The Doctrine of The Grace of God
What is grace? It seems there are varying views. Is there an accurate definition to be found? While an in depth study of the background of the word will not fit into our study, one might well sum it all up in this manner: Grace is God showing favor and lovingkindness to those who are undeserving and His joy in doing the same. Grace can also be called God’s unmerited favor freely and joyfully given.
Grace Is of God
While we study the grace of God we must first remember that God is the source of all grace. There is no grace apart from God. Scripture calls God the God of all grace. “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” (1Pe 5:10) God gives us His grace through His only begotten Son. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” (John 1:14-18) When God the Son manifested Himself and showed the Father to us, He was full of grace. He gave to us of the fullness of His grace. In so doing He showed us the Father. The interesting thing about this is the fact that Jesus’ giving grace to us was also manifesting the Father. How is this so? It is so because there is no grace apart from God. To show grace is to show God, and when the Son of God showed grace it was a perfect declaration of God. This is also the reason that saving grace can come in no way other than by the Son of God. Grace is divine and has only God as its source. Even when grace is manifest in the lives of God’s children it is manifest only because they have the Spirit of God in them.
Grace Is Free
The wonder of grace is its freeness. Grace is totally unmerited. It is given freely to those who don’t deserve it, and to those who ill deserve it. “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim 1:12-14) A murderer, hater of the name of Jesus, and harmful to the people of God, Paul found grace. Though Paul was a man of great sin and deserved nothing but wrath from God (as do all of us), yet God gave Him grace. This certainly demonstrates the free nature of grace.
Another wonderful instance that manifests the freeness of God’s grace is when God promised to be with Israel in spite of their worshipping an idol God. Moses had asked God to accompany them to the land of promise by guiding them. God replied that indeed He would be gracious to them and lead them into the promised land. Moses then asked God to show him the glory of God. When God promised to manifest His glory to Moses, He said, “I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.” (Ex 33:19) God’s promise of grace and mercy was a promise of free grace and mercy. The LORD assured Moses that He was gracious because of His own choice to be gracious. There was nothing about Israel that constrained God to be gracious. They did not deserve grace. They had by no means obligated God. The grace which was shown to them was utterly free.
Grace Is Eternal
Perhaps it seems that it should go without being said that grace is eternal. There is a certain doctrinal mindset, however, that desires to limit the power and extent of grace. This mindset is that of those who deny that salvation is the eternal gift to those who truly believe. Those who deny the eternal security of the believer actually deny the eternal nature and power of grace.
Scripture teaches us that grace was given in eternity past. “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.” (2 Tim 1:8-11) This passage presents us with a good synopsis of the doctrine of God’s saving grace: one, grace was freely planned in eternity past with no reference to man’s merits; two, grace was freely given in and through Jesus Christ’s life and work; three, grace conquers sin and death and gives eternal life.
This great truth concerning the eternal nature of grace is also mentioned in reference to God’s plan for our eternal joy. Paul told the Ephesian church, “God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” (Eph 2:4-7) The wonder of this passage is found in the fact that God not only gives us grace freely, but He also plans to shower grace upon us forever. Grace is the eternal gift of God that will be shown to His children forever. This grace is abundant. It is limitless. This grace is shown by God being kind to us forever through Jesus. Every passing moment in the forever land of eternity with God will be a fresh experience of joy in the grace of God! What security the child of God has in Christ!
The Character of Saving Grace
The character of saving grace is indeed amazing. We have already seen that grace is freely given by God. While the following may be somewhat redundant, it is necessary that we delve further into the unconstrained nature of God’s grace. We speak of grace as being unconstrained due to the fact that, not only is grace free and unmerited, but it must be insisted upon that God is under no obligation by any means to show favor to us. Grace is absolutely free.
To show the free nature of grace, let us notice the following: “Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:1-7) Grace was given, not when we were righteous and had earned it, but when we were sinners and ill deserving. God poured out His grace upon us when we were ungodly (See Rom 5:6-8) and not when we had become good enough to merit it. This grace came through the work of Jesus Christ, declares us righteous before God, and makes us heirs of eternal life. All of this for ill deserving sinners!
Another passage that insists upon the grace/merit dichotomy is Rom 11:1-6. “ I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.” (Rom 11:1-6) This passage plainly declares one thing; that grace and works/merit are so opposed to each other that they cannot be joined together in bringing us blessings, or salvation, from God. Grace is absolutely free.
The Believer’s Security in God’s Grace
In the grace of God the believer is eternally secure. Once one understands the true nature of grace, this should go without being said. It seems that the truth of grace is assailed from so many sides, however. Among those assaults there is the heresy that declares that the believer can lose the salvation that has been given to him by God. This makes it necessary to consider the security that the true believer has in the grace of God.
As Paul taught the Romans the truth concerning justification by faith, he said, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Rom 5:1,2) By trusting Jesus we have been declared righteous before, and by, God. Where once we were in a state of war with God, we are now in a state of peace. God in his grace has declared us righteous which establishes the state peace in which we stand. Because this position is freely and eternally given it cannot be lost. Why? It was not given based on merit and therefore is not secured by merit. Rather our position in grace is secured by the love of God who declares he will never leave or forsake us. Why? It is secure to us because it is eternally given. How can that which is everlasting be taken away, ended or lessened? Our standing in grace is also a standing that is not dependent upon us to keep by our merit. If it were then grace would no longer be free. We stand in grace with full confidence in the ability, love, mercy, and free favor of God to keep us forever. We stand, and remain standing forever, in grace. The only way that a person could ever lose the salvation that has been given is to step outside of the bounds of grace. That, however, is a logical and Scriptural impossibility. Thank God for grace!
Humbling Grace
The grace of God tends to humility. The apostle Paul said, “ I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” (1 Cor 15:9,10) When one recalls the grace he experiences each day of his life he cannot but be humbled. The reason for this humility is the fact that grace will always remind him that he is unworthy of any blessing in and of himself. Man is reminded of the wretched state in which he would be had it not been for the grace of God. Grace also humbles us because it reminds us that the blessings we have do not come by our own power, but by God's gracious power.
The goal of grace also tends to the humbling of man. The goal of grace is God's glory. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” (Eph 1:3-6) Grace gives glory to God because no glory is due man, but all glory is due God. God has declared that He will not share His glory with another. “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” (Isa 42:8) This means that, if God receives the glory, man will not receive the glory. In fact, that is the statement which is made concerning Christ: “Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” (1 Cor 1:30,31) Grace humbles man because God gives us every blessing we have through Jesus Christ who is the one who paid the price necessary to secure those blessings for us.
Grace for Living
Not only is there saving grace, but there is also grace for living. Every service that is acceptable to God is a service of grace. Paul received grace to be an apostle (1Cor 15:9,10), Macedonian Christians received grace to be generous in giving (2Cor 8:1-5), and each believer is graced for the ministry to which they are called (Eph 4:7). Timothy was commanded to find his strength in God's grace. “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim 2:1) Man cannot expect to serve God in his own strength. That is a recipe for sure failure. When we trust God to strengthen us by His grace, however, we can be assured of success in our effort to glorify God.
The exciting thing about this grace is that it is free and easily accessible. One need not struggle for years to have what it takes to please God. One simply needs to trust Jesus. In fact, Paul said “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” (Gal 2:20,21) Though we often struggle with doubt and fear concerning our standing with God. Though we worry that we will never be able to measure up to God's standard, thankfully, we can be pleasing to God by grace. This grace is promised to all who seek it. We are told that our high priest, Jesus Christ, sympathizes with us in our weaknesses. Knowing that, we are commanded to “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:16) Thus we find that the grace of God for living is freely available to those who ask for it.
Future Grace
As we live our lives, there is more to grace than simply depending on God to save us and to help us live for Him. We also have the hope of future grace. Peter admonished the saints to “be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:13) The grace that is to be revealed at the revelation of Jesus Christ is the transformation of these sinful bodies into immortal bodies that are made like unto Jesus Christ. Notice the revelation of Christ and the hope of man as mentioned in 1John 3:1-3. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” (1 John 3:1-3) When we see Jesus in His revealed state of glory we shall be made like Him. What a wonderful promise! This is all of grace. It is a result of the divine love. Nothing you and I could ever do would merit being changed to be forever in the likeness of Jesus. This promise is through grace; as the apostle Paul stated, “Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.”(2 Thess 2:16,17) This great truth of future grace is indeed a comfort to those of us who embrace it and anticipate with joy that great day of eternal change.
While it would seem that this would be the end of grace, there is more. It would almost seem as if grace could not continue any longer. After all, we will then be in perfect bodies and be without sin. Yet, the issue is not how good we will be in eternity. The issue is grace. For this reason grace can continue forever, because none of us will ever, in all eternity, deserve anything from God. God's plan to glorify Himself forever includes showering undeserving people with His love forever. World without end, man will enjoy and benefit from the grace of God. “ God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” (Eph 2:4-7) The grace of God is limitless. This infinite grace will be enjoyed more and more each passing moment by those whose capacity to receive grace grows greater and larger forever. Because God's grace and wisdom are without limit man will enjoy an eternally new display of creative grace and love in a world of pleasure and joy that will never end. This is God's way of giving Himself glory, because man will always be praising Him for the wonderful outpouring of goodness that he is experiencing.
Amazing
grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once
was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
’Twas
grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears
relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first
believed!
Through
many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis
grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
The
Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will
my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.
Yea,
when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall
cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and
peace.
The
earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But
God, Who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.
When
we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the
sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than
when we’d first begun.
Amazing indeed!