One of the more popular verses about blessings in the New Testament is John 10:10. Christ is speaking: “The thief does not come except to steal, to kill and to destroy. But I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.”
This statement is a wonderful promise of confidence as it generally describes how the devil is evil and is trying to destroy us and that God is always good and desires for us to be victorious representatives of his glorious kingdom. You would think that everyone on the planet would want to be on the “winning side” with God, who, by the way, has infinite spiritual power and authority.
However, this does not seem to be the case. Many who claim to be Christians are not walking in what the Bible calls spiritual abundance. Why not? Since God is a Spirit, his Word is Spirit, so spiritual abundance comes from being filled and abiding in his Spirit. When this is not happening, we struggle and appear not much different than non-Christians.
So how do we understand this word, abundant? Christ uses the Greek word “perissos” pronounced per-is-sos. In this context, it means “superior in quantity or quality,” “exceedingly,” “very high,” “advantage” and “‘beyond measure.” This is the same word Paul uses again in Ephesians 3:20, “Now unto him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.”
Our first clue to understanding this word is to realize Paul is speaking about the nature of God and that Christians can be filled with as much of God as they choose. You see, free will is at the center of our human existence and created with decision-making abilities where we make decisions each minute. It’s a privilege to be given this authority, but with great responsibility, there is also serious accountability.