In Deuteronomy 16:16-17, God directed the people of the First Covenant to gather three times a year for the feasts of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. He also commanded that none were to appear before the Lord empty, but that “every man shall give as he is able.” Recently God burned this passage into my spirit, but with a different twist. Notice the rich were not to give little and the poor were not to give much, but all were expected to give to the level of their ability.
Here is the “hinge,” the idea on which this article turns: God would never demand of His own something that He would not do Himself. If God expects us to give to His work according to the level of our ability, then certainly we can expect Him to move for us according to the level of His divine ability! Now this insight gains intensity.
There are seven main Scriptural declarations of God’s ability toward us. Certainly His abilities go far beyond these seven areas—however, He must have emphasized these seven areas for a reason; therefore, we should magnify them as well by embracing these promises and often declaring their fulfillment:
1. All Grace
Second Corinthians 9:8 declares, “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” Grace is unmerited love and divinely imparted ability. There is no limit to the amount of grace available flowing from the throne of God. Grace is just as infinitely inexhaustible as the God who gives it. God only requires that His people exhibit: (1) faith (Eph. 2:8), (2) humility (1 Pet. 5:5) and (3) sincere love (Eph. 6:24). If these attitudes are in us and abound, the deep river of divine grace will abound toward us.
2. Divine Help
Hebrews 2:17-18 explains concerning Jesus, “In all things it behooved Him to be made like His brothers, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, having been tempted, He is able to aid those who are being tempted.” How comforting it is to know that in our temptations and trials, the Lord Jesus is sympathetic and ready to assist us in our journey! He is compassionate and committed. Having faced every same temptations that we face in this world, He understands our plight and stands ever ready to help us, even to the point of marshaling the host of heaven.
3. Power to Stand
Two scriptures relay this excellent promise two different ways. First, Jude 24 says, “Unto Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” The most noticeable revelation from this verse is that it is God’s great joy to uphold His people and render them blameless in His sight.
If that will be the case in the great day of resurrection (as this verse foretells), it is certainly the case even now. The second Scripture, Romans 14:4, warns: “Who are you to judge another man’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand: for God is able to make him stand.” The one says God is able to “keep us from falling”; the other, that God is able to “make us stand”—so one way or the other, we are going to survive with the God of heaven on our side.
4. Preservation
Paul said, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that day” (2 Tim. 1:12). Notice that God can only keep what we place under His authority. Only if we give Him all our hearts and lives can we expect such blessed security. “That day” may refer to the Day of Judgment; then again, it may refer to those days when it seems calamity and confusion knock at our door.
5. Salvation
Jesus is revealed in the Scripture as the great High Priest, the great Intercessor, who constantly searches our hearts and “ever lives” to make intercession for us “according to the will of God” (Rom. 8:27). Because of this, Hebrews 7:25 announces, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him.” Nothing can withstand or thwart His prayers for those who walk in covenant with Him.
When God announces His intention to save us, it covers every negative thing to be faced in this world: He will save us from sin, from satanic powers, from mental and emotional distress, from failures, from sickness, from death, from the grave and from eternal destruction. He is ever interceding over us, and the Father never fails to answer His appeals.
6. Incredible Provision
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Eph. 3:20). Notice this release of incredible blessing hinges on the power that is within us—the power of faith, the power to imagine possibilities, expect the miraculous and praise God in advance for their fulfillment. Notice, however, that God declares He is not bound just to the limits of our expectations but is able to go far beyond what we can even conceive possible. What a promise! Let it be so, Lord!
7. Final Glorification
“For our citizenship is in heaven; from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall transform our lowly body, that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” (Phil. 3:20-21).