NEW HERE?
WHAT IS THE “HOW MUCH MORE” PRINCIPLE?
The How Much More principle is a biblical way of seeing your circumstances.
It does not deny the reality of pain, fear, lack, disappointment, opposition, or uncertainty. These things can be very real.
But Scripture teaches us not to give the lesser reality greater weight than the greater reality of God—His character, love, power, presence, and promises.
WHAT I AM FACING IS REAL.
BUT GOD IS GREATER.
JESUS TAUGHT THE “HOW MUCH MORE” PRINCIPLE
Jesus used “HOW MUCH MORE” to teach His hearers how to move from a lesser reality they already understood to a greater reality revealed by the character of God.
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, HOW MUCH MORE shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”
— Matthew 7:11
Jesus begins with a lesser reality His hearers already understood:
Even imperfect earthly parents know how to give good gifts to their children.
Then He moves them to the greater reality:
If imperfect human parents know how to give good gifts, HOW MUCH MORE can we trust the goodness of our heavenly Father?
This is the basic movement of the How Much More principle:
LESSER REALITY:
Earthly parents know how to give good gifts.
HOW MUCH MORE?
GREATER REALITY:
The goodness of our heavenly Father is greater.
HOW MUCH MORE INVITES US TO SEE THE REALITY WE ARE FACING IN THE LIGHT OF THE GREATER REALITY OF WHO GOD IS.
PAUL USES THE SAME PRINCIPLE
The Apostle Paul uses the same “how much more” movement when describing the relationship between Adam’s trespass and the grace of God revealed through Jesus Christ.
“But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, HOW MUCH MORE did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!”
— Romans 5:15
Paul does not deny the lesser reality.
The trespass is real.
Its consequences are real.
But the trespass is not the greatest reality.
Paul directs our attention to something greater:
The overflowing grace of God through Jesus Christ.
LESSER REALITY:
The trespass and its consequences are real.
HOW MUCH MORE?
GREATER REALITY:
God’s grace through Jesus Christ overflows to the many.
This is why How Much More does not teach denial.
We acknowledge the lesser reality.
But we refuse to give the lesser reality greater weight than the greater reality of God—His character, covenant, power, presence, and promises.
THE LESSER REALITY MAY BE TRUE.
BUT IT IS NOT THE WHOLE TRUTH.
WHAT I AM FACING IS REAL.
BUT GOD IS GREATER.
THE LESSER REALITY
- What I can see.
What I can feel.
What has happened.
What people have said.
What circumstances appear to suggest.
What I currently lack.
What appears impossible.
THE GREATER REALITY
- God’s Character.
God’s Covenant.
God’s Power.
God’s Presence.
God’s Promises.
How Much More does not ask you to deny the lesser reality.
It teaches you not to give the lesser reality greater weight than the God who stands above it.
ASK THE HOW MUCH MORE QUESTION
When something happens in our lives, our natural question is often:
“WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME?”
How Much More teaches us to acknowledge that question and then ask another:
“HOW MUCH MORE IS TRUE BECAUSE OF WHO GOD IS?”
That second question redirects our attention from the circumstance alone toward the God who is present within it.