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Abundance is excess. It is above and beyond. The Greek words used for abundance could be rendered super abundance. God gives super abundantly above. Jesus Christ came that we might have life; and not just life, but life more abundant. Jesus Christ came that we might have a super abundant eternal life!
Romans 5:15
But not as the offence,
so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one
[Adam] many be
dead, much more the grace of God, and the
gift of grace, which is by one man,
Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
The abundance of life which we have received of God is certainly abundant when you consider the fact that we did not have any spiritual life before Christ came. We were dead! This super abundant gift is given to us by grace. We did not earn it - Christ did. We simply receive it by believing. Now that is super abundance!
2 Corinthians 9:8
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:
This verse is set in the context of giving financially to meet the needs of the believers. Our financial sufficiency is not dependent upon our ability. God is ABLE! God gives super abundantly to us in every category so that we can, in turn, abound to every good work. God gives to us so that we have to give as well.
Luke 12:15
And he said unto them, Take heed,
and beware of covetousness: for a man's life
consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
The excess we receive from God is not given us to increase our possessions. Covetousness is keeping the excess to yourself. God's giving is to be our example. We have to give to others. The super abundant life given us by God does not consist of "things." We have been given eternal life in Christ. This is a gift above and beyond the things of this world. We have the ability and privilege of being able to bring this super abundant life to others!
Ephesians 1:8
Wherein he
hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
God's wisdom and "good sense" has been given us in super abundance. The church epistles make known the great mystery of God's will for believers. God has given us abundantly of His grace.
Ephesians 3:20
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.
God has certainly given us super abundantly in Christ. To think that we could do anything according to the great power of God in us is remarkable. Yet this verse indicates that all that we ask or think according to the power that God has put in us can be accomplished. Just as our sufficiency is according to God's ability, we can DO the Word of God because all that we ask and think according to the power that worketh in us is accomplished by God's ability and not our own. The super abundance of "DOING" the Word is God is beyond our comprehension because God is the "doer." God does above all we ask or think. God does super abundantly above all we ask or think. God does exceeding super abundantly above all we ask or think. This is the power that is at work within us. WOW!
God has given us a super abundant life in Christ. Now, we too, can abound.
1 Corinthians 14:12
Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are
zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that
ye may excel [abound]
to the edifying of the church.
We can super abound in utilizing the spirit of God in us to edify the believers.
1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren,
be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding
in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know
that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
We can stand fast, unmoveable, and we can super abound in doing the work of the Lord.
2 Corinthians 8:7
Therefore, as ye abound
in every thing, in faith,
and utterance,
and knowledge,
and in all diligence,
and in your love to us,
see that ye abound in this grace
[financial giving] also.
We can super abound in believing. We can super abound in speaking the Word. We can super abound in knowledge of God's Word. We can super abound in diligence. We can super abound in love toward other believers. And we can super abound in financial giving.
Romans 15:13
Now the God of hope fill you
with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound
in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
God has given us a super abundant life in Christ.
Giving is what super abundance is all about. We have excess so that
we can be givers as our Heavenly Father is a giver. That power at
work in us also allows us to super abound in hope. God has even more
to give when the Lord Jesus Christ returns. Truly we have been given
a super abundant life.
Michael
& Christine Cortright's Fellowship Homepage