“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
who according to His abundant mercy
“Abundant” means that God’s mercy increases geometrically with our need.
2 Samuel 24:14, “And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
Micah 7:18, “Who is a God like You,
Pardoning iniquity
And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?
He does not retain His anger forever,
Because He delights in mercy.
Ephesians 2:4, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us.”
Lamentations 3:22, 23, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.”
Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”
Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.”
1 Timothy 1:13, “Although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.”
1 Timothy 1:16, “However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.”
Jude 21, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
God is rich in mercy. The multiplied mercy of God is great toward us. God’s mercy is “abundant.” His mercy has inexhaustible resources to extend to the needy.
The Father has the capital to invest in our lives. It takes money to make money. God is in the business of investing his capital daily into our lives. God’s plan for us demands that he relinquish his capital. Some of his people are risky ventures, yet he gives his resources without any strings attached. He must risk his capital to gain profit in the lives of believers. Grace is his capital. Grace in action is his “abundant mercy.” He bestows mercy constantly to the Christian. He also bestows mercy to the non-Christian in offering his Son as a substitute in exchange for sin.
No matter how far off the tack we get, God has the resources of mercy to bring us back. His operating capital of mercy is infinite. No matter what sin we commit or how many times we do it, he has mercy for us.
It is amazing how many Christians do not realize how much capital God has in his company. That capital is available with no strings attached. All we need to do is draw on the unlimited resources of the bank of heaven.
God gives his mercy not according to our merit, ability, morality, talent, or human experience. His mercy does not depend on us. It depends on his character.
PRINCIPLE:
God’s mercy is great enough to meet us, no matter how guilty we may be.
APPLICATION:
Mercy implies guilt. Abundant mercy implies abundant guilt. God shows his abundant mercy in the death of Christ for our sins.
Any blessing we have from God is due to his mercy, not our merit. As sinful people, we have reason to mourn. We also have reason to rejoice because of God’s mercy toward us in Christ. We owe every blessing to the mercy of God.
