“To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ…” Ephesians 3:8
It is impossible to calculate the worth of the riches that believers in Christ have. As a matter of fact, I feel insufficient to even write about them. But since Christ has chosen to place His treasure in these earthen vessels, I believe and so I write.
In considering the unsearchable riches in Christ we have been given, we must first look at the condition of the sinner man. He is dead in trespasses and sin. His life is one of disobedience to God. He spends his days chasing after his own desires and doing the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lusts, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols. 1 Peter 4:3
God says we have all sinned, we all fall short of His glorious standard. In speaking of the sinner man’s condition, Paul said, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do wrong, but I do it anyway…Oh what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 7:18-25
This brings us to the unsearchable riches in Christ. They first appear at the cross where Christ was crucified. The Scriptures tell us, both the Old and New Testaments, that the crucifixion of His Son was God’s plan—purposed before God ever created the heavens and the earth. In love, God purposed to bring the man He created into the full image and likeness of Himself.
The unsearchable riches of God’s love towards the sinner man are fully demonstrated at the cross.
“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Romans 5:6-8
There at the cross, “…[Jesus] was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:5-6
Jesus’ shed blood on the cross purchased for everyone the unsearchable riches of God. On the cross, Jesus not only took away the sin of the world, but He took our place in the condemnation and judgment that sin had brought upon us. What that means to those who believe in Him is this: we live in the presence of God as if we had never sinned; we have been made right before Him, clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
Through His death and resurrection, Jesus became the Author of life to all who would believe on Him. “…We believe that Christ died for all; we also believe that we have died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive His new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, Who died and was raised for them.” 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
In a word, Jesus Christ is the fullness of God’s unsearchable riches. If you turn from your sins and call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, you will become an heir to God’s unsearchable riches.
This is part 1. Hopefully more is to come next week.
Brother Bill is a Bible teacher and can be contacted at bboldham@sbcglobal.net
