Grace
One of my first blog posts in October 2006 had to do with grace, and I have written other times on that subject also. All three--that blog post and the subsequent two--were included in devotional books I did while we lived in California.
The shortest I called Examining Grace:
Grace: what a concept!? Unmerited favor--for merited would not be favor but payback.
Grace--derived from rejoice--and when we experience grace, we can only respond with rejoicing and awed hearts because we don't "deserve " grace.
Grace: said to be descriptive of God's favor, His forgiving mercy, the gospel (of grace of course), gifts (spiritual), and eternal life.
Grace: the source of salvation, call of God, faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), justification, forgiveness, and that blessed comfort.
Grace: described as all-abundant, all-sufficient, glorious, great, manifold, and rich.
Grace: believers are under it, receive it, stand in it, abound in it, are to be strong in it, grow in it, speak with it, and will inherit it.
Grace: who can wrap their mind around such a gift as this?
It is more than one package can contain or hold, yet small enough for the heart to encompass.
It is beyond the most mature believer to fully comprehend but not for the newest or the youngest to receive and rejoice in.
Grace....
Furthermore
Did you know that grace even appears in the book of Revelation? Revelation 22:21 reads: "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen."
Did you know that the psalmist wrote a plea for grace in Psalm 86:6? "Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer, listen to my plea for grace."
This time of year, many read the Gospel accounts of the Incarnation. John 1 contains these verses regarding Jesus Christ: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (14). "For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (16-17).
Luke recorded in Acts, "And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all" (4:33).
There are many more mentions of God's grace throughout the book of Acts. In chapter 20 we have these statements by Paul to the Ephesian elders: "But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious in my self, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God....And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified" (24, 32).
Frequently, Paul would begin his letters to the churches with "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Examples are Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he emphasized grace throughout his letters.
God shows what some refer to as "common grace" to all people. The rain falls on all, drought happens to all, weather events of other kinds occur. And the promise through Noah that God will never again destroy all with a flood stands, as do promises concerning the regular seasons.
Saving grace is another matter altogether. This is what Paul refers to in Romans when he talks about our being justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ (3:24), a promise which rests on grace (4:16), through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (5:2).
Does saving grace free us to sin? As Paul wrote, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!" (Romans 6:1-2) and restates this later in the chapter: "What then? Are we to sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!" (6:15).
Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, "Working together with him, then we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain" (2 Corinthians 6:1). The church there had given him cause for such concern.
Paul's own testimony of the sufficiency of God's grace comes in a familiar passage later in that same letter: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (12:9).
Ephesians contains this most awesome statement: "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked....But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (2:1, 4-10).
I could go on with more references, but will leave you with these thoughts for this week.
The shortest I called Examining Grace:
Grace: what a concept!? Unmerited favor--for merited would not be favor but payback.
Grace--derived from rejoice--and when we experience grace, we can only respond with rejoicing and awed hearts because we don't "deserve " grace.
Grace: said to be descriptive of God's favor, His forgiving mercy, the gospel (of grace of course), gifts (spiritual), and eternal life.
Grace: the source of salvation, call of God, faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), justification, forgiveness, and that blessed comfort.
Grace: described as all-abundant, all-sufficient, glorious, great, manifold, and rich.
Grace: believers are under it, receive it, stand in it, abound in it, are to be strong in it, grow in it, speak with it, and will inherit it.
Grace: who can wrap their mind around such a gift as this?
It is more than one package can contain or hold, yet small enough for the heart to encompass.
It is beyond the most mature believer to fully comprehend but not for the newest or the youngest to receive and rejoice in.
Grace....
Furthermore
Did you know that grace even appears in the book of Revelation? Revelation 22:21 reads: "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen."
Did you know that the psalmist wrote a plea for grace in Psalm 86:6? "Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer, listen to my plea for grace."
This time of year, many read the Gospel accounts of the Incarnation. John 1 contains these verses regarding Jesus Christ: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (14). "For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (16-17).
Luke recorded in Acts, "And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all" (4:33).
There are many more mentions of God's grace throughout the book of Acts. In chapter 20 we have these statements by Paul to the Ephesian elders: "But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious in my self, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God....And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified" (24, 32).
Frequently, Paul would begin his letters to the churches with "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Examples are Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he emphasized grace throughout his letters.
God shows what some refer to as "common grace" to all people. The rain falls on all, drought happens to all, weather events of other kinds occur. And the promise through Noah that God will never again destroy all with a flood stands, as do promises concerning the regular seasons.
Saving grace is another matter altogether. This is what Paul refers to in Romans when he talks about our being justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ (3:24), a promise which rests on grace (4:16), through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (5:2).
Does saving grace free us to sin? As Paul wrote, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!" (Romans 6:1-2) and restates this later in the chapter: "What then? Are we to sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!" (6:15).
Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, "Working together with him, then we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain" (2 Corinthians 6:1). The church there had given him cause for such concern.
Paul's own testimony of the sufficiency of God's grace comes in a familiar passage later in that same letter: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (12:9).
Ephesians contains this most awesome statement: "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked....But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (2:1, 4-10).
I could go on with more references, but will leave you with these thoughts for this week.
posted by Ebeth | 12:03 PM
1 Comments:
I thought your insight about how Paul and Barnabas were encouraged despite the virus ups and downs on their trip was well worth considering. A single detour or hurdle on our path is not the sign of failure. I tend to focus on these to look for solutions while forgetting they are part of God's plan.
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