For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
— John 3:34
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
— John 15:1-5
Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
— Zechariah 4:7
For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
— Matthew 13:12
Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
— John 4:9-15
The Fountain of Life, by Martin Luther.
And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.
— John 1:16
We have little to boast of when we would appear before God. For even if we hold the highest and most honorable ranks and positions on earth, yet before God we are nothing but sacks of worms and filth, full of stench and uncleanness. That is why Paul says in his epistle to the Romans, they are all sinners. The whole world is guilty before God—Romans 3:23. And Isaiah says, but we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags—Isaiah 64:6. That our dear Lord God, despite our faults, still shows us grace and has preserved us alive until now, this we owe only to his grace, and not to our good works. For He had every right and reason to cast us into the abyss of Hell at any hour of the day or night. Yet, He has borne with us and cared for us in this world, in this valley of tears, which is our hospital, because we are all leprous and unclean. If our works are pleasing to God, they are good only because He does not impute our sins to us, and He has patience with us. For if He would reckon our sins, who could stand before Him? Therefore, we know and can boast of nothing except His great grace and mercy, which Christ bestows upon us from His fullness. Indeed, from a fullness that is inexhaustible.
If we are to glory in anything, let it be this: that we receive from the fullness of the Lord Christ, and are enlightened by Him, receive forgiveness of sins, and become children of God. For that is the chief matter. Whoever desires to be delivered from the power of the devil, to escape sin and death, must draw from this fountain—Christ. From Him must flow all salvation and blessedness. This fountain is inexhaustible, full of grace and truth before God. It does not diminish. We may draw as much as we please. Even if all of us were to draw endlessly from this fountain, it could not be emptied, but remains an infinite source of all grace and truth. He is a bottomless well and an eternally-flowing fountain. The more you draw from him, the more abundantly he flows. As he later says: the water that I shall give him shall be in him, a well of water springing up into everlasting life—John 4:14. How can that be? Just as the dear sun does not grow dark or dim, even though it must shine for all people, yes, even if the whole world uses its light, its light remains perfect and undiminished. It is a light so immeasurably great that it could illuminate ten more worlds. Likewise, from a single burning light, thousands of other lights might be kindled. And yet, this light, from which so many candles and flames have been lit, loses nothing, thereby.
Christ, our Lord, to whom we may flee in prayer, is an infinite fountain and spring of all grace, truth, righteousness, wisdom, and life. And all this without measure, endless and unfathomable. Even if the whole world were to draw so much grace and truth from Him that all people became pure angels, He would still not be diminished by a single drop. This fountain always flows gently and abundantly from God’s love and grace. Whoever now, none excepted, wishes to taste and experience this grace and love, may come to Him and drink. No one shall be able to exhaust this fountain. He will not give up. Everyone may receive abundantly from it, and yet it remains an overflowing fountain of living water.
https://takeupcross.com
takeupcross
Take Up the Cross 