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What is God’s Grace?

What is God’s Grace?

What do you understand the grace of God to be? A classic answer is “unmerited favor,” and what is usually meant by that is something we have not earned.

And it is certainly true that none of us have earned God’s grace. His grace is not a paycheck, a medal, or a reward for some achievement on our part. But to talk about grace in this way focuses on the process of receiving grace—not on what grace is.

The United States has historically been a society based on merit—a meritocracy. If you work hard, you reap the rewards of your work. So, if you get paid by your employer, you have earned or merited that pay. If you get stronger muscles by exercising regularly, you have earned or merited the growth in your muscles. If you become a better musician because you practice regularly, you have earned or merited that proficiency.

Unmerited favor is when you receive something you didn’t earn or didn’t merit; in other words, you don’t have a right to claim something as being owed to you. In that sense, God’s grace is not ours to claim by right. But understanding that God’s grace is not something we earn still doesn’t tell us what that grace is.  

If someone gave you a glass of water as you were dying of thirst, you didn’t buy it, earn it, or work for it—it was a gift. One could say the water was unmerited; it was given to you freely. But the water is water—the method of how you get it, whether free or at a cost to you, is separate from the substance of what it is.

The gift of God’s grace to us is the manifestation of His character of love; it is gracious of God. But the fact that God gives His grace freely does not tell us what that grace is. Consider grace as a noun; the action of gifting it is a verb—we receive God’s grace without earning it, but what is His grace?

 

Deserve Versus Being Owed

Since it is true that God’s grace is a gift to us—something we have not earned, something we are not owed, something we do not receive by right—does that also mean we do not deserve God’s grace?

That depends on how one understands or defines “deserve.” Does a child born with a terminal illness deserve to be treated with kindness, compassion, and offered a remedy if one exists to restore them to wellness—even though they have done nothing to earn such treatment? Why would they deserve it? Does a child, simply by being a human child, deserve the love of its parents—not because the child earned anything but because of who the child is to the parents? Do we have value and worth to God, not because of our achievements or any work we have done, but because of who God created us to be, because of what God has designed for us and invested in us?

When the Bible describes Jesus as growing in wisdom and stature and favor (which is the Greek word for grace) with God and men (Luke 2:52), did Jesus not deserve His Father’s grace or favor?

Was the grace that Jesus received from His Father, as our human substitute, given freely by His Father or did Jesus have to earn it? No, the Father gave His grace to Jesus in the same way He gives His grace to us! Jesus didn’t “earn” grace from His Father through some system of employment or quest fulfillment. Jesus, as a human, received the free grace of His Father and was empowered by the Father’s grace in order to accomplish their joint purpose in saving humanity from sin.

 

Heaven’s Empowerment

So what is God’s grace?

The Greek word translated as grace is χάρις [charis /khar·ece/], and the Strong lexicon says it is “good will, loving-kindness, favour … the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues” (Strong, J. 1995. In Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship).

This is exactly what Paul wrote in Romans 2:4: “God’s kindness leads you toward repentance” (NIV84).

And the kindness of God is freely given because of who God is. We see God’s grace in His every action, all His activities, which are the outflow of His character of love and which always fights against evil, opposes corruption, stands against sin, and heals, renews, recreates, cleanses, and ultimately destroys death and brings life and immortality to light (2 Timothy 1:10). God’s grace is the dispersement of His energy, love, life, and power and is seen in His every act, but it is most fully seen in response to rebellion and sin. As Paul wrote, “Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more” (Romans 5:20 NKJV).

God was just as gracious before sin and His grace was present and active before sin, but after sin His grace has been active and revealed in ways that were never before seen in the universe because it was never before needed—including the gracious condescension of Jesus to be our Savior. Prior to sin, God was just as gracious, but His grace never had to function to overcome sin until sin occurred.

We see God’s grace in calling to Adam in the cool of the day before Adam sinned, but His grace is more powerfully revealed when God gently called, “Adam, where are you?” when Adam was hiding in the bushes after he sinned.

We see God’s grace in His patient forbearance toward lost sinners prior to the Flood, waiting to act until there was no other option, when only one righteous man was left on the earth; thus, we see God’s grace in bringing the Flood as a therapeutic intervention to keep open the avenue for the Messiah in order to save the species human from sin and eternal death.

But we see God’s grace most fully revealed in sending Jesus to take up humanity, broken and damaged by Adam’s sin, and overcome where we never could.

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 NIV84).

 

“From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:16, 17 NIV84).

 

“But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift” (Ephesians 4:7 NRSV).

 

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of Godnot by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:8–10 NIV84).

The grace of God is indeed a gift—like water to a person dying of thirst is a gift; the gifting is gracious, but the grace is more than the act; it is the substance of God’s character—His love, truth, methods, power, glory, righteousness—fully manifested in Jesus. When we receive God’s grace, we are receiving the presence and power of God via His indwelling Spirit, we are receiving the gift of Jesus, and can say as Paul did, “It is no longer I that live but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). When we receive God’s grace, we receive a new heart and right spirit; we have His law written upon our hearts and minds (Hebrews 8:10).

To receive the grace of God means that when we trust Him, when we place our faith in Him, we receive God, via His Spirit, into our hearts, and Jesus lives in us—this is the living grace of God that heals and transforms us. I invite you, if you haven’t already done so, to ask and receive His grace into your heart and mind today.

 

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We were given a gift of the DVD set, “God and Your Brain,” and we just finished watching it. The truths in this are so powerful and truly an answer to a prayer. We’re seeing hope where once we thought God wasn’t answering our prayers to be free of certain mindsets. He answered with these DVDs and we are hungry for more. Thank you!

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I have been watching you for many years and have learned to love God with all my heart. I was raised by a loving Christian mother that had been lied to about who God really was, so our religious upbringing was hell fire and damnation. As soon as I was old enough and moved out, I not only left the church, I ran as fast as I could to get away from it. Sad to say, it wasn’t until the past couple of years that I learned and understand who my Father really is and how much He loves me. I understand God’s Design Laws (which make sense) and when I’m teaching my church Bible study class, I’m able to really put to use the things I’ve been learning and Holy Spirit is leading. Thank you for introducing me to my Father of true, pure love. Everyday with Him is new and exciting. One thing that breaks my heart is that I didn’t know Him sooner. God Bless you and your ministry!

Judy Phelps, Reno, NV, USA

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I was introduced to Come and Reason Ministries by accident, via a passing comment made in a bible study class we were visiting. I checked this website out and my life was changed. The understanding of the truth of God’s character, and how we apply it, is so right. The tricky part is consistently applying which “lens” to look through. As I began to understand, I started sharing the basics of this understanding with a discussion group I was leading and, suddenly, a lot of things started to make sense that never used to. At the same time, I enjoyed an amazing opportunity. I was able to conduct a full bible study at WORK! What an amazing experience! It is such a joy to share the truth about God and to share how it all fits in the war between God and Satan. So many people benefit when we have a correct understanding about how God works and who He really is! Thank you for this transformational understanding. Keep up the good work! God Bless you!

Tony P., CA, USA

 

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I am just writing to say that I have been so blessed by the teachings of Come And Reason Minitries recently. I watched last week’s bible study lesson on Youtube and am thankful that the error in the printed lesson guide you use was pointed out and this week’s study was of equal benefit, if not more so. My understanding of God’s nature has been very confused of late and I am so grateful for clarity in this matter. I have never really fully understood previously how a good God can cause bad things to happen and now I realise that He doesn’t, it’s a natural consequence of sin. May the almighty Father and His Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, continue to bless your ministry.

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Testimony 58

I have been watching your videos in The Power of Love seminar and I must say these have liberated me and have improved my relationship with the Lord. I am no longer terrified of him as I was before following your teachings.

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Testimony 62

I would like to express my thanks to the C&R team for creating a platform from which people can learn to trust in God and grow. My life is a witness to the effectiveness of this ministry. Without believing the truth about God as you have shown, I don’t know what my life would be like. I had given up on God helping me with certain sins – it was all useless. Given that the scripture is clear and God is so good, how could I have betrayed him so many times? I was a yo-yo christian; spinning up and down. My faith and enthusiasm was driven by discoveries/threats that prophecy is about to be fulfilled. But when I watched your “Healing the Mind” seminar, it was like a light finally went on. I could see God had no plan to hurt me, the danger came from sin, and that He is working to protect me and strengthen me. Thank you for allowing God to use you. The message God gave C&R saved my life!

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My husband is a pastor and I listen to your lesson almost every week. Thank you for helping me in my study life and to help me love the “real” God more.

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Testimony 65

I have been tuning into your weekly study classes for a while now and wanted express my appreciation for the teachings that ha been a huge blessing in opening up the true message of the word. Viewing scripture under an imposed law theory always, without fail, raised more questions, concerns, and conflicting scripture interpretations that were discouraging at the very least. Looking at scripture through the design law lens has brought more truth to light for me personally and an understanding of our Heavenly Father that places Him “above all others,” where I am now more than thrilled to witness and serve Him.  I “stumbled” across this ministry a year or so ago and would only watch a few minutes at a time. But the more I listened and the longer I paid attention, the more my spiritual eyes were opened to the ever present truths of scripture. The comprehension of the great controversy and it’s origin by the lies perpetrated and perpetuated throughout the Bible on the attack of God’s character and government is truly priceless. Keep up the Good Work! Your servanthood is desperately needed in such a time as this!

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