2 Corinthians 3:5 “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.”

It is not uncommon that Christians feel troubled that they struggle to fulfil their Christian calling to live a holy and Godpleasing life. Are you feeling inadequate and helpless to overcome the struggles in life and ministry? Do you feel that your Christian life and ministry are beyond your human abilities and powers? Do the challenges and goals before you appear very daunting? 

Our utter insufficiency
Feeling inadequate, doubtful and anxious about fulfilling our Christian life and ministry is typical of everyone who cherishes a genuine desire to do the will of God and please Him. Such was the Apostle Paul’s concern; so he asks in 2 Corinthians 2:16, “And who is sufficient for these things?” In fact, that great hero of faith, made repeated assertions about his insufficiency. “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves” (2 Corinthians 3:5a; 4:7).

Paul’s sense of his personal insufficiency was an all-pervasive view of his life. He wrote, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves.” It was his total inability in the matters of Christian life and ministry that Paul was attesting.

There is no greater folly than to think that we possess within ourselves the power to attain the supreme spiritual heights. Wise is the man who acknowledges – “O how little is my sufficiency!”

No man is able on his own to please God or to fulfil the spiritual duties. The spiritual qualities and power to live a victorious Christian life are infinitely higher than all our natural endowments. On no account should we think that we can develop a human strategy or procedure that will help us to fulfil our spiritual responsibilities.

Our useless self-sufficiency
A self-confident man, though fallen and totally depraved, often shouts out, “I am sufficient of myself.” He refuses the need of the hand of God. He has his own notions of God’s character, law and arrangements, and has adopted a plan of his own, which he imagines suits his case better than the one which the infinite wisdom of God has appointed. Thus, the self-sufficient man does not recognise the need for his reliance and submissiveness to the Spirit of God. But how different it is with Paul in the passage before us!

Can we ever accomplish spiritual work with our own strength? If a man wishes to reach the human mind with heavenly truth, he can only do it by the sufficiency of God. If he wants to bring some to faith in Jesus Christ, let him remember that it is impossible without the Spirit’s work of regeneration. If he wishes to minister the divine truth and grace to people in peculiar situations he must do it in the power of God’s Spirit. He must be instructed, guided and empowered by the Spirit of God. If he desires to awaken the careless, let him look to the quickening Spirit. If he wishes to comfort the disconsolate and cheer the despairing, he is not sufficient of himself for this. Let him call upon the Comforter, even the Spirit of God.

We do not have enough sufficiency to be able to reckon any part of our ability as coming from ourselves. So anyone in the leadership of the church who thinks of himself as self-sufficient is indeed a spiritually incapable person. His lack of dependence on and humble submission to the Spirit of God makes him a worthless character in the work of our Great Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let every self-confident and self-assertive person go wherever he wants, the Master has no use of him anyway. The man who does everything of himself and for himself is not the Lord’s servant!

In the service for the Lord, all must be of the Lord - our doctrine, our preparation for the declaration of that doctrine, the choice of words for utterance, the very tone, and especially the spirit, the feeling and the faith with which we deliver the message. In none of them are we sufficient of ourselves. No human philosophy or technique or skill can be of help to accomplish spiritual fruits.

Our ultimate sufficiency is of God
“But our sufficiency” says Paul, “is of God” (2 Corinthians 3:5b).

“Who is sufficient for these things?” The answer is, all who trust in the Lord are made sufficient to serve the Lord fruitfully. This is the truth that is explained by the words, “Our sufficiency is of God.”

In God we have all sufficiency: there is all the wisdom, all the thought, all the love, all the power, all the conquering energy which a devoted and serving Christian needs. That is why Paul said to the Philippian believers, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

That our sufficiency should be of God is infinitely better than if it were of ourselves, for then our sufficiency cannot be questioned, cannot be suspended, cannot be exhausted.

If you have to bear all the burdens and challenges on your own, you might soon be bankrupt. But now you are like a child that travels with his father, and his father pays for everything. He has no care about cost; he is not called upon to be concerned about the expenses. Like a child who draws all his needs from his father’s constant provision, we can now draw upon the inexhaustible resources of God for all our needs.

We can now expect to live a princely life; for our father in heaven will provide for us from His all sufficiency. Our sufficiency is of God; let us practically enjoy this truth. Like Paul, let us also learn to live by drawing on the Lord’s ever-sufficient grace. Consider Paul’s testimony in 2 Corinthians 12:9 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” We are poor, leaking vessels, and the only way for us to keep ourselves full is to put our pitcher under the perpetual flow of His boundless grace. Then, despite its leakage, the cup will always be full to the brim. “Our sufficiency is of God.”

We know we have no power to reach souls and save them. When it comes to evangelism or any other ministry, one might cry, “I do not feel able to win a soul. I feel it is a work too hard for me.” Nonetheless, let him remember the truth that “our sufficiency is of God”. Brother, if God sends you, He will go with you; and if God gives you a message to deliver, He will prepare the ear and the heart for that message. O how blessed are these words for every servant of Christ, who in any way is working for His dear name. “Our sufficiency is of God.”

Cultivate a deep appreciation for the all-sufficient grace of God made available to all His people. This is pertinent to living a vivacious and victorious Christian life.