SCHOOL OF DIORTHORSIS
TUESDAY, 9TH AUGUST 2022
Minister: Pastor Emmanuel Dansu
In the Old Testament, riches were mainly in terms of material things. In the New Testament, the spiritual dimension of riches became more emphasised. In the epistles, we can easily find instances when Paul describes the kinds of God’s riches that are available to both unbelievers and believers in Jesus Christ.
Romans 2:1-16
The Riches of God’s Goodness, Forbearance and Long-suffering (vs 4).
God’s abundant kindness and patience are timeless and they have made salvation available for humanity in all dispensations. God, who doesn’t want anyone to perish, made provision for people in every dispensation to be saved. By giving man instinct and conscience, the law, and Jesus Christ over the ages, God demonstrated his ample goodness to ensure that man is not helplessly doomed.
Romans 9:20-24
The Riches of God’s Glory (vs 23).
God, in the complete perfection of his supremacy, has chosen to bestow His glory on those of us He has marked out as the objects of His mercy. In his sovereignty, He deals with each one of us according to His pleasure. Our lives make great sense as we align with God’s design.
Romans 11:30-35
The Riches of God’s Wisdom and Knowledge (vs 33).
In His unsearchable wisdom, the Almighty God has chosen to suffer long with some vessels of wrath so that they can be converted into vessels of mercy. There are ample cases of wicked people in history who had a total transformation of their lives and became righteous before God. The people of Nineveh were so wicked that Jonah could not bear seeing them obtain God’s mercy.
2 Corinthians 8:1-5
The Riches of the Liberality of the Macedonian Churches (vs 2).
As God’s people, we are expected to be generous to all people especially fellow believers in Jesus Christ (Galatians 6:10) just like the Macedonian churches gave even in their poverty. No matter what your condition is, you have something you can give. You can give your money to care for others and promote the Gospel of Jesus. You can give your time to care for people. You can use your talent and special abilities to serve the will of God. By our generosity and liberality inspired by the Holy Spirit, we can store up enduring riches for ourselves in eternity (Matthew 6:19-21).
Ephesians 1:18
The Riches of the Glory of God’s Inheritance in the Saints.
God’s inheritance in the saints has glory and He wants us to know and explore it to the fullest. Knowing the hope of God’s calling will make us more committed to our ordination under God. Understanding the hope of our calling will bring us to the depths of Christ so that we can make incessant progress in the things of God. Our inheritance in Christ may look intangible but it is worth every effort we can ever commit to it.
Ephesians 3:7-12
The Unsearchable Riches of Christ (vs 8).
The riches of Christ are boundless and limitless. We can only enjoy them to the extent to which we are ready to press into them. We do not often value these riches because they seem elusive and worthless. This is why we always need to have our eyes of understanding enlightened so we can know and take advantage of the massive treasure available to us.
The riches of God are always there for us as long as we are willing to tap into them. We may fail at mining and manifesting them countless times but we must not give up in pursuing them until we become stable.