NINE FRUITS OF GRACE
1. Grace saves us:
"For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast". (Eph 2:8,9).
2. Grace justifies us:
"... being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). See also Titus 3:7.
We may be considered to be right by God only because of the grace of Jesus Christ.
3. Grace sanctifies us:
Indeed, not only our right standing with God, but also our right living depends on grace. God does not leave us to struggle in our own power to think, speak and act correctly. He gives grace after grace. "And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace." (John 1:16). We need to "continue in God's grace" (Acts 13:43) in order to go on with God. The Word of God's Grace "builds us up and gives us an inheritance among all those who are sanctified" (Acts 20:32). "But may the God of all grace, who has called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you." (1 Peter 5:10). It is as the "God of all grace" that the Lord "perfects, establishes and strengthens us."
4. Grace Defends Us:
A Christian must stand in the grace of God (Romans 5:2). He must be strong in the grace of God. "You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 2:1). The Scripture says plainly that is is "good that the heart be strengthened [or established] with grace" (Hebrews 13:9). "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." (Ephesians 6:10,11). All the armour of God is received by the grace of God. We did not pay for the "breastplate of righteousness" or "the shield of faith" or any other parts of that armour. It is therefore by drawing on the grace of God that we are going to be able to resist temptation and stand against all the temptations and trials that Satan wants to discourage us with and make us fall, if possible.
5. Grace gives us victory:
"Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace" (Romans 6:14). Paul asks, "Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?" His response is clear. "Certainly not!" (Romans 6:15). Grace is not a license to commit sin. It is a force that both pardons us and empowers us to live right, without falling into temptation.
6. Grace Teaches Us Godliness:
Rather than teaching us to sin freely, grace is "teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age" (Titus 2:11,12). Here we see how closely related is the concept of grace with the working of the Holy Spirit. For it is the Holy Spirit Himself who convicts of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:7). It is the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth (John 16:13). It is the anointing of the Holy Spirit that "teaches us concerning all things" as we learn to abide in Jesus (1 John 2:27). All these things: the anointing, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the grace of God, are closely related. We can say that the anointing itself is a very special and important expression of the grace of God.
7. Grace makes us what we are in God :
"But by the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Corinthians 15:10) What we are in Christ is because of God's life and power which has been at work in us. No one can make himself a great man of God. Even the callings to be this or to do that in God's Kingdom are by grace (Galatians 1:6). Paul said that God called Him by His grace from His mother's womb (Galatians 1:15). This means that it was God, not Paul, who initiated Paul's being chosen for apostolic ministry. In a similar way, Jeremiah was called from His mother's womb to be a prophet to the nations (Jeremiah 1:5). We cannot become special ministers of God without His calling. We can only be what God gives us grace to be. If through His grace we fulfil a special function in God's Kingdom, then it was not on the basis of our merit and work, but rather, because of God's grace - God's gift, God's favour.
Does this leave us without responsibility before God? No, it is very important for us to take hold of the grace of God, so that we can be what God intends us to be.
"Having then gifts that differ according to the grace that is given to us: let us use them." (Romans 12:6).
In conclusion we see that God's grace empowers us for the service of God in three ways.
Firstly, by making us a minister or servant of Christ.
Secondly, by giving us gifts and ministry abilities necessary.
And thirdly, by giving us power and authority to operate those gifts and ministries.
8. God's Grace Empowers Us for Service:
The anointing for service is a part of God's grace. The ability to exercise a gift or ministry from God comes from God! This can be seen in the following Scriptures:
"From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed" (Acts 14:26). The early church recognised that these apostles needed God's grace in order that the work they were supposed to do be accomplished.
"Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name" (Romans 1:5). It was by the grace of God that Paul was able to get so many Gentiles in different lands to believe and obey the gospel of Jesus Christ.
"According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation." (1 Corinthians 3:10). Paul was able to do his work of laying the foundation in the Corinthian church only by the grace of God. This grace was for Paul the ability to do his work as an apostle.
"For I say, through the grace of God given to me, to everyone who is among you..." (Romans 12:3). It was God's grace that gave Paul the power and authority to say to the church at Rome and to us as well what he had from God to say. A similar idea can is expressed in Romans 15:15, 16. "Nevertheless, brethren, I have written to you more boldly on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles." Here we can also see that it was the grace of God which gave Paul the power to be a minister of the gospel. "... I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." (Ephesians 3:7,8). We can see hear that the ability to be a minister, to preach the gospel among the peoples of the world comes through the grace of God.
9. God's Grace Enables Us to Reign:
God's Word says, "much more those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:17). We have been made kings and priests to our God (Revelation 1:5). Grace is necessary to rule and reign in life. Grace is necessary to exercise authority in the way that God desires. God rules, but not harshly. He rules in grace, justice, mercy and truth. In order to exercise authority over the situations that we are in, we need to receive more and more of God's grace. This grace gives us power not only to use authority over the demons behind many of the negative situations in life, but also to lead and direct people in a way that will build them up and not destroy them.
CONCLUSION:
Do you need "Grace" today? God has plenty to go around even for those who don't know Jesus …But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. — Romans 5:20
The word “abounded” that Paul uses to describe this abundance of sin comes from the Greek word, pleonadzo, which simply means more. It denotes something that exists in abundance. The Greek tense describes an abundance that is growing larger and more expansive with the passing of time. The implication is that sin is never stagnant but continually grows, increases, and expands. This means Romans 5:20 could be translated, “Where sin exists in abundance and is multiplying and constantly expanding….” This describes the growing nature of unrestrained sin. But Paul doesn’t stop there! He goes on to say, “…Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” The words “much more abound” are from the Greek word huperperisseo, which describes something that is growing out of measure, beyond proportion, and out of its banks to a far-stretched extreme. It is like a giant river that is being flooded with waters from upstream. Those waters are coming downstream so fast that the river can no longer hold the raging current in its banks. Its water rises, rises, and rises until it finally begins pouring out of its banks and begins to flood everything in sight. This is exactly the idea of the word Paul uses when he says, “…Grace did much more abound.”
This means Romans 5:20 could be interpreted:
“For wherever sin exists in abundance and is multiplying and constantly expanding, that is precisely the time and place where grace is poured out in a far greater, surpassing quantity.”
Regardless of where we live and what we are facing — regardless of how bad the situation around us looks to our natural eyes — the grace of God is flowing downstream, and God is lavishly pouring it forth in abundant measure! In fact, it is impossible for us to imagine, measure, or even dream of the amount of divine grace God is sending in our direction. No banks can hold the flood of grace He is sending our way! It isn’t just “a lot” of grace; it is more, more, more, and much more grace! The flood of grace will always far surpass the flood of sin and darkness!
Satan will try to stop you from doing the will of God, but never forget that the enemy cannot prevail against you if you will only yield to the Lord. You will find that God is supplying more than enough grace to match whatever the enemy is trying to do. If you will surrender to that divine grace, it will rise higher and higher until it eventually floods every area in your life. Instead of seeing the destruction of the enemy, you will see the awesome outpouring of the marvelous grace of God everywhere you look!
So when a situation looks bad, don’t be too surprised if you hear God’s Spirit say, “Pour it on! Keep it up! Don’t stop for a minute! Keep pressing ahead! It is in dark and difficult moments like these that I love to work the most! This is when My grace super-exceeds the darkness of the world. Wherever sin and darkness abound is where I really pour out My grace!”
