The Grace Of God

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.