Focus: God's Riches

Text: Eph.3:8

"The unsearchable riches of Christ."

Paul tells us that Christ is rich, and from our text, and His riches are unsearchable. Paul also tells us that God is rich, and His riches are for every one of His children, and indeed of all His creatures. He discriminates against no one in the distribution of His illimitable riches. The Scripture says, "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is RICH UNTO ALL that call upon him" (Rom.10:12). God is rich to all of us who call on or pray to Him.

Paul tells us that Christ was rich, but by coming down to the earth He became poor for our sake (2Cor.8:9). He suffered momentary poverty in His earthly sojourn. He stripped Himself of His infinite wealth for a season. Paul also tells us that God is rich in mercy, and that means that His mercy flows inexhaustibly and overflows unendingly (Eph.2:4).

Let us look at the three dimensions of God's riches:

*The riches of His goodness, Rom.2:4.

*The riches of His grace, Eph.1:7; 2:7.

*The riches of His glory, Rom.9:23; Eph.1:18; 3:16.

More than that, we have the unsearchable riches of Christ, the riches of wisdom and knowledge, God's unsearchable greatness, God's unsearchable works, and God's unsearchable judgments (Rom.11:33; Ps.145:3; Jb.5:9). Job 5:9 says, "Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number" (Jb.5:9). God does unquestionably innumerable things. The psalmist declares, "O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches" (Ps.104:24). The earth is full of God's riches.

In Isaiah 45:3, God speaks of "treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places." Not all of God's riches are visible to the eyes, but they are nonetheless real - so visible and so tangible.

God alone owns true and lasting riches. He possesses "riches in glory" (Phil.4:19).

He is the only one who gives us richly all things to enjoy (1Tim.6:17). There's an unquantifiable richness to everything God gives us. Whatever God gives us, He gives it richly. Let me give you an example of what I mean. In Galatians 5, Paul itemizes the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. Here are nine different tastes of one spiritual fruit, coming from the tree of the Spirit. The tree of life has been planted in us in the moment of our spiritual rebirth. Interestingly, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are together involved in giving life. They are the source and supplier of life.

David declares, "Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all" (1Chron.29:12). Solomon tells us that "the blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it" (Prov.10:22).

Your God is wonderfully rich. You serve a wealthy God. He is rich in spirit and in character. He is rich in love and compassion. He is rich in wisdom, knowledge and power. He is rich in might and majesty. He is rich in miracles and marvels. Indeed a cattle upon a thousand hills belongs to Him. He's rich spiritually, materially, and universally. Let's embrace the reality and wealthiness of our God! Let's enjoy all the riches of Christ in all its earthly fullness and heavenly dimensions! Let's manifest and reflect His riches to all around us, and let's be thankful to God for all His boundless bounties!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter