Wealth in Christ
E. Aston. Ephesians 3:8 To me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given… The apostle does not intend to discourage examination of these riches which he describes as unsearchable, but he does tell us that, search as we may, we shall never be able to fathom that ocean in which are concealed the riches of Christ. And in order to appreciate the riches we do not know of, let us look at those we have actually in possession. So long as men stand on the sea shore, and praise the riches of the sea, they do not gain much impression of the reality of what they are talking about. It is only as we dive under the surface that we get a distinct impression of the wealth that lies hid under the rolling waves that break musically at our feet. So, then, let us this morning make an effort to appreciate the resources open to us in the unsearchable riches of Christ. I think that Christ has enriched us beyond all our powers of imagination to conceive the value of our wealth. I. I THINK HE HAS ENRICHED US BY HIS MANNER TOWARDS MEN, AND HIS TREATMENT OF THEM. He has taught us what men are — that they are not merely the crown of creation, not simply intelligent, and clever, and enterprising, and powerful — He has made men feel, made us realize that we are the children of God. The way we treat men is the sign of what we think of them. The world has a very sorry opinion of itself. It would treat itself better if it had higher appreciation of its value. And nowhere does Christ show His power more clearly than in His treatment of those around Him. He sees in every man the promise of something that might be, infinitely transcending all that is and was. I want you to feel your value in the eyes of Christ. None in your own family circle appreciate you and treat you as Christ does. He has a standard of your value higher and grander than any possessed by your friends. Oh! how has Christ enriched this world by telling us what we are by His constant treatment of us! He has taken our poor humanity as it lay dead at His feet, and, taken by the hand and lifted up by His love, the world has risen into a new conception of its nature. Never let us again lose the consciousness of our real nature. Moving in the midst of human society, and taking men at their very worst, Christ has turned the light of His love upon the outcast, the selfish, the mean, and the unlovely, and in the splendid inspiration which burns in His eyes, flows from His tongue, and radiates from His life, we are enriched with the glad and thrilling hope that there is a way for man to rise out of the dust and grossness of his present life, till, by the power of Christ, he shall be established forever in the glory of a new heart, and character, and life. Well may the apostle preach the unsearchable riches of Christ when we call to mind how He has lifted us into a more blessed and hopeful thought of the character and destiny of man. II. Further, CHRIST HAS ENRICHED THE WORLD BY HIS CONDUCT AND TEACHING IN RELATION TO OUR SINFULNESS. When a man has his attention drawn to one of his neighbour's notorious wickednesses, and forthwith begins to pray, "God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men — extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican" that is Pharisaism. When another, either by act or speech, hides or attempts to obscure the awful and eternal distinction between good and evil, right and wrong, that is practical Atheism; and between these two extremes the public opinion of the world oscillated from age to age, till Christ began to teach and preach. But Christ has enriched the world by the mighty blows He dealt against the Pharisee, and by the splendid rebuke He administered to shameless sin. One of the grand fruits of His life is this, that by it men are convinced of sin. The practical question for us all today is — are we appropriating any of these riches of Christ? Are we content to hear about them, and talk about them, and never take them for our soul's life? Riches there are; we may be rich in health, rich in intelligence, rich in friends and in opportunity; yea, we may have those riches that soonest flee away, but have you any of the riches of Christ? Without these riches, you are and must be poor. (E. Aston.) Parallel Verses KJV: Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; WEB: To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,