Superabundant Life!

Thank you for choosing to spend a little time in God's Word with us. We are going to make an important connection between the prosperity of our soul and our physical life. We are praying that the Spirit of God will reveal His truth to you. As you receive His revelation, you will experience a Spirit led change in your heart, soul and mind. Eric

The Scripture reveals God has a plan for our lives and those plans are for our good. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) reads, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." The Hebrew word 'shalom' translated 'prosper' in this verse means: peace, completeness, welfare, well-being, safety and prosperity. "Salvation, material welfare, spiritual renewal and relational reconciliation are all dimensions which are captured in the word; shalom;" (Bible Hub Topical Lexicon). Those 'plans' are brought about through our relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

In John 10:10 (ESV) Jesus spoke these words, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." The word kleptes translated 'thief' in this verse is one who steals by stealth (in secret) rather than in the open with violence." (HELPS Word-studies) Realize, the devil and those who would keep you from the Truth of the Word of God (such as false teachers) will never come against you in an appearance of evil.

Jesus stated, "I have come that they (believers) may have life and have it abundantly. The ‘life’ (zoe) Jesus spoke about is both physical and spiritual. It includes our physical existence, spiritual liveliness and eternal life. This 'life' always comes from and is sustained by God's self-existent life. Zoe is the very life of God! Remember when God created Adam? He breathed His breath of life into him. (Genesis 2:7).

We have to take note though that Jesus didn't stop with telling his disciples (and us) that He came to give us 'life.’ He continued on to say, "and have it abundantly.”

The Greek word perisson translated ‘abundant’ in this verse means: fullness, exceedingly, very highly, beyond measure, a quantity so abundant as to be considerably more than what one would expect or anticipate. It means superabundant or superior. The root word, perissos, in all its forms always points to something that exceeds the ordinary measure. The idea is always surplus - in quality, quantity, intensity or importance." (Bible Hub Topical Lexicon).

Abundant life is not simply about how long we live, how healthy we are, how many degrees we acquire, how wealthy we become, how much prestige we gain, the positions we hold, the power we weld, the occupation we have or the family we are a member of. (1 Corinthians 1:26-29 and Matthew 8:20).

Abundant life isn't just about material wealth or earthly success but encompasses a sense of spiritual fulfillment, peace and joy which comes from a relationship with God. We see evidence of this in Matthew 6:33 where Jesus instructed us, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." 'First,' proton, is defined as" firstly (in time, place, order or importance." (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance). The spiritual aspect of your life (the kingdom of God) according to this verse must be your number one priority in your life. We need to set spiritual pursuits as a priority over worldly concerns. This scripture lets us know that true abundance is found in aligning one's life with God's will.

Does God bless His people materially? Absolutely! Let's look at 3 John 1:2 (BSB), "Beloved, I pray that in every way you may prosper and enjoy good health, as your soul also prospers." 'In every way' denotes material wealth, as well as spiritual, emotional and relational well-being.

Did you notice though, that the level of blessings 'in every way' refers to, will be determined on how your soul prospers? Let's reread that verse again, "Beloved, I pray that in every way you may prosper and enjoy good health, as your soul also prospers." Aligning ourselves to God's will and being obedient to it leads to comprehensive blessings! Praise God!

We read further scriptural evidence of God's pouring out blessings upon His people in Philippians 4:19 (BSB), "And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

Psalm 23:1 reads, "The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want." David was a shepherd and knew that the ‘shepherd’ provided for every need of his sheep. David had complete trust in God's provision.

2 Corinthians 9:8 (NIV) reveals, "And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." What an amazing Scripture! We see the word 'abundantly' again and "in 'all' things at 'all' times having 'all' you need. There are no limitations to God's provision for His people. Then with his abundant blessings, we will abound in ‘every’ good work!

True sufficiency comes from God, not material wealth. We have all we need and additionally, because of His grace and provision, we are equipped to do good works. His blessings are not for us to hoard, but to bless others.

We are blessed by God. Ephesians 1:3 (BSB) reveals, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms." 'Spiritual' blessings include: the supernatural, redemption, forgiveness, adoption as God's children and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit along with His fruit and gifts. Yes, we are blessed by God!

Psalm 23:5 and 6 discloses, "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever." The Lord gives us divine provision and security, even in the midst of adversity (our enemies)! In ancient Israel anointing with oil was a sign of blessing, consecration and healing. The oil today represents the Holy Spirit, our Helper, Comforter, Teacher, our Source of spiritual gifts and fruit, our Encourager and Advisor. With our 'cup overflowing' we see the abundance of His provision, in not simply meeting but in exceeding our needs. God's blessings are active. We have a certainty of God's blessings and will dwell in His house forever.

I believe, if you would ask anyone (rich or poor) if they would choose riches or peace, they would choose peace. Solomon had everything and yet, he called it all vanity. Peace can only be achieved through a relationship with God through Christ. John 14:27 (Amplified Bible) establishes this truth. "Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]." "The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7).

God's attributes in believers, which result from the Holy Spirit's presence in our lives, are a large part of the superabundant life we receive from God. Those attributes are called the 'fruit of the Spirit’ and grown in us as we grow in Christ.

Galatians 5:22 and 23 reveals what those attributes are, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." In writing the phrase "against such things there is no law" Paul indicated these attributes fulfill the law's intent and surpasses its requirements.

In Ephesians 3:16-19, we read the very dynamic prayer Paul prayed for the Ephesian believers, "that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." The 'key' to abundant life is knowledge of God. Our superabundant life is determined by relationship with God.

Peter strongly advises believers to 'grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.’ (2 Peter 3:18) so they will "not be carried away with error by lawless people and lose your own stability." You see, when we receive the sacrifice Christ made for us, we begin that abundant life God has for us. Yet, we see that "abundant life comes to us through a continual process - until the day Christ returns or God calls us home, we are learning, practicing, maturing, failing, recovering, adjusting, enduring and overcoming." (Gotquestions.org).

When we are face to face with God, we will know Him completely (1 Corinthians 13:12). At that time, we will be totally filled with God's abundant life. 1 John 3:2 reveals, "Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is."

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

I am going to end our teaching today by sharing a part of Charles Spurgeon's prayer, "Life More Abundant." My heart and prayer for you mirrors Mr. Spurgeon's.

"Spurgeon's Prayer: Life More Abundant"

"Gracious Father, we come before You today asking for more than just life—we ask for the abundant life that Christ came to give us. We rejoice in the smallest signs of faith, the weakest rays of hope, and the faintest glimmers of life in Your people. Yet, we know that You desire more for us. You came not only that we might have life but that we might have it more abundantly.

Lord, we pray for a fresh quickening of the Holy Spirit in Your people. Let us not be content with small measures of faith and hope but seek the fullness of life that You offer. Strengthen us in the Lord and in the power of His might, so that we may walk closely with You, losing our desire for the things of the world and focusing entirely on the unseen and eternal.

We pray that You would raise us to a high and heavenly frame of mind. Help us to live in the world but not be of it. Whether we have little or much in worldly terms, may we be rich in You and full of joy in the Holy Spirit. Let our lives be truly blessed, not by worldly wealth but by the abundance of life that Christ offers.

We thank You, Lord, for the fullness of life You give. May we live in that abundance today and every day. Amen."

Amen and Amen.

Scriptures used were taken from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.

NIV New International Version

BSB Berean Standard Bible