Enriched with Grace by Christ

Day By Day By Grace

Bob Hoekstra

April 12, 2010


I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was
given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by
Him in all utterance and all knowledge...you abound in everything--in
faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for
us. (1 Corinthians 1:4-5 and 2 Corinthians 8:7)

As we have seen, the new covenant of grace is essentially about
developing a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Our God desires
to impart His grace into our lives through this acquaintanceship with
His Son: "the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus."
This phrase ("by Christ Jesus") points once again to the intimate
relational aspect of living in Christ by grace. God's grace flows into
our lives "by Christ Jesus." It might be helpful to restate this truth.
God's grace comes into our experience by means of another person, the
Lord Jesus. The limitless grace of our great God is available to us on
the basis of who Jesus is and all that He has done for us. It is
accessed whenever we humbly, dependently relate to Him.

The resources that continually await us are so rich. The believers at
Corinth found this to be true. "You were enriched in everything by
Him." Two areas of God's rich grace are mentioned here: "enriched...in
all utterance and all knowledge." God's grace had enriched them with a
great capacity to know the things of God and to put the wonder of those
things into appropriate words.

When Paul wrote these saints on a later occasion, he elaborated upon
the richness of grace that had become their personal experience. "You
abound in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all
diligence, and in your love for us." Three aspects are added here to
the previous list: "faith, diligence, love." By the grace of God at
work in them, their capacity to trust in Him had been enlarged. By the
grace of God at work in them, their attentive perseverance had grown.

By the grace of God at work in them, their loving concern for Paul and
his missionary team had developed further.

When Paul prayed for other disciples of the Lord Jesus, he prayed in a
manner that fits this picture. He prayed that their lives might be
"filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to
the glory and praise of God" (Philippians 1:11). Righteous fruit, such
as the Corinthians were enjoying, comes from Jesus Christ imparting His
grace into our lives.

Heavenly Father, I again see that Your grace enriches my life by means
of Your beloved Son. Lord Jesus, I humbly depend upon You to fill my
life with Your righteous fruit, in Your holy name, Amen.