Every believer, by definition, is familiar with the concept and reality of God's grace. When we speak of God's grace, we mean all the good gifts we enjoy freely in life. As humans, we are given a unique place in the created order. In the creation stories, God pronounces all creation, including humankind, very good, that is, full of God’s grace. When we use the word graceful to describe a creature, it's because the creature is being expressive of its God-given self. There is another way of speaking about grace that is more about redemption grace than creation.
In theological terms there are different types of grace: sustaining grace, saving grace and sanctifying grace.
Sustaining grace is the favour that God gives to all people. Generally, it is manifested in the way God takes care of all people by providing for them sunshine, rain, shelter, food, government, laws, resources etc. Sustaining grace extends to every human alive. There is no doubt about the providence and sustenance of God, but it is certainly debatable whether these should be called "grace." On the other hand, saving and sanctifying grace is that favour from God expressed as God's redemption activity in Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11-13 says ‘‘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 Savoir, Jesus Christ,'' Saving grace is based upon the love of God manifested in the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins.
When I think of the grace of God, I think of steadfast love, compassion, mercy—a kind of unconditional acceptance that is unlike human love. To me, Psalm 103 describes the way in which God reaches out to us with this forgiving, all-encompassing love. It refer to the attribute of God's "graciousness" and actions wherein God was gracious, merciful and kind. The other powerful illustration of "grace" is the way Jesus treated persons-- accepting those who were considered outcasts by accepting them, eating with them, healing them, listening and talking with them.
Paul uses the word 'grace' as shorthand for the entire event of Jesus Christ and His ministry. When he says in Titus 2:11, that the 'grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men. Grace is not commodity or a substance. It is an action of God; therefore, it has a result; Notice that only the grace of God brings salvation; the law did not do it, science does not do it, psychology cannot do it, humanism will not do it and philosophy is unable to do it. None of these can save, but the grace of God evolved a method of saving men and women.
What is grace?
Someone has devised the following acronym of grace…
G (God's), R (Riches) A (At) C (Christ's) E (Expense)
Another person spelled out "grace" as…
G (stands) for Gift, the principle of grace.
R (stands) for Redemption, the purpose of grace.
A (stands) for Access, the privilege of grace.
C (stands) for Character, the product of grace.
E (stands) for Eternal Life, the prospect of grace.
Grace in simple terms is God's unmerited favour and supernatural enablement and empowerment for salvation and for daily sanctification. Grace is everything for nothing to those who don't deserve anything. Grace is what every man needs, what none can earn and what God Alone can and does freely give. In the Bible there are three distinctive meanings of grace; it means the mercy and active love of God; it means the winsome attractiveness of God; it means the strength of God to overcome. It is God’s gratuitous favour in the scheme of redemption. Grace is the difference between Man and God. God has the ability to "forgive and forget." Man, on the other hand, has the ability to forgive, but not forget. Another difference is that God always forgives, while not all of us are capable of forgiveness. Grace is central in salvation (justification - declaration of righteousness, past tense salvation) as Paul explains to the saints at Ephesians writing that…By grace we have been saved through faith. (Ephesians 2:8)
There are numerous Scriptural affirmations in the New Testament that link "grace" to Jesus: Redemptive grace is focused most clearly in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, whom we call Christ, meaning the one chosen to deliver this particular grace. We might refer to Jesus as Grace himself, as Grace in the flesh, as Grace walking around. The grace of Christ can inspire us in such a transformative way as to change our awareness of ourselves, of our potential as human beings and as humankind, and our awareness of God's gracious purpose for us and through us for all creation.
Grace is the foundation and peace is the result. Grace is God’s free unmerited favour toward man. Peace is the result to those who respond to His grace. Our hearts are kept in peace as we realize that the favour (grace) of God is upon us.
The Greek word for grace is charis. It means undeserved favour, good will, loving-kindness, unmerited divine assistance given to man for his regeneration or sanctification, Grace is God's love to us that causes God to give to us when there is no merit but much demerit. We are under God's grace; He keeps us in grace. Grace is God's exertion of holy, merciful, and kind influence upon the souls of His people. The result is salvation. It is this saving grace that continues to work in you to bring you to where God wants you to be. The grace that saves us goes on to sanctify us in two ways: - It teaches us to say ''No'' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.
Grace however is not only God's provision for our new birth (salvation Past)]) but is His present provision for our daily salvation (present tense salvation = progressive sanctification) in which God's Spirit progressively sets believers apart from the world, the flesh, and the devil and unto God. In other words if one defines grace by its salvation, grace is initially saving grace for a sinner and subsequently is sanctifying grace for a saint. Sanctifying grace provides the power for believers to "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:10)
The original Greek word for Grace is: "charis", which means "the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, love, and shows them how to keep His Commandments and how to become more like Christ day by day". In other words, the Grace of God is: "the merciful kindness of God and His blessing that turns people's heart to Christ and gives them the knowledge of how to change and conform to Jesus". In the Old Testament time, people were under the God's Law, they could only make any possible effort to keep it and obey God, but they did not have Truth in them with the ability to fully understand, or Grace with the power to effectively change. Now we live in the New Testament time and we are under a New Covenant thanks to Jesus and we have both Grace and Truth through Him. We have Truth with the ability to fully understand and Grace with the power to effectively change.
The indwelling grace that results in salvation also actively instructs you to turn from worldliness in this present age. God's indwelling grace is active. It leads you and influences you. It brings change to you and within you. How amazing is that? Not only does God’s grace save us, but if we embrace it, it will empower us to say no to the bad things of this world? That is the freeing power of grace. Through grace we can be set free from the things that haunt our past. Addiction, abuse, neglect, anger, pain, suffering, lying, cheating, stealing, whatever it is, in the grace of Jesus Christ WE CAN BE SET FREE! Jesus died to set each and every one of us free. And we have to lean into that grace, and onto that grace to sustain us. When Jesus rose from the dead with all power and authority, all systems of disgrace were defeated, and the spirit of grace was released and pronounced victorious.
"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire."(Hebrews 12:28, 29) Law and its "basis of works" must be contrasted with grace and its basis of faith (Rom. 9:32). Paul explains this contrast in Romans 11:6. "If it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace." "For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? When grace is operative in the believer life there will be "obedience resulting in righteousness" (Rom. 6:16). Scripture teaches, one can fear God and tremble at His word so as to find favour in His sight (Is 66:2)
In the Bible you will find four things which always characterize the GRACE OF GOD.
1. THE GRACE OF GOD IS ETERNAL (II Tim. 1:9)
“Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,”
2. THE GRACE OF GOD IS FREE (Rom. 3:24)
“And all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”. Salvation and eternal life is the gift of God. God’s grace offers salvation as a free gift to all who put their faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. Romans 6:23 states that the ‘wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’. But like any gift, it must be received. Have you by faith received God’s gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus the Lord (cf. Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4)?
3. THE GRACE OF GOD IS SOVEREIGN (Rom. 3:21).
“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.” When the Bible declares that grace is sovereign it is declaring that God is gracious to whom he will be gracious (Rom. 9:11-18). Humility is the only soil in which the graces root. The lack of humility is the sufficient explanation of every defect and failure.
4. THE GRACE OF GOD IS DISTINGUISHING (I Cor.4:7).
“Who made you superior to others? Didn't God give you everything you have? Well, then, how can you boast, as if what you have were not a gift? “...by grace you have been saved through faith. (Ephesians 2:8-10) ?- . Notice three things about the salvation that grace has brought: Salvation is embodied in a Person. The Person is Jesus Christ the Lord, whose name ?’Jesus’? means ‘?Saviour?’ it is a perfect and a free salvation. If grace provides it, it must be so. It is available to all people, everywhere. It is universal in its scope.
