Overflowing the Banks (Part 2) (John 10:10; Ephesians 3:20 )

JOHN 10:10 states, in the Greek, that the only reason; the primary purpose that the thief comes, is:

1) to STEAL [take away, our identity; our focus; our God-given destiny; every thing we are; everything of value and worth, from our lives, legally if he can, or illegally].

2) to KILL [render our lives as a sacrifice of first fruits to him, rather than God; making us an offering of praise/worship to himself; depriving our Father of the honor due Him and placing himself as the god of our lives].

3) to DESTROY [reducing us to inoperative; ineffective; powerless products of his master deception, with no vision or dream for the future; crushed and immobilized; useless to enact positive change for the kingdom of God]

NUMBER ONE REASON

In the Greek phrasing, it is implied, that the same emphasis is given to the latter part of the text as to the first. In other words, the ONLY reason that Jesus came, and shed His blood, was to, with all its implications, give us life, accented with the emphasis of being "abundant". In addition, far beyond anything that can be stated about the devil's purpose, the statement, "I am come", is very emphatic. It is as if, in literary fashion, the words are shouting, even screaming off the page, in bold assertion; that He absolutely wants us to, with steel resolve, to grasp tightly, and to cling fervently, to the revelation truth, that THIS IS IT... He wants us to get it! The NUMBER ONE reason He came, in all that it entails; freeing us from sin; rendering the devil powerless against us; bringing us into His family; was to give us life beyond all comprehension and measure, overflowing with His super abundance!

ABUNDANT LIFE

This is not just quality of life, but quantity of life; not just abundance of life, but abundance of all that sustains life. Furthermore, the meaning is an on going experience, not a one time event, and in addition, an ever increasing overflow, beyond capacity or containment! The English translation says, " I am come, that they might have life, and have it more abundantly" In the Greek, there is what is termed, a present active subjunctive in the word (echosin). A more accurate translation, to convey the meaning, would be:

" I am EMPHATICALLY STATING, that the reason for My coming, is so that you might have, AND KEEP ON HAVING, life, and have, AND KEEP ON HAVING IT, beyond measure!" (Paraphrase Based on the Greek Text)

OVERFLOWING BANKS

This "overflowing the banks", of containment, as the word imagery conveys, marks the degree, both in quality and quantity, of the measure referred to. It is beyond our capacity to hold on to or keep to ourselves, and perhaps that is the central point. This is such an overwhelming flood of abundance of spiritual and material blessing, that it does overflow, to the extent that the living waters extend far beyond meeting our needs, to water the land on the banks of the river, and beyond. It is like a river, that in visual imagery exceeds it's banks and becomes a lake miles wide, ever expanding, because the rush of water keeps coming; unstoppable. Whether the banks would want to or not, they cannot restrict the overflow, and the massive amount of water has covered the banks of the river to such an extent that the river is no longer distinguishable, there is only the constant expansion of water that has gone beyond anything imaginable. If we can comprehend this visual imagery, we can begin to grasp the meaning and import of what the Spirit of God is declaring.

EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY

Ephesians 3:20 says that "God, our Father, is able to do, exceedingly abundantly, above all, we can ask, or think, according to the power at work within us". Paul, by the Spirit of God, uses superlative upon superlative, within the confines and limitations of human language, to try to convey the incomprehensible and unfathomable goodness and love of God towards us. The scripture states that He has unlimited, exhaustless power, to bring into existence, to do, "exceedingly abundantly".

This phrase, in the Greek, is a compound of (perissos). Transliterated, it is (hyperekperissos).

(Hyper) - is what is "beyond; above; exceeds"

(ek) - amplifies the root, or is, what is "out of"

(perissos) - as stated, is "what overflows in abundance, beyond all measure"

Interestingly enough, this compound was nonexistent, other than in separate word construction, prior to Paul's writing. It is as though there were no words to adequately bring definition to the description required, and so laboring to bring forth expression, to this aspect of God's character, the Holy Spirit combined individual concepts to create a new compound word. To restate what the Spirit is saying in Ephesians 3:20 (Though any attempt may still pale to fully grasp the complete force of the words):

PARAPHRASE

"God's limitless power is at work in our lives, and He has made His home, resident within us. According to that measure, His unlimited ability will accomplish, beyond anything that we can ask for ourselves, in our self interest, or even beyond what is even possible for us to comprehend; imagine; or even to have the capability for our thoughts to conceive as possible; to the extent, that He will overflow towards us, in an abundance that is without measure, and out of what is considered measureless, He will even exceed above and beyond that, in His love and goodness towards us, in fulfilling our desires". [Though an extended paraphrase, the description of Ephesians 3:20 is a more accurate rendition of the Greek words conveyed in the text]

OVERFLOWING RIVER

Obviously, there is no adequate translation to completely grasp the full import of the meaning of the word (perissos), but we do have the visual imagery of a river overflowing it's banks, to the extent that the river is lost in the constant overflow, and what remains is an ever expanding and enlarging body of water spreading beyond all measurable comprehension. With this imagery, John 10:10 is redefined, so that the primary purpose of Jesus coming was for us to experience this on-going super abundance. Not only so, but in the areas that the enemy attacks, our Father's extreme blessing is extended.

COMPARE & CONTRAST

1) The devil seeks to steal our identity and purpose, decreasing our value and worth; our Father gives us laser accurate focus on who we are; what we have; and what we can do, in Him, to excess.

2) The devil tries to render our life a sacrifice of worship to him, making us over, in His image; our Father makes us a praise in the earth, a declaration of His glory and wonder to the world, evidence of His super abundant blessing.

3) The devil wants to render us useless; scarred beyond recognition; paralyzed and powerless to perform the Fathers will; impotent for the kingdom; our Father declares divine destiny for us; not only empowering us to perform, but exceeding all conceivable expectations, bringing countless sons and daughters into the family, for His glory.

MADE for ABUNDANT LIFE

We are made for an overflowing, excessive life, characterized by the nature of our Father, and so as He exceeds all expectations, to the extreme, so we too, as His children, are partakers of "abundant" life; no limitations; no reservations; no restrictions; unlimited success and fulfillment!

[Part of the purpose of these word studies is to destroy the life stealing lies that we have believed about God and ourselves, with the truth and revelation of what the scriptures declare, so that we can begin to walk in and experience new found spiritual reality].

You are God's Best and God's Best is Yours.