Nested blessingsFive wooden dolls from Ukraine are all stair-stepped copies of the same, plump peasant woman with white apron, yellow dress, and polka-dotted kerchief. The one-inch midget fits snugly inside the halves of its neighbor, and she in hers, until all are Investing a look, I notice the peasant woman gazing at me from the end of the row. Instantly I think of a verse I studied yesterday: "From the fullness of His grace we all have received one blessing after another” (John 1:16). That last phrase speaks of an exchange: one thing is traded for another, in an endless chain, each trade better than the one before. The superabundance of our Lord goes unappreciated. All of the good packed into Jesus Christ just has to burst out, revealing itself in successive layers the more closely you look. When you first learn of His sacrificial love, something clicks inside, and you have to say to yourself, "That's what God ought to be like." Coming closer, you observe His goodness and His holiness and accept Him as the model for your character and your conduct. That opens up His strength bound to an astonishing gentleness, which comforts and reassures. Inside that is a holy boldness to defend righteousness, teaching us when and how to channel our anger against Satan and sin. And deeper still you discover even more. It just never stops. John spoke the truth: Jesus does bring us one blessing after another, another, and another. In fact, when He packs us full of blessings, we ourselves burst open in front of amazed, watching eyes. The more closely people examine a Christian, the more blessings they ought to find, forming a harmonious unity. Such is the design. |
| —Steve Singleton DeeperStudy.com |
Want to go deeper?The Greek preposition anti with its object in the genitive case ("in exchange for") denotes in John 1:16 an ongoing chain of blessings, or "graces" as the Apostle John calls them. The context goes on to list two of the most significant blessings: the law that came through Moses, and the reality of grace that came through Jesus Christ (v. 17). In the following passages, anti with the genitive expresses, not an ongoing chain of events, but payback in kind, which again and again is condemned: evil for evil (Rom. 12:17; 1 Thess. 5:15; 1 Peter 3:9) or insult for insult (1 Peter 3:9). That is definitely not how we should understand John 1:16, as if Christ's grace toward us is in response to--as a reward for--our graciousness. He offered us His grace "while we were yet powerless... still sinners" (Rom. 5:6-11). If we have graciousness, it is His work on us and in us that makes us that way--another of His many gifts.
Frederick L. Kosin. Blessings All Mine with 10,000 Besides! (2006) A collection of daily devotionals that point out specific blessings given to all believers when they commit themselves to Christ as Savior. These insightful meditations focus on the person and work of Christ, as well as the inventory of resources He has generously lavished on all believers. Here you will discover and understand a multitude of blessings for your encouragement. You will also be motivated to employ them for God's glory and the blessing of others. The life-changing message of the Scriptures brings Christ into proper perspective as your source and center of behavior. These daily meditations are a must-read for all believers committed to spiritual growth. If you want to challenge and refine your focus on Christ, this book is for you. Recommended for online reading: John Flavel. "The Fullness of Christ," 206-211 in The Evangelical Repository, 4th Series, no. 15 (March 1870). |
concealed within the four-inch largest. They form a harmonious unity. Such is the design.
