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1992-10-31
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GOD'S GRACE STUDY NO.11
Grace is one of those religious words that has very little
relationship to its meaning in everyday use. So when we come
across it in scripture we do not easily understand its application
to our lives. The original Greek word referred to everything that
is delightful and beautiful, to perfection in a person or in art,
added to the flavour and generosity shown to those less fortunate
below them. It also referred to the gifts with which this
generosity is expressed. The New Testament use reflects all these
different shades of meaning, and in this study we will attempt to
explore some of the richness of God's grace toward us as His
children.
THE GRACE OF GOD: HIS UNRESTRAINED AND SOVEREIGN GENEROSITY
Unrestrained. God's generosity his no limits. He gives again and
again, without putting any boundaries on His goodness and love.
The extravagant bounty of God's creation proclaims the richness of
His giving, and that same bounty in God's character is shown
towards us as His children. It is according to His riches and His
nature; it is not dependent on us or on our ideas of God or on
what we consider we deserve.
"For out of His fullness (abundance) we all received . . one grace
after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, and
even favour upon favour and gift (heaped) upon gift."
John 1:16 (Amp). Read Ephesians 1:3,7,8; 2:71, 3:16; 2
Corinthians 9:8.
Sovereign. Grace can also be expressed as unmerited favour.
Under God's law we deserve banishment from God's presence; but
through Christ's work on the cross, God has released us from the
judgement that is in the law, and has brought us freely into His
presence. This is God's own choice, not something He has done
through obligation, nor something we have merited in anyway. We
deserve punishment, but God instead pours out blessings upon us:
this is His grace. This grace is shared equally with all men.
Read Matthew 5:45. It is not for us to question who should
receive God's blessings. God does not look on the outward
appearance but on the heart of man.
GOD'S GRACE TOWARDS MAN
"God so loved the world that He gave . John 3:16.
God's greatest gift was Christ Himself. There was nothing greater
He could give - yet God gave His Son freely and through this gift
God's great goodness is continually available to us. All of the
good news of the kingdom of God is poured out on us because of
Christ. Read Acts 20:24; Ephesians 1:3-14.
In Christ we are:
JUSTIFIED. When we attempt to relate to God we find that sin has
made a gulf between ourselves and God. No striving to be good
will ever narrow that gulf. As we admit that we are sinners, God
bridges the gulf and on the basis of our trust in Christ, He
declared us righteous (justified). We are thus admitted into the
grace (favour) of God. Read Romans 3:21-26.
ACCEPTED. The angel who announced to Mary that she was chosen to
bear the Soil of God told her that she was very highly favoured by
God - she was "much graced", chosen and loved and accepted by God.
The same expression is used in Ephesians 1:6 to refer to the
relationship of all God's children to Him - we are "much graced",
completely accepted, special, chosen and beloved of God. With
this confidence we are free to approach God as with a Father.
Read Hebrews 10:19-22, Luke 1:30.
FORGIVEN. Forgiveness is a part of justification and acceptance,
for every one of us has fallen short of God's standards. For many
Christians a continuing sense of guilt is one of their biggest
problems. The beginning of victory is the knowledge that God
forgives freely not on the basis of our promise or desire to try
to do better, or on any atonement that we can make, but simply on
the basis of God's promise, and His nature - free, unrestrained
and overflowing grace. Read Ephesians 1:7; Psalm 103:8; 112:4.
EQUIPPED. The apostle Paul was apparently accused of making grace
seem like legal trickery, by which God somehow is enabled to
pretend that we are righteous and acceptable, no matter what we
do; but in reality, the grace of God not only wins us that
acceptance with God, but gives us free access to the ability and
help of God to change, and to live as He desires. We are His sons,
filled and empowered with His Spirit. We have:-
(a) His grace to live in victory. No matter what our
circumstances are, God's grace gives us strength to
reign as kings of life, and to overcome sin and every kind of
evil in the world. Read Romans 5:17-21, 2 Corinthians 12:9;
Acts 4:33.
(b) His grace for service. The word for "gift" in
1 Corinthians 12 and other places is closely related to
"grace". God always equips us for every work He calls us to
do. Our ministry and service does not come from our own
ability or merit but depends on the power of God released to
us through His grace. Read Romans 1:5; 12:3,6; 15:15;
1 Corinthians 15:10. God's grace is not a weakness in His
character so that He excuses sin or continually rescues us in
our spiritual apathy. We cannot expect to draw on His grace
to get us out of trouble, but when we look back, that is
often what we conclude: the grace of God did overcome our
inadequacies. We are not to become dependent on God's grace
and so avoid our responsibilities in growing to maturity.
Jude 4.
OUR RESPONSE:-
SURRENDER. The only limits on God's giving are the ones we impose
ourselves. We receive as much as we are willing to trust Him
for. This trust depends on our willingness to surrender ourselves
to Him. Any dependence on our own abilities and power, cuts us
off from the resources and abilities of God to work on our behalf.
Read James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5.
THANKSGIVING. This should be our automatic response to receiving
the grace of God. These two words in Greek are very closely
related. " . . as grace extends to more and more people it may
increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God." (2 Corinthians 4:15
RSV). Thanksgiving is the opposite to complaining: it releases
the blessing of God to our lives.
LIVING IN GRACE
"Through (Christ) also we have (our) access (entrance and
introduction) by faith into this grace -- state of God's favour -
in which we (firmly and safely) stand." Romans 5:2 (Amp). Grace
is the key to living in the joy and release and provision of the
kingdom of God. God's grace is always available to us, but it is
very easy for us to forget it, and try to work out our own methods
for living the Christian life. The apostle Paul, in his letters
shows two aspects where Christians often fail to "stand" in the
grace given to them.
LAW. In His letter to the Galatians, Paul has some challenging
things to say concerning the liberty that comes from living under
grace rather than under the law. For Paul, the liberty of walking
in the power of the Holy Spirit far out-weighed anything he had
ever experienced as a zealous Jew striving with all his might to
fulfil the many commandments of the law. His joy of being
freed from the burden of the law was so great that he could
not endure seeing Christians fall back into the old patterns of
pleasing God by trying to keep the law. We also have to take care
that we do not try to please God by works of our own righteousness
(For example, a 'religious' daily Bible reading plan may do more
to satisfy our self righteousness than provide real spiritual
food.)
LICENSE. Grace frees us from law, but it is not a freedom to do
just as we please. We are to live under God's rule and care, in
perfect harmony with God and man. As we continue to listen to the
voice of the Holy Spirit, He will warn us if we are in danger of
moving beyond the liberty that Christ has given us into license
which brings offence to the gospel and hinders our growth to
maturity. (For example, license could mean that we feel so sure of
our `standing' with God that, rather than have a strict pattern of
Bible reading, we never bother to read the Bible at all, and so
weaken our relationship with God.)
"And God is able to make all grace (every favour and earthly
blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always
and under all circumstances and whatever the need, be
self-sufficient . . ." 2 Corinthians 9:8 (Amp).
THE END