UNDERSTANDING THE GRACE OF GOD
Topic; GRACE AS THE POWER AND ABILITY OF GOD OPERATING THROUGH THE BELIEVERS.
Too many Christians are trying to reach all of their goals and aspirations operating out of their own strength. Instead of relying on God’s power and leadings to get them to where they are supposed to be going with Him, they are relying on their own wisdom, knowledge, intelligence, and strength.
We need the power of God flowing and operating through us if we are going to achieve any real success in the Lord with whatever He will be calling us to do for Him in this life. Without God’s divine power and ability operating through us, we will never make it to the tops of mountains that He is calling us to climb for Him. We will never be able to reach the goals, the aspirations, and the finish lines that God has in store for us unless we have the power of His Holy Spirit working in us and through us.
The grace of God is the divine life, power, and ability of God flowing and operating through us, the believers. It is the power and ability of God operating through us so that we can effectively work in whatever He will be calling us to do for Him in this life. This same divine power is also needed for us to be able to be properly sanctified in the Lord, along with helping us overcome different types of sins, addictions, and temptations.
POWER VERSES FOR MEDITATION,
These verses all have to do with grace as the power and ability of God working through us. Each one of these are major power verses and they all have to do with the second definition of grace. The first definition or the first side of the coin (as discussed in lesson 2) is that grace is the unmerited favor and unconditional love of God towards mankind. As you read and meditate upon these scriptures, may you be established in faith in Jesus name.
• “And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.” (Acts 4:33)
• “… but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18)
• “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 2:1)
• “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, have an abundance for every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)
• “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:4-8)
• “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” (Ephesians 4:7)
• “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith …” (Romans 12:6)
• “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” (1 Peter 4:10)
INSIGHT FROM THE ABOVE SCRIPTURES.
Verse 1(Acts 4:33)
The first verse really sets the stage for us as it shows us that in God’s divine grace is also His divine power. Notice that “great power” and “great grace” was on the early apostles. I believe that God is giving us a major clue in this verse is that in His divine grace is also His divine power. Great power is thus a part of God’s divine grace. If God the Father can give “great grace” and “great power” to the first set of apostles, then He can also do the exact same thing for you since He is no respecter of persons!
Verse 2(2 Peter 3:18)
Notice in the second verse, (2 Peter 3:18) that we are to “grow in the grace” of God for our lives. In other words, you can grow mightier and stronger in God’s grace if you will allow Him to train and bring you up in it. It tells us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.” To grow in grace is to mature as a Christian. We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9), and we mature and are sanctified by grace alone. We know that grace is a blessing that we don’t deserve. It is God’s grace that justifies us, sanctifies us, and eventually glorifies us in heaven. The sanctification process, becoming more like Christ, is synonymous with growing in grace.
We grow in grace by reading God’s Word and letting it “dwell in us richly” (Colossians 3:16) and by praying. Those actions by themselves don’t mature us, but God uses these spiritual disciplines to help us grow. Therefore, maturing in our Christian life is not about what we do, but about what God does in us, by His grace. Understanding and applying God’s grace in our lives is important. We are not to impair it by being proud, because God says that He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). Grace is that attribute of God that enables us to break free of our sinful nature and follow Him. It gives us strength and protects us. Without God’s grace, His favor, we would be hopelessly lost in this world. The more grace we have and ask God for, the more mature as Christians we will be.
Verse 3(2 Timothy 2:1)
The third verse then adds more meat to this revelation when it tells us to learn how to “be strong in the grace” that is in Jesus Christ. Put it all together and God not only wants us to grow in His grace, but He wants all of us to become mightier and stronger in His grace.
Verse 4 (2 Corinthians 9:8)
The fourth verse tells us that we can have an “abundance” for every good work that we do for God and a “sufficiency” in all things as a result of God being able to make His grace “abound” toward us. The word “abound” means “to increase greatly.”
Verse v5-8
The last four verses are tying in God’s grace with specific gifts that He can give to you. In other words, whatever gifts God will be giving you in order to work for Him in this life will all be included in His grace for your life.
The fourth verse tells us that we can have an “abundance” for every good work that we do for God and a “sufficiency” in all things as a result of God being able to make His grace “abound” toward us.
The word “abound” means “to increase greatly.” As you can see from the way these verses are all worded, not only does God have His grace to give to us, but He wants to give it to us in great abundance!
THE POWER OF THE GRACE OF GOD
Rom. 5:20-21 "but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our lord."
In the above scripture, we see that God's grace must be powerful, to abound over sin, and to reign where once sin reigned:
WHAT IS IT THAT THE POWER OF GRACE MUST OVERCOME?
First—It must overcome our spiritual deadness.
Eph. 2:1 reads: "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins." …..You see dear friend, by nature we all are spiritually dead; that is the condition of the whole human race apart from the grace of God in Jesus Christ. We have all died in Adam (Rom. 5:12-19); so we are born into this world spiritually dead, without one ounce of spiritual life!
What this means is that we are dead to the interests of our own souls; we are dead to the life of God and to spiritual things, for they do not interest us at all. And that is the condition of the vast majority of people in the world today, both in and out of so-called religion. They give no thought to the things of God, and easily dismiss them if they are mentioned.
Though they are religious, they are spiritually dead! They have no spiritual awareness, no spiritual understanding, no conception of the things of Christ at all. …So grace has to overcome this state of death; and nothing but the power of the grace of God in Christ Jesus can do it!
Second—Grace has to overcome the state of our dislike to the truth and to god, and opposition which is the tragic state of the natural man, that is, of every sinner outside of Christ. Not only does he fail to respond to spiritual truth, but he hates it, spurns it, and opposes it.
In Rom. 8:7 we read: "The carnal mind, [the natural mind of man, the fleshly mind] is enmity against God." It not only does not respond to truth, but it is also an enemy, hostile against God; the natural mind and heart are "not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Again in I Cor. 2:14 we are told: "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God."
And why not?—"for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
He laughs at the things of the Spirit of God; he does not receive them because they are nonsense, folly and utter rubbish to him. It is not only that he cannot receive them, but he is actively, bitterly opposed to them; he rejects them altogether. This is the Biblical truth of the awful and fearful condition of natural man! How then is this man going to be saved and maintain his salvation when he is in this condition? There is only one answer: it is by the power of the grace of God. It is because the power of the reign of grace is altogether greater than the power of the reign of sin!
Third—The power of the grace of God must overcome satan.
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Eph. 6:12).
You see, Satan does not want to lose his citizens, his slaves. He is the strong man of Luke 11:21, armed, that keepeth his goods in peace. He holds them captive at his will (II Tim. 2:26), guarding and surrounding them with mighty fortification; so they must be delivered from the "power of Satan" (Acts 26:18). How then can anyone ever be redeemed? Nothing less than the power of the grace of God can do it as the Scriptures so plainly declare, and I praise the Lord that His grace is so powerful!
IN CONCLUSION
Make this teaching your prayer. Ask Him for His grace, which is His power flowing and operating through us. Without God’s divine power and ability operating through us, we will never make it to the tops of mountains that He is calling us to climb for Him. We will never be able to reach the goals, the aspirations, and the finish lines that God has in store for us unless we have the power of His Holy Spirit working in us and through us. This same divine power is also needed for us to be able to be properly sanctified in the Lord, along with helping us overcome different types of sins, addictions, and temptations.
Dr.T Badia
