The Riches of His Grace
Ephesians 1:1-8
Often when we think of God's amazing grace we think of it in terms of God's saving grace where God in spite of our sinfulness and unworthiness sent His Son to die for us that we might freely receive eternal life through His unmerited provision. But we need to realize that there is so much more to God's amazing grace. Grace is a vast treasure chest whose depths we can hardly fathom and which we can never exhaust. There is so much more to grace than our tongues could ever tell. In looking at the riches of God's grace in the lives of believers there are three facets I want you to consider - sanctifying grace, sustaining grace and securing grace.
I. His Grace Sanctifies
A. According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, to sanctify is "to set apart or observe [something] as holy" or "to purify or free from sin."1 These definitions reflect the fact that the Bible uses the word "holy" in two main ways: 1) a special status, that is, set apart for God’s use, and 2) moral behavior—thoughts and actions appropriate to a holy status, thoughts and actions that are in keeping with the way God wants - Michael Morrison
B. As Christians we have been chosen and called by God to be holy.
C. Ephesians 1:4 "...He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love"
D. 1 Thessalonians 4:7 (NLT) "God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives."
E. We are saved and justified by grace through a faith that simply rests in the finished work of Christ but we are not instantly made perfect. The Christian life is one of progression as we submit to God's grace which teaches us how to live right.
F. Titus 2:11-14 "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us (SANCTIFYING GRACE) that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us (SAVING GRACE) from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works."
G. Sanctifying grace is the gift of God providing the desire, power and means to grow in our relationship with God.
H. “Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion; it is like a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ.” - Billy Graham
I. 2 Peter 3:18 "but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
J. John MacArthur defines grace "as the free and benevolent influence of a holy God operating sovereignly in the lives of undeserving sinners."
K. God in His sanctifying grace is at work in our lives to set us free from sin — not just the consequences, but its power over us and one day its presence.
L. Romans 6:14 "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace."
M. Christlikeness is not a merely human attainment achieved by individual effort and desire. It is a gift of grace. It is God acting in our life to accomplish what we cannot do on our own.
N. A pastor was traveling on a bus down a bumpy road. Seated next to him was a college student who noticed that the minister was reading his Bible. The minister asked, “Are you spiritually ready for the temptations that you will face in college?”
"I don’t have a problem with temptation," the young man told the minister. "I have strong willpower." The minister took a pencil from his pocket and said, "I can make this pencil stand up on the cover of this Bible even though the bus ride is bumpy." The young man said, "I’ll believe it when I see it. I don't think you can do it." "Look, I’m doing it," he replied as the young man watched. "Yeah, but you didn't tell me you would hold the pencil up with your hand." "I didn't have to tell you," the pastor remarked. "Have you ever seen a pencil stand up on its own without someone holding it?" The minister then let go of the pencil, which instantly fell over. "The only reason you stand," he continued, "is because God is holding you up with His hand." If God were to remove His hand of protecting grace, we would immediately fall into sin. Humility is depending completely on God, realizing that He upholds us by His grace (Romans 5:2). (Kent Crockett, Making Today Count for Eternity, Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2001, p. 123)
O. Galatians 2:20 " I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
II. His Grace Sustains
A. Receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior doesn’t guarantee we will never go through suffering or that every
day is going to be a walk in a rose garden. We live in a fallen world, and as believers we are not immune to the trials, troubles and tough times of this life.
B. God may and will allow suffering and hardship to come into our lives in order to conform us to the image if Jesus Christ.
C. Grace assures us that we do not have to walk through the fires of adversity alone.
D. "2 Corinthians 12:7-9 "...a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
E. Sustaining Grace releases supernatural strength to keep going in the midst of pain, suffering, and loss. The Holy Spirit helps us face adversity.
F. Sustaining Grace points us toward the Father’s goal in allowing trials. We can be content knowing we are in the center of His will.
G. Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose"
H. Sustaining grace meets us at our point of need and equips us with courage, wisdom, and strength.
I. John Piper in commenting on God's sustaining grace wrote: "Our experience and the Bible teach us that grace does not prevent pain, but orders and arranges and measures out our pain, and then in the darkness is there to sustain. For example, yesterday Bob Ricker, the president of the Baptist General Conference, spoke of precious reminders of God's sustaining grace. Not quite ten years ago Bob and Dee's daughter was in a serious automobile accident. She is alive today for one reason. In the car behind her was a doctor who happened to have an air tube in his pocket. By the time he got to her she was already turning blue. He forced the tube into her throat and saved her life. At her wedding a few years later, Bob told her: those facial scars you have to live with—they are memorials of sustaining grace. Now Bob Ricker is not naïve. He knows that if God can ordain that in the car behind there be a doctor, and that this doctor have a breathing apparatus in his pocket, and that he have the presence of mind to use it savingly, then this God is fully able to prevent the accident in the first place. In fact, earlier Bob had quoted Ephesians 1:11, "We have been predestined according to his purpose who works all things according to the counsel of his will." And he stressed: "All things, means all things"—including, I assume, the paths of cars and airplanes and arrows and bullets. That was the inspiration for my little poem, "What Is Sustaining Grace?"
Not grace to bar what is not bliss,
Nor flight from all distress, but this:
The grace that orders our trouble and pain,
And then, in the darkness, is there to sustain." - By John Piper. ©2014 Desiring God Foundation.
J. Sustaining Grace is the power to keep on going when I feel like giving up. Do you ever feel like you need this? Sustaining Grace is the power to do the right thing when you don’t feel like doing the right thing.
K. Psalm 55:22 "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved."
L. "He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase,
To added affliction He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials His multiplied peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
His love has no limit,
His grace has no measure,
His power has no boundary known unto men,
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!" - Annie Johnson Flint
III. His Grace Secures
A. Romans 5:1-4 "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope."
B. Securing grace is that manifestation of God’s benevolence by which Christians are kept secure in spite of their sin.
C. Our security as believers is based upon God’s grace and not on our performance. Paul tells us that we ‘stand in grace.'
D. It’s not in our power to persevere; it’s God’s power to preserve and keep those who are truly saved, always saved - copied
E. Ephesians 1:13-14 "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory."
F. John 10:28 Jesus said, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
G. Look at the life of Peter. He walked on the water with Jesus and then began to sink. Christ took him by the hand and lifted him up. Peter denied Jesus three times and the Lord restored him. In John 21 Peter quit and went back to fishing but Jesus came to the shore of the sea to bring him back into fellowship.
H. Watchman Nee tells about a new convert who came in deep distress to see him. "No matter how much I pray, no matter how hard I try, I simply cannot seem to be faithful to my Lord. I think I'm losing my salvation." Nee said, "Do you see this dog here? He is my dog. He is house-trained; he never makes a mess; he is obedient; he is a pure delight to me. Out in the kitchen I have a son, a baby son. He makes a mess, he throws his food around, he fouls his clothes, he is a total mess. But who is going to inherit my kingdom? Not my dog; my son is my heir. You are Jesus Christ's heir because it is for you that He died." We are Christ's heirs, not through our perfection but by means of His grace.
I. Grace is not a license to sin. As creatures, we are made to serve our Creator. In the absence of truth, we will serve somebody or something. It’s an essential part of our nature. Our only choice is this: whom will we serve? At one time, we all served sin and grew weak under its deadly power over us. Now, through God’s grace, we have become servants of obedience that sets us right with God, each other, and ourselves. We must daily decide whose servant we are and offer Him our hands, our feet, our hearts, our eyes. - The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc.
