Day By Day By Grace
Bob Hoekstra
April 30, 2010
And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are
sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves,
but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as
ministers of the new covenant. (2 Corinthians 3:4-6)
We have been considering some characteristics that God wants to develop
in our lives by His grace: namely, triumphant living, a fragrance of
Christ, godly sincerity, and becoming living letters of Christ. How do
these appear in our lives in an ever-increasing manner? As Paul wrote
on these wonderful descriptions of godly living, his heart was stirred
to ask, "And who is sufficient for these things?" (2 Corinthians 2:16).
Paul fully realized that man cannot produce these realities. Human
resources are inadequate.
These heavenly traits grow in us as we live by the terms of the new
covenant (humbly trusting in God, not in ourselves). "And we have such
trust through Christ toward God." Paul's confidence in exhibiting these
spiritual qualities of life was directed toward God, based upon the
relationship that is available in Jesus Christ. This is not
self-confidence; it is God-confidence. God must produce these
characteristics.
There is no room for believers to trust in themselves. "Not that we are
sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves."
We are not the source of any of these wonderful traits of godly living.
They must all come from God at work in us. "Our sufficiency is from
God." When we live in humble dependency, the Lord's supply becomes our
needed sufficiency. "Our sufficiency is from God, who also made us
sufficient as ministers of the new covenant."
Yes, new covenant servants live by the grace of God. Consequently,
their sufficiency is what the Lord Himself supplies! This is precisely
what God promised of old through His prophets. "I will make a new
covenant ...I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their
hearts" (Jeremiah 31:31, 33). God inscribes these spiritual traits upon
the inner man (the heart and the mind) by His grace. The results are
that these characteristics of godliness develop in our lives.
Again, we are looking at living by humility and faith. "God... gives
grace to the humble" (James 4:6). Also, faith accesses grace: "through
whom [the Lord Jesus Christ] also we have access by faith into this
grace in which we stand" (Romans 5:2).
O Holy Father, I long to grow in these godly traits. I am not
sufficient to produce them by my resources. My only hope is to be
changed by You from the inside out. I humbly bow before You. With
confidence in You, I ask that You pour Your grace upon my heart and
mind, as I seek You in Your word. Through Christ my Lord, I pray, Amen.
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