Scripture:
2 Corinthians 3:4-6 ESV
[4] Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. [5] Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, [6] who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Observation:
I was looking at the scripture this morning, and this is what came to mind. Paul wanted the Corinthians to know that… just like the Philippines can do all things… through christ. Their confidence had to be in GOD. In and of themselves, they were not enough. GOD is the one that makes all things happen, and Paul was making sure the Corinthians were giving the glory to HIM. They were sufficient through HIM and HIM alone. HE has made them sufficient. Given them, the gifts and tools needed to speak what needs to be said. They could rest in confidence but not their own. However, the confidence that they had been given was better than their own. It came straight from the one who made them. Armed with the new covenant of grace through Jesus christ. The Corinthians had all they needed to speak the truth in love and assurance. Knowing that they themselves had been shown that very same grace. Their confidence could not be in anything that they did, but what christ did on the cross. The new covenant was about the spirit of the law, which is love that brings life rather than the letter of the law, which only brings death. Confidence in the flesh is useless. They could not do it they were not enough. Without christ, they were insufficient. Not only were they insufficient, but they were incomplete.
Application:
I don’t know about anyone else, but I needed to hear this. Life can be a lot, and although we think we can… honestly… without Jesus Christ, we can’t. Coming to that realization took a lot of bumps and bruises. After years of getting beat down, I figured out I could not do this on my own. Life was hard. All the scars from the wreckage of my past were just on display for all to see. The pain and hurt I allowed others to inflict looking for something I already had left me broken and insufficient in and of myself. The thing is, you can choose to live in that insufficiency…or you can rest in the fact that through christ you are enough. In fact, through christ, you are more than enough. It took a lot of time to figure that out for me. I always tried to be good enough by the way that I lived and the walk that I had. My standards for myself were so high that I could not reach them. Failure after failure brought me to that broken place where I met HIM. Understanding that HE stands in the gap for me is vital. Where I am weak, HE is strong. When I can’t HE can… and when in my mind I am not enough… it’s because I’m not… but HE is, and HE lives in me. I can say this with confidence today. I have endurance and perseverance today. I can do all things through christ because HE gives me strength. There is no room for fear in my life today. Joshua 1:9 comes to mind… if you don’t know it, go read it… I would say it, but getting in your bible is valuable. Looking it up will build your confidence. I don’t know about anyone else, but I need to be reminded that the very same spirit that rose christ from the grave lives in me. That very same spirit empowers me to be strong and courageous. To stand in confidence. That spirit gives me strength when I am weak. It says I can when I think I can’t. Knowing Jesus Christ has changed my life. And made me a knew man. Yes, I still have scars, and sometimes they show. But those scars, if you look, are a story of redemption, salvation, and restoration. I am a new man…all because HE saw me as worth dying for. Now, to encourage you if you are in that place where you have been beaten down and you feel incomplete. It’s because christ is the only one who can complete you. HE sees you, HE knows you, and HE is standing in front of the tumb that is your life calling you out by name. So let me tell you, get up out of that grave and become the person HE is telling you that you can be… not in your own power. But in the strength that HE has given you. If you’re still breathing, HE has a plan for you. Stand up confident in the man that HE has made you to be.
Prayer:
Father, we may not be enough, but we know that you are. We may not understand, but you do where we are weak, you are strong. You have overcome the hardest situation in our lives. When we can’t, we know that you can. Help us not to have confidence in what we can or have done but in what you have done on the cross. You ate a good good Father and our confidence is in you. Thank you for making us new. For calling us out by name. Giving us a new life where the scars are there as a reminder that you are faithful to do what you said you would. You have delivered us from the gates of hell to a position in heaven. Thank you. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen.