then and washed us Calvary's tree but he's a
lamb slain from the foundation of the world though and washed
us from our sins in his own blood and has made us kings and priests
unto God and his father to him be glory and dominion forever
and ever and we can't take anything any kind of credit for anything
he's all sufficient And we are insufficient. Christ alone is
all sufficient in and for wisdom, righteousness, sanctification
and redemption. Turn with me if you would to
1 Corinthians, the last place I'll have you turn. 1 Corinthians
1 verse 26. For you see your calling, brethren,
how that not many wise, now that does not mean that God's people
are not smart, no. It means we're common folks.
We're just common folks. That's all we are. Not many wise after the flesh,
not many mighty, not many noble or called, but God hath chosen
the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God
hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things
which are mighty, and the base things of the world, and things
which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not,
to bring to naught things that are. Why? That no flesh should
glory in its presence. Huh, we can't take any credit!
What made you so different? What do you have that you didn't
receive? But look at the next verse. But of him are ye, in
Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness,
and sanctification, and redemption, that according as it is written,
he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. We boast in Christ. Christ alone is all sufficient
in and for everything else regarding the gracious spiritual blessings
of all believers in Him. And may the all-sufficient God
give us sufficient grace to embrace Him. And may God give you grace
to believe and to confess that your sufficiency is from God.