Grace

In the previous seven lessons, we have seen that the main content of the Bible, which is the word of God and a revelation of His eternal purpose, is the gospel, the good news concerning Jesus Christ. This good news includes His incarnation, that is, the divine Son of God becoming flesh, and the redemption accomplished by shedding His blood on the cross. Based upon this redemption, we can now be justified by God and reconciled to Him. As we saw last week, because of propitiation through faith in the blood of Christ, we can have boldness to come forward to God to meet and fellowship with Him. Now, we must go on to see and realize that this is all possible not because of anything we have done to deserve it, but absolutely and one hundred percent because of, and by, the grace of God.


Note: "Grace" in the Bible is very crucial and sometimes misunderstood. A survey of this topic in the New Testament will reveal its different aspects, such as something of God toward us at the beginning of our salvation, and something of God working in us during the ongoing process of salvation. In this lesson, I will only deal with the first aspect.


Greek:
charis, has various uses, (a) objective, that which bestows or occasions pleasure, delight, or causes favorable regard, (b) subjective, 1. on the part of the bestower, the friendly disposition from which the kindly acts proceed, graciousness, loving-kindness, goodwill generally, 2. on the part of the receiver, a sense of favor bestowed, a feeling of gratitude, (c) in another objective sense, the effect of grace, the spiritual state of those who have experienced its exercise.

(From The Expanded Vines, by W.E. Vine)

(a) that which gives joy, pleasure, delight, loveliness, graciousness, (b) grace, undeserved favor, (c) a sign of favor, benefaction from men to God, (d) theologically, grace equals all that God the Father is free to do for His chosen people on the basis of His sovereignty and the finished work of Christ.

(From The New Englishman's Greek Concordance and Lexicon, by Wigram-Green)

Note: I have included these somewhat extensive definitions to show that grace is complex, rich, and deep in its biblical usage and its spiritual application. Although this word is used about 150 times in the New Testament, I will focus on three particular portions that address grace as that which comes from God for our initial experience of salvation.

Romans 3:24 says that we are "justified freely by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus." Based upon redemption, we can be freely justified by God. We become the recipients of God's favor, not based upon anything we have done or could do, but based upon what Christ has done. This is the grace of God.

According to Ephesians 2:1-9, we were all once dead in our offenses and sins, living in the lusts and desires of the flesh, and under the authority of evil forces. As such, we were children of wrath. But because of God's great love and His rich mercy, He made us alive, raised us up with Christ, and saved us. Once again, this was completely a matter of God's grace. Paul was emphatic, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works that no one should boast."

In Titus 3:3-7, Paul reminds us that it was the kindness and love and mercy and grace of God, not our own works of righteousness, which brought us from our lost and wretched condition to be justified, saved, and become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Along with the matter of redemption then, we could say that we are saved because of who God is and what Christ did, and we believed and freely received.

So then, let us be clear and never forget that we did not deserve salvation and could do nothing to obtain it. It is a free gift from God based upon the redemption accomplished by Christ on the cross that we receive through faith by the grace of God. May we all have a sense of favor bestowed and a humble heart of gratitude, as those who have become the recipients of the grace of God. By grace we have been saved through faith!

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