Ifwe’re being honest with ourselves, we have to admit that relying on our ownstrength or ability doesn’t get us too far in our Christian walk. Our patience,love, endurance, goodness—whatever it is that’s required of us in different situations—alleventually run out. And sometimes we find ourselves in the midst ofdifficulties we simply can’t handle on our own. So how can we be strengthenedto live our Christian life?
Today,we’ll focus on a short yet encouraging phrase in Galatians 3:5:
“He therefore who bountifully supplies to you the Spirit.”
WhatGod supplies us with isn’t something material or temporary; He supplies us withthe Spirit. Also, this verse doesn’tsay God supplies a little, or even merely enough, of the Spirit. It says He bountifully supplies the Spirit to us.
Solet’s take a closer look at the two parts of this phrase now.
What does God supply to us?
Galatians 3:5 tells us God bountifully supplies us not with some material objects or things, but with a wonderful person: the Spirit. To gain more appreciation and understanding of this fact, let’s read note 2 on the Spirit in the New Testament Recovery Version:
“The all-inclusive compound Spirit, typified by the compound ointment in Exo. 30:23-25. This is the Spirit mentioned in John 7:39, who is the life-imparting Christ in resurrection. To the believers in God’s New Testament economy, this Spirit is the bountiful supply. The supplying of this Spirit is altogether not out of the works of law but out of faith in the crucified and glorified Christ.”
ThisSpirit we’re bountifully supplied with is the life-imparting Christ inresurrection. He’s all-inclusive; in Him are life, love, patience, kindness,long-suffering, strength, rest, faithfulness, and everything we could everneed. Instead of depending on our limited resources and struggling on our ownto live a Christian life, we can simply receive and enjoy this rich Spirit. Byenjoying Him, we live Christ out in our daily life and He is expressed throughus. This is the Christian life Godwants us to have.
God supplies us bountifully
Now, let’s focus on the words “bountifully supplies.” In the New Testament Recovery Version, the first part of note 1 on bountifully says:
“The Greek word means supplies fully, bountifully, and liberally. See Phil. 1:19. On God’s side, He supplies the Spirit bountifully; on our side, we receive the Spirit. Day by day a marvelous divine transmission takes place: God supplies and we receive.”
On God’s side, He supplies us withthe Spirit fully, bountifully, and liberally. God wants to be everything to us,in every situation in our life. Furthermore, He doesn’t supply us with enoughto merely get by; His supply is generous, abundant, and unstinting. Whateverwe’re going through, no matter how draining or perplexing, we can count on God tosupply us bountifully with Himself asthe Spirit to meet our need.
How we receive the bountiful supply of the Spirit
God bountifully supplies, but on ourside, we need to receive. If we don’topen to receive, we won’t be able to enjoy what God supplies. So how can wereceive thebountiful supply of the Spirit? The second part of note1 mentions two ways:
“The way to open ourselves to this heavenly transmission to receive the supply of the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit is to exercise our spirit to pray and call on the Lord.”
Weopen ourselves to receive a big “dose” of the Spirit by praying to the Lord and calling on His name, “Lord Jesus!” Day byday, and even minute by minute, we can receive the transmission of the Spiritinto us just by opening our mouth to pray and call on Him. We can do thisanytime, anywhere, and under any circumstance.
Forexample, let’s say we’re driving to work and hit every red light in heavytraffic. We’re now running late, and the later we are, the more upset and evenangry with other drivers we become. We might think, “I’m a Christian, Ishouldn’t be angry,” and attempt to be calm, but we’re not very successful. Then,instead of trying harder to be patient or calm, we remember that Godbountifully supplies to us the Spirit and that we can turn our heart to theLord and call on Him. So we cry out, “Oh, Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus, I need You! Ineed You right now in this traffic. Lord, I can’t make it without You!” As weopen to Him this way, we immediately receive the supply of the Spirit. Inwardly,we experience a radical shift as we enjoy the Spirit supplied to us as ourpatience and calmness.
We can’t get into all the wonderful details of the Spirit today, but we hope to in future posts. In the meantime, we encourage you to read John 7:39 and Philippians 1:19 with their accompanying notes to see more about the wonderful Spirit we can constantly receive as our supply. You can read these eye-opening notes by ordering your free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version here.
Let’sall endeavor to receive and experience the bountiful supply of the Spirit dayby day!
