Day 20: Abundance in grace

At the cross, a divine exchange took place. As part of this divine exchange, Jesus became poor, so we might benefit from His abundance. This is clearly summed up in the New Testament. In 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, we get the two aspects of the exchange in the material realm. In 2 Corinthians 8:9, Paul says:

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” (NAS)

What is the exchange there? Jesus took our poverty on the cross that we in turn might have access to His wealth, to His abundance. And it is all grace. Grace comes only through Jesus Christ. Grace cannot be earned. Grace is appropriated only by faith.

Then the opposite side is stated in 2 Corinthians 9:8:

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that in all ways having all sufficiency in all things you may have abundance for every good deed...”

In the original Greek that statement is amazing. The word "abound" occurs twice, the word "all" occurs five times in that one verse. And all that it says, this is what Jesus had obtained for us. He exhausted the poverty curse that we might inherit the blessings.

The blessings in all three areas obtained for us by Jesus: the spiritual, the physical and the material, are summed up in that beautiful verse in 3 John verse 2, where John says:

“Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper [that's the material] and be in good health, [that's the physical] just as your soul prospers [that's the spiritual].” (NAS)

Bear in mind, that is the will of God, that is mine and your inheritance.

In the next days we will be looking at the practical principles that are the key to claiming all the blessings that Christ has made available to us.