The Theology of Much

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

The God of the Bible is a God of abundance.
Whatever the scriptures portray him to be, he is that to perfection.
Whatever we know to be good, he is that in its ultimate state.
Whatever is rich, he is richer.
Whatever is beautiful, he is more beautiful.
Whatever is righteous, he is more righteous.
Whatever is holy, he is more holy.
There is nothing in God that can ever be classified as impoverished, pitiful or small.

Everything about my God: the way he was born, the way he lived the way he died, the way he rose again, the way he ascended, the way he was glorified, the way he exists today and the way he will exist throughout all eternity is an unprecedented display of glory and power.
Nothing he ever did, now does or will do could be done any better.
He is the God of abundance.
If you want a proof of how God operates, look how he responded to the very first offense committed against him in the earth.

Rom 5:14-21

14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

The sin that Satan introduced into the world was intended to destroy two people, Adam and Eve.

Gen 3:1-5

3 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Notice that Satan only saw these two human beings, God’s creation, as his targets of evil. Maybe he thought that God would destroy both of them when he found out about their disobedience and that would be the end of the human race.

God, however, saw the implications of both sin and salvation in the act of disobedience.
First, he saw that the sin of the first generation would contaminate the second, third, forth and so on generation.
Second, he had already designed a plan that would take care of Adam and Eve. Third, he extended salvation to every succeeding generation.
God’ vision always blows Satan’s vision out of the water.

Gen 3:12-15

12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

God never limits what he does to a meager portion, an adequate supply or a plan to just get by.
He told Abraham that “I am thy exceeding great reward.”
He is exceeding.
If that’s not enough, he is abundant.
If that’s not enough, he can do “above all that we are able to ask…”
If that’s not enough, he can do “above all we are able to think.”
That’s my God!

The next thing to consider about the fall of man was the death it caused. One man sinned and in him the human race was condemned to death.

Death. The cessation of life. The absence of life. The loss of breath. The opposite of everything about God because “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Here was God’s response to death by sin.

17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

When Satan says, Death, God says Life.
When God says Life, he means life on a scale that cannot be comprehended.
Whatever we lost in Adam was restored in Jesus…AND MUCH MORE!
We lost the quality of life in Adam, but we gained abundant life in Jesus.
We lost the essence of life in Adam, but we gained eternal life in Jesus.
We lost the tree of life in Adam, but we gained it back in heaven,

Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

We lost the Garden of Eden in Adam, but we gained the New Jerusalem in Jesus.

Jesus will never allow the power of Satan to overshadow the power of the Cross.

The evil, the wreckage and the chaos brought about by Adam’s disobedience does not represent the final answer to man’s destiny.

20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Pile sin high and wide. Grace is always bigger and better.
Think about it. This world cannot get much lower. Iniquity cannot get much worse.
But as bad as it gets, the grace of God will always…always…ALWAYS be more!
Satan would like for you to be intimidated by the world you see around you.
He wants you to throw in the towel.
He intends for you to say “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.”
He wants the church to cave into the tidal wave of sin that abounds today.
And, sometimes, it is tempting to say, “It’s no use.”

But the abundance of sin only proves the greater abundance of grace.
If you think the world is winning, you need a refresher course in the theology of much.
It’s time for you to take a prayer journey and let God show you his storehouses of grace.

This past Friday, I stood at Ground Zero. The once proud twin towers of the World Trade Center rose 110 stories into the sky from lower Manhattan Island. Its 13.4 million square feet of office space represented a full 4 percent of all offices in New York. On September 11, 2001, two planes flown by Islamic terrorists crashed into the towers and decimated them, bringing them to the ground and killing 2973 innocent people. It was the single, most deadly terrorist attack in history, certainly on American soil.

But Friday, I saw something I didn’t expect to see. The construction has already begun on the rebuilding of the WTC. It has already been built to the ground level. It is the response of the American spirit to the evil intentions of terrorists world wide.

“Rising from its square base — which will be constructed of impermeable concrete and steel — the redesigned Freedom Tower will taper into eight tall isosceles triangles, forming a perfect octagon at its center. An observation deck will be located 1,362 feet above ground and there will be a square glass parapet at 1,368 feet, the heights of the original Twin Towers. From these, an illuminated spire containing a television antenna will rise to a final height of 1,776 feet.

1776 feet.  The year we declared our independence! We are sending a message:
Burn it down and we will rebuild it, bigger and better than ever.
God sent that message to Satan millenniums ago.
Tear it down and I will remake it…much more than it was in the first place.

But the theology of much applies to areas beyond the grace of God.

There is a matter of forgiveness.

Luke 7:37-38 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, 38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

Here is a woman who was undoubtedly a prostitute before she was saved.
When God touches the life of someone in the depths of sin, he takes away their shame as well as their sin.
But there were some who did not appreciate this.

Luke 7:39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

But Jesus had an answer.
Jesus always has an answer to the charges of Satan.

Luke 7:44-47

44 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

If you have been forgiven much, you love much.
If you don’t love much, you don’t know what you have been forgiven.
When you get an idea of how bad your sin is, you get an idea of how much you need to worship Jesus!
I like worshippers.
They have an attitude.
They know how much their salvation is worth.
They know they didn’t have a chance without Jesus.
They dance, sing, shout, run, leap…whatever…because they have been forgiven much.
It’s called the love-forgiveness principle.

Then there is the matter of blessing.

Luke 12:48 For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

I don’t think anyone is more implicated in this scripture than those who have received this Apostolic truth.
We have been given much.
The oneness of God.
The message of full salvation.
The importance of holiness.
The rapture of the Church.

There are some today who are preaching a “relevance” Gospel.
They disregard the doctrines of the Apostolic in order to be relevant to this world.
None of us want to be irrelevant.
What we have here is not relevance as much as false doctrine.
Galatians makes it plain. If anyone preaches any other gospel…let him be accursed.

Are you living up to your requirements?

Finally, there is the matter of desire.

Luke 18:35-43 And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: 36 And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. 37 And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. 38 And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 39 And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 40 And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, 41 Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. 42 And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. 43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.

How much you seek after God will depend on how much you desire him!
God looks on the heart.
The syrophoenician woman.
The army captain.
Nicodemus.

The theology of much governs everything about your relationship with God.
The much lacking in me reaches out to the much supply in God.
My poverty reaches out to his wealth.
My smallness reaches out to his greatness.
My weakness reaches out to his power.
Whatever I have lost, I will find it in Christ.