⏱ 8 min read

• The Gospel of John is one of my favourite books in the Bible and it comes with a classic memorable intro (best read in the KJV). Shall we:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.
In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. ~ John 1:1-5

• Can we throw ourselves a challenge to try and memorise these verses? (Let’s go!)
• Anyway, John’s intro gives the theme to his Gospel: revealing who Jesus is and the fulfilled life available to all who believe in Him. In summary:
• “Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and if you commit yourself to Him, He will give you eternal life.”

• John called Jesus the Word (v1); the One through Whom All Things Were Made (v3); the Source of Life and Light (v3-4), the True Light (v7-9) and the Fullness of Grace (v14-16).
• Today, we want to share with you briefly about Jesus Christ being the Fullness of Grace!
• Let’s dig in and then explain a few reference words:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’”
And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace (John 1:14-16).

• Grace: unmerited favour and help from God… It is kindness or favour to someone who doesn’t deserve it.
• This is the influencing power that enables someone to come to God and to do God’s will.
• It is a free gift God offers to all who are willing to receive it.

• Received: To be conferred upon; a receptacle (a hollow object used to contain something); to come into possession of something…
• You can receive something once and it’s done. But you can also receive something continuously.
• Grace is the latter; you can receive it continuously. Which also means grace is in measures…

“And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.” ~ John 1:16
“Yet grace [God’s undeserved favor] was given to each one of us [not indiscriminately, but in different ways] in proportion to the measure of Christ’s [rich and abundant] gift.” ~ Ephesians 4:7

• Fullness: the state of being whole or complete; being full of something…
• What comes to mind here is a vessel or a container; a bowl, a cup (eg. Stanley cup), bucket, etc.
• Jesus is the fullness of grace and now we are the vessels God is pouring grace into.

Two things to consider here: (1) Receptivity

• How open are you to receive the Word of God? Are you hungry to receive God’s Word and His grace?
• As vessels, we can either be open, closed or tightened at the neck… (which one are you?)
• I personally believe the key difference in being blessed by God’s Word and Grace (ministered through His anointed servants) is the receptivity levels of the vessels.

(2) The Content:

• You know, sometimes we come to God with our own content.
• What is the content of your container? What’s in your mind? Your body?
• As we come to God for Him to fill us, we must watch what we’re filled with. It can be polluted or stained. Matthew 6 talks about a light within us that can actually be darkness.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. IF THEN THE LIGHT WITHIN YOU IS DARKNESS, HOW GREAT IS THAT DARKNESS.

I’ll end with three(3) quick points on what we can do:

#1. Empty Yourself

• We cannot come to God and tell Him to fill us up on our own terms or top up on what we already have. We need to empty ourselves first.
• Jesus said unless we are converted like little children, we cannot enter into the Kingdom. You cannot even start without first being born-again (Salvation Series).
• Then we can empty ourselves through the washing of the Word and prayer.

“… Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s Word.“

#2. Humble yourself like Christ: Phil 2:6-9

• If we do not humble ourselves, we cannot experience God’s grace. On the contrary, God Himself will oppose us!
• God gives grace to the humble and resists the proud; God lifts up the humble and brings low the proud! (James 4:6-7)

The devil is looking for his playmates. The proud people are the ones he has something in common with (do you want to be the devil’s playmate? I sure hope not!)

“…who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name…”

#3. Physically empty yourself:

There are some things you and I need to practically remove from our lives. The wisdom that God’s Word offers is very practical (check out: What does God expect from me?).

Some of us have to empty some apps and files on our phones or laptops right away. For some, it may be the shoes or clothes.

Sometimes there are people we may need to remove from our lives. Some people are toxic to our lives. Learn to separate from gossips, lustful people, proud people, etc.

If we’re being honest and yielding to the Holy Spirit, you know the things you need to delete and throw away… they are not helping you; do it today!

Sometimes the things we need to delete are experiences we have locked in our minds.

• Some are so sweet for you so you want them again; some of them are so bad that you are bitter!
• You have locked them up and do not want to let go. They will prevent you from experiencing the fullness of God’s grace.

I believe that if we do these three things – emptying ourselves, humbling ourselves and bearing the practical fruits of repentance – we will be honourable vessels Jesus can pour more grace into and use.

In John 2:2-10 (Jesus turning water into wine), Jesus pointed to empty vessels. Jesus is looking for empty vessels to fill.

• He is not looking for people who think they have already arrived (proud). He is looking for available, standing-by vessels. May He find you and me available to pour into!
• Jesus took these empty vessels and filled them with water! And He turned them into wine…
• Dear friend, your ordinary life is going to be super sweet if made available to Jesus!

Remember, this is a life journey; walking with Jesus every day (check out Let’s Take A Walk With Jesus). Finally, replace this blessing in Deut 33:23 with your name and let’s declare it:

“O Naphtali [Eric Ebenezer Boham], satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the Lord; possess thou the west and the south.” Heyy… you’re blessed and highly favoured and dearly loved!