The Empowerment of Grace
Grace. What comes to mind when you see or hear the word grace? The word grace can be used as a noun or a verb. It can be a girl’s name, the beauty of movement in a dancer, or sarcastically (humorously) given as a nickname to someone who just tripped over her own feet. (If you have a dry sarcastic, western Pennsylvania sense of humor.)
Biblically speaking, basically, ‘grace’ means the unmerited favor of God, as in our redemption by the blood of Christ. However, today, we will delve further into the usage and meaning of this word ‘grace’ in the Scriptures. We will see that ‘grace’ in the Biblical sense, is a very dynamic life changing virtue!
1 Corinthians 15:10a, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” Paul here, stated that ”by the grace of God, I am what I am.” That is a very potent statement. Paul is saying that the presence of God’s grace with him has totally made him who he is. The presence of God’s grace with him gets all the credit for who Paul is and what he does! The Greek word translated ‘grace’ in this verse is charis and according to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon means: “pre-eminently of that kindness by which God bestows: favor even upon the ill-deserving, and grants the sinners the pardon of their offences, and bids them to accept eternal salvation through Christ; it is kindness which bestows upon one, what he has not deserved.”
Paul , who previously was called Saul, a Pharisee, was a persecutor of those who followed the Way (Jesus). In fact, when Stephen was stoned to death, for his belief in Christ, Saul was present, consenting to his death and guarding the coats of those who stoned Stephen. However, after Saul encountered the grace of God, with his name changed to Paul, he became an apostle, established churches and wrote a large portion of the New Testament. It was this Paul who stated that only by God’s grace was he able to accomplish anything. It was by the grace of God that Paul was healed, given gifts to do God’s work, given the ability to speak and write the message God gave him to proclaim, spared numerous times from death, and eventually, ushered into heaven.
Looking at John 15:5 (NIV) we see that Jesus stated, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” Just as with Paul, we can do nothing apart from Him. The Greek word for ‘nothing’ is ou which means: the absolute negative. “Apart means: without connection and fellowship with. Jesus spoke very plainly and clearly in this verse.
Grace was the path to Paul’s salvation. Ephesians 2:8 reveals, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” Grace is also the path of our salvation. Jesus died once for all.
Through studying the Word of God, we begin to realize that grace not only provides the way of salvation, but also for every aspect of our lives in this journey we travel during our earthly life.
2 Timothy 1:9 (CSB), “He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.” Did you catch that? We were on God’s mind before time began! It was then that He saw us in the divine calling of His choosing.
It was by His grace that He prepared us in our mother’s womb at a particular place and time to fulfill His plan. Psalm 139: 13 and 16 (NLT), “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. ... 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”
Galatians 1:15 (KJV), “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,”
At this time, I would like to look at the definition of grace (charis) as written by Mary Fairchild. I believe it can give us some additional understanding or insight to what all the word means. “Grace from the Greek word, charis, is God’s unmerited favor. It is kindness from God that we don’t deserve. There is nothing we have done, or can ever do to earn this favor. It is a gift from God. Grace is divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration (rebirth) or sanctification: a virtue coming from God; a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine favor.”
God not only creates and calls us, He provides and gives us the gifts and grace needed to accomplish whatever He has given us to do.
Romans 12:3-8, “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.” In verse 6, the word translated ‘grace’ from charis, in this verse means: capacity and ability due to the grace of God [aggregate of the extremely diverse powers and gifts granted to Christians.]
Ephesians 4:7, “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.” Metron, the Greek word for ‘measure’ means: determined extent, portion measured off, measure or limit, by implication - a limited portion. ‘Gift’ , dorea in the Greek means: a gifting according to the measure Christ gave it, a spiritual or supernatural gift. According to Dictionary.com the definitions of capacity are: power of receiving impressions, knowledge , etc. and the actural or potential, ability to perform, yield, or withstand. Our capacity and ability are due to the grace of God! See, everything we are and can be comes from Him!
Then, we are exhorted to be good stewards of our gifts and His grace. 1 Peter 4:10, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.” As a steward of the grace and gifts we receive we are to ‘'“rightly use the gifts He has entrusted to us by God, for the good of the brethren” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon) By God’s grace each one of us is given various giftings. Not everyone has or will be given the same gifts. None is more important than another. God will give you, by His grace, the gifts you need to fulfill His purpose and plan for your life.
Ephesians 1:6 (Berean Standard Bible), “to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.” His grace to us is a free gift!
We are also exhorted to not receive God’s grace in vain. 2 Corinthians 6:1, “Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.” ‘Vain’ means: fruitlessness. We need, in conjunction with Him, to use the gifts we have been given for the purpose for which they were given.
Isn’t it wonderful to realize that God always has our back? He knows every situation that we will encounter and He tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that, “My grace is sufficient.”
As we saw in John 15:5, apart from Jesus, we can do nothing. However, as we have seen in today’s lesson - through the giftings of grace and strength, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13.)
2 Timothy 2:1 (NLT), “Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus.” ‘Strong’, endynamoo, means: to receive strength, be strengthened and increase in strength in union with the Lord. We are encouraged to be strong through His grace.
The Scriptures tell us that Stephen was given grace and power through which he did great wonders and signs. Acts 6:8, “Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people.”
God’s gift of grace grants unmerited favor to us (His people) so that we, through His divine intervention in our lives can accomplish whatever His will is for our lives. We have all been created by God for His own divine purpose and gifted by grace so that we can fulfill the purpose He has planned for us. Jeremiah 29:11a, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil..”
His grace is a gift and what we need to do is acknowledge it, and act on or use it,
Praise God, His grace is always sufficient, or enough!
Realize today that He has gifted you with His grace, so that you can fulfill His desires and the plans He has established for you!
Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the English Standard Version
NIV New International Version
CSB Christian Standard Bible
NLT New Living Translation
KJV King James Version