Understanding Grace from God’s Perspective
Dearly Beloved,
Love Greetings in the Matchless Name of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have received the mandate to preach the Full Message of this New Life to the peoples of this world.
The Bible says “This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.” May you have a cause to rejoice throughout today in Jesus Name, Amen.
Our focus today is on the subject of grace. Grace is one of the most misunderstood and misconstrued doctrines of the Bible. Yet it is one of the most important subjects it promotes.
What is grace? Grace is from the Word “Chen” or “Hen” in the Hebrew and the “Charis” in the Greek. Both words mean favor but they mean more than favor. Though favor is the most commonly used meaning. Let’s study together to see what grace means and implies from the Scriptures.
Firstly, grace is unmerited favor as demonstrated in Christ. Grace is the lavish demonstration of God’s goodness as expressed in Christ towards all men irrespective of age, gender, class, status or race. See John 1:17; 3:16; Romans 5:12-17. Grace is the unconditional demonstration of love and goodwill towards while we were yet undeserving. See Ephesians 2:1-9; Romans 5:8. G.R.A.C.E is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Grace is God’s willingness to use His Power and His resources for your benefit because of Christ and His vicarious work on the cross. See Romans 5:1-2 (AMP). Christ is grace personified. See Titus 2:11; 3:4-7.
Secondly. grace is ability. The Apostle paul speaks of the grace that is given unto him according to the effectual working of God’s Power that enabled him to be a minister. See Ephesians 3:7,8; Galatians 2:7-9. Grace, therefore, is the divine ability to do effortlessly what is humanly or naturally impossible. For instance, when you look at someone’s life and their accomplishment and you say, “That guy is graced.” You are saying that they are endowed with some special ability or something. That is another expression of grace in the Bible. Grace is a divine enablement for your God given assignment. See Romans 1:5; Acts 14:26; 15:40; 1 Corinthians 3:10; 15:10; 1 Peter 4:10-11.
Thirdly, grace is the divine empowerment to live above sin or to overcome sin. See Romans 6:14; Titus 2:11-14. The Law could not produce righteousness. In fact according to 1 Corinthians 15:56, “The strength of sin is the Law.” (KJV) But the English Standard Version (ESV) says, “The power of sin is the law.” Check it out yourself. Grace makes men righteous and empowers them to live right. True grace is NEVER a license to sin but an empowerment to live above sin. See Romans 6:15-22; 1 Corinthians 1:12 ESV.
Fourthly, Grace is also the outworking of the influence of God’s Spirit. Grace is the defining character of God’s work in a person or a Body or group of people. See Acts 4:33; 6:8; 11:23; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12. For instance, when you observe the work of God’s Spirit in the life of the Macedonian Church, Paul The Apostle calls it the grace of God. See 2 Corinthians 8:1-7. It is grace that makes men generous. It is called the grace of giving. It is also grace that makes us prayerful. See Zechariah 12:10. Grace, therefore, is the outworking of God’s Spirit or the outworking of the divine influence.
There’s more but we will stop here for today.Thanks for reading through this letter. May God cause His grace to abound towards you to put you over the challenges that each day brings. May His grace empower you to overcome your bad habits and your secret faults. And above all, may God’s grace overwhelm your life and make it a beautiful expression of the goodness of God. Selah
Blessings,
DWF
Preserving the Faith of the Fathers For Future Generations
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