The best word to describe how we have become God’s holy people is grace. The Apostle Paul says in Ephesians that we have been saved by grace through faith. Faith is important. We believe that God created us, loves us, and wants us to be His people. But we have a sin problem. And God’s grace is what overcomes that problem. He gives us what we need, even though we don’t deserve it. Salvation is an undeserved gift that God bestows on those who decide to trust Him in Jesus the Christ. We are saved by God’s grace.
I am personally prone to hyperbole, so this sanguine word junkie was drawn to the last verse of Acts 4:31-33 in Monday’s devotion“And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all” (Acts 4:33 ESV).
The Apostles were delivering the Gospel message with “great power.” They were giving their personal witness to the fact that Jesus was dead on Friday and then was revivified on Sunday. Both the adjective (great) and the noun (power) communicate intensity and forcefulness. They testify that the resurrection was real in a way that stresses its urgency and importance. We desperately needed a sacrifice for our sins! God made it happen! He proved that Jesus is Lord by bringing Him back to life! Choose to accept the gift of salvation by faith!
Then it says that they all were experiencing “great grace.” It is the same adjective of intensity and importance. Those who believe the testimony and put their trust in Jesus receive the gift of salvation, and it is a great gift in every way. But notice that the “great grace” was not just given to them – it is not a one-time gift to be received and possessed. The intense and important grace “was upon” each of them, as in that which had come over them and continued to be the primary influence that flowed through their lives.
Those who received the great (and totally undeserved) gift of salvation became God’s gracious people. It says they all were empowered to show that grace to others. Is that an exaggeration? Every one of them, really? If some of those first believers experienced “great grace” and some “moderate grace” and some “a little grace,” I want to be in the “great grace” group. How about you?
God continues to meet our needs every day. Amen? We need to let “great grace” become more and more who we are. Loving others, caring for those who annoy us the most, and quickly forgiving – with an urgency that matches the greatness of God’s grace to us.
Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and Dean of Accreditation
Today and throughout the three-day weekend, let’s allow “great grace” to flow through us. Pray for God to show us where and how to practice grace with those around us – giving them what they need instead of what they deserve – in the great name of Jesus.
What the grace of God does in us
2 Peter 1 says, “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness” (vs. 2-3).
You see that the grace of God is more than salvation but also everything we need for life and godliness. The definition of grace could be “God’s life, power and righteousness given to us by unmerited favor.” It is through grace that God works effective change in our hearts and lives. Grace gives us a new life which is not condemned by God. Through God’s grace we are forgiven, transforming our thinking, resulting in the renewal of our mind and heart. Through grace we live the kind of life that God would like every one of His children to experience.Let’s consider in more detail what the grace of God does in us.
God’s grace saves us.
According to Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” It is important to see here that by God’s grace we have been saved. It is not by works. Salvation is done strictly on the basis of God’s grace. God’s gift of grace comes through the cross of Jesus, not our works, the cross makes it all possible.
God’s grace justifies us.
According to Romans 3:24, “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” We may be considered to be right by God only because of His grace and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which is available to us because Jesus willingly lay down His life for us, paying the price we deserved for our rebellion against God. Our justification is not something we receive because of good works, but because of the payment Jesus paid for us at the cross when he suffered and died.
God’s grace sanctifies us.
According to 2 Thessalonians 2:13, “because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.” Indeed, not only are we in right standing with God, but also our right living depends on grace. Sanctification is the process of being set aside, in our case being set aside for the purposes of God. 1 Corinthians 1:30 says, “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.”
God’s grace empowers us to service.
God wants us to be so full of His grace in our lives that we can say with Paul: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10). The grace of God is not earned by works, but it produces work done in His service. Grace, which is God’s life, comes into us and works in us and through us so that we can be all and do all in His service. Philippians 2:13 says, “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. This means that whatever gifts and abilities God has given us by His grace; we should use them for His glory. God’s grace and blessings were not given simply for us to sit in church and feel good. Rather, they were given that we might not only be blessed, but also be a blessing.
In the light of all that has been said, it is clear that it would be difficult to overestimate the importance of God’s grace as far as our lives are concerned. Without grace we would not only be useless in God’s sight, but we would be lost. There is no work that man can do to make him “good enough for God.”
Everything that we do outside of God’s grace is worthless. Everything good that comes in us and through us is only by the grace of God. Grace saves us, justifies us, sanctifies us, and empowers us for His service. Grace-filled living is exercising the gifts that grace provides and spreads the gospel of grace to a hurting and dying world.
grace
grace, in Christian theology, the spontaneous, unmerited gift of the divine favour in the salvation of sinners, and the divine influence operating in individuals for their regeneration and sanctification. The English term is the usual translation for the Greek charis, which occurs in the New Testament about 150 times (two-thirds of these in writings attributed to St. Paul). Although the word must sometimes be translated in other ways, the fundamental meaning in the New Testament and in subsequent theological usage is that contained in the Letter of Paul to Titus: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all” (2:11). From the time of the early church, Christian theologians have developed and clarified the biblical concept of grace.
The word grace is the central subject of three great theological controversies: (1) that of the nature of human depravity and regeneration (see Pelagianism), (2) that of the relation between grace and free will (see also predestination; Arminianism), and (3) that of the “means of grace” between Catholics and Protestants—i.e., whether the efficacy of the sacraments as channels of the divine grace is dependent on good works performed or dependent on the faith of the recipient.
Christian orthodoxy has taught that the initiative in the relationship of grace between God and humanity is always on the side of God. Once God has granted this “first grace,” however, an individual does have a response to give and a responsibility for the continuance of the relationship. Although the ideas of grace and of merit are mutually exclusive, neither St. Augustine nor the Protestant defenders of the principle of justification by “grace alone” could avoid the question of reward of merit in the relationship of grace. In fact, some passages of the New Testament seem to use charis for “reward.” The Roman Catholic theology of grace stresses the habitual character of the life created by the gift of grace and therefore ascribes merit to obedience to the law of God. Classical Protestantism spoke of a cooperating grace after conversion as a way of including human activity in the life of grace, but it avoided language that would suggest that a person earns something by obedience in grace.
Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and some Protestants agree that grace is conferred through the sacraments, “the means of grace.” Reformed and Free Church Protestantism, however, has not bound grace as closely to the sacraments as have Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans.
Baptists speak of ordinances rather than of sacraments and—as do evangelical Christians and those in the Reformed and Free Church traditions generally—insist that participation in grace occurs on the occasion of personal faith and not at all by sacramental observance.
of grace
A name, a title, a quality, a prayer, a gift; grace has many meanings. In many relationships, it makes things work and keep working.
Grace is a prominent theme in scripture. It particularly stands out in the ministry of Jesus and the writings of the apostles. John reported that grace and truth came by Jesus Christ and that he is full of grace and truth. He manifested this in his ministry, both to individuals and to multitudes.
I noticed that grace is in the last verse of the whole Bible, where John wrote Revelation 22:21, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” I wondered how many other books in the New Testament ended with a word about grace. In total, 17 books or letters closed with grace. Then I looked to see how many books opened with a greeting of grace. Sixteen books included grace in the opening verses. Grace is important both in the beginning and ending.
Grace is the gift of God that produces, enhances, and develops salvation. God’s grace has potential to change a person’s life in a powerful way. The well-known song says it is “Amazing Grace.”
Grace is not a one and done experience with God. It is the initial gift and goodness of salvation and a teacher in how to live the born again life.
Titus 3:12 gives instructions on what should be denied as well as how to live. This comes directly after the victorious declaration of God’s grace bringing salvation in verse 11.
In living according to God’s grace, there is both addition and subtraction for a successful spiritual life. We add the bountiful blessings of God in our lives, who is always ready to add “much more.” At the same time, subtraction of harmful, addictive behaviors that hinder and hurt a spiritual walk with God must be enacted. In the Common English Bible version of Hebrews 12:1, advice is given to “throw off any extra baggage, get rid of the sin that trips us up.” In this way we gain the full benefits of God’s grace. It’s good to avoid the danger of turning grace into something else as warned in Jude 4.
Physically, being graceful means someone can move about without stumbling or falling. This is a good parallel for a believer to move forward in a victorious spiritual life by grace. This is more easily done without a lot of weights and entanglements of sin.
One of my favorite verses including grace is 2 Corinthians 9:8, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” This divine ability is what grace is about. The abundance of grace is what works in our favor. “All grace” and “all sufficiency in all things” is an amazing promise. The verse emphatically says it is for you.
Just as the last verse of the Bible says grace is available to all, let’s let grace have the last word in our experiences and our lives. Amen means “surely” and “So be it.”
One Response
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