THE ALL SUFFICIENCY OF CHRIST – John Chapman – April 17, 2005

 

Intro:  Lays Potato Chips…”bet you can’t’ eat just one.”  Remember that slogan?  Well why is it so true?  Because “just one” doesn’t’ satisfy.  There’s nothing nutritious, no substantive value in a single potato chip.  So you’ve got to eat the whole bag! (Just kidding)

 

But there is something that satisfies; some One who satisfies, fully and completely.  There is a Spanish song called “Una Mirada de Fe.”  The chorus goes like this: Una mirada de fe, una mirada de fe, Es la que puede salvar al pecador.  It means “A look, or a glimpse, of faith is what saves a sinner.”  

Just one look of faith to Jesus saves! And it satisfies completely.

 

READ: 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

9And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.                    PRAY

 

I.  “MY GRACE…”

First of all, think about who is speaking!  “MY grace…”

Jesus’ grace….

  • The Son of God…..…Immanuel, “God with Us”……..the Savior of the World
  • The Son of Man……..the Christ…..…the Messiah……..the Light of the World
  • The Bread of Life….the Glory of God….the Exact Representation of His Being
  • The Way, The Truth, The Life….The Lord……Our High Priest…..…The Door
  • The Good Shepherd………the Resurrection and the Life

…The Word that became flesh and lived among us!     (John 1:14)

 

Jesus…is speaking to us, to you and to me! 

Ø      And He says, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

 

The One through whom and for whom all things were created has chosen to speak directly to us.  What incredible condescension, what incredible love! 

 

13“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. 14“You are My friends if you do what I command you. 15“No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.  John 15:13-15

 

That same Jesus, the Son of God, who spoke those words, loved us so much that He gave His life for us that we might be reconciled to God the Father; that our sins would be blotted out as though they never existed and we would “dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

 

This is the One saying to us today “My grace is sufficient for you.” 

 

And really, we could stop there simply because of Who it is that is speaking.  But let us look further.

 

II. MY GRACE

 

Let’s take a look at this grace that He bestows upon us.  What is it anyway?

  • Thayer’s Greek Dictionary defines the word “charis” translated here as “grace,” as:

2) good will, loving-kindness, favor 2a) of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues

 

God brings this saving grace to our lives 'by faith' (Ro 4:16).  Some would insist that faith is our part of salvation, but the scriptures state that we have 'believed through grace' or ‘by God’s grace (Ac 18:27), we are 'saved through the grace of our Lord Jesus' ( Ac 15:11), and we are 'justified (or made right with God)... by His grace' (Ro 3:24; Tit 3:7).

 

Christ’s “grace” is essentially His favor toward us, His free gift to us of Love and Salvation and all we need for Life.  It is often defined as “unmerited favor;” an “unearned, undeserved gift” from God to us.

 

 

  • Christ…is the ultimate channel of God’s grace toward us.

 

GRACE IN CHRIST JESUS

    1. (God,) 9who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,            2 Tim. 1:9

 

GRACE OF CHRIST JESUS

    1. 9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.                      2 Cor. 8:9

5Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. 6Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. 7He made himself nothing; (He laid aside his mighty power and glory) he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. 8And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross.   FOR US!       Phil 2:5-8

 

Did we deserve that?  Did He die for us because we earned it?  No!

 

GRACE: IS A GIFT: not something we earn

    1. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.                          Eph. 2:8-9

 

Christ…is the ultimate channel of God’s grace toward us.

 

There are other CHANNELS OF GOD’S GRACE

 

  • The Word.  Through God’s Word we learn:
    1. How His grace was directed toward us (through Christ dying for us)
    2. Why it is indeed unmerited or undeserved (For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God…Rom 3:23).
    3. The effects of His grace….

9that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”                                                                     Romans 10:9

 

Our knowledge of Christ and the grace He affords us comes from God’s Holy Word.

 

  • The Sacraments: Baptism & Communion.  Through Baptism we see the pictures of Christ’s sacrifice for us: His death and burial as we are submersed in the water and His resurrection to life which points toward the eternal life He has given us through belief in Him.  In Communion, we partake of the cup representing Christ’s blood shed for us, and the bread representing Christ’s body, broken for us. We are graciously allowed to identify with Christ’s ultimate act of Grace through these sacraments.

 

  • Prayer.   Christ’s sacrifice for us made it possible to speak directly to God the Father without a priest, other than Jesus, our “high priest.”  His gracious self-sacrifice let’s us speak directly to the Creator of the Universe, of all that is.  We couldn’t even speak to the President of the United States if we so desired. 

 

Did we earn it?  NO.  Did we deserve it?  NO.  But…
”God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.”      John 3:16

 

ILLUS: The story goes that Harry Ironside, in just three short years, moved up the Salvation Army ranks from cadet to captain, but he was constantly tormented with the thought that he had backslidden and might lose his salvation. To stay saved, he thought, he must reach a place where he was beyond sin. He heard sensational stories from people who claimed that they had attained holiness, their lives totally free from sin. He wanted that holiness too.

 

Harry prayed for and pursued sinlessness, working ever harder, depriving himself of even the simplest pleasures, convinced that he was making his place in heaven more secure. But the holiness he sought eluded him. Under the strain of this unbearable pursuit of perfection, Harry collapsed in exhaustion. When he resigned from the Salvation Army and checked into a rest home, he was 19 years old.

Harry, more commonly known as H. A. Ironside, learned the importance of being saved early. But it took a physical and emotional breakdown to make him realize that Jesus does the saving—not us. Only after he discovered this essential truth could his real ministry begin, resulting in 50 years of powerful preaching, teaching, and writing that included 34 expository books covering the entire Bible. Among those writings is this simple declaration of the truth that nearly cost him his life to discover—

Christ and… is a perverted gospel, which is not the gospel. Christ without the “and” is the sinner's hope and the saint's confidence…Jesus is not only necessary, but also he is enough.                                                                                                                                       (from Youth Specialties “Hot Illustrations” v.1.0)

III. “MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU”

It’s enough, we need nothing else.  We lack nothing because His grace toward us has our best interest at heart. His grace has given us faith to believe in Him, with salvation and eternal life being the result.  Isn’t that enough? He created us, so he knows best what we need; what is sufficient for us.  Our allegiance and obedience is due Him because He paid the price required: His life.

 

So often we want more than “sufficient;” more than “enough.” 

We desire that which we do not have to the point of neglecting what we

already do have. 

Husbands and wives meet each others needs.  That is sufficient.  It is enough. Yet, divorces come about everyday because husbands and wives aren’t satisfied with what is sufficient, with what is enough.  They want more. 

 

Why are we not satisfied with “sufficient?”  Why is enough not enough? 

 

The answer most often is because our love of self has exceeded our love of others.  God said, “Love your neighbor (your friend, your spouse, your co-worker, your children) as (or like, or the same as) yourself.”  Matt 22:39

 

He did not say, “Put yourself and your interests and your desires above those of your neighbor.”

 

When we are in tune with God’s will, we understand sufficiency.  We understand that He has given us everything we need for life. (2 Peter 1:3)

 

 That’s sufficiency!    14because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.    Heb. 10:14

 

His grace has given us eternal life.  It is more than sufficient; sufficient to erase the mistakes of our pasts; sufficient to guide us in the present; and sufficient to take us safely into eternity with God.  What more could we need?

 

IV.  “MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU,

FOR MY POWER IS PERFECTED IN WEAKNESS.”

 

His POWER…The word used for power here is the Greek word “dunamis.” It means, “inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, by implication miraculous.”                                     (Thayer & Strong’s)

 

There are other words in the Greek language for power but this one is used to speak of the power of God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit.  When this word is used in relation to man it is always made clear that the power comes from God.

 

This power of God is responsible for:

  • the Creation
  • the Resurrection
  • Salvation

 

His power (which causes the “sufficiency” to come about) works best when we admit our weaknesses; when we come to him in total surrender, acknowledging our need for him, our desire for him to work through us.

 

But if we think the power is in us, i.e.; pride, salvation by works (trying to earn our way to heaven), He can’t be glorified.  We’re trying to steal the glory.  We’re trying to say “I can do it.”

 

ILLUS: A little boy was spending his Saturday morning playing in his sandbox. He had with him his box of cars and trucks, his plastic pail, and a shiny, red plastic shovel.

 

In the process of creating roads and tunnels in the soft sand, he discovered a large rock in the middle of the sandbox. The little boy dug around the rock, managing to dislodge it from the dirt. With quite a bit of struggle, he pushed and nudged the rock across the sandbox by using his feet.  He was very small and the rock was very large.  When the boy got the rock to the edge of the sandbox, however, he found that he couldn’t roll it up and over the little wall.

 

Determined, the little boy shoved, pushed, and pried, but every time he thought he had made some progress, the rock tipped over and fell back into the sandbox. The little boy grunted, struggled, pushed, shoved—but his only reward was to have the rock roll back, smashing his chubby fingers. Finally he burst into tears of frustration.

 

All this time the boy’s father had been watching from the living room window as the drama unfolded. At the moment the tears fell, a large shadow fell across the boy and the sandbox. It was the boy’s father. Gently but firmly he said, “Son, why didn’t you use all the strength that you had available?”

 

Defeated, the boy sobbed back, “But I did, Daddy, I did! I used all the strength that I had!”

 

“No, son,” corrected the father kindly. “You didn’t use all the strength you had. You didn’t ask me.”

 

And with that the father reached down, picked up the rock, and removed it from the sandbox.                (Youth Specialties “Hot Illustrations v.1.0)

 

In order to use all the strength available to us we must empty ourselves of pride and admit our need; admit that we need Christ.  We must become empty receptacles in order to be filled by Him; to be filled by His all-sufficient grace and His all-sufficient power.

 

  • Blessed are the meek (humble) for they shall inherit the earth (Matt 5:5).
  • Anyone who humbles themselves as a child is the “greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 18:4).
  • James 4:6 says “God sets himself against the proud but he shows favor (grace) to the humble.” (NLT)

 

We must have John the Baptist’s attitude when he said,

‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ 30“He must increase, but I must decrease.                                 John 3:28, 30

 

And the attitude of Paul when he said,

I have been crucified with Christ. 20I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.                Galatians 2:20

 

 “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”

Jesus has given us everything we need for life.  It is enough.  We must come, in humility, to Him and receive that precious gift.  To God be the glory.

 

CLOSING SONG    “He’s all I need”                                                

He’s all I need, He’s all I need;

Jesus is all I need.

He satisfies, My needs supplies;

Jesus is all I need.

(public domain, author unknown)