I must confess, I am so far away from understanding this kind of grace. Truly, who can comprehend it?
Listen as A.W. Pink summarizes his discussion on the total depravity of man.
“Not only is the triune God more honored by redemption than He was dishonored by the defection of His creatures, but His people also are greatly the gainers. That too magnifies the divine wisdom. It would have been wonderful indeed had they been merely restored to their original state; but it is far more wonderful that they should be brought to a much higher state of blessedness—that the fall should be the occasion of their exaltation! Their sin deserved eternal wretchedness, yet everlasting bliss is their portion. They are now favored with a greater manifestation of the glory of God and a fuller discovery of His love than they would have had otherwise, and in those two things their happiness principally consists. They are brought into a much closer and endearing relation to God. They are now not merely holy creatures but heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. The Son having taken their nature upon Him, they have become His “brethren,” members of His body, His spouse. They are thereby provided with more powerful motives and inducements to love and serve Him than they had in their unfallen condition. The more of God’s love we apprehend, the more we love Him in return. Throughout eternity the knowledge of God’s love in giving His dear Son to and for us, and Christ’s dying in our stead, will fix our hearts upon Him in a manner which His favors to Adam never could have done.”
A.W. Pink on The Total Depravity of Man
“Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20).
Amen!
I can’t grasp grace completely but I want so much to thank and love the Giver of this grace—my God in Christ—completely! And one day I shall! Thank you for lifting Him!
“but it is far more wonderful that they should be brought to a much higher state of blessedness—that the fall should be the occasion of their exaltation!”. I’ve been reading some posts this week which have shown how God has worked a beautiful redemption from dark places. I am starting to see that this is indeed a beautiful thing and bring so much praise to our glorious God who is greater indeed than any darkness in this world. We see the dark and we wonder how on earth that situation can be redeemed. But truly, “with God all things are possible”. Praise Him for this “greater manifestation of the glory of God”. Thank you Christina! Love to you.
“It would have been wonderful indeed had they been merely restored to their original state; but it is far more wonderful that they should be brought to a much higher state of blessedness—that the fall should be the occasion of their exaltation!” Too wonderful to comprehend!
Glory to God!
Love you!
Wow! The glimpses we get of God’s plan of redemption is amazing. Great quote!
Amen!! What a plan God Had.
Great post. Thank you.
Our pastor preached from Eph. 4:17-19 this morning, discussing mankind’s total depravity and in particular our unregenerate state. He made an interesting point that one of the benefits of expository preaching is that we’re forced to cover issues like this as they come up in Scripture. How many preachers in broader Evangelicalism make a conscious effort to cover this issue in their topical sermons? Not many.
We remember who we were in the “old man,” making us all the more appreciative of who we are in Christ today. It especially makes us consider grace for what it truly is. We shudder to think of where we would be if kept in our unregenerate condition and so we rejoice in the evidences of grace we see–in ourselves as well as in others in the church.
Amen!