and stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the freedmen (as it was called), and of the cyrenians, and of the alexandrians, and of those from cilicia and asia, rose up and disputed with stephen. but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. [acts 6:8-10]
grace, power, and wisdom.
these are all things we are promised as followers of Jesus Christ who have received the Holy Spirit. but if we took a survey of all of our closest friends, would they describe us this way?
what does it look like to be full of grace? Jesus shows us.
for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, [titus 2:11] – Jesus is the very grace of God, wrapped in human flesh, to save us. Jesus is God’s gift to us, and the means by which we can be made right before our Creator. to come into his presence, undeserving, yet enthusiastically welcomed. when we are filled with this grace, it will pour out of our lives. we must drink it in constantly to be full of grace!
what does it look like to be full of power? Jesus shows us.
he is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. [hebrews 1:3a] – Jesus is the very power of God. he was with God the Father in eternity past, together with him was the world created, and by his power he holds the universe together still today. the more we seek to know the power of Christ through his word, the more we will believe it is all we need. we will see more clearly his power to save us from sin [hebrews 7:25]. we will believe more firmly his power to change us [2 peter 1:3]. we will set aside any boasting of our own power so that his might shine through. [2 corinthians 12:9]. we must earnestly seek to know the power of Christ to be full of the power of his Spirit!
what does it look like to be full of wisdom? Jesus shows us.
but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to jews and folly to gentiles, but to those who are called, both jews and greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. for the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. [1 corinthians 1:23-25] – Jesus is the very wisdom of God. proverbs tells us the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. we are strongly encouraged to get wisdom above all other things [prov 4:5-9]. when we humble ourselves in awe and joyful submission to the all-powerful, all gracious, all wise Creator of the universe, we will whole-heartedly seek to know him more. he has given us his very word of wisdom in the face of his Son, and has given us access to him through his written word and his own Spirit living in us. in the gift of his Son, his Spirit, and his written word, he has given us everything we need for life and godliness! [2 peter 1:3] we must immerse ourselves in the wisdom of Christ to be overflowing with wisdom!
we must pursue Jesus with every breath!
follower of Christ, the Spirit of God has been poured out on you. today, in the presence of an all-gracious, all-powerful, and all-wise Father, ask him to build and stir these things in you. repent of any lack of pursuit of him, and ask for renewed longing for his word, renewed zeal for his glory, and renewed boldness for his kingdom. he longs to give you these things, so ask and believe!
~ arwen eastman