“My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
Greetings! It’s been a of couple weeks now, and we pray that you all have spent some time talking with God about the questions given in part one of our study. As well, that you are seeking to put this verse to memory. Do you know your memory verse? In fact, let us do a quick self-evaluated test (without looking above). Question: Which of the following options states the rest of the words in our verse for this study?
“And he said unto me…”
- … Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
- … My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
- … My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
By God’s grace, we hope this little exercise helped. With the text fresh in your mind, do we have to moan or groan, or be sad because of our individual (“my”) infirmities? No, the text says, “Most gladly therefore”. How do we get to that “gladly” part? Well, we shall seek to understand the first part of the text first, and the understanding of the rest shall be added thereafter.
Are you ready to enter into the experience of our text? Well, in the words of Father Davis, “this calls for earnest study!”
Let’s start by focusing on question number 1.
1.) What does the Bible expression mean, “My grace is sufficient for thee”?
Let’s first define the word grace. One thing is certain: at the Eden Way Outpost, we love etymology – the study of the origin of words! Not to get some philosophical meaning, but to assist in understanding the thought behind the text; for the supreme aim of drawing closer to Jesus.
Often times, the same root word can be expressed in different words, and in different texts; but yet, they have the same origin or meaning. For instance: which word do think means ‘grace’ in the following text?
“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” Luke 2:52
The word favour comes from the same origin as the word grace in our text. Therefore, we can gather that grace is favour!
In fact, the pen of Inspiration also makes the connection. “The gospel is the good news of grace, or favour, by which man may be released from the condemnation of sin, and enabled to render acceptable obedience to the law.” {The Bible Echo, April 16, 1894}
God’s grace is most certainly undeserved and truly unmerited favour. Some other words (expressions) that denote grace are liberality, gift, kindness, abundant, rich, and the divine influence upon the heart – especially as reflected in the life. We won’t go into every text, but here are some references that you can look up. (Romans 5:16, 20; Ephesians 2:4, 5)
Recognizing God’s grace should lead us to gratitude (Luke 6:33, 34), and gratitude leads to obedience from the heart (Romans 6:17).
Let’s turn to Romans 1:21. What was one of the reasons (in context) why their imaginations became vain and their hearts darkened?
Yes, it was because they were unthankful! The devil’s plan is to blind us from seeing God’s grace (His gifts in our lives), so that we won’t glorify Him, nor be thankful. Imagine that, something that can seem small like thankfulness and appreciation can prevent us from glorifying God; which in turn would hinder us from knowing Him, being sealed and receiving the latter rain, giving the loud cry, and finishing the work! Do you see the magnitude?
One biblical example we can see of ingratitude is in the life of Gehazi. “Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, had had opportunity during the years to develop the spirit of self-denial characterizing his master’s lifework. It had been his privilege to become a noble standard-bearer in the army of the Lord. The best gifts of Heaven had long been within his reach; yet, turning from these, he had coveted instead the base alloy of worldly wealth. And now the hidden longings of his avaricious spirit led him to yield to an overmastering temptation…” PK {250}
Friends, let us not follow in the steps of Gehazi. “Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire” Eccl. 6:9. Do you have hidden longings, desires, wishes? Surrender them today to Jesus! Let us each take time to see and thank God for the opportunities, privileges, and heavenly gifts within our reach. “God’s greatest gift is Christ, whole life is ours, given for us.” Heaven {39} Thank You God!
Praise the Lord, that there is more than enough that we can give God gratitude for; which bring us to our next word of study: sufficient. That, my friends, we will discuss in our next study! Until then!