(JOHN CHAPTER 1)
Verse 16:
And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.
The Holy Spirit immediately indwells people who accept Jesus Christ as
their personal Savior. Our God wastes no time in filling us with His grace!
Aren't you thankful there is no probation period that is necessary first?
As you and I learn of the character of God, it should motivate us to be
more like the One whose fullness has blessed our lives so abundantly.
His is a fountain that is filled to overflowing! Ladies, as soul winners,
the fullness that inhabits our soul ought to spill over and touch other
lives with God's grace. What kind of a steward have you been of the fullness
you have received since the day of your salvation? Are you partly serving
God or giving Him full measure of yourself? What percentage of your life
would you say is truly yielded to Christ? John fully adored the Savior
and it was obvious to everyone he came in contact with!
The Bible says above that what we have received is grace for grace. Let's
review that point… Grace is free and it's filling and is meant to be flowing.
Grace is given to further more grace, not only in our own lives but also
in the lives of lost people. Soul winners realize they have not received
grace to hoard it but to communicate it…
1 Peter 4:10
As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to
another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
Whatever gifts we receive from the Lord must be employed to promote His
glory! Ladies, as you venture out to share the gospel, you will naturally
be confronted with a variety of situations in people's lives. The confidence
that we have as soul winners is rooted in the fact that God's grace is
a manifold grace - it can be applied to any circumstance. There is no
void that God cannot fill! A soul winner understands that there are no
impossibilities with the Lord. God's grace can meet any need! When is
the last time you told someone that??
Verse 17:
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Again, John reminds us that Jesus brought this grace and truth to us.
It was not here before He arrived. Let's not ever forget it! It is not
the law that affords us total intimacy with our Creator. Jesus must be
received if persons would receive the fullness of God. He is our all in
all!
Verse 18:
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the
bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
When winning souls to Christ, we must tell lost people that apart from
Jesus they will never see God. He is a spiritual being and apart from
a spiritual birth God will not be known. Through a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ, God is made much clearer to us as we live by the faith
of the Son of God, as seeing Him who is invisible. If you want to know
more about God, you must get closer to Jesus - He declares Him! The One
who is closest to the Father's heart will draw you closer to God. How
much would you say you know about your heavenly Father, dear lady? How
intimate would you say you are with Christ? Knowing that Jesus speaks
earnestly of His Father, if you were close to the Savior, you would naturally
and unreservedly declare the Lord as well! When painting the portrait
of a soul winner, one cannot leave out the attribute that this is a person
who attends upon God without distraction…
John 13:23
Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus
loved.
Ladies, the disciple whom Jesus loved was none other than John. He dearly
loved the Savior's company…. May it be our goal as soul winners to be
lying in Jesus bosom, near to the Fountain of Fullness, hearing the words
of Christ as He speaks of His Father - and then making them known to others!
Good news is hard to keep to yourself…
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2002 Pamela A. Iannello
