God is Able
'God is Able'. The phrase appears 10 times in the Bible. Our God is able. Able to do anything. Nothing is impossible for Him. Nothing is too hard for Him. He is the Almighty God. He is God.
Twice the phrase appears in the Old Testament. In 2 Chron 25.9, the man of God tells Amaziah, king of Judah, 'God is able to give you much more than this!'. Much more than the 100 talents of silver that you think you have lost. What you lose for God, God will give back 'many times more'. In Luke 18.29-30, our Lord tells Peter so.
In Daniel 3.17, Daniel's three friends tell Nebuchadnezzar, 'God is able to deliver us from this blazing, fiery furnace.' Oh, God is able to deliver us from every trial, even the most terrible and bitter trials of life. Was not the Lord Himself - one who looked like the Son of God - with them in the fiery furnace?
In the New Testament, we find John the Baptist stating emphatically that, 'God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these [dead, inanimate] stones!'. Yes, God gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that were not there before, Rom 4.17. In the same book of Romans, we are told that God is able to graft the Jews into the olive tree again - by faith. Yes, all things are possible to him who believes, Mark 9.23. Faith is the key. And again we are told that God is able to make every frail and weak believer to stand, Rom 14.4; and hence we should never look down upon anyone, for we all stand by grace.
There is that lovely promise, which appears to have a clear condition fixed to it. In 2 Cor 9.8, Paul says that God is able to make all grace abound unto us, so that in all things and at all times, having all that we need, we will still abound in every good work. It reminds us of those famous words in Luke 6.38, 'Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, poured into your lap [in such an overflow!]'
In Phil 3.21 we are told that God is able to subdue everything to His divine will and purpose, according to His mighty power, even transforming our vile bodies into glorious bodies. Such is the power of God's transforming grace!
In 2 Tim 1.12, Paul says that God is able to keep what we have entrusted to Him, and morever [he implies] that God is able to keep even what He has entrusted to us! Such is God our Keeper; we are kept by His grace, kept by the power of God.
But surely the most staggering of the promises containing the phrase 'God is able' are the ones in Eph 3.20 and Jude 24. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. And Jude says, He is able to keep us from falling and is also able to present us faultless before the Presence of His glory.
God is a God who not only promises all things [to him who believes], but who performs all things for us [Psalm 57.2] and who has perfected all things concerning us [Ps 138.8, Heb 10.14]
What a great God we have. Let us keep looking unto Him with the steady gaze of faith, knowing that what He has begun in us He will surely complete, for He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is Faithful and He will do it [1 Thess 5.24, Ps 37.5]
In our journey of faith, we learn from Abraham. He knew the Almighty and All-Sufficient God. He reached the summit of faith when he believed that God was able to raise up from the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from the dead! Heb 11.19. God wants us to have that kind of faith, the faith that believes in Him who is the Resurrection and the Life. If we have that kind of faith, we will see the glory of God, Jn 11.40, and rejoice even as Abraham rejoiced, Jn 8.56
Twice the phrase appears in the Old Testament. In 2 Chron 25.9, the man of God tells Amaziah, king of Judah, 'God is able to give you much more than this!'. Much more than the 100 talents of silver that you think you have lost. What you lose for God, God will give back 'many times more'. In Luke 18.29-30, our Lord tells Peter so.
In Daniel 3.17, Daniel's three friends tell Nebuchadnezzar, 'God is able to deliver us from this blazing, fiery furnace.' Oh, God is able to deliver us from every trial, even the most terrible and bitter trials of life. Was not the Lord Himself - one who looked like the Son of God - with them in the fiery furnace?
In the New Testament, we find John the Baptist stating emphatically that, 'God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these [dead, inanimate] stones!'. Yes, God gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that were not there before, Rom 4.17. In the same book of Romans, we are told that God is able to graft the Jews into the olive tree again - by faith. Yes, all things are possible to him who believes, Mark 9.23. Faith is the key. And again we are told that God is able to make every frail and weak believer to stand, Rom 14.4; and hence we should never look down upon anyone, for we all stand by grace.
There is that lovely promise, which appears to have a clear condition fixed to it. In 2 Cor 9.8, Paul says that God is able to make all grace abound unto us, so that in all things and at all times, having all that we need, we will still abound in every good work. It reminds us of those famous words in Luke 6.38, 'Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, poured into your lap [in such an overflow!]'
In Phil 3.21 we are told that God is able to subdue everything to His divine will and purpose, according to His mighty power, even transforming our vile bodies into glorious bodies. Such is the power of God's transforming grace!
In 2 Tim 1.12, Paul says that God is able to keep what we have entrusted to Him, and morever [he implies] that God is able to keep even what He has entrusted to us! Such is God our Keeper; we are kept by His grace, kept by the power of God.
But surely the most staggering of the promises containing the phrase 'God is able' are the ones in Eph 3.20 and Jude 24. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. And Jude says, He is able to keep us from falling and is also able to present us faultless before the Presence of His glory.
God is a God who not only promises all things [to him who believes], but who performs all things for us [Psalm 57.2] and who has perfected all things concerning us [Ps 138.8, Heb 10.14]
What a great God we have. Let us keep looking unto Him with the steady gaze of faith, knowing that what He has begun in us He will surely complete, for He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is Faithful and He will do it [1 Thess 5.24, Ps 37.5]
In our journey of faith, we learn from Abraham. He knew the Almighty and All-Sufficient God. He reached the summit of faith when he believed that God was able to raise up from the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from the dead! Heb 11.19. God wants us to have that kind of faith, the faith that believes in Him who is the Resurrection and the Life. If we have that kind of faith, we will see the glory of God, Jn 11.40, and rejoice even as Abraham rejoiced, Jn 8.56
posted by prolix at 4:32 AM
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