The Enriching Savior!
William Nicholson, 1862
"The same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him!" Romans 10:12The Gospel is not confined to any nation or people. It is proclaimed and offered to the world. Mark 16:15. Once the Divine favor rested principally upon Israel, Romans 9:4, 6, but it is now extended to the Gentiles. "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek," verse 12. The middle wall of partition is broken down, and believers of every nation may approach the mercy-seat.
I. The Character of Christ, the Great Enricher.
"The same Lord over all."This verse is full of precious consolation. It implies his Divinity, without which he could not be the enriching Savior.
He is called:
1. "The same Lord," the same Divine Savior as described, verse 4. He is the end of the law, and the procurer of righteousness for rebellious man. He lived in conformity to that law, and he endured its penalty on the cross, Romans 3:20-26.
2. "The same Lord," as described, verse 9, "Lord Jesus, whom God raised from the dead." The Divine Savior, who burst the barriers of the tomb, indicating that his death was successful — that his mediation was triumphant. By his resurrection, he was "declared to be the Son of God with power."
3. He is said to be "over all." This expresses his universal dominion and government.
He is "Lord over all" the heavenly world, Ephesians 1:20-22.
He is "Lord over all" the angels, Hebrews 1:4-8.
He is "Lord over all" the earth, and Hell, the abode of the lost, Philippians 2:9-11.
He is "Lord over all" the Church, Ephesians 1:22, 23.
He is "Lord over all" the universe, Colossians 1:15-17. The "government is upon his shoulder."
II. His Enriching Influence.
As "Lord over all" he is able to enrich others. As the Mediator of the new covenant, he possesses an inexhaustible stock of spiritual blessings, by which he can "be rich unto all who call upon him." "For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell."
1. He enriches the guilty one, with the pardon of all his sins, however numerous and flagrant. 1 John 1:7; Acts 13:38.
2. He enriches those condemned by the law, with deliverance and justification. Acts 13:39. Romans 5:1; 8:1.
3. He enriches the unrighteous and defiled, with cleansing grace and regenerating power, to make them "new creatures in Christ Jesus." 2 Corinthians 5:17.
4. He enriches the outcast and abandoned, with adoption into His redeemed family, and all its precious privileges.
5. He is a rich, full, free, and inexhaustible fountain!
What more can be said?
He enriches . . .
the ignorant with wisdom,
the weak with strength,
the fearful with courage,
the depressed with consolation,
the soldier of the cross with armor, success, and conquest,
the tempted and tried with support and a way of escape,
the afflicted and bereaved with strength according to the day,
the dying with the hope of immortality, and afterwards with Heaven itself.He can make all grace to abound to all his people.
"For the LORD God is a sun and shield. The LORD gives grace and glory. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly!" Psalm 84:11
III. The Objects of His Enriching Grace.
"Unto all who call upon him."1. To call upon him implies a deep sense of need. None else will call upon him.
2. To call upon him implies believing prayer. Without faith it is impossible to please God.
3. To such he is rich without distinction. He spiritually enriches without distinction.
(1.) As to rank. He enriches the rich and the poor, the great and the low, the noble and the ignoble, the monarch and the peasant.
(2.) As to mental endowment or literary acquirements. He enriches the learned and the ignorant, the great philosopher and the man of small intellect.
(3.) As to age or gender. He enriches the male and female, the aged and the youth — all are welcome to Christ.
(4.) As to nation. He enriches the Jew and Gentile. This is asserted verse 12, and Colossians 1:11.
(5.) As to enormity of crime and aggravation of guilt — if they only repent.