THE JAW-DROPPING GENEROSITY OF GOD

June 20, 2024

What is your opinion of God? Do you think He’s harsh or even cruel? Miserly? Unwilling to help? Disinterested and unengaged? Or perhaps you think He is a nice Being, but He’s just weak and incapable. One thing is for sure … what you think about God determines everything about you.

A LOVE LETTER

One of the longest sentences in the Bible is Ephesians 1:3-14. In one continuous breath, we hear just a little of what God thinks about us and what He has done for us. It is so pregnant with revelations about our Father that it is hard to read. It cannot be digested with surface scanning. This paragraph must be studied, pulled apart, and meditated upon regularly. Look at just a sampling.

God HAS …

• Blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Vs. 3)
• Chose us in Him before the foundation of the world (Vs. 4)
• Adopted us as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself (Vs. 5)
• Redeemed us by His blood and forgiven us (Vs. 7)
• Made known to us the mystery of His will (Vs. 9)
• Given us an inheritance (Vs. 11)
• Brought to us the gospel of our salvation (Vs. 13)
• As we believed, He has sealed us with the Holy Spirit as the downpayment of our ultimate inheritance (Vs. 13)

All of this … and more.

But do not miss the connecting tissue of this glorious, long-winded statement. Paul not only tells us what God has done but how. Beautiful, simple phrases give us insight into who God is and how He feels about His children as He blesses them so fully. We begin to see the manner in which God treats us.

God IS …

KIND

• According to the kind intention of His will (Vs. 5, 9)

He is perfect in kindness. This warm attribute of His love refuses to sit idle in the face of our distress. One of the most oft-used phrases to describe God is His “loving-kindness.”

GENEROUS

• Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing (Vs. 3)
• To the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us (Vs. 6)
• According to the riches of His grace which he lavished on us (Vs. 7-8)
• In Him also we have obtained an inheritance (Vs. 10-11)
• The Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as the pledge of our inheritance (Vs. 13-14)
• To the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. (Vs. 6)

Nothing is held back for those upon whom the Lord has set His love. Nothing spared from His inexhaustible storehouse. He gives us everything we need, in the proper amount, at the proper time, and in the proper way, and He bestows it freely.

Look at the sun, moon, stars, and galaxies set in the universe for us to enjoy, and you see His giving heart. Look at your hands and their incredible dexterity, designed just for you. The air you breathe, the eyes with which you see, the tongue that tastes, and the nose that smells are all gifts from our generous God. He gives us life and breath, design and purpose, opportunity and time.

How could we doubt our kind, generous Father?

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