“And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:9,10).

…That little two-letter verb “is” in our Lord’s wonderful word to Paul and through him to every member of the body of Christ, “My grace is sufficient for you” is a veritable rock of ages. The writer of this article, finding marvelous strength and safety and deliverance in it, was turning it over in his mind one day, and thinking of the sufficiency of Christ. He was clinging to, or rather resting on, that word “is” – and then he thought to himself: “But have I any right to make so prominent that meaningless little verb ‘is,’ and depend so much upon it, when it seems as though I ought to think rather of some more important word, like the name of Jesus Christ?”

God’s personal name

Instantly there dashed into his mind what it seems must have been the reply of the Holy Spirit Himself: “But the verb ‘is’ is the same verb as that which God says is His own name, ‘I AM.’ And it that little word ‘is’ is part of the very name of GOD Himself, you need not fear to think a great deal of it and rest confidently and wholly upon it.”

Praise GOD for His wonderful name! Praise God that He is! The man [or woman] of victorious faith simply believes that God is, and that all that God says is so, is so. To believe this pleases GOD; for “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Think, for a moment, of the meaning of the name “LORD,” or “JEHOVAH.” When Moses asked God what name he should use for Him to the Children of Israel, God replied: “I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shall you say unto the children of Israel, I AM has sent me unto you” (Exodus 3:14). The word LORD, or JEHOVAH, means literally, “He that is who He is, therefore the eternal I AM.”

Other elements entering into the name JEHOVAH give us, as its meaning, “The self-existent One who reveals Himself.” And this name LORD or JEHOVAH is preeminently God’s redemption name. It is used in Bible passages which specially refer to the redeeming and saving work that God does for fallen, sinful man.

God’s all sufficient grace

It is no accident, surely, that a central, vital word in that marvelous statement of fact, “My grace is sufficient for you” is the little verb “is” which is a part of the very name and being and redemptive-love of God, JEHOVAH GOD, our Redeemer God in His marvelous covenant relations with us, is the eternal Christ, slain from the foundation of the world [Rev. 13:8], whose outpoured life is the grace of God working omnipotently in our behalf, without our asking, without our seeking, without any conditions. God is, whether we believe this or not. Christ’s grace is sufficient for us, whether we believe it or not. But His grace cannot become experimentally effective in our lives so long as we make God a liar and say that what He declares to be a fact is not a fact. The moment we believe in this God-declared fact, there is a sufficiency of omnipotence successfully at work in our lives that makes us more than conquerors and leads us in triumph.

All of God’s omnipotent sufficiency in His saving and delivering and keeping power for people is in Christ. Christ is more than a promise: He is a fact, the eternal Rock of Ages upon whom we may rest everything. God’s grace is Christ; and the grace of God in Jesus Christ is sufficient. Are we thanking and praising Him for this?

… The secret of victory is not praying, but praising: not asking, but thanking. All eternity will not be long enough to finish praising and thanking our Lord Jesus Christ for the simple, glorious fact that His grace IS sufficient for us.

“CHRIST WHO IS OUR LIFE”

“I AM.” Who art Thou, Lord?
I Am – all things to thee;
Sufficient to thine every need;
Thou art complete in Me.

I Am – thy Peace, thy Joy,
Thy Righteousness, thy Might;
I Am – thy Victory o’er sin,
Thy Keeper day and night.

I Am – thy Way, thy Life;
I Am – the Word of Truth;
Whate’er thy lack, I Am – to thee
El Shaddai, Enough. [1]

I Am – thy Life within,
Thine Everlasting Bread;
Eat of my Flesh, drink of my Blood,
I Am – What dost thou need [2]

from Victory in Christ (Philadelphia: Sunday School Times, 1923), excerpt from chapter 6. Available from CLCpublications.com (Article’s title and headings added. The related GN title is “The Secret of Victory”)

[1] El Shaddai is one of the transliterated Hebrew names of God in the Old Testament, meaning “The All Sufficient One; God Almighty” (Gen. 17:1)

[2] Poem by Adah Richmond