1. Grace - What is it?
2. A Three-laned Freeway!
3. Deep and Wide!
4. The Circle of Grace
5. The Center of the Circle
Conclusion / Application
Introduction
I am aware of many great books which have been written on the
subject of grace. Some that I have recently read and enjoyed
immensely are: The Grace Awakening by Chuck Swindoll, What's So
Amazing about Grace by Phillip Yancey, and Transformed by Grace
by Jerry Bridges. God has, in His grace, been pleased to use
these writings along with other books, dozens of individuals,
and ministries, and my study and meditation of God's word to
truly give to me my own "grace awakening". I had known of God's
grace, I have sung about it, and even taught Bible studies about
it, but like all of God's truth, we all need the supernatural
enlightenment of the Holy Spirit to make what was only
head-knowledge into a life-changing, living reality in our daily
lives!
I have no delusions of presenting new hidden truths to impress
anyone, but at the same time, this study is not by any means
just a re-hashing of the grace books I have read. While
admitting to the influence and help of many men and women of
God, the boundless, incredible scriptures themselves,
illuminated by the Holy Spirit, have been, and by His grace,
will continue to be my main source of inspiration.
I believe as someone once said, "Grace cannot be taught, it can
only be lived." With that in mind, this study is not to be taken
just as a collection of facts and information about grace to
increase your knowledge and impress your friends! Hopefully, God
will use these few words to spark a grace awakening in your
life. But beware, once that happens, your life will never be the
same!
Chapter One
Grace - What is it?
The most basic and common definition of grace is "unmerited
favor". While that is true, it is only a limited, crude
description of something far more vast! To say that God's grace
is just unmerited favor could be compared to saying that Niagara
Falls is just a trickle! The Grand Canyon is just a crack! The
Oceans are just a puddle! The sun is just a light in the sky!
Grace is far more!
We run a risk in trying to define grace because as Phillip Yancey
says, "As soon as we define grace, it is like dissecting a frog.
You can find out all about a frog by dissecting it, but in order
to do that kind of detailed study you must first kill it! I
don't want to kill grace by attempting to define it, but in this
study I have found it helpful to liken it to a coin.
The Currency of the Kingdom
It is scriptural to liken grace to currency based on the parable
of the talents given by Jesus in Matthew 25:14-30. In that
parable certain servants were each given talents, some were
given up to five talents. These "talents" were not, as we
interpret in our modern English, skills or abilities. Rather, an
ancient talent was simply a monetary amount. Scholars have
debated the exact amount of a talent, but that is irrelevant, it
is clear that it was currency. If you read the parable
carefully, you will find that these talents are likened here not
to some natural ability, but rather to a God-given gift of
grace. All this to say, that the grace of God can be thought of
as kingdom currency and the most common form of currency in
Jesus' day was a coin!
The Two Sides of a Coin
One side of the grace coin could be likened to the most common
grace definition: unmerited favor. The other side of the coin is
a facet of God's grace, clearly revealed in scripture, but not
as well known: God's operational power in our lives. To help
clarify these two aspects of grace, here are some important
characteristics of each in comparison:...
Many believers in Christ, having first received God's saving
grace through faith, stop there. It is the first step into an
incredible journey that God desires all of us to move through,
step by step, all by and through His grace.
When a believer has both sides of this grace coin picture as a
living, growing reality in his/her life, then they can flow in
the third aspect of grace, serving grace, which we will examine
in context of all three in the next chapter.
Manna Grace
The Israelites, after crossing the Red Sea, were in a wilderness
with no food or water, and God miraculously provided for them.
In addition to water from a rock, and quail meat, God also
rained manna from heaven upon them every morning! When they
first saw this strange bread, they couldn't figure out what it
was, so they gave it a name: manna, which translates as "what
is it?"
They saw, gathered, and ate it, but they couldn't understand
what it actually was! While I can't say exactly what manna was
either, I wholeheartedly believe that it is an awesome
illustration of God's grace to His people! I also believe that
ancient manna has many lessons of what God's grace is to us,
today. Consider what the Bible reveals about this mysterious
substance, all gleaned from Exodus chapter sixteen:
Manna Characteristics
1. Supernatural
2. Sufficient
3. Satisfying
4. Supplied from an inexhaustible Source
5. Sent daily
6. Sovereignly given to the undeserved
7. Seen but indescribable
Please look again at the seven Manna Characteristics, but this
time, instead of thinking of the ancient bread, think of God's
Grace! Do they not share the same qualities? To answer the
age-old question that the word "manna" asks "What is it?" We can
simply reply "Manna was God's grace!" It came to them in the
form of this strange bread, but without it they would have died,
and it came as favor to a very undeserving people.
Manna & Jesus
Another reason why I love the manna and grace connection is
because of Jesus' own words about it. Even though the Israelites
didn't really know what manna was, they knew its source and
called it Bread from heaven" accordingly. (Exodus 16:4) That
same phrase describing manna is also found in Psalm 78:24. When
that phrase was quoted to Jesus, however, to manipulate Him into
performing another miracle, Jesus replied: "Most assuredly I say
to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My
Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of
God is He who comes down from Heaven and gives life to the
world." John 6:32-33 NKJ Two verses later, Jesus makes it
perfectly clear that He is God's true bread from heaven, when He
says: "I am the bread of life." (John 6:35)
What does this mean for us today? Simply put, it means that just
as that ancient bread called manna gave natural life to an
undeserving people, Jesus, who is all of God's grace, today
gives life spiritually to us, also an undeserving people, if we
believe and allow Him to!
Ancient manna is a type/shadow of living, powerful, active grace
today in the twenty-first century! Hopefully, this first chapter
will give you a better grasp on the nature of grace and what it
actually is. Although I conclude again by stating that grace is
more a life lived than a lesson thought, Let's live it!
Perhaps the best definition of grace is actually two words that
describe it well and require some meditation to really sink-in:
Grace is young glory. Please take a few moments to ponder that
thought before continuing on to the next chapter.
Chapter 2
A The Three-Laned Freeway
The Greek word that is translated "grace" or "favor" in our
English Bibles is "charis", pronounced Karees". This word is
found 156 times throughout the New Testament. We also see in
many passages of the New Testament that there is a three-fold
aspect to God's grace, and it clearly pertains to God's
operating in our lives.
1. Saving grace to us
2. Sanctifying grace in us
3. Serving grace through us
Interestingly, the 156 occurrences of grace divide up almost
equally into thirds: one third dealing with saving grace, one
third dealing with sanctifying grace, and the other third
relating to serving grace!
Joyce Meyer said in one of her books on Grace "There is no way
to travel from the state of sinfulness to the state of holiness
except by the "Highway of Grace". That is very true, and I wish
to add that the Highway of Grace is
1. A Freeway - not a toll way!
2. A Three-laned freeway!
Yes, it is a very costly freeway, but the price was paid
completely by Jesus Christ, we don't have to pay for it! God's
grace is free, but it is not cheap, just paid for with a high
price by the Son of God. This freeway has three lanes, all going
the same direction, one lane is Saving Grace to us, one is
Sanctifying Grace in us, and one is Serving Grace through us.
I will go into more detail on these three aspects of grace in
chapter four, "The Circle of Grace", but for now let's look at
one verse that clearly reveals this beautiful triadic truth.
Scripture Picture
"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all
men. It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly
passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives
in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope - the
glorious appearing of our great God and savior, Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to
purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do
what is good." Titus 2:11-14 (NIV)
As you can see this text begins with "the Grace of God", that is
the focus of this discourse by the Apostle Paul to Titus. We see
that also this grace is both a noun and a verb in this text. Who
appeared to all men and brought salvation? When Jesus was born
in Bethlehem we can easily say that it was the grace of God
wrapped in swaddling clothes! John said that Jesus came "full of
grace and truth" (John 1:17)
Jesus is the grace of God personified! Then we see grace also as
a verb in this text, because it does something, it teaches us to
literally say "no" to sin and "yes" to God! The Greek word for
teach here means much more that just verbally teaching about
something, but rather an involved, lengthy process both by word
and example, such as a parent teaching and raising a child.
The scripture picture of the three-laned highway is seen in
verse 14 of this text:
"...who gave himself for us to redeem us from all
wickedness... (Saving Grace)
and to purify for himself a people that are his very
own...(Sanctifying Grace)
eager to do what is good."( Serving Grace)
Chapter 3
Deep and Wide
There's an old children's Sunday School chorus that I remember
singing: "Deep and wide, deep and wide, there's a fountain
flowing deep and wide." It's a good chorus to sing, imparting
the idea of the bigness of God! I regret that it took me over
thirty-five years to finally realize just what that fountain is:
God's grace!
Grace Upon Grace
In many ways God's grace can be thought of as a deep, wide,
flowing fountain - I believe Zech 13:1 is speaking of Christ's
first coming and his work on the cross: "In that day a
fountain shall be opened for the House of David and for the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and uncleanness..." NKJ
Also, Jesus, the personification of grace, said, "If anyone
thirsts let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as
scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living
water."
I want to focus on one verse that truly implies this deep and
wide flowing water, the bigness of God's grace, and to help see
it better, let's look at it in translations. The Scripture is
John 1:16.
"And of his fullness we have all received, and grace for
grace." (NKJ)
"We all live off his generous bounty, gift after gift after
gift." (The Message)
"From the fullness of his grace we all have received one
blessing after another." (NIV)
One excellent commentator, William Hendrickson, translated it
"Grace upon Grace". He wrote: "The meaning is that believers are
constantly receiving grace in the place of grace! One
manifestation of the unmerited favor of God in Christ is hardly
gone when another arrives; hence grace upon grace."
Jerry Bridges, in his masterpiece Transforming Grace says, "The
idea portrayed here is analogous to the ocean waves crashing
upon the beach. One wave has hardly disappeared before another
arrives. They keep coming from an inexhaustible supply. So it is
with the grace of God through Christ. He is full of grace and
truth, and it is from his inexhaustible fullness that we receive
one blessing after another.
I challenge you to begin to think of God's grace like the ocean,
but far deeper and far wider. Regardless of our limited
understanding we can experience a grace-awakened life!
Super-abounding Grace
Continuing on the subject of the bigness of God's grace, let's
focus on another verse that portrays this aspect. In Romans
5:20, Paul, in context of speaking of the law of God and our
inability to obey it because of our sin states: "...but where
sin abounded, grace abounded much more." (NKJ)
Noted Bible commentators, R.C.H. Lenski and John Murray both use
the term "super abounding" rather than "abounded much more". In
their words, "but where sin abounded, grace super abounded!'
I remember a popular slogan from years ago in the church, "God
is bigger that any problem I have." While that is very true, let
me give my own version for today with God's grace in mind,
"God's grace is bigger than any sin in the universe!" You can
never out-sin the grace of God it is always bigger, because it
super abounds!
Now, I anticipate what some people may think while reading those
words, "Well, since the more I sin the more God's grace abounds,
I'll just sin more so I can have more grace!" There is always
the danger of that kind of anti-scriptural, ill-logic when
speaking of the freedom of God's grace. The Apostle Paul also
anticipated this response from the Romans, here is his reply to
them in Romans 6:12: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue
in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who
died to sin live any longer in it?" Enough said, let's move
on...
The Balance of Grace
God's grace is deep, wide, flowing, super abounding, and lastly
we discuss in this chapter, it is balanced! Twice in Proverbs we
are told that a false weight or balance is an abomination to the
Lord. (Prov. 11:1, & 20:23) In Proverbs 16:11 we see that "A
just weight and balance are the Lord's, all the weights in the
bag are his work."
What are the things that are to be balanced? The Bible is not
specific in these and other passages. However, it would not be
too radical or out of line to literally link all things to God's
balance! We see a very enlightening verse in Ecc 7:18 in the NIV
stating, "...the man of God avoids all extremes!" Including the
extremes of grace living! Simply stated, on one side, to the
extreme, we have legalism, and on the opposite end to the other
extreme we have license. There are many believers, including
those in leadership positions in many churches, operating in
legalism, with a basic definition of "your own work, efforts,
and rules, to attain the blessing and favor of God; rather that
God's presence, power, and grace.." As a former legalist myself,
I know what I'm writing about! The problem arises when people
allow God's grace in to burn away their legalism, many while
enjoying their new found freedom, swing to the other extreme of
license. License is simply an abuse of the freedom we have in
Christ, it's "everything is okay, no rules, no authority, do
whatever you like." This is also a grave mistake, just as bad as
remaining a legalist! The Apostle Paul alludes to license when
speaking of grace when he says "Shall we continue in sin that
grace may abound? Certainly not!" (Romans 6:1,2) So where is
that middle ground, and how do we get there? Let me introduce
another word also starting with the letter "L" - "Love".
God's love is his grace, and his grace is his love. It's where
we need to live, work, serve, and breathe daily! We all can
easily get into legalism and license all by ourselves, but to
flow in grace and love. It is impossible to do naturally by our
own effort; it takes a child-like trust and faith in a
supernatural, living God everyday.
Legalism
Love/Grace
License
Religion Relationship Rebellion
Achieving & Abiding in Christ Anarchy
Attaining
So, how deep and wide is God's grace? It is an immeasurable
depth and width, far beyond our comprehension! There is no depth
deeper that God's love (Romans 8:39), and as for width, North
and South will always meet, but East and West never do, they go
on in infinity, this is how far and wide God's love and grace
must be to cast our sins away! (Psalm 103:12)
"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor
principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to
come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall
be able to seperate us from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38, 39)
"As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our
transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:12)
Chapter Four
The Circle of Grace
God's three-lane freeway as seen from a heavenly perspective
"It's important to look at things from God's point of view."
That is Eugene Peterson's interpretation of 1Corinthians 4:6 in
the Message. The principal truth of that statement is accurate
and scripturally sound! The Psalmist, Asaph, may have had that
in mind when speaking of the prosperity of the wicked - he said
"Until I went to the sanctuary of God, then I understood their
end." Psalm 73:17 NKJ The message reads, "Until I entered the
sanctuary of God, then I saw the whole picture." Psalm 73:17.
Let's proceed further into the sanctuary of God's grace, and
prayerfully, humbly, seek to view another perspective, a larger,
more panoramic view of God's three-lane freeway of grace as
discussed in chapter two.
It's a Circle!
For review, here are the three lanes of grace:
Saving grace to us
Sanctifying grace in us
Serving grace through us
In the last chapter we saw how we can compare God's grace to the
ocean - its depth and vastness, but the ocean has another
quality and that is movement! I believe that God's freeway of
grace is not a long and winding road, and it is not a dead-end
street! God's grace flows in a circle! Although I believe it is
a three-lane circular freeway, in no way do I want to limit God
by saying that His amazing grace is only three lanes. In fact
1Peter 4:10 speaks of "the manifold grace of God" suggesting
that God's grace to us could have thousands upon thousands of
different aspects, functions or lanes. But from the light of
scripture that the Lord has so graciously provided at this time,
we are on solid scriptural ground if we continue with the
primary three lanes.
Again, God's grace is nearly impossible to define or describe,
except to state these truths:
It is three-fold
It is moving
It flows in a circle
Saving grace begins at the top of the circle. Because it is
completely all God's work and totally begins with Him! Now if we
move clockwise, at some point, if we continue to grow in grace,
we move into the entrance ramp of sanctifying grace. Then as we
continue to grow and flow into all that God has for us, we move
into the entrance ramp of serving grace, and begin to flow more
serving others with our God-given gifts. But it doesn't stop
there! Continuing moving clockwise in the circle, our
grace-driven service returns to God in praise & worship! In
essence, our destination is our starting point! Since we were
born-again from above, we will return to our point of origin:
above.
Three-in-One and One-in-Three
Now I must insert a word of caution not to miss-understand this
concept. Please do not think that upon receiving initial grace,
that is all you get, and you must wait until some future date to
be sanctified and wait even longer to serve! Even though I
believe God's grace is three-laned, it is helpful to picture all
of those lanes flowing in a circle at all times. Each lane has
both an entrance and and exit ramp. some people flow in all
three upon initial salvation. Others, more in serving but have a
long way to go in allowing God's sanctifying grace to flow. It
is very helpful to compare this three-laned concept to the
concept of the trinity. Each person of the God-head has specific
functions towards us, but they are all one. Three distinct
personalities, but one God - or as someone once said: "Three in
one and one in three." Both the triune Godhead and the
beautiful, circular three-lane freeway of Grace!
Scripture Pictures
So far, this concept of grace as a circle may seem far-fetched
and the result of a vivid imagination, but I ask you to explore
with me a few scriptures, that, with a little digging, do indeed
portray this concept.
"His Own Special People" Titus 2:14 NKJ
In Titus 2:14, in the context of grace, we find a very
interesting and enlightening phrase, "His own special people" or
in the NIV, "People that are His very own", or you may prefer
the King James translation, "A peculiar people." These are
translations of one Greek word that is only found here on this
text in the whole Bible, that Greek word is: "periousios"
pronounced "pear-ee-oh-see-ohs". It is made up of two words
which basically mean 1. around and 2. to be. The Greek idea is
of a dot within a circle, the dot being us, the circle being
God's love and grace! We are placed there in the center of the
circle by God's grace, and kept there, surrounded by His love
and also by His grace, nothing can touch us inside that circle
unless God allows it, and it has to go through Him to get to us!
We are the dot, and God's love and grace is the circle around us
making us His very own!
For the Love of Christ Constrains Us 2 Cor. 5:14
Here in this verse we see another example of the circle of God's
love and grace. In the translation, "constrains" or "compels" is
the Greek word "synecho", which comes from two Greek words
meaning 1. together and 2. holding tight. Its actual meaning is
to intensely hold and press together from all sides, to encircle
or hem in! Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest writes on this word, "It
presses on me from all sides, holding me to one and prohibiting
me from considering any other, wrapping itself around me in
tenderness.." That is what God's love does for us! Again it
encircles us!
More "Circle" Verses
"I'm leaping and singing in the circle of your love." Psalm 31:7
The Message
"God's angel sets up a circle of protection around us while we
pray." Psalm 34:7 The Message
"For from Him , through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be
the glory forever, amen. Rom. 11:36 NIV (emphasis added)
"And there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like
an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones..." Rev.
4:3,4
Chapter Five
The Center of the Circle
In the last chapter we looked at how grace can be scripturally
understood as a circle in its flow. While it is flowing as a
three-lane freeway, it has exit and entrance ramps at three
points for us: 1. Saving grace to us 2. Sanctifying grace in us
and 2. Serving grace through us.
God's saving grace to us is always completely 100 percent
vertical, from God to us. We are saved by His doing, not ours,
we simply respond by faith to His grace. Then both sanctifying
and serving grace, while still initiated and empowered by God,
involves horizontal living on this earth. Sanctification is a
life-long process combining our surrender, yielding, and
trusting in dealing with people and things. While living in the
horizontal life on this earth, serving grace involves serving
God, but how do we serve God? By serving and loving other
people! Again, it involves the horizontal living.
Now, I want to explore two things that this diagram of
connecting the dots brings out for us to understand.
God's Bull's Eye
The first aspect of the circle's center is that it
is a bull's eye, a target, the exact center of the mark being
where the two lines intersect in the middle of the circle, what
does this bull's eye target within God's circle of grace
represent? Answer: The Law of God. The Hebrew word for "law" is
"torah", which comes from the root Hebrew word "yarah" which
means "to shoot at a target" or similarly "shooting an arrow at
the bull's eye!"
The psalmist understood this when he said, "My question: what
are worshipper's like? Your answer: Arrow's aimed at God's
bull's eye." Psalm 25:12 The Message. God's law, namely the Ten
Commandments, are the standard by which we can not only enter
heaven, but have relationship with God now in this life.
Furthermore, these commandments must be kept perfectly,
completely, every day in both word and spirit! In other words,
if you think you are obeying the commandment to not steal, but
you covet things in your heart, you fail. If you don't commit
adultery but ever lust in your heart, you fail! God is perfect
and demands perfection! None of us can ever obey or even hope to
obey His law, which is the bull's eye, the target we must hit.
The Problem
The reason we cannot hit the mark of God's bull's eye is due to
one thing: sin. Now remember God's law is the bull's eye target
by its very definition, so let's now look at defining the
problem further. The Hebrew word for "sin" is "chet" and you
shouldn't be surprised at its basic meaning which is "to miss the
mark"! All of us have missed God's mark of obeying His law! All
of us are guilty! We see God's law is the perfect demand, sin is
the present problem, and next we will look at the all-sufficient
solution!
The Solution
The second aspect of the center of the circle is that it also
represents the cross! This is the powerful, all-sufficient
solution to our problem, not only of initial salvation by grace,
but every step along the way, every day. We need to go the
Way of the cross, by the Working of the cross, so the Wonder of
the cross will be seen in our lives. "The message of
the cross is the power of God." (1 Cor.1:18) What is that specific
message that is the power of God? It wasn't just the cross, but
its message. I believe that the message of the cross is Grace.
That's the power of God! Remember the two-sided coin? Grace is
unmerited favor and God's operational power. I believe the cross
is where mercy met truth and in God's mathematics, mercy + truth
= grace. Psalm 85:10. That is what empowers this amazing circle
of grace, the source of all power and grace itself, at the very
center - the cross!
God's Perfection
So we see that to flow in God's circle of grace, or to even
start in it, we need the power of the cross: grace, every step
of the way. God's perfection in us is the only thing that will
satisfy and meet His own demands. God demands perfection in both
Old and New Testaments. (Genesis 17:1 and Matthew 5:48)
The cross is truly God's perfection! This statement is more than
just some biblical principal or my opinion, it is an eternal
truth spoken by the Lord Jesus Himself. In John 19:30, while
Jesus was on the cross, he spoke His last few words, "It is
finished." The word "finished" in the Greek text is "teleo"
which along with finished, means completed, brought to and end,
grand summary, or "to be perfect". In fact, this is how the same
Greek word is translated in 2Corinthians 12:9, where Paul is
quoting Jesus saying, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My
strength is made perfect in weakness." (emphasis added) You can
inter-change these to fit by also saying "My strength is
finished in weakness" and from Jesus' last words, "It is
perfect."
The cross is both the curse and the cure, both terrible and
beautiful, it's the only way we can enter on to the three-lane
freeway of grace, and it's the only way we go on through
sanctifying and serving grace! It's not only the center of the
circle, God's bull's eye, it's the center of everything in God's
plan for us. It is the powerful, all-sufficient solution to
God's demand for perfection, and our present problem of sin. But
again, I stress the fact that God's cross-empowered grace circle
is not just for beginners! It is how we start, and how we
continue, and how we are eventually brought home to glory. So no
matter where you are in your relationship with God, you need to
allow God to immerse you in His grace, whether it's initial
saving grace or sanctifying or serving grace, and it's all based
on His work, free to us, and it's all focused on and from His
center bull's eye: the cross!
Conclusion/Application
My hope and prayer is that these few words on God's amazing
grace will be used by the Lord to spark a grace-awakening in
your life. But where do we go from here? How do we begin to
apply some of these truths in our lives? Before I list a few
suggestions, I want to restate and summarize just what grace
living is and what it isn't.
Grace Living
1. It is an exchanged life - not just a changed life.
As someone once said, "We don't need to turn over a new leaf, we
need a new life!" We must understand that to truly living in the
circle of grace begins with a total transformation! God doesn't
just change us, He exchanges His life for ours; we get the much
better deal! That doesn't mean we won't still have struggles and
sin issues, but it does mean that it's not us just trying to get
enough strength and will power to resist, but rather, we admit
we are helpless to overcome in our own strength, and trust, by
faith, in God's power, grace, and new inner spirit that He gave
us! That is living victoriously and by grace.
2. It is a Gift - Not a Reward
We must always remember that God's three-lane circle of grace is
a freeway not a toll way! There is nothing we can do to earn or
merit His grace to us. I realize that it says in James 4:6, "God
resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." So the
question arises, "Don't we have to be humble to receive God's
grace, and isn't that a condition?" We must be very careful to
balance scripture with scripture. Yes, we must be humble, but
humility is not measured by external, outward acts of piety.
Furthermore, any humility we have that God knows and sees, comes
by His grace anyway! God does not owe us anything no matter what
we do for Him!
3. It is Obtained - Not Attained
Again, we must never think that God's grace is something that He
gives to us once we have attained some higher level, or done
something to be worthy of it. No, it is obtained by the finished
work of Christ on the cross, the very center of the power of
grace. What did Paul do to attain God's grace? He was an enemy
of God murdering Christians when he encountered the
life-changing grace of God. What did the thief on the cross do
to attain God's grace? He did receive it because Jesus told him
that he would join Him in paradise that day, but he was a
criminal and sinner deserving his punishment. He obtained God's
free gift of grace by faith, just like we all do and countless
others as we embark into the incredible journey of the circle of
grace!
4. It is an Expression - Not Suppression
Yes, part of grace-living involves us saying "no" to sin and
unrighteousness, but that is only part of it. It also involves
us saying "yes" to living soberly, justly, and righteously. (See
Titus 2;11-14) If all you know is the suppression part, it
becomes a closed system of rules and regulations which hinders
expression and creativity and breeds disappointment, despair,
and frustration. God is the most creative artist, musician,
tradesman in the universe, and if He lives inside us by His
grace, we should be abounding in creativity in every area that
He has gifted us! True grace living will enable you to flow in
inspiration and creativity like you've never before dreamed
possible.
5. It is Free - but not Cheap
I have spoken much on how God's grace is free and unmerited to
us, but we must also understand that in no way is it cheap. We
often label anything that is free as having little value. There
must be a reason why it's free because no one would pay to have
it! But God's grace is not like that! It is very expensive and
the price was paid in full by Jesus Christ on the cross! There's
an old chorus that says it well:
He paid a debt He did not owe
I owed a debt I could not pay
I needed someone to wash my sins away
And now I sing a brand new song
Amazing grace
Christ Jesus paid a debt, that I could never pay
Once we understand this great debt that Christ paid for us, we
will never begin to take it for granted or think lightly of it.
Final Practical Suggestions
1. Get in the Flow of Grace!
The first step that needs to happen is to simply jump into the
circle of grace by faith! It's also called being born-again or
getting saved, but don't be turned off by those terms and assume
you know all about it. Trying to move into anything in God's
grace apart from this first step is like trying to work a
computer without plugging it into the electrical outlet! There
are no magic formulas for getting into the flow, we simply come
to God by faith, admit and confess that we are sinners unable to
save ourselves, then ask Him to save us and embrace His awesome
grace!
2. Begin to Grow in Grace
This next step is essential for all of us, after we've first
entered into the flow of grace, no matter where we are at in our
spiritual journey in Christ. From the brand-new believer to the
oldest, seasoned saint, everyone needs to continually be growing
in grace. It is commanded in scripture (2 Peter 3:18) and even
Jesus, the holy Son of God needed to grow in grace while in His
earthly body! "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and
in favor with God and man." (Luke 2:52) The word translated
"favor" is the Greek word "charis" which means
grace.
Remember, God's grace is always moving, and if we're in the
flow, and allowing God to lead us, so will we be moving! It is a
sad reality to know that most believers only know and flow in
one avenue of grace (saving) but there's also sanctifying and
serving grace that we need to move into, and no one wants us
there more than God Himself - let's let Him lead us!
3. Ask God for Your Daily Portion of Grace
In what is commonly called "The Lord's Prayer", one of the
petitions to God that Jesus taught us to use is "Give us this
day our daily bread". As I pointed out in chapter one,
manna=grace, therefore it is in line with scripture to ask God
for our daily portion that we need! God knows how much grace we
need, which differs from day to day. Some days we only need
common grace for common, ordinary things, other times we need
sudden grace for surprise-filled days, or even catastrophic grace
for those days when we encounter catastrophes. I sincerely
believe that God has portioned for each of us the exact amount
we need each day to live, cope, and abound in our lives. Jerry
Bridges said it well, "On your best day you are never good
enough to be out of need of God's grace, and on your worst day
you are never bad enough to be out of reach of God's grace."
"Not a day goes by without His unfolding grace." 2Corinthians
4:16 The Message. Ask Him for it every day, I do, we need it!
4. Allow God's Grace to Alter or Prioritize Your Identity
Many people, and sadly, many Christ followers, have their
identity wrapped up in a variety of things. It could be a
career, hobby, money or the lack there of, houses, cars, sports,
family, kids. None of these things are wrong in themselves, but
to have your identity intertwined with something or someone
other than God is very dangerous because if that thing is taken
away, or that person lets you down, your world can be shaken and
your faith may be built on sinking sand. The ancient biblical
character Job is an example of one whose identity is in God.
When nearly everything he had, including all his children, were
taken in one day, he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb,
naked I will return to the womb of the earth. God gives, God
takes, God's name be evermore blessed." Job 1:20 The Message..
Could we say the same? What is your identity in? If it's not in
God, ask Him to transform your mind by His grace so your whole
person and identity is in God, who never changes! The apostle
John also understood this principal well. He allowed God's love
and grace to transform him so much that he only refers to
himself as "the one whom Jesus loved." You can start allowing
God to change you in this area by meditating on this truth that
you also are the one whom Jesus loves!
Pray Right Now
If you are sincere about moving on in God's awesome grace, and
if you've already taken the initial step of faith into saving
grace, please pray this brief prayer with me:
"Lord, I am willing to receive what You give,
To lack what you withhold,
To let go of what you take,
To suffer what you allow,
To be what you require,
And to move on and grow in Your grace,
Starting right now,
Thank you Lord!
Now simply trust God by faith to begin a deeper work of grace in
your life, trust Him everyday, practice His presence by knowing
He's there with you and cares for your every need no matter how
large or small.
Grace and Peace be Yours,
John Boda |
